Safely Challenging Students with Adapted Physical Education Content Pages

via Heartland AEA

Adapted Physical Education (APE) is critically important to the physical, cognitive, and social development of students with disabilities. It is also often a subject that is overlooked; sadly, the result is that students who require APE services are 4.5 times less likely to engage in physical activity than their peers who don’t share their cognitive or physical barriers.

It is for this reason we are proud to introduce 62 new APE content pages.

These content pages allow educators to draft targeted, comprehensive, and safe goals that are connected to all the critical areas of APE:

• Stability: concerned with balance and the safe execution of controlled movements (e.g. stretching, strength and coordination exercises)
• Tools and Equipment: concerned with the proper use of personal equipment during physical activities (e.g. wheelchair and walker)
• Personal Health and Fitness: concerned with healthy eating habits, the benefits of exercise, and basic knowledge of the structures and functions of the human body
• Social Interaction: concerned with the importance of following the rules and good sportsmanship
• Locomotor Skills: concerned with the controlled manipulation of sports equipment with hands and feet (e.g. throwing, kicking, and dribbling)

Physical Education is About More Than Recreation

Physical development is an important part of education and is especially critical for students with more significant physical and cognitive needs. These students may not be able to safely access typical PE instruction nor be as physically active during unstructured times (e.g. recess).

If you observe the level of scaffolding from the grade-level goal to the intense level of support goal for the Catch a Thrown Ball content page, you’ll notice that the scaffolds ensure the safety of the student while maintaining the integrity of the criteria for success.

“APE services provide students with ample opportunities to increase their confidence in a physical activity setting and to improve their overall self-esteem.”

-Tamika Jones, M.Ed., CAPE

We believe that physical education is about more than fitness. It’s about inclusion in a holistic school experience that develops critical interpersonal and intrapersonal skills through physically and cognitively demanding tasks. If students can find success at recreational activities in a safe and structured environment, then they are more likely to independently engage in these activities during unstructured play times.

Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice

Each APE content page prioritizes UDL strategies that offer alternatives that may better suit the needs of a physically and/or cognitively diverse group of students.

Teachers who deliver APE instruction must attend to all aspects of instructional design, implementation, and service delivery. Our instructional content pages help educators create highly-specific learning targets for the students they work with. Within each content page, teachers have the ability to determine the intensity of the level of support based on student needs so that all students can perform actions and activities that help them meet the standard and, more importantly, keep their students active.

Our hope is that the resources and levels of support within these content pages instill knowledge and confidence in teachers around their ability to teach students with significant cognitive and physical barriers.

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