Alisa R. James

The Impact of Inclusion in General Physical Education for All Students

Abstract Quality inclusion produces benefits for all students, but inclusion can also produce negative effects if mishandled. The difference depends to a great extent on the environment the teacher creates.

Perspectives on Inclusion from Students with Disabilities and Responsive Strategies for Teachers

JOPERD • Volume 82 No. 1 • January 2011 Jeremiah, a fourth grader who has spina bifida, uses a wheelchair and therefore has a very strong upper body. He is an active boy and loves to play four-square at the playground, shoot hoops, and play baseball in his cul-de-sac with his friends. During physical education, his teacher, Mrs. Costa, does the best she can with the limited background she has in teaching students with disabilities, and Jeremiah participates in many of the units she offers. The problem is that she does not include him in all of the units and some of the time he does not feel comfortable in physical education. For example, Mrs. Costa has always taught a soccer unit on the grassy plateau behind the school. Because of his wheelchair, Jeremiah could not access the field nor participate during the soccer unit. Instead he sat in Mrs. Costa’s office and read a book for three weeks. This was very demeaning and frustrating for Jeremiah, but he did not really know what to do to change the situation. Later in the school year when Mrs. Costa introduced the floor hockey unit, she assigned another student, Colin, to be Jeremiah’s partner. Without guidance, Colin thought he was being helpful by hitting the puck softly to Jeremiah during passing drills and always running to the puck to give it to Jeremiah when it was away from his chair. What Colin and Mrs. Costa did not know was that Jeremiah had experience with hockey and felt that Colin did not think he was a good enough athlete. Even during the basketball unit when Colin was not Jeremiah’s partner, he kept trying to help Jeremiah get the ball and would upset Jeremiah by saying “It’s okay, I can help you” or “Wow, Jeremiah, you almost got a basket!” Luckily the school year ended well—during the fitness unit Jeremiah was able to do the most push-ups. He was thankful to think that maybe the other kids would no longer treat him like he was unable to perform activities in physical education. Jeremiah’s story is not unique. Some students may not enjoy physical education because of poor skill level, while others fear ridicule about their lack of movement skills. Students with disabilities often have fears regarding their skill level and the response of their classmates toward their participation in physical education class (Block, 2007).

Supporting the Social Lives of Adolescents Who Are Blind: Research to Practice

Abstract Seven adolescents who are blind and seven of their parents were interviewed about the adolescents’ social lives. Adolescent and parent perspectives are reviewed, followed by implications for teachers to support the social connections of students who are blind.

Warm-Ups: The Key to the Beginning of a Great Lesson

September/October 2011 Historically, traditional pre-lesson warm-ups in physical education have consisted of callisthenic exercises such as jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups, and running laps, as well as static stretching activities. These warm-ups are used to increase core body temperature and to assist blood flow to the working muscles. Although the traditional warm-up is commonly used, there are some problems that have been identified with this practice. First, traditional pre-lesson warm-ups often become routine. If the same activities are performed day after day with little connection to the upcoming lesson or learning, students may lose interest and participate in off-task behaviors. Secondly, traditional pre-lesson warm-ups can take a great deal of time because many physical educators mismanage the time spent on it, which leads to less time for the rest of the lesson. Finally, research has indicated that a traditional pre-lesson warm-up consisting of low intensity aerobic activity followed by static stretching may not be beneficial in terms of preparing the body for more vigorous physical activity and as a result may be counterproductive to the goals of physical education (Cornwell, Nelson, Heise & Sidaway, 2001; Knudson, Bennett, Corn, Leick & Smith, 2001; Young & Behm, 2002). For example, one study compared the effects of three different warm-up protocols on specific variables of fitness performance in children. The first protocol consisted of five minutes of walking followed by five minutes of stretching. The second and third protocol consisted of ten minutes of dynamic exercises such as high knee walking, straight leg marching, lunge walks, and high knee skipping that progressed from moderate to high intensity; however, in addition to the ten minutes of dynamic exercise, the third protocol had each participant perform three drop jumps (participant stepped from a 15 centimeter box to the floor with both feet and immediately jumped to another 15 centimeter box placed 80 centimeters away) one minute after they completed the ten-minute bout of dynamic exercise. Following each warm-up session, participants were tested on the vertical jump, long jump, shuttle run, and v-sit flexibility test. Results indicated that participants’ scores on the vertical jump test, long jump, and shuttle run declined significantly following the first protocol, which included static stretching, as compared to the second and third protocols (Faigenbaum, Bellucci, Bernieri, Bakker & Hoorens, 2005). Results from this study provide evidence that warm-ups consisting of aerobic exercise and static stretching may be less than optimal for preparing students for moderate to vigorous physical activity. In light of this information, this article will explore different approaches to pre-lesson warm-up activities that are beneficial in warming the body for exercise as well as being meaningful to students in a manner that encourages them to maximize their activity expenditures during pre-lesson warm-ups.

