What's New in Adapted Physical Education: Recent Episodes
What's New In Adapted Physical Education
In this episode, Amanda Young from Cal State Long Beach leads a conversation with Lanita Yarborough, a bilingual speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at Texas Christian University, about the practical and ethical dimensions of collaboration between speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and APE specialists. The discussion emphasizes how intentional partnership, co-treatment, and classroom design can enhance outcomes for disabled children.Lanita frames her approach around cultural humility and bilingual ethics, describing how respect for families’ linguistic resources enable more effective communication and learning. She explains the advantages of embedding typically developing peers in classrooms as natural peer models, noting benefits that flow to both disabled children and their peers. Throughout the episode she shares concrete examples of co-treatment: thematic gym activities that align speech and motor goals, multimodal strategies using signs and prosody, and practical adaptations for itinerant clinicians who must create collaboration opportunities across sites.Finally, Lanita offers actionable guidance for practitioners and programs seeking to build or strengthen partnerships: reach out proactively to local SLPs, design shared thematic activities, plan in-person trainings or lecture sessions for students, and center DEI practices in program development. Her message is both practical and aspirational: collaboration across disciplines not only improves child outcomes but fosters reciprocal learning among professionals.
Haegele, J. A. (2025). (De) constructing the meaning of fear when teaching disabled students in physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 1-14.
In this episode of What’s New in Adapted Physical Education, we had a conversation with Ballie Ollila, a doctoral student at Old Dominion University, about her research examining Unified Physical Education and Unified Sports programs. Her systematic review, “Special Olympics’ UnifiedSports and Physical Education Programming: A Systematic Review”, recently published in Quest, found that despite the popularity of unified PE and Sports programming, there is a lack of empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness. Ms. Ollila explains that her research was motivated by the Virginia Board of Education’s decision to allow unified PE to count as a physical education credit, prompting questions about the evidence underpinning such policies. Through her systematic review, Bailey identified critical gaps in the literature and highlighted the challenges of conducting research in this area, including limited peer-reviewed studies and potential conflicts of interest in research funded by Special Olympics. The discussion explores deeper issues within unified programming, such as hierarchical labeling and role differences that can unintentionally reinforce inequality. Finally, Ms. Ollila also shares her plans to expand her research into dance and disability, addressing another underexplored area in adapted physical activity.
In this episode, we talked with Dr. Ally Keene, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Elizabeth City State University, about her journey into Adapted Physical Education (APE) and her dissertation on co-producing resources with blind young adults. Her dissertation centered on co-production, a collaborative research approach involving disabled individuals as equal partners. Working alongside three blind young adults, she created the website “Resources and Recommendations for PE Teachers of Blind Students,” hosted by Old Dominion University. The site includes sections on teacher attitudes, accessible fitness opportunities, and advocacy, providing practical tools to help PE teachers better support blind and visually impaired students.In this discussion they talk both the challenges and value of co-production—highlighting how it deepens understanding, empowers participants, and improves teaching practices. Dr. Keene encourages educators to use collaborative planning tools, involve students in decision-making, and stay open to feedback and reflection. Looking ahead, she aims to evaluate the website’s impact and expand co-production work to other disability communities. Her vision is for an APE field that centers disabled voices and treats their lived experiences as essential expertise.
In this episode of What's New in APE, Dr. Lauren Lieberman joins the CSLUB scholars and professors (Dr. Lavay, Young, and Bittner) to discuss her remarkable career and lifelong dedication to promoting inclusive physical activity. From her early experiences at Perkins School for the Blind to her groundbreaking work founding Camp Abilities, Dr. Lieberman reflects on how accessible physical education can transform lives. More specifically, in these discussions, Dr. Lieberman shares her academic and professional journey from teaching to being a world renown APE scholar. In addition, she outlines the origins of Camp Abilities at SUNY Brockport and its evolution into a global network of sports camps for children who are blind or visually impaired. Finally, she shares her thoughts on how she sees the field moving forward in the future and provides advise for future graduate APE scholars about seeking diverse experiences, read widely, volunteer, and ask critical questions.
