Competition vs. Cooperation

Cooperation or competition which is better? That is a big question and I’m sure many people would have a great deal to say about this subject but it’s my blog and I get to tell you what I think. I guess that decision that is up to the type of person that you are and what you are trying to accomplish. Whether it’s an elite sports team or a grade 9 physical education class there will always be the two aspects contradicting each other.

Some people believe that cooperation is the best avenue to take because it increases social aspects within a group that provides a greater atmosphere for learning. I do believe that cooperation is very important to the growth and development of people at any age because it focuses on the recognition of your strengths and weaknesses with in a group setting that provides you necessary life skills that are useful to accomplish any objectives that you are faced with. Cooperation means working together to make it happen and I strongly believe that cooperation can be a great way to get people to interact with each other to achieve a common goal. Competition on the other hand, some say “is the royal road to success”( Freud) that makes people in to stronger more striving people to accomplish their goals ahead of everyone else. I believe that competition is very necessary because it makes people push for greater things and not just mediocrity. This mediocrity could potentially happen when there are more people within a group cooperation setting, when the work is spread out among a few people and one person decides that he can ride the coattails of the other group members and not do any of the work. Competition on the flipside is more of an intrinsic motivator and that makes the individual only responsible for his or her own work or performance that can build self esteem and other benefits but can also create negative aspects such as the extrinsic motivation in the form of coaches or parents that are obsessed with winning. This thrust forward of competition and  of others trying to do the same, gives  a healthy fight to these people to become better at the skills they need to achieve their goals... but to a certain point. When competition become too much from parents and coaches pushing their kids to perform to a higher level, it creates more of a negative impact. It creates potential health issues due to abnormal amounts of stress put on them to perform and they develop a resentment to those who push them too hard that they either quit or get injured.

I believe that cooperation and competition are very necessary for any aspects of life and can be great together if there is the ability for a healthy balance. Unfortunately some time people are so blinded by the fact of victory and increased performance that they lose perspective on that balance and it can create more damage than good.

Physical Education Websites

http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/

The United Kingdom website called Teaching Ideas is a great resource for teachers in any field of teaching. It gives many great ideas on physical education games relating to certain sports and or available equipment. It promotes free ideas for teaching new and exciting games and skill development that would come in handy for new teachers or teachers of many years looking for something fresh. The website gives links to other idea resources such as: educational news, fun photos, events, and a library of educational literature. Along with all the game ideas the website incorporates other subjects such as math, science, geography, history, art and music. I feel that this website is a great resource for teachers looking to incorporate more fun by using games and activities to encourage learning.


 

http://www.pecentral.org/

This site called PE Central is a good site for teaching health & physical education to teachers, parents and students. The sites goal is to provide the latest information about developmentally appropriate physical education programs for children. The site has many links to a multitude of fitness games and programs, equipment distributers and teaching information websites. If you want to broaden your horizons the site offers links to online PE courses, academic journal articles, videos, job openings, lesson plans and much more. This site offers a wonderful resource to pass the knowledge and fun contained within the site to you and your students.

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/

TeacherVision is a site that offers Physical education resources for all ages. It boasts connecting the world of physical education with other subjects such as math, social studies, and science that gives students the ability to develop interests by cross connecting subjects that they are interested in. The site provides health and safety activities, fun quizzes, lesson plans and a list of useful printable resources. I found that this site had much to offer in the realm of education and was very easy to navigate through the links to find information on a related subject. The only thing I didn’t like is all the ads that cluttered up the side of the page and every time you navigate to another page a pop up would appear. Besides that annoying problem, the site was reliable to find any educational resources on physical education and other teaching related subjects.
 

Creating New Games

           During our latest class of games, contest and relays, we as a group of 6 classmates were tasked with creating a game from a group of equipment. This exercise was specifically designed to initiate creativity, teamwork, and cooperation, while overcoming difficulties in creating a game under time restraints.

           The first station that we encountered consisted of 6 hockey sticks, 6 hula hoops and 3 small hard orange balls. Immediately all 6 of us started to attempt to create a descent game with what we had in front of us. It was very difficult to agree on a specific aspect of the game because 6 different people are trying to get their ideas heard. We eventually decided on a variation of keep away that included 5 hula hoops in a large circle around the last hula hoop in the middle. With a hockey stick in hand we each stood in one of the 6 hoops. The object of the game was to try and pass to the other classmates in the circle while avoiding the person in the middle hoops from grabbing the 3 balls that were being passed around. Once the person in the middle collected all three of the balls, the last person to have their pass intercepted was then “it” and had to then be in the middle hoop. This game is a very simple game that is mostly directed towards a younger age group of children ( Elementary ages 6-10) that focused on hand eye coordination , verbal communication and decision making skills. During the game play we noticed that the hoops were a bit too far away from the middle hoop which caused a problem for the middle person  reaching out and intercepting the pass. Possible modifications that could be made to solve the problem could be to decrease the size of the outside hoop circle, have the person in the middle use two hockey sticks which would increase the complexity level or don’t limit the middle person to standing inside the hoop so that they can move within the surrounding hoops and increase the total hoop circle to accommodate. I actually liked this station; the variety of equipment that was available made it possible to create a great game but due to the time restraints of the class and the amount of stations that we need to run through made it difficult to create such a game.

