An initial step to demonstrate commitment and professional behaviors is to be knowledgeable in the terminology used by special education colleagues, and to share with them common terminology used in physical education settings. Adapted physical education (APE) and general physical education (GPE) teachers need to know terminology used by…

This article examines the effects of peer tutoring as a strategy for teaching and including students with disabilities in general physical education (GPE). Different teaching strategies allow teachers to meet the needs of students, whether in a classroom or gym setting. Research has been conducted on various teaching strategies in physical…

Approximately 85% of all deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the United States are educated in public school programs. This high percentage makes it very likely that physical educators will at some point have to teach a student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. It is considered best practice for all educators to be aware of Deaf culture,…

The Paralympic Games are the second largest sport event in the world. They occur two weeks after the Olympic Games in the same geographic location and sport venues. Despite the Paralympic Games' longevity, many Americans do not even know they exist. One way to meaningfully share information about this event with people of all ages is to infuse a…

Physical education teachers and the profession are very often marginalized and minimized by administrators, parents, and students. Adapted physical education is no exception. There are several reasons for the lack of value given to teaching students with special needs in physical education, including issues with placement, stigmatization of…

Hardness of hearing or deafness is the number one disability in the United States. The United States also has an extremely diverse population, including a growing Hispanic population. Based on these facts, physical educators need to find ways to help their students to overcome language and cultural barriers in order to ensure learning. One way to…

The universal design for learning (UDL) approach to teaching, a method to create access for all students, can be extremely effective when adequate time, energy, and creativity are spent to apply it. The purpose of this article is to encourage the use of the universal design for learning approach to ensure the successful inclusion of all students…

A natural extension of inclusion should be to increase opportunities for leadership and the development of leadership skills. The leadership experience can improve a student's self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-perception, and it is important for all students, including those with disabilities, to have this experience. Leadership opportunities…

Although, in many districts, physical educators are integral members of the Individualized Education Program (designed for students with disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism), in other districts, physical educators are only partially involved in the process or are not given the opportunity to be involved at all. However, the physical…

Standards define today's educational landscape. In physical education, standards at both the national and state levels have become a driving force that shapes curriculum and instruction. Although all students are expected to meet the learning standards, teachers are often challenged with offering instruction that allows students with disabilities…

Growing frustration with assessment practices in adapted physical education and confusion with more traditional grading has led to a call for authentic assessment, which measures students' performances in more natural, real-world settings. Within authentic assessment, rubrics provide detailed guidelines for making scoring decisions, offering…