In a literature review on inclusion in PE — , Tant and Watelain suggest that inclusive PE is shaped by professional training, collegial collaboration and a curriculum that can easily be adapted to physical activity and sports participation for people with disabilities. Learning activities that promote collaboration and reduce exclusionary competitive games are important for students to feel engaged and socially successful in PE Garn et al.
Cooperative learning, referring to instructional methods where students work together in small groups to learn and help others learn Dyson and Strachan, , have successfully been implemented in inclusive PE classrooms Grenier et al. Group goals interaction and reflective dialogues , interpersonal and small group skills shared decision making and listening, taking responsibility, giving feed-back, and encouraging each other , and individual accountability to complete tasks Antil et al.
In a case study including a student with disabilities in regular PE, successful teaching strategies entailed avoiding competition and a shift toward motor learning, socializing, and using peer cooperation to progress in and control individually set goals Grenier, A literature review concludes that positive outcomes of cooperative learning in PE include gains in physical performance, cognitive understanding academic achievement , interactive skills and meaningful participation social learning as well as increased student concepts of self and their learning affective learning.
Although small-group methods may have potential for positive effects on student achievement, the degree of learning can also depend on tasks, group dynamics e. Teacher proximity strategies are used to redirect problem behavior by making activity transitions smooth and increasing student on-task behaviors Scherer, Studies of the proximity of paraeducators to students with disabilities suggest inconclusive outcomes Broer et al. Academic engagement increased when paraeducators were less than three feet from students with substantial disabilities Werts et al.
One study determined that the on-task behaviors of students with autism increased, and disruptive behaviors decreased when the teacher was in proximity, in comparison to no teacher proximity Conroy et al. While paraeducators can support student learning and positive peer interaction, excessive proximity of paraeducators may also have a negative impact.
Students with disabilities may be, or feel, separated from classmates, with an increased risk of loss of personal control and social participation with peers Giangreco et al. In fact, students with disabilities are often individually assisted by non-PE qualified teacher assistants, in activities separated from a regular school-based PE environment Haycock and Smith, Since teacher proximity affects both student inappropriate and appropriate behaviors, it is an aspect which requires further investigation Conroy et al.
We are unaware of existing research concerning PE-teacher proximity to students with disabilities. Due to previous conceptual inconsistencies, an attempt to unify the concept of participation is posed in the family of Participation-Related Constructs model fPRC which was developed using a biopsychosocial approach Imms et al.
According to this model, participation consists of two dimensions, attendance and involvement. Exemplified are high see Box 1 vs. One girl pays full attention to the instructor in a dance lesson but does not make a move.
Suddenly she starts doing star jumps, the current move to copy, and stops when the next move is demonstrated. The routine is repeated following the same pattern. Before assessment, one boy is given the instruction to practice the drills he needs, to improve certain gymnastics skills.
There is a choice of various activities, and this boy half-heartedly paces the assigned context. Suddenly he starts kicking and pushing the equipment out of place. Participation-focused research dealing with student diversity is required to extend knowledge about levels of engagement in students with disabilities in various environmental, and individual interactions Imms et al. Research on individual engagement also needs to consider environmental factors such as type of activity and inclusive teaching skills.
Context specific functioning was observed in terms of how engagement was related to the way lessons were structured small group, whole group or individual activities and communicative proximity to the teacher. The current observational study targeted students with disabilities and examined links between student engagement, type of activity and teaching skills.
Participation patterns in different PE contexts were observed as well as how student engagement varied between students with 1 disabilities, 2 high grades A—C in PE and 3 low grades D—F in PE. Individual, contextual, and environmental aspects of student participation were examined. The learning environment comprised of mainstream, school-based PE in which individual student engagement takes place in PE specific contexts.
A multiple groups time series design was used. A total of 94 students, aged 14—15, were observed during PE lessons. They were indirectly identified via PE-teacher networks, head teachers, disability organizations, habilitation services, and personal contacts and subsequently contacted by researchers. Once consent to participate was obtained from each individual, their schools, classmates and PE-teachers were given the opportunity to participate.
Consenting classmates of students with diagnosed disabilities were grouped based on their PE grade from the previous year. The heterogeneous group of students with disabilities had a variety of diagnoses including physical, neurodevelopmental and intellectual impairments and disorders typically present in inclusive mainstream schools, e.
For a complete description see Bertills et al. Structured observations of school-based PE in mainstream secondary education were performed. Participants were observed one at a time and results were logged in structured observation sheets tablets. A sweep was concluded when all participants students and teachers had been observed and logged once.
This was followed by a new sweep. The procedure was repeated throughout the entire lesson. Contextual communication, action and interaction such as what the participant was doing, where and with whom was scored instantly. Observations were coded into different sets of variables, primarily constructed to be summed into counts of whether a phenomenon was observed or not.
Ten variables were coded in each sweep: verbal, to whom, scheduled activity, emotional state, proximity, interaction state, type of task, engagement in learning, materials, and lesson focus see detailed coding alternatives in Table 1.