           The second station that I would like to mention had a multi coloured parachute, 4 small soft yellow balls and 2 gator balls (soft dodge ball) as its equipment. I would have to say that this station was the most frustrating of the whole activity. Everyone seems to have this great idea that a parachute is so much fun… well I have to admit that I did too, until now. Our game for this station was very difficult to invent because first of all you have to use all of the equipment that is at the station and second, that the parachute is a very obscure piece of gym equipment that is only used for amusement of small primary children and not for older kids. I’m sure there are many educational games that could be played with a parachute but incorporating the balls into the mix made for a greater challenge. The game we came up with started out looking like fun, we separated in to two 3 person teams and all grabbed a side of the chute and flung the balls on top of the chute. One team tried to get the small ball off the chute and on to the ground and the other team the larger balls. The game was a complete failure and we needed a new idea…. Quick! We took the chute and folded it in half to make a semi-circle on the ground. We then separated in to two teams of 3 and took 2 yellow balls and one gator ball aside, we then stood facing the chute approximately 25- 30 feet away. The game was sort of like a Bocce game where you throw a ball and try and land it on the appropriate colours for points. This game was also very simple and would be suited for younger elementary school kids that would focus on throwing (estimating velocities)   hand eye coordination, Decision making skills and possible strategies. I found this station to be the most difficult and frustrating as everyone in the group was trying to come up with a game because of the time restraints but no one could really develop any sound ideas until the time was almost up.

         I found this game creation activity to be very interesting and frustrating at the same time. It will be necessary to sample and come up with different games in the class when I start teaching that this exercise gave me a glimpse into, to break the monotony of the same sports all the time. This exercise was very beneficial to get me to start to think outside the box and to develop new ways of game thinking. I believe that with more time and selective equipment there was real opportunity for my class to come up with skillful, fun and inventive games that could be used in our schools today.

 

 

My Philosophy

               In today’s schools, a clear physical education program philosophy is a very important tool to guide the teaching and learning aspects for students. Many schools try and establish a philosophy with a group of core values that enable teachers to instruct important skills to the students. There are many different aspects that can be incorporated into a teacher’s philosophy which ultimately promote a physically active and healthy lifestyle while incorporating fun.
               As a student learning to become a teacher in the physical education specialization program, a philosophy that I can call my own is very important, not only to me, but to serve as a guide for those I will instruct throughout my career. My personal philosophy is to promote a group of core values, which include encouraging students to improve at everything they do physically and mentally. Also, they need to be able to use their own creativity and resourcefulness to solve strategic goals in games and to think out problems for themselves. In addition, any physical activity needs to promote the well being of the students and others while maintaining a fun, safe, exciting and challenging environment for learners of all ages to enjoy. It is this enjoyment which will encourage students to continue to interact and build a life-long skill set.  
              The skills they learn from the activities in physical education will also be useful in other aspects of their lives. Students will learn essential life skills such as respect, cooperation, communication, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Respect is a skill that is crucial to teach younger children to enable them to develop proper social skills. Cooperation, communication, and teamwork are great skills which are valuable to teach as they demonstrate the ability to effectively work in groups, share ideas, and effectively voice ideas to one another while working towards a common goal. This ability, to achieve a common goal, nurtures self-confidence and appreciation for other peoples’ skill levels thus creating stronger interpersonal relationships and possibly friendships further down the road. When all of these valuable lessons are being learned through a multitude of games designed exactly to teach these skills, sportsmanship is being learned through the repetition and etiquette that is displayed when these games are taught, modeled, and played.
               I believe that a solid and fun philosophy in physical education is beneficial for the learning and development of the younger generation in elementary and secondary schools. The skills and lessons that are taught in physical education classes are ones of great importance because of the application they l have to all students as future citizens. This is why, as a soon-to-be-physical-education-teacher, it is my passion to promote performance-based learning to all the students in my classes so that they develop essential skills to maneuver through life while having fun being healthy and active