An ecological examination of an urban sixth grade physical education class

Background: There are several factors that influence teaching urban physical education. Violence, poverty and irrelevant curricula influence the teaching-learning environment in urban physical education. One approach to urban physical education is to look carefully at the ecology that exists within an urban physical education class. This ecology is created through the interaction of three task systems: the managerial task system, the instructional task system, and the student social system. Although urban physical education has been explored to some degree, to this point, an ecological perspective has not been investigated. Purpose of study: The purpose of the study was to examine the ecology of an urban elementary physical education class. Participants: Participants were an intact class of 15 sixth-grade students and their teacher. Data collection and analysis: Data were collected in four ways: (1) videotaped record of lessons, (2) field notes, (3) formal interviews using a semi-structured interview guide and (4) document data. Field notes and interview data were inductively analyzed using constant comparison. Categories were developed and examined for common elements that ran throughout and tied them together. Themes were then extracted from these categories. Data were selectively coded for examples that illustrated the themes. Results: Two main findings are reported. First, the interactions between the managerial task system, instructional task system and the student social system resulted in little learning. The managerial task system was very fragile as a result of the teachers inability to deal effectively with off-task behavior and misbehavior. In addition, the instructional task system was characterized by a lack of detailed instruction and loose accountability with regard to the completion of instructional tasks. The student social system consisted of negative interactions between students, as well as between a given student (or students) and the teacher. The student social system often suspended both the instructional and managerial task systems. Second, interactions between the student social system and the curriculum impacted the teaching-learning environment. Results indicated that overall, students found the curriculum to have little relevance and that they often engaged in student social tasks such as talking with friends and modifying tasks so that they were more to their liking. Conclusions/recommendations: Specific recommendations for future research include investigating the benefits of training physical educators in urban settings with regard to their instructional and managerial skills and their ability to meaningfully reflect on their instruction and student learning. Information gleaned from this type of investigation would be valuable not only for teachers currently in the field, but also for professionals involved in teacher education.

Targeting Professional Development for Beginning Physical Education Teachers

This article discusses the professional development needs of beginning physical education teachers based on data extracted from the 2011–2012 Schools and Staffing Survey. The authors identified ways to enhance professional development in a manner that addresses the specific needs of both newly hired and veteran physical education teachers. They also provided recommendations related to advocating for professional development opportunities specific to the needs of physical education teachers. Overall, this article features professional development opportunities designed to enhance the knowledge and skills needed to become a more skillful physical education teacher.

Grading in Physical Education

This article describes how standards-based grading may be one way that the profession can move toward an accepted mode of grading students in physical education, which would demonstrate what students know and are able to do, as well as provide quality information to students, parents and teachers.

Preservice Physical Educators' Perspectives of Sport Education.

Although many researchers have investigated sport education (SE) as a curriculum model at different educational levels (Bennett & Hastie, 1997; MacPhail, Gorely, Kirk, & Kinchin, 2008; MacPhail & Kinchin, 2004; Spittle & Byrne, 2009), there has been limited research on preservice physical education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of SE. In particular, investigations of preservice PE teachers’ perceptions of participating in activity courses in which they used the SE curriculum model are lacking. The purpose of the study was to examine preservice PE teachers’ perceptions of an advanced basketball class that was taught by a novice instructor using the SE curriculum model. Participants included 38 preservice PE teacher education students enrolled in an advanced basketball class and their instructor. Data were collected through formal interviews with 10 preservice PE teachers (seven males, three females) and the course instructor. In addition, document data in the form of lectures given by the instructor, written assessments, sample practice plans, course syllabi, course outline, and grading plan were also collected. Data were analyzed by developing categories and examining them for common elements that ran throughout and tied them together. Themes were then extracted out of these categories. Data were then selectively coded for examples that illustrated the themes. The analysis revealed three main findings. First, the results indicate that students were empowered in the class because they directed their learning and believed that using SE would benefit them when they became inservice teachers. Second, there was a great deal of formal accountability embedded in the class, and although students were informed that they would be evaluated on their performance, they believed that effort would count more toward their final grade in the class. Third, the preservice PE teachers perceived that basketball taught with the SE model was meaningful in that it was enjoyable and they learned more about the game in contrast to their lack of learning in their high school PE experiences playing basketball.

Integrating the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards into Physical Education

Physical education teachers are expected to implement the English language arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in their instruction. This has proved to be challenging for many physical educators. The purpose of this article is to provide developmentally appropriate examples of how to incorporate the ELA CCSS into physical education, while at the same time aligning the CCSS with the new national physical education content standards and grade-level outcomes.

Creating an Effective Accountability Plan in Physical Education

This article discusses some of the techniques that teachers can use to hold students accountable for achieving learning outcomes, and proposes specific steps to facilitate the creation of an effective student accountability plan. An effective student accountability plan can improve the teaching-learning process in physical education by helping to create an environment in which students learn that physical education is a place in which they are expected to participate, gain knowledge, and apply specific skills.