A total of seven of these variables were used in this study verbal, to whom and emotional state were excluded. Table 2 shows the indexes that were created for further analyses from combinations of codes in each category, with frequency proportions and interrater reliability scores.
Table 1. Instrument variables with coding alternatives, adaptations and indexes. Table 2. Indexes used to capture different aspects of student participation, with proportion of observations where our different indexes were observed and interrater reliability scores. This factor eigenvalue, 2. Three variables were indexed into one scale see Table 1 indicating observed PE teaching skills Tskills.
Type of task. Data was extracted only from situations where teachers were instructing. Level of instruction. Considered the degree to which syllabus intentions were referred to or embedded into the instructions 1. Teachers tone when instructing students was scored as 1. To differentiate levels of Tskills, the scale scores needed to be dichotomized. When the PE lessons were finished the observers rated their overall impression; teacher engagement, variation, and student attention, on a scale ranging 1—5.
Self-reported questionnaires had been collected from students, year 7, and their teachers, one and a half years prior to this observational study. Students reported their PE specific self-efficacy, i. They also reported their aptitude to participate e. Teachers self-rated their teaching skills self-rated Tskills in terms of short- and long-term planning of lessons and grading skills according to a criterion-referenced grading system.
For detailed description see Bertills et al. Observers were initially trained by researchers experienced with the original version of the instruments. To fit a school-based PE setting scales were adapted and pilot-tested. Adaptations were made to reflect observation on students representing a different age group and setting, e.
Feed-back and feed-forward have a powerful impact on the learning process Hattie and Timperley, and was therefore added to the highest level of instruction in the current study. Adaptations see Table 1 were discussed and after pilot-testing approved by developers of the preschool instruments. Observations were performed with the same group at one to three occasions.
The number of consenting participants in each class ranged from 1 to 12 individuals. Two observers simultaneously registered scores in classes with more than four participants while one observer was used when classes had less than four participants. To ensure a satisfactory number of sweeps, students with disabilities and teachers were observed at more frequent intervals than the other participants. Prior to data collection, the two observers performed trial observations and discussed situations in which they disagreed on scoring of specific situations.
An interrater reliability analysis was performed using the Cohen's kappa statistic. Two observers coded 14 students in 54 sessions and three teachers in 29 sessions at three different time-points; beginning, middle, and end of the total observations. Kappa coefficients for COPE ranged from 0. TOPE interrater reliability Kappa coefficients for the indexes level of instruction was 0.
Analysis of variance, ANOVA Bird, to index significant aspects of activity characteristics proximity to teacher, scheduled activity, format, student interactions, student actions, lesson focus, and materials used was used to investigate mean differences between average scores in the groups of students with disabilities, high grades A—C and low grades D—F.
Characteristics of PE lessons with high-level Tskills were examined using an independent samples t -test Field, Finally, observational data was integrated with previously collected data from teacher and student questionnaires Bertills et al. Spearman's rho was used to examine associations between observed Tskills mean score , and self-rated Tskills sum score ranging 0— In addition, observed student level of engagement was compared to their self-reported general and PE specific self-efficacy mean scores , aptitude to participate in PE and functional skills using an independent samples t -test Field, All students actively consented to participate in the current study.
Written informed consent was obtained from the participants and their parents. Scheduled activity. Students with disabilities and the D—F group were more off-task compared to the group with high grades. Despite large mean differences in socializing and alone, significance was not detected, due to large within-group differences.
A trend non-significant showed that being off-task, students with disabilities tended to talk more with teachers and did activities alone, while their classmates socialized with each other. Additionally, students with disabilities were observed as being instructed or queueing more frequently and practicing skills less frequently than their peers. Table 3. The D—F group were non-significantly closer to peers.
Group differences were also observed when lessons had an academic focus. In conditions of observed high-level teaching skills Tskills , students were significantly more frequently observed in whole group activities, and less in centers activities see Table 5. And student engagement was positively affected by whole group formats, negatively by centers formats see Table 4.
Comparing the groups, this was significant for students with disabilities. There was also a non-significant trend that students with disabilities were more often observed in situations with an academic focus in high-level Tskills conditions. Students with disabilities and the A—C group were less and the D—F was more frequently observed in non-focused lesson situations. Materials were only used half of the time see Table 2 , with students showing lower engagement when no materials were used see Table 4.
Another group pattern was that when team sports materials and music for dancing were used, students with disabilities and the D—F group showed higher engagement. Table 4. Observed student engagement in PE lessons and aspects of student participation in PE. Students, independent of group, show relatively high engagement and no significant differences between the three groups were found. Students showing high engagement were more frequently on-task practicing skills.
Significantly lower levels of engagement were found in centers formats, and when students were off-task or socializing see Table 4. Environments with observed high-level teaching skills Tskills were found in teachers who used syllabus content reasoning, gave feed-back and vividly interacted with students when instructing.
Teachers with high-level Tskills were observed to be instructing significantly more frequently, students were more engaged, and teachers were more often in communicative proximity to their students see Table 5.
