Beginner’s Guide to the Praxis: Online Test Prep for Education Students

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Shared by: STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service)

Here at STEPS (Student Training & Education in Public Service), we understand how challenging the road to become a teacher can be, so we wanted to do our part to help make the step towards certification easier with this guide. It provides a detailed breakdown of each of the main sections on the Praxis exam and how scoring works, walks readers step-by-step through the process of preparing for it, and includes a long list of effective study strategies.

Beginner’s Guide to the Praxis: Online Test Prep for Education Students: https://www.publicservicedegrees.org/online-degrees/education-teaching-programs/beginners-guide-to-the-praxis/

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Simple Recipes for Making (and using) PE Equipment for a Future of Distance Learning

Physical educators and adapted physical educators have stepped up these past few months to make sure their students had opportunities to continue, as best they could, with the physical education curriculum during the COVID-19 pandemic. For a majority of teachers, lessons were designed with the premise that students would not have much, if any, of the traditional equipment often used in physical education or adapted physical education settings.

(U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Brittany Martin)
(U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Brittany Martin)

The purpose of this article is three-fold:

  1. To encourage and support physical educators and adapted physical educators to use our recipes to make some homemade equipment with the intent to get this equipment in the hands of their students for their fall classes. We do realize that to complete some of our equipment recipes; there will be costs involved. Perhaps some of the physical education or adapted physical education equipment budget for 2020-2021 could be used to purchase the materials to make the equipment; or possibly, funds for materials could be obtained through Donor’s Choose or other similar programs that fund school projects.
  2. To encourage teachers to pass these recipes along to families or other community members who want to support the physical education and adapted physical education programs, by either making the equipment or donating the materials so the teachers could make the equipment in preparation for classes.
  3. To provide several activities that the physical educators and adapted physical educators could have the students do with their distance learning equipment. We would also encourage the teachers to keep abreast of the numerous resources that have been posted on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) that might also provide equipment ideas that would be simple, easy, and cost-effective to make this summer so that their students might be able to work toward mastery of additional physical education content in their fall classes.

In sum, the goal is to provide equipment recipes and corresponding activities to support physical educators and adapted physical educators to design distance learning activities for their students that will still meet the physical education national/state grade-level outcomes. Thus, providing our students with meaningful, yet fun opportunities to master grade-level outcomes –  even in the chaos of a pandemic.

Equipment Recipes

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Things I Would Like to Highlight While in Quarantine

With the quarantine, I have definitely had a lot of time to think and reflect. It is 2:42 am as I write this article because sleep has been evading me lately. My mind races and it has been difficult to focus my thoughts. So here I am, trying to focus on the positives and contemplate things that I have learned during the quarantine.

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Our Health/PE Community is Amazing
The way the Health and PE community has come together to share ideas and help our students has been spectacular. I am so proud of our profession and the way we all came together to help each other during this pandemic. Our amazing professionals have been sharing lesson ideas, files, handouts, virtual field days, and virtual field trips across the internet. Normal lessons or activities that would be sold on a web site like Teachers pay Teachers or on their individual sites have been offered to our community for free. Our amazing professionals have shared with us editable files that we can adapt to meet the individual needs of our students. We have helped each other start our Google Classrooms, figure out Google Meets and Zoom, create virtual bitmoji classrooms, share documents and interactive videos, or just by offering words of support or encouragement. It has been such a joy interacting with other PE professionals. We are certainly in this together and it has been comforting knowing we are there for each other. Some of the amazing communities I am a part of are:

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Team Cohesion: Strategies for Success

In the continual quest for better coaching practices, advocates of this profession have sought to identify key factors that contribute to the success of any sporting endeavor, and team cohesion is undeniably linked to that success (Carron, Bray, & Eys, 2002; Vincer & Loughead, 2010).  Regardless of whether the sport one coaches are individual or team-based, perceptions of team cohesion are strongly related to athlete performance (Turman, 2003).

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To most coaches, this might seem intuitive, but this topic is worthy of further exploration.  Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe team cohesion in sports and the factors that affect it while ultimately providing coaches with strategies for achieving team cohesion.

