Tom Cole

EDU 490

2/23/15

Loras College Liberal Arts Portfolio

Before enrolling at Loras College I attended Western Michigan University. Loras and

WMU are very different educational institutions. Western’s student population consists of over

20,000 students while Loras has fewer than 2,000. With fewer students, Loras has a much

better student to teacher ratio. This is one plus to Loras college that I really enjoy.

Getting to know my professors and building personal relationships with each of them is

an important part of the undergraduate experience. The opportunity to work one-on-one with

professors and getting to know each student in the class made the learning experience more

comfortable which for me resulted in better grades. I transferred to Loras to play soccer, but

what I received from Loras was not only a team of brothers but also an incredible experience

and education. I was not familiar with the liberal arts education offered at Loras College and

had no idea of what that meant the first time I heard the phrase. Throughout my years at Loras

I learned the significance of a well-rounded education grounded in the tradition of the liberal

arts. A Loras student is offered not only a rich well-rounded experience, but also the

opportunity to be an individual and to make decisions in order to grow as a student and as a

person. Throughout my many field experiences in the classrooms and career with the soccer

team, I have successfully built a foundation to use for the rest of my life. I will continue to look

back on my four years at Loras and build off the education I have received.

Loras College stands for its four dispositions and the goal of each student is to grow in

each of them. Two specific dispositions have helped me significantly: being an active learner

and a reflective thinker. To be an active learner at Loras College means to have a desire to

learn. Active learners want to turn their experiences in to something to use for an extended

period of time. Loras students demonstrate their ability to learn in active ways. To be a

reflective thinker at Loras College means to think critically about the college experience and to

learn from those experiences. Loras students demonstrate the ability to think in a reflective

manner.

I have always considered myself to be a kinesthetic learner -- someone who learns by

being active. When I discovered that Loras specifically tailored that need in one of its

dispositions I was genuinely pleased. I have been an active person my entire life and chose to

be a physical education major to continue to stay active. At a young age I discovered that I

learned better by physically doing something rather than sitting down and reading. Throughout

my time at Loras College I was able to have a significant amount of field experience time in the

local schools around Dubuque including Fulton, Washington, Prescott, Dubuque Lutheran,

Senior, Hempstead, and Wahlert. During my field experiences, I was actively teaching and

learning from my time doing so. I taught dance, team sports, lifetime sports, and recreational

sports. I learned much more about my major and career during my field experiences than my

time in the classroom. I was able to do my job and learn from my mistakes before being thrown

in to the real world. While teaching at Dubuque Lutheran school, I was able to learn about

classroom management. There is unfortunately no gymnasium in the school and we had to use

the lunchroom for recreational activities. This was a completely different environment than

what I was used to. It taught me how to adapt to different situations and use what is given to

me even if it isn't ideal. That is what is so great about the physical education major at Loras

College. With so much field experience before becoming a teacher I already feel like I have

been through a full teaching semester which is making my experience much easier.

As a member of the Loras College soccer team I have learned to better manage my time

and become a hard worker. Being a student athlete has been a very challenging but rewarding

experience. I struggled to manage my homework and soccer. I was often up late after practice

and while at away games I rarely finished homework on the bus and left it for the morning of

the class. This resulted in poor grades and low morale. I realized that I could not keep this

routine up and be successful. I spoke with my coach and he gave me the hard truth that I

needed to work harder at school and finish my work before practice. We set up mandatory

meetings to do homework before practice and my grades and work ethic steadily rose. I found

myself having more time throughout the day and no longer needed to scramble to finish

homework late at night. It is now part of my routine to finish any work before practice or

coaching. Without the help of my coach and team I would not have the time management skills

I have today. I cannot stress enough the importance and value that is the many field

experiences Loras has provided me. In classes such as musculoskeletal anatomy I was able to

palpate bones and muscles. In biomechanics I was able to visit a physical therapy office and

observe their methods, and in exercise physiology I was able to physically perform tests to

calculate my endurance level. At Loras, there is a broad range of classes to choose from that all

offer different levels of difficulty and experience. Instead of being in a classroom all four

semesters I was able to branch out to the real world and experience occupations first hand.