Students were more frequently observed practicing skills or being given instructions, whole group formats were used to a significantly greater extent, and technical device e. Lessons had a physical focus most of the time in both high- and low-level Tskills, but in low-level Tskills, non-focused content occurred significantly more often.
Additionally, students were observed to be alone to a significantly greater extent, not practicing skills, or being social, and observed to be more in centers formats when taught by teachers with low-level Tskills. Table 5. Common for students with disabilities is loss of, or restricted, functional skills. Implied by earlier findings was a mutual relationship between socio-cognitive skills, aptitude to participate, and self-efficacy Bertills et al. Despite functional limitations, findings in this study indicate that all groups of students were equally engaged in PE.
The significant associations found in the current study between student engagement and the self-reported questionnaires indicate that student perceived self-efficacy in PE and aptitude to participate are also reflected in observed student engagement during PE lessons. Students with disabilities tend to socialize less and seem to be more alone non-significant than their peers.
This finding is consistent with peer interaction research on adolescents with ASD Humphrey and Symes, Many students tend to chat in non-focused teaching situations, e. Opportunities to do other things than intended are limited with high-level teaching, since lesson time is used more efficiently.
Communicative proximity to the teacher in high-level teaching conditions appears to be a primary source of support for students with disabilities. This finding implies that when organizing lessons, especially in centers formats assigned or chosen small group or individual activity , teacher communicative proximity needs to be taken into consideration to accommodate for the needs of students with disabilities.
Using a small group format is common practice in inclusive settings and encourages student learning Webb, According to our results, this does not seem to apply to PE settings.
Likewise, centers were scored in either assigned or chosen pair- or group-wise activities. Autonomy support and structure predict student engagement Jang et al. All activities e. Small group formats may be preferred when targeting individuals' learning of more advanced exercises, e. Students with disabilities and those with low grades were observed more frequently as being more engaged in whole group activities while students with high grades were more frequently observed in centers activities.
This finding is contradictive to findings in preschools Powell et al. PE-teachers work alone, with student assistants only present at four of 40 of the lessons observed. This is consistent with earlier findings Morley et al. Organizing lessons into parallel activities are commonly occurring, either as two or more optional activities, or as stations with different time-regulated activities that students attend, in a circuit mode. For full engagement of all students, activities at appropriate skill levels should be provided Tant and Watelain, Breadcrumb Home Teaching Resources Engaging students.
Engaging Students. Considerations for Motivating Students to Engage in Learning Students are more motivated to engage with learning material and will participate in class when: They see value in course material, l earning outcomes , and activities that they can relate to their own lives. The course objectives or learning outcomes align with students' interests and goals academic, career, and social.
Learning activities provide opportunities to attain learning outcomes. Assessments are fair and assess what they intend to. Students are given choices. Students experience the learning environment as supportive. Students experience success in course activities and assignments.
Students know what to expect and what is expected of them. Consider Teaching and Learning Frameworks - Instructors should consider a variety of approaches to structuring their course content, and choose a design that best serves their student populations to the best of their foreknowledge.
Various designs can support more rigorous learning outcomes, additional review and support, or greater accessibility for diverse students. Examine Implicit Biases - Instructors can consider their own attitudes towards students and strive to minimize negative impacts. This process can involve actively monitoring interactions with different types of students, implementing policies like name-blind grading and inter-rater grading to minimize the impact of bias, and maintaining high expectations for all students.
Maintain Awareness of Classroom Diversity - Instructors can develop and maintain their awareness and understanding of various racial and socioeconomic factors in their classes, as a way to test their implicit bias, ensure equal access for all their students, and even enrich classroom discussion.
Incorporate Diversity into the Curriculum - Instructors can be sure to represent diverse types of peoples and perspectives through course content and materials, including readings, lecture examples, images in PowerPoint presentations, and case studies.
Doing so helps all students to imagine themselves within various learning scenarios. Cultivate an Inclusive Climate - Instructors can create a nurturing classroom where students feel valued because of their differences, and feel comfortable participating in class.
Effective syllabus and classroom behavioral policies can promote an inclusive environment, especially when instructors take time to discuss such policies in class with students. Add a Diversity Statement to Syllabus - Instructors can address diversity issues head-on during the first class session by inviting students to discuss the syllabus in earnest; explaining the teaching philosophy with regards to other inclusive teaching methods; and outlining classroom ground rules for respectful classroom discussions and an inclusive community.
Consider Universal Design Principles - UDL provides an intensive framework to enable varied and comprehensive access of course content to all students. UDL helps instructors present information both orally and visually to accommodate student visual or auditory impairments, while recognizing various student learning preferences.
Midterm student course evaluations or observation protocols can also help instructors comprehend the climate and effectiveness of their classroom, and address inclusivity concerns among other concerns in real times.
Review the Literature - Instructors can learn more about critical pedagogies and classic texts on diversity in education through discipline-specific resources regarding diversity in a particular field.
Additional Resources Armstrong, M. Teaching to Transgress. References Ambrose, S.
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