July 8- Educ 5053- journal

SMILE- "It's not what the Staff can do for the students but what the students can do for the staff."--- unknown.
       We watched a video about the SMILE program. Ohio State did an adapted Phys. Ed. Program that was attached to a course in the 1960s, but only Acadia has a good program that is not attached to a course. The video showed how much good can be done for students with disabilities.
        We discussed a few resources for body breaks; Minds Up, Gonoodle and Brain gym. I have seen Gonoodle before, but not the others.  I will check them out.
          When we returned to a whole class discussion, we talked about how the rushed Lunch hour has affected the students' behaviour. When students play first and then they eat, it  prevents them from either rushing to eat so they can play or dilly dallying so they don't have to go outside.


http://www.pbisworld.com

         Https://pbis_world is a great Resource to use to help guide educators about how we may best teach the skills that are required to help students with a variety of different learning needs. Joy had mentioned that she wishes that we had heard of this resource before.  I was thinking about how the very explicit directions make good sense if they are not seen as the only answers.  The extremely diverse needs that can be found in our schools can not be reduced to the short list that is in the site.  It may be good to become familiar with the site as long as we continue to tirelessly search for solutions that are best for the given individual

http://www.pecentral.org
        Health and Physical Education/ PE Central is a journal that has many resources and articles that are good for teaching Adaptive Physical education. I looked at some of the lessons that were listed by popularity.  One of ideas was very useful.  It was a portfolio that required each student to record their physical activities and collect a block for every 30 minute block of physical activity.  They then used handout pyramid that they had to fill. I love how motivating this would be for students who need a visual/ tangible reward.
       In Canada, the Phys. Ed. Teacher often wants and needs to be included in team meetings, but rarely are included.  I believe that the Learning Center teachers should be including them. We have to be the student's advocates, so we need to ensure that EPAs get training.
         The webinar host was a Classroom, para-education and a Special Ed teacher. She said, "Sports are becoming more common for students with Disabilities."  Students are given many opportunities that would have never happened years ago.  With more peer involvement we see more eye contact from students with Autism. IDEA has classified a group of disabilities, as an identifiable disability.  Every child with an identified disability is required to get Physical Education. The IEP goals are only included if they are different from the General Phys. Ed class.
               The least restrictive setting is the setting that is the best setting for the individual student. It can land anywhere on the continuum from completely with the general Phys. Ed. Class to a completely segregated setting. Inclusion means that there is a small percentage of students with special needs. Within the classroom can every student participate without modification? Then once we have decided this, we can look at assessment.  I feel that the assessment should be planned first in order to plan the instruction, as part of a backward design model.
            Upon reflecting on my day, I had a good discussion with my wife, (who is also a teacher) about Inclusion. We talked about how it is the training that is lacking, not the technology, teachers' good intentions or staff support.  Part of that training should be about creating authentic lessons that the students will actually use in adulthood.  These musings are about inclusion in general, but they are also practical in Phys. Ed.