Cohesion Defined
Cohesion has several definitions, but Bollen and Hoyle (1990) provide the following description in relation to its connection to group performance: “an individual’s sense of belonging to a particular group and his or her feelings of morale associated with membership in groups” (p. 482). Generally, if athletes feel a strong and positive connection with their teammates and coaches then cohesion is high. So in essence, cohesion is a feeling that athletes have about being on a team. A prominent psychotherapist, Yalom (1995), described group cohesion as the attractiveness of the group to its members. In order for athletes to be attracted to a team, it must offer something that they need. Most coaches probably assume that the opportunity to compete is enough to meet that need but in reality it is far more complex. Indeed, there are two main types of cohesion of which coaches should be aware.

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Creating Community in Online Classes: Drawing from the Strengths of Virtual Fitness Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic forced instructors to move classes designed for face-to-face delivery to remote delivery almost overnight. The shift resulted in challenges faced by students and instructors. Remote learning required students to approach their education using learning strategies differently, and during this transition, many students faced difficulties with a multitude of financial, emotional, and psychological issues related to the pandemic. In addition to being tested to adapt the delivery of content rapidly, teachers were also challenged to create and foster community in a remote learning scenario. In short, navigating this situation was complicated.

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The reality of the upcoming school year remains in question for some schools. We do not yet know how COVID-19 will change how we live and learn, but it is anticipated we will experience a new normal, one in which online course delivery is likely to play an increasing role. A frequent conversation had this past spring amongst faculty at my institution centered around the topic of how to create community in online courses. A sense of community is critically important to creating a safe and productive learning space and improving retention. Nevertheless, knowing the value of community and understanding how to create and foster it are two different things.

Photo by Department of Defense

This article shares the four elements of the Theory of Sense of Community (TSOC) (McMillan & Chavis, 1986), identifies how virtual fitness programming utilizes the four elements of the TSOC to establish and facilitate community within the online fitness environment and provides examples of strategies teachers can use to create and enhance a sense of community within online courses.

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Journal Writing in the Weight Room

(2 Minute Read)

The first objective I set for my weight training classes this year was to establish a routine. One thing that has helped my students and myself get into a great routine was the use of journal writing. The moment they walked into the weight room, we allocate five minutes for journal writing, followed by a warmup and lifting session. Each day I would provide them with a simple prompt, usually regarding motivation or current sporting events. My only requirement was that they write two complete sentences on the topic using their English, Language Arts (ELA) tools. The daily activity of journaling in the weight room provided key benefits for our program, which includes the building of relationships, goal setting, and the growth of writing skills.

Building Relationships: Being the first year at my current school it was imperative that I get to know my students. Reading their responses to my daily prompts afforded me the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of who they are and help me form a bond with my students.

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USA Basketball: Fundamental Coaching Principles

While anyone can grab a whistle and call themselves a coach, effective coaching involves understanding player development, implementing progressive coaching techniques, having knowledge of skill-appropriate drills, and committing to safety standards.

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 31: Photos from the USAB Youth Clinic at the Doolittle Senior Center in Las Vegas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Tom O'Connor/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 31: Photos from the USAB Youth Clinic at the Doolittle Senior Center in Las Vegas. (Photo by Tom O’Connor/NBAE via Getty Images)

As the national governing body for basketball in the United States, recognized by both the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), USA Basketball is responsible for youth basketball initiatives that address player development, coach education and safety.  Therefore, USA Basketball has developed a Player Development Curriculum to help the youth coach teach essential basketball skills.

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Essential Skills to Teach Players
The USA Basketball Player Development Curriculum guides players through a four-level system of basketball progress. Each level consists of skills and drills in eight basketball categories: ball handling & dribbling, footwork & body control, passing & receiving, rebounding, screening, shooting, team defensive concepts, and team offensive concepts. The eight skill categories permeate each level, with drills advancing as players improve their performance. While all skills are important to become a complete player, the three skills that you should incorporate into every training are footwork & body control, passing & receiving, and shooting.

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