Throughout my field experiences I have had many opportunities to reflect on my work.

After each time at a school my teachers would assign a reflection that allowed me to think

about my time teaching at the school and learn from the positives and negatives. I found this to

be very beneficial because it allowed me to correct my mistakes the next time I was teaching.

The type of reflection was different each time. I had to do formative reflections for each

teaching lesson and a summative reflection for each semester class. My teachers would always

make the formative reflections due the same day as the lesson so that the information would

be fresh in my mind and I could reflect even more appropriately. I remember one specific

reflection while I was helping teach at Prescott Elementary. My professor at the time taught me

that not all students can be educated the same. She gave one student who was not being

challenged enough a more advanced lesson. I learned that it is important to get to know each

student individually in order to get the most out of their education. Loras has given me the

opportunity to teach at a number of different schools and I have had good experiences and bad.

I have seen how fortunate I was as a student at a young age. I had many more benefits and

privileges than some of the students I have taught in Dubuque. I was always able to have a

breakfast at home and not at school. I was fortunate to have a homemade lunch at school and

not have to pay for the school lunch. The equipment used in physical education class was

always brand new every year and that made the class more enjoyable. I had never seen it the

other way until I was able to observe and teach in a Dubuque school.

Attending Loras has also given me the opportunity to coach. The college soccer season is

played in the fall while high school soccer is played in the spring. In 2011 I was hired as the

assistant women’s varsity soccer coach and head JV women’s soccer coach at Hempstead High

School in Dubuque. Coaching has given me the opportunity to become an even better reflective

thinker. After every practice, game, substitution, foul, goal scored, goal given up there are

opportunities to reflect on what has occurred and change it for the better next time. For

example, the varsity had played a tough game and lost to a very talented Iowa City West team

in the regular season and our teams were drawn to meet in the State tournament. The head

coach and I discussed what mistakes we made during the first game and altered them to our

advantage in the playoff game. As a result of these changes, we won the playoff game. Loras

has taught me that there is always an opportunity to reflect and become better. I will take this

knowledge and grow from it during my future endeavors.

Loras College is a place of opportunity. My time at Loras has given me the opportunity

to be more independent and grow as a student and person. Its dispositions have molded me

into the person I am today. As an active learner and reflective thinker my philosophy on

education has changed. My experiences at Loras have helped me to do better in the classroom

and strengthen my resume for physical education teaching. With so many choices and courses

to enroll in, Loras is the perfect place to gain a broad and fulfilling education. There is not a

better curriculum to prepare me to be a physical education teacher than the coursework,

faculty support, and coaching opportunities at Loras. I am very pleased with my decision to

attend Loras College.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQcuUDssUQw

Above is a link to one of my field experiences teaching at Mazzuchelli middle school. Below is

my lesson plan for that day.

Tennis Lesson Plan

Class: Ms. Thyne’s PE class

Grade Level: Middle School

Unit: Tennis

Teacher: Tom Cole

Objectives

The students will state two skill cues for a forehand and backhand drive during the lesson.

The students will complete five consecutive volleys during the activity.

Anticipatory Set

Explanation of what we are doing during the lesson.

Teaching: Activities

Warm up: run 10 minutes/run to tennis courts.

First activity: Ball control drill. Students will hit ten forehand and backhand drives over the net to another student.

Second activity: Volley Drill. Students will hit ten forehand and backhand volleys.

Third activity: Serving activity. Students will take turns serving back and forth.

Closure

Ask students if they enjoyed the activity. Review skill cues, and explain what we will be doing next lesson.

Assessment

Participation level, jogging and behavior.

Materials

25 tennis rackets and 50 tennis balls

Modified from Madeline Hunters Lesson Plan Design

Above is a picture of the Loras Soccer team in San Antonio helping kids with special needs stay

active. This is an experience I will never forget and something I would not have been able to do

if I chose to enroll at another school.

Above is a picture of Go the Distance Day 2014. Hundreds of fourth graders come to Loras to

participate in physical activity for the day. As Physical Education teachers, it is our duty to not

only teach your students to be active but to teach the community to be active too.