As many of you know, for the past four fall semesters, I have taught a 2-credit science/phys ed elective entitled "Track and Field Coaching." Before all of you out in the blogosphere snicker at this "course," consider the following:
--All students must write 10 1-page papers reviewing in-class discussions.
--There are 15 in-class quizzes on the topics discussed.
--There is a 5-page midterm research paper.
--There is an extensive final project, in which each student must organize and map out a training plan for a segment of a track team for an entire season.
--Attendance is MANDATORY. Any unexcused absences result in a lowering of the final grade.
So yeah. It's not exactly Badminton or Lawn Darts. These students have to work.
But there is no reason that cannot include a little FUN at times as well. To wit:
On Thursday, our class topic was the triple jump. I asked each student to provide a link to a video of the event. With the field events, it's sometimes a lot easier to see what I'm talking about -- especially in events that I do not have strong area of expertise. Like the triple jump.
Class member (and team member) Zak Smetana sent the following link to Super Mario's excellent triple jump form. What a hoot, huh?
To Zak's credit, he also sent an actual human triple jumping to the World Record.
But I think the class enjoyed Mario a lot more.
2 comments:
extra credit if they know what the "hammer throw" is?
Peter: We will be covering the hammer throw in a few weeks, want to be a guest lecturer? Two years ago while discussing the hammer, I brought in a tube sock with a tennis ball in the middle to present a rudimentary visual to my dumbfounded class.
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