Voice Thread Adapted Physical Education

Adapted Physical Education (Teacher Voice Thread)

Culture and Adapted Physical Education

Collaboration and Culture

            America’s classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse.  Each child’s culture has a significant influence in determining the children’s identity and frame of reference.  It is essential to provide an environment in which all cultures can succeed.   The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) defines culture as “… the customary beliefs and patterns of behavior, both explicit and implicit, that are influenced by the society- or by a social, religious, or ethnic group within the society-in its members.  

           Studies have shown that Hispanic families are not as familiar with APE services as Caucasian families.  Parental expectations among Hispanic parents were similar to Caucasian parents, but the preferences for modes of communication and information are different.  Many culturally diverse families traditionally defer to educators and allow them to make decisions that many believe should be made through a collaboration process.  This is likely due to there lack of confidence in language.  Trained translators are recommended. 

An article analyzing culture and its influence on children with severe and multiple disabilities.  The research shows that familiar food, music, and customs are important for them as they provide a link between home and school. Unfortunately, many children with multiple or severe physical disabilities, and with communication deficits, may not be able to effectively convey their prior cultural experiences and knowledge. All students regardless of disabilitiy should be taught within the context of their own cultural heritage, and their families should be an integral part of the IEP team.  This will cause these students to be dependent upon teacher and their families to be cultural mediators. The challenge then is to find common ground to maximize the educational potential.  

Having diverse heritages is a seen as a positive attribute to classroom.  Three things to consider when having multiple cultures in a classroom.   

1. Teachers must know and understand how culture impacts their own lives before they can become responsive to children and families from diverse backgrounds.

2.  Teachers begin to match children’s learning style

with teaching style.

3. Teachers recognize that language plays a major

role in the instructional process. Teachers are sensitive to the effect of language

differences on children’s responsiveness to teaching and learning.

Physical Activity: A recent survey suggests that the USA male and female participants take part in sports and physical activities mainly for competition and improving skills.   

Having a safe class environment for all different religions, cultures, and sexual beliefs need to be respected and safe in all aspects.  No two people are alike.  The world is a giant melting pot of differences and people need to be respected regardless of your own beliefs.  All students are still children and all students need allies.

            Culture is a huge factor in many people’s lives.  Incorporating the family’s cultural beliefs are important for a cohesive team to have success for the child.  Some laws in other countries are not the same as in the United States.  If you have a Hispanic family that does not know the teacher for their student, they may be apprehensive to give information.  Calling them or sending them a letter describing what APE is about and what the services are will be beneficial for the family in the long run, even if the language barrier is there.

           Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have the right and deserve to learn the same curriculum as their hearing peers.  Deaf culture is a very strong group of people.  Learning American Sign Language as a teacher or using other visual aids will help not only the student who is deaf, but probably other students as well.  Talking about differences in people, like doing the Disability Awareness Week, could not only help you as the teacher learns, but letting other students learn that it’s not a scary thing.  Using peer tutors for students of any ability level is also beneficial.  They then have the opportunity to work with a partner and can give feedback to each other.  With a student who is deaf, they may need more time with their partner; they can have the use of the interpreter and use written or visual cues. 

            Samoan families have been raised through generations and are very strong in culture.  Teachers need to be aware of their upbringings.   A lot of teachers want students to look at them if they are talking to each other.  When a Pasifika (Pacific Island peoples in New Zealand) child is being reprimanded, they show their respect to their elders by bowing their heads.   Having a child brought up this way, then having a teacher to look at them, might be confusing for that child. Pacific Islanders take great pride in their culture and language.  Incorporating others cultures into your class can help and also asking parents to collaborate with ideas from their culture for ideas.

            Respecting the beliefs and knowing the differences between fact and fiction is crucial for educators.  Modifying clothes for certain cultures would be ideal for some cultures.  Wearing shorts under dress or finding a place for students that pray 5 times a day, finding a safe, quiet place for them to do that is important.  One of the Pillars of Islam is Ramadan where adults (13 years old) fast from sun up to sun down.      They cannot eat or drink during this time.  Making students run on a hot day where they cannot drink water could put them in danger as well as the teacher themselves.   

            Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are bullied, as are other students, but there are many that end up committing suicide because of the bullying.  For many students in the LGBT community, they still feel they are not accepted by either friends or family around them.   At the beginning of the year in class, you can state what is appropriate and not appropriate  language to use that are offending to people of the LGBT community and people in general.   This goes for religions and slang that are derogatory to people in life.

