Classroom Management

Managing a Physical Education class by yourself can be hectic and stressful at times. My cooperating teacher Mr. Gabelt has found several ways to minimize these things and make his classes operate smoothly. Previously there were two teachers in the class which made things easier but due to budget cuts Mr. Gabelt has the class all to himself now. A few ways he has done this are letting students lead the class at times, giving students who can't participate in class something to do, and the use of gym aides.

At the beginning of each class, the students stretch as a group for about five minutes then jog a few laps around the gym. At the beginning of the year Mr. Gabelt goes through the stretches with the class but eventually they learn what to do and perform the stretches on their own. After stretching, one student volunteers to lead the class in jumping jacks. They finish these then continue on to jogging their laps around the gym. All this is done on their own which makes things easier on the teacher. Mr. Gabelt now the opportunity to set up the activity the students will be doing during class rather than having to lead them in stretches.

In almost every class, there are a few students who can not participate during class for one reason or another. Rather than just sit there the whole period, they are assigned to do something to help out during the class. This could be different things such as keeping score for a game, keeping the time, or be a referee. It all depends on the reason the student can not participate in the class. If it is something such as forgetting their gym clothes, then they can help out in almost any way. But if it something more serious like a doctor's excuse not to participate, then they will do something easy such as keep score. This not only benefits the teacher but giving him less responsibilities but also the student because he/she will not be bored the entire class.

Being in charge of a class full of kids running around the entire time can be very challenging but there are ways to help make things easier. Mr. Gabelt has found a few ways to help him and that makes his job much easier and less stressful.