Could Physical Education Be Dying Due To Lack Of Sufficient Activity

1
Could Physical Education Be Dying Due To Lack Of
Sufficient Activity?
Improving Physical Education for ALL Students

• Luke E. Kelly, Ph.D.
• University of Virginia

2
Presentation Outline

• Define my physical education context in the
  United States
• Define what I see as a significant issue for the
  physical education profession
• Stimulate a discussion on how this issue could be
  addressed via a proactive research agenda?

3
Presentation Objectives

• Increase awareness
• Challenge you to think
• Motivate you to become involved in contributing
  to a solution

4
My Context

• America EHA/IDEA
• All students must received a free appropriate
  public education
• Must qualify for special education services
• Includes physical education
• Must be provided in the LRE
• Must be provided by a qualified teacher

5
Quick Demographic Example

• 12 of normal population qualify for special ed.
  Servces
• 8 of 12 can have needs addressed in RPE
• 4 require APE services

• Typical Community
• 100,000 people
• 10,000 students
• 1,200 require special ed services
• 800 would receive RPE
• 400 would require APE

6
Impact of IDEA

• Dramatically improved educational services for
  iwd
• Created significant challenges for schools
• Qualified staff
• Class sizes and composition
• Resources

7
My Work

• Developing professional standards for Adapted
  Physical Education (APE) speicalists
• Define nationally who is qualified to
• Address the needs of the 4 of the iwd with the
  more severe disabilities
• Assist RPE teachers with serving the 8 iwd
• Directly assisting Regular Physical Educators
  (RPEs) address the physical education needs of
  iwd placed in their classes
• Address the needs of the 8 with mild to moderate
  disabilities

8
Todays Focus

• Identify one issue that has evolved form my work
  in these two areas
• TIME the need to provide iwd enough PE
  instruction to develop functional physical and
  motor skills
• Caseloads of APE teachers
• Amount of time allocated for RPE
• Although an American problem, I feel it also
  applies to Ireland?

9
Quick Analysis of APE Caseloads

• APENS (Kelly, 19982006)
• APE work 36.1 hours per week
• Avg. caseload 104 students
• Simple analysis
• 36.1 hours/104 students 20 mins. Per student a
  week

• Reality
• 52 direct instruction
• 26 indirect
• 22 administration
• 78 instruction
• .7836.1hrs 28hrs
• 28hrs/104students 15.6 mins per week per student

10
Implications of these values

• Accepting these are rough estimates
• Calculations do not account for groups
• Can the PE needs of these students be addressed
  in this time allocation?
• Difference between meeting the letter of the law
• Student has APE on IEP and it is being provided
  by an APE teacher
• Versus meeting the intent of the law
• Actually addressing the PE needs of iwd

11
RPE Time Analysis
12
Grade Level Analysis

• 3rd Grade Physical Education
• Average class size 30 students
• Includes 2-4 iwd (12 of 30 3.6)
• Time Analysis
• 2 times a week X 30 minutes 1 hour
• 1 hour X 36 weeks 36 hours per year
• 36 hours 10 (3.6 hrs) 32.4 hours

13
Time needed to teach skills?

• 1 able bodied young adult
• Forehand stroke in tennis
• 19 more adults
• 1 individual with mental retardation
• Ideal teaching environment
• Amount of time needed to teach one skill
  forehand stroke in tennis
• Averages 6-10 hours

14
What can be taught In 32 hours?

• 3rd grade example
• 32.4 hours of instructional time available per
  year
• Tennis example, takes on average 6 hours to teach
  30 highly motivated young adults one motor skill
  (tennis example)
• How much content can be taught in 3rd grade?
• 32.4/6 5 objectives per year

15
How much do we try to teach?

• Virginia Standards of Learning example
• State defines 25 objectives to be addressed in
  3rd grade
• 32.4hrs/25 objectives 1.3 hours per objective
• What is the probability of teaching 30 students
  including 2-4 with disabilities a motor skill
  (e.g., skipping, kicking, striking) to mastery in
  75-80 minutes?
• What is the cumulative impact over time?
• Menu analogy

16
Is this a new issue?

• No, it has just been magnified by some recent
  changes
• IDEA has increased the range of abilities in the
  average class
• Demand for more instructional time has increased
  at all grade levels
• Cost of education is constantly increaseing
• Society is demanding more accountability from
  schools

17
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

• Federal mandate that holds schools accountable
  for all students achieving minimal standards
• State performance standards
• State-wide testing
• Schools must achieve standards or loss
  accreditation
• School results published annually in local news
• If school is not accredited, parents can move
  students at no cost.

18
NCLB and Physical Education

• Physical education not in most states mandated
  testing
• Good news if we were, how would be do given the
  of objectives we typically try to teach and the
  time available?
• Bad news
• PE not perceived as an educational priority
• PE time is vulnerable to other content areas that
  are being tested and are not doing well
• Albemarle County example

19
Is there consensus?

• Do you perceive that time is an issue for
  physical education?
• What is the probability of arguing that we need
  more time and getting it?
• Reality, we need to document what can be done in
  the time we have
• First goal is to not loose any more time
• Second goal is to delimit content to be taught to
  an amount that can be achieved
• Third goal is to document that ALL students are
  achieving the physical education content

20
So how can reseach help us?

• Need to operationally define what we say we teach
  in physical education
• Need to document how much time we actually spend
  teaching this content and how much is needed
• Need to be able to efficiently measure and record
  student performance on this content

21
Discussion

• How do these issues relate to Ireland?
• How could student 4th year projects and masters
  theses be used to address these issues?

22
QUESTIONS

• DISCUSSION