References

-Communicating with Hispanic Parents of Children with and without Disabilities

Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujrd20

Luis Columna  , Terry A. Senne  & Rebecca Lytle

-Ensuring the Success of Deaf Students in Inclusive Physical Education

Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujrd20

Jessica L. Schultz  , Lauren J. Lieberman  , M. Kathleen Ellis  & Linda C. Hilgenbrinck

-Additive bilingual education: Unlocking the culture of silence

Patisepa Tuafuti

MAI Review, 2010, 1

http://review.mai.ac.nz

“So, You're a Muslim? (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)”

Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujrd20

Debra A. Ballinger

Best Practices

-Creating an LGBT-inclusive School Climate

A Teaching Tolerance Guide for School Leaders

TEACHING TOLERANCE

Exploring teaching practices in physical education with culturally diverse classes: a cross-cultural study Symeon Dagkas*University of Birmingham European Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 30, No. 4, November 2007, pp. 431–443

Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture APRIL TRIPP TERRY L. RIZZO LINDA WEBBERT.  JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 2 • February 2007

CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS WITH MULTIPLE OR SEVERE PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS

BLANCHE JACKSON GLIMPS Tennessee State University THERON FORD

John Carroll University.

Parental Acceptance-Rejection:Theory, Methods, Cross-Cultural  Evidence, and ImplicationsRONALD P. ROHNER ABDUL KHALEQUEDAVID E. COURNOYER

Volume 33, Issue 3, Article first published online: 3 JAN 2008

 Ethnic differences in social correlates of diet.  Karen Weber Cullen1,  Oxford Journals Medicine  Health Education ResearchVolume 17, Issue 1   Pp. 7-18. Karen Weber Cullen1,  Tom Baranowski1, Emiel Owens1.

Inclusion and Adapted Physical Education

Article #7 (Inclusion):  Implementing Disability Sports in the General Physical Education Curriculum.

Article Information: Journal: Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance.  Authors: Ronald Davis a , Suzanna Rocco-Dillon b , Michelle Grenier c , David Martinez d & Amy Aenchbacker. 

This article states that IDEA has pushed for inclusion by stating that each child should be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment.   One inclusive approach that can be adopted by the physical education teachers is the development of a disability sport curriculum.  The article discusses the interrelated task systems of the ecology of the gymnasium.  This consists of an instructional task system, a Managerial Task System, and a social Task System.  An Instructional Task System involves development, sequencing, risk, ambiguity of tasks, novelty, challenge, culturally relevant instruction and student ownership.  Managerial Task System  involves accountability, rules and routines, expectations, consequences, monitoring, and assessment.    The Social Task System involves the student socializing, passing the course, teacher student relationships, and student to student relationships while providing an overall good social climate.   The four key considerations that must be implemented while program planning are recognize the similarities in content between traditional and disability sports, consider key teaching cues to be presented for student of all abilities, match the key teaching points with the students assessment performance, and finally, implement the lesson while making sure to take into account the student current functioning levels.  Having accurate assessment results will allow you to make a sound physical education lesson.  You should discuss modifications with your student and can even let them choose or develop which rules/ modification you want to establish within the game.   This article offered many practical approaches to helping a student who is receiving consult services be successful in a unit of goal ball.  Including disability sports in the GPE curriculum has the potential to unite students of all abilities through successful participation.  In or­­der for their participation to be meaningful, appropriate consultative services will be needed for many students with disabilities who are receiving APE consults services.

Article #8 (Inclusion):  Empowering children with special educational needs to speak up: experiences of inclusive physical education.   

Article Information:  Authors: JANINE COATES & PHILIP VICKERMAN.   Disability and Rehabilitation, 2010; 32(18): 1517–1526.  Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, England, UK. 

This article examines the viewpoint of children that have special education needs attending both mainstream and special schools in relation to their experiences in the physical education setting.   The findings of this study offered ideas about how to improve PE and make it more beneficial for the students with disabilities.  The findings show that students are empowered through consultation and also when the students are aware of their own abilities and needs.   When students from various schools were asked about their physical education preferences they indicated an overall preference for athletic and game activities.   Dance activities were the least favored in the study with 45 % of the children with special needs not liking dance.  Many of them said it was hard because they had to remember the steps from a day to day basis with more to learn each day.  The students with special needs overall perceived themselves to be good at sports but most believed that others thought they were not good.  The results of this study showed that many of the special needs students were being bullied but did like the teacher that they had.   Even though most of the students did like there teachers.  The findings suggest that teachers did not uphold their responsibility for managing situations that involved redirecting negative behaviors to minimize the students feeling or distress. 

