1. Softball Practice (lesson) Plan LAUREN MCCAFFERTY PROJECT 4 – EPSY 302

2. Student Background  I coach six teams of baseball and softball in the summers, so I decided to make lesson plans and evaluate one of my softball teams.  How old are your students?  My players were around the ages of 10 and 11.  Piagetian stage: Formal Operational stage  Erikson stage: Industry versus Inferiority  How is your lesson plan developmentally appropriate? That is, how does your lesson plan content take into consideration your students’ Piagetian and Erikson stages?  The content I taught them was developmentally appropriate because it took into account the ability of my players to think hypothetically so I could give them game type situations such as, “If there is a runner at first base where do we throw the ball?”, so they can think of situations without them actually happening. Also, during the industry versus inferiority stage, the importance of the students’ teachers and peers goes up, so the players want to be successful with their peers, or teammates, so they try harder to succeed so they don’t feel inferior.

3. 1. Learning Objectives  Learning objective: I taught one of my softball teams how (and when) to throw the ball to first base, and how to hit the ball off a soft toss.  How did you present the learning objective(s) in an engaging and student-friendly way?  The drill we did itself was very engaging because we used multiple players at one time. We had one player at the pitchers spot, one at second base, one at first, and another with a helmet on running the bases. As a coach I would hit the ball to either the pitcher or second base and then the player would throw it to the first base while the runner was running. Before we started the drill I demonstrated how to catch a grounder and how to catch the ball in the air at first.  How did you activate student interest in your lesson?  To activate student interest I turned the drill into a game. The fielders had to get the runner out three times before the runners get on base five times. The players were very interested then and cheered on their teammates in order to get the three outs or on base five times.  How did you convey the importance of the learning objective and make it relevant to your students’ lives?  My players are in the Industry versus Inferiority Piagetian stage, which means being successful and not feeling inferior is important to them. They want to learn the fundamentals so they can become better players and therefore make the team better.

4. 2. Review Prerequisites  Prerequisites:  Throwing a softball  Catching a grounder  Catching the softball in the air  How did you assess your students’ skills and/or knowledge needed to understand your lesson?  Before we began the drill we reviewed what I just demonstrated to the players. I made sure the players understood how to do all of the needed skills before we began. I also asked if they had any questions about what to do or how the drill worked so the instructions would be clear.

5. 3. Presentation  How did you present new material?  I presented new material by demonstrating the skills needed to catch a grounder, throw the ball to first, and then catch the ball at first base. I would demonstrate them and I would have the players follow my lead. I provided the information in a clear, logical, and organized manner so it was easy for the players to follow along. I emphasized the importance of using two hands to catch the ball and stepping with the correct foot when they threw it. I also tried to maintain attention by calling on certain players to demonstrate what I just showed them.

6. 4. Learning Probes  How did you conduct learning probes?  At the end of the drill and the practice I asked the players to answer a few questions about how to catch and throw the ball as a review. I called on specific girls to answer specific questions, using “random calling”. Sometimes throughout the drill I would get frustrated because the players kept making the same mistakes, and I would call out a question everyone knew the answer to, such as “what foot do you step with when you throw?”, and they would answer in unison, using “choral response”. One thing I would change about this lesson would be to use more probes throughout the lesson/drill.

7. 5. Provide Independent Practice  How did you provide independent practice?  The entire drill we did was basically independent practice, because the players were able to practice and rehearse the new information on their own in the ‘class’. I gave them clear directions on how the drill works and what to do and we only did the drill for about 15 minutes, so we kept it short. I tried to maintain their engagement by having multiple players involved at one time, which seemed to work pretty well considering the ones that weren’t going still had to pay attention so they didn’t get hit by a softball (which surprisingly happened a couple times).

8. 6. Performance and Feedback  How did you assess performance and provide feedback?  Throughout the drill I would occasionally stop and tell them some things they’re not doing correct or things they could improve on. They would often times ask questions that I would stop and address also in case any of the other players were wondering the same thing or had the same question. I would also tell them the things they were doing right and when they would have a good throw or good catch I would give them praise and a high five. Throughout the whole drill I was walking around and talking to the players and helping them individually as well as a team.

9. 7. Provide Distributed Practice  How did you provide distributed practice and review, and end your lesson?  At the end of the practice I asked the team questions about the fundamentals, such as “when do you throw the ball to first base?” or “how many hands do you use to catch a ball?”, and then asked them to demonstrate the skills, such as how to catch a grounder, as review. Since I couldn’t give my players any ‘homework’, I gave each of them a ball to take home to play catch and practice with a family member as their distributed practice.

10. Final Reflections  What went well in your lesson?  The players understood the concept of catching the grounders and how to move side to side in order to catch them. The girls communicated and called the ball and talked to each other which was a concept that I hadn’t quite taught them yet but they learned on their own.  What would you do differently next time?  One thing I would do differently next time is to break up each of the different phases, such as catching the grounder, then throwing the ball to first base, and then catching the ball in the air at first. I can do separate drills to help improve each of those skills.

11. Final Reflections Cont.  Select one teacher (give name) from the movie Chalk and critique his/her teaching:  What do you think he/she is doing well?  One concept Coach Webb talked about during the video was the objective of making all the students feel they’re capable of accomplishing any task. She said in her gym class she had multiple students that weren’t athletic, or at least thought they weren’t, and if a student feels they can’t do something they don’t try hard at it. So she tries to make all students feel capable of accomplishing any task during gym class, so they will try their hardest to accomplish it knowing they can.  What suggestions would you give them to improve their teaching?  One suggestion I would give Coach Webb is to make a personal connection to the students or try to make the activities they do in gym class relate to them in some way. The students would probably feel even more comfortable doing the activities in the class if they were interested in it or if they could maybe try the activities outside of school. If the class is doing yoga Coach Webb could introduce easier moves and give the students a sheet they can take home to try it at home.

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