In this episode of What's New in APE, Dr. Lauren Lieberman joins the CSLUB scholars and professors (Dr. Lavay, Young, and Bittner) to discuss her remarkable career and lifelong dedication to promoting inclusive physical activity. From her early experiences at Perkins School for the Blind to her groundbreaking work founding Camp Abilities, Dr. Lieberman reflects on how accessible physical education can transform lives. More specifically, in these discussions, Dr. Lieberman shares her academic and professional journey from teaching to being a world renown APE scholar. In addition, she outlines the origins of Camp Abilities at SUNY Brockport and its evolution into a global network of sports camps for children who are blind or visually impaired. Finally, she shares her thoughts on how she sees the field moving forward in the future and provides advise for future graduate APE scholars about seeking diverse experiences, read widely, volunteer, and ask critical questions.
In this exciting episode of What's New in APE, Scott McNamara is joined by co-authors Dr. Wesley Wilson and David Woo to unpack their recent article examining the legal interpretation of adapted physical education (APE) under U.S. law. Together, they explore how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been applied in federal court cases since 2004, revealing that parents prevailed in only two out of seven key cases. Their discussion highlights:The central role of IEPs in defining services and outcomes for students with disabilities.Why APE teachers must have a seat at the IEP table to ensure meaningful and legally defensible programming.The gap between federal policies and local implementation, and how judicial philosophy may shape future cases.The urgent need for greater legal literacy among educators, so they can advocate effectively for their students and their profession.In their discussions, they also highlight the complexities of legal decision-making, the importance of precise documentation, and the ways in which IDEA’s promises often clash with on-the-ground realities in schools. Looking forward, they discuss their hopes for IDEA reauthorization, including clearer recognition of APE, stronger attention to social-emotional outcomes, and increased funding.The citation of the article discussed is: McNamara, S. W., Wilson, W. J., & Woo, D. (2025). Legal Analysis of the Interpretation of Adapted Physical Education in US Law. Exceptionality, 33(2), 106-117.
The What’s New in Adapted Physical Education podcast kicks off its 10th season with a very special episode with Special Guest hosts Dr. Barry Lavay and Dr. Melissa Bittner (CSU-Long Beach), who are joined by Dr. Kristi Roth, full professor at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and co-author of the widely used textbook Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education and Recreation. This conversation highlights Dr. Roth’s remarkable journey in the field of adapted physical education. Dr. Roth shares key insights from her career, including her research on technology and teaching students with significant support needs, her work on transition outcomes in APE, and her advocacy work focused on promoting quality APE and PE for children with disabilities. She reflects on the influence of mentors, the importance of curiosity and evidence-based practice, and the value of listening and learning from students and colleagues alike.Listeners will also hear about impactful resources such as the GLIDE app, the Severe Notebook, and the book The Pursuit of Attention by Charles Derber, which shaped Dr. Roth’s approach to communication and teaching. Her advice for current and future APE teachers centers on curiosity, collaboration, and prioritizing student needs.
Welcome to a new episode of What's New in APE! As many listeners know, there is a nationwide shortage of highly qualified APE teachers who are prepared to meet the diverse needs of these students. This is where the importance of targeted federal funding, such as that provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), comes into sharp focus.In this episode of the podcast, we sat down with three incredible APE scholars—Honora Carlson-Strom, Fabian Pardo, and Bobby Segal—who are will soon be graduates of the University of New Hampshire’s OSEP-funded master’s program in APE. Their stories offer a powerful reminder of how essential this funding is for building the future of the field.The OSEP grant made it possible for these students to participate in an intensive, 1-year graduate program that combined rigorous coursework with rich, hands-on experiences in both general and specialized school settings. Through placements, conferences, and professional collaborations, these scholars were able to develop not just technical skills, but also the patience and critical thinking that quality APE teaching demands. Without OSEP’s support, programs like this would struggle to exist. By investing in high-quality teacher preparation, OSEP is shaping the future of quality physical education for disabled children and developing the next generation of APE leaders.
In this episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education, we sit down with Dr. David Adams from Humboldt University. Dr. Adams, a graduate of Texas Woman's