Article #9 (Inclusion):  Let the children have their say: children with special educational needs and their experiences of Physical Education – a review

Article Information:  Authors: JANINE COATES and PHILIP VICKERMAN.   Journal compilation © 2008 NASEN. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main St, Malden, MA, 02148, USA. 

This article reviews the perspectives of students with disabilities with regards to their experiences related to physical education.   There are six key that are discussed which were the students experiences with regards to

• Their experience of PE
• Their experience with PE teachers
• Discrimination by others.
• Feelings of self-doubt
• Barriers to inclusion
• Empowerment and consultation 

The findings of this study suggest that students with disabilities enjoy Physical Education when they are fully included.  Findings indicated that the students are limited in physical education when discrimination, limited teacher training, and limited materials are present.   

Collaboration and Adapted Physical Education

Article #4 (Consultation): Teaching Collaboration and Consultation Skills to  Pre-service Adapted Physical Education Teachers

Article info: Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:

http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujrd20   Rebecca Lytle a , Barky Lavay b , Nancy Robinson c & Carol Huettig.

The intention of this article is to determine what Adapted Physical Education specialists need in order to work effectively with other professionals.   It is directed towards strengthening the collaboration and consultation skills of pre-service APE teachers.   The APE teacher should not be viewed as “The expert” but should be equal to others in which the APE teacher collaborates with.  In order to be an effective collaborator, you must be able to Reflect on your own personal practice, be open and receptive and value ideas from others, share responsibility, share resources, share an equal power, and understand that you are equally accountable for the outcomes of the collaborative team.  The class that took part in this study took part in mock IEP’s with parents explaining the grief process of having a child with a disability.  Introductory assignments included collaboration Web site, professional teacher interview, a case study and assessment report assignment.  After giving various assignments to pre service APE teachers it is found that the first thing an APE teacher needs to have in order to be an effective collaborator in the APE field is to be knowledgeable of their own field.   They must also be understanding and respectful to other team member’s thoughts and opinion.  Many people will have different training and backgrounds that must be communicated and processed.   The conclusion is that university programs must find and develop assignments and activities that help pre-service APE teachers become great collaborators. 

Article #5 (Consultation):   Planning and Documenting Consultation in Adapted Physical Education. 

Article Information: From the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.   Martin E. Block a , Shirley Brodeur a & William Brady a

a Adapted physical education, in the kinesiology program, University of Virginia,

Charlottesville, VA, 22904

Published online: 11 Mar 2013.

This article explains that the role of Adapted Physical Education teachers has change over the years.  It states that in the 80’s APE teachers were primarily responsible for direct service in special schools or in self contained classes within public schools.  Inclusion has played a huge role in today’s education which has increased the need for collaboration skills among teachers.  The consulting assistance includes providing information about specific activities, behavioral and instructional strategies, the IEP plan, how to assess students with disabilities, and how to be an advocate for such students.  The purpose of this article is to present information and forms that can be used by APE specialists when developing a consulting plan and when documenting on going consultation.  The first step when coming up with a consultation plan is to outline basic information about the process such as who when and where consultation will involve. OT’s and PT’s should be involved even if it is limited.   You should also document consultation by having a consultation log or the date/time, communication style, Issues/problems, and a plan for implementation.  There must also be a mechanism to ensure that solutions to problems that have been discussed are implemented in a timely fashion.  The best times to meet are right after or right before the GPE teacher works with the student.   Specialists need to explain that there role is not to work with the student directly but to help teachers provide appropriate physical education services to the student with consult services.   You should outline the various ways that they can provide information including face to face meetings, regular mail and email, observation followed by direct feedback and demonstrations.   In order to be effective, APE consultation needs to consist of more than just chance meetings and occasional conversations.  It should be well planned and documented, and also needs to be carried out.  Overall this was a very easy to read article that provided many resources to utilize as an APE teacher and also emphasized the “make sure it is carried out” aspect fo the consultation process which I believe is essential in order to ensure the consultation method is an effective designated instructional special education service.   

Article #6 (Consultation):  The Effects of Consultation on Individualized Education Program Outcomes for Children with Autism. 

Article information: Volume 32 Number 4, September 2010 286-301Lisa A. Ruble, Nancy J. Dalrymple, and John H. McGrew Journal of Early Intervention, Volume 32 Number 4, September 2010 286-301

This article had to do with the effects of consultation in the physical education settings.  The purpose of the article was to analyze the effects of consultation using a collaborative model.  A Parent-teacher and four additional consultations with the GE teacher occurred throughout the course of a school year.  The results were promising that the collaborative and consultation models are effective in developing a better educational experience for students with special needs. 

Three articles on Collaboration

Collaboration Article #1 

Title: Physical Educators and School Counselors Collaborating to Foster Successful Inclusion of Students with Disabilities

Author: Webb, Daniel, Webb, Tammy T., Fults-McMurtery, Regina, Physical Educator, 00318981, 20110101, Vol. 68, Issue 3

Summary: This article did a good job of explaining the following:

1. Explained the impact of federal legislation and it’s impact on education students with disabilities.

2. Explained the changing roles of physical educators and counselors

3. Explained collaborative approaches to successful inclusion of students with disabilities in physical education. 

Recent legislation has put emphasis on professionals to foster successful inclusion of students with disabilities.  Physical educators are no longer solely confined to addressing issues pertaining to safety, developmentally appropriate activities, and/ or optimizing instructional time, but they must now as a result of various legislative mandates address issues pertaining to advocacy for students with disabilities, collaborating with paraprofessionals, and serving on IEP teams. Counselors now provide services to students with and without disabilities in order to provide successful inclusion.   The article explained that collaboration is an important component of fostering successful inclusion of students with disabilities.   It emphasized that physical educators and school counselors should begin to collaborate to increase both students with disabilities and schools level of achievement.  The counselor should be utilized by the physical educator by assisting with making practical programmatic decisions relative to grouping, planning inclusive developmentally appropriate activities, and teaching functional skill development regarding students with disabilities.   PE teachers should invite the counselor out to watch the class and be receptive to advice given such as best practices etc. The knowledge and resources needed to increase students with disabilities success requires a collaborative effort amongst direct service providers in order to ensure that students with disabilities needs are being met.  Overall I believe this was an okay article.  It did not mention the role of the Adapted Physical Educator, Special Education Teacher, or Behavior Analyst.  I believe collaborative experiences with all of those providers could also help to provide the best opportunity for the special needs student to be successful.   

Collaboration Article # 2

Title: Collaborative Teaching of Motor Skills for Preschoolers with Motor Delays.   

Author: Nathan M. Murata Æ Carol A. Tan

Other Information: Early Childhood Educ  J (2009) 36:483–489

DOI 10.1007/s10643-007-0212-5

This article emphasizes the collaborative approach in teaching the motor domain and how that facilitates developing preschool readiness skills such as motor imitation, bilateral coordination and sequencing, and also spatial awareness while simultaneously taking the child’s special needs into consideration.   The article states that in some cases. Collaborative efforts reduce the amount of time required for direct service in isolation and promote a sense of shared responsibility and accountability between services for addressing the motor domain.  A natural setting might be the ideal context to provide a collaborative model of service delivery.  APE teachers, PT’s, and OT’s should design activities that first address preschool readiness skills like imitation skills, bilateral integration and sequencing skills, and spatial awareness skills while being sure to consider the special needs of the child.  Implementing a sound motor program for preschoolers with developmental delays will likely lead to age appropriate functional skills, including independent activities of daily living and the ability for the student to access community activities and sport.  

Article #3 Collaboration:  General Education and Special Education Teachers collaborate to Support ELL’s with Learning Disabilities.

Article Information: H Nguyen, CSU Longbeach, Pg 127-129.  Issues in Education, 2012. 

This article has to do with language skills and students who are English language learners and also have learning disabilities.   It gave examples of how students became considered ELL students and students with Learning Disabilities Ex: Students fall 20 points below IQ scores.  The main point of the article is to make sure that teachers who work with these students are especially needed to ensure the students success.   Teachers and DIS providers should work collaboratively to make sure these students are provided with the most appropriate instruction.  The article mentioned that if teachers were more successful with collaborating with each other that many of these students would not need to be considered ELL or LD. 

Diversity

It is important to consider and understand diversity because all students we teach have their own individual background, experiences, and culture that we as teachers must understand in order to provide the most appropriate educational experience for our students. Teachers must adapt and change curriculum to fit the needs of each individual student that we have.  If we were to assume that diversity did not exist in the classroom we would have to assume that all kids had the exact same intelligence, culture, childhood experiences, social skills, and physical ability.  In a realistic classroom setting this does not exist.  While teaching Adapted Physical Education, I have noticed that I have had some of the most diverse classes in the educational system.  For example, some of my APE classes have consisted of students ranging from severe autism to students who have visual impairments but are able to take and complete college preparatory classes with appropriate accommodations.  Obviously providing the same education material to each of these students would not work. Each child needs to be reached in a specific manner in order to address the diverse needs of our students.