| abstract
| - One trend in teaching has to do with style and learning situations. As we form a program to engage home-schooled students and their families, we need to look at the participation levels and audience. We need to offer a program that engages the youngsters as well as the supervisors. In this case most of the supervisors are going to be the parents. The kids in this demographic category are growing in ways that are NOT that similar to what is happening in the "factory schools." Or, at least the intent and desire is to be different. I'm sure that these kids are more similar than not, but we need to be very open with the approach of true cooperative learning among the adults and the kids. The program for swimming and literacy at the Cargnegie Library of Homestead should:
* Ignite Student Involvement,
* Foster Peer Interaction,
* Champion Teamwork,
* Stress Specific Cooperative Learning Structures, and
* Place Collaborative Learning Strategies at the center of our lessons. The student-centered pedagogical practices of cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and team learning can be united and defined inclusively as two or more learners who work interdependently toward a common goal, on a common task, that culminates with a consensual decision or creation of a common product. The purpose of this process is a description and rationale for a fitness and sports that is designed to fit among the various relationships. We can categorize the team as a separate unit, with the intention that it may serve as a stand-alone "squad." Along the way we will build a "procedural handbook" containing specific, step-by-step practices that can be accessed conveniently and implemented expeditiously. The coach hopes to organize the young participants and the adult supervisors so as to make a long-term collaborate affair. We'll seek areas of interest among those who want to play and build upon their strenghts. The modest involvement can be geared to history, for example. What was happening in the 1928 and 1932 period when Homestead had swimmers the Olympic Games? What was happening in 1935 when Homestead had a swimmer win a national championship? What was happening in 1998 as the Library was opening? The athlete can then put a personal history together for his or her travels through time. How fast did the swimmers in 1928 swim? How fast did they swim after the first month of training, after the fourth month and after the first year? This focus on "collaborative learning," "cooperative learning," and "learning community" is newer in sports but not so with these cutting-edge educational opportunities. As our program gets a greater level of literacy and frequency with these types of lessons, the enthusiasm is sure to explode. One primary purpose of this program is to provide a more precise framework for interactions among parents, athletes, coaches, team as well as institution. We can become a model that is highly valued and repeated in other communities. And, as a flag-waver of this style of program, we can keep our program as a hub for others. Some who are home schooled in a different part of the state, say Butler, won't be keen on visiting Homestead every week. However, they would get to our special events if they were swimmers and with our lesson plans on a monthly basis, I predict. As we open this new program we are able to create a common language for improving the clarity of communication and discourse about coaching collaboration in swimming education. Swimming is a life-long sport and we can articulate a strong, research based rationale for greater use of collaboration practices for the youth as well as the adults. In due time, there is no reason why we can not address both the child and those more senior. This program can serve as a stimulus for triggering wider participation among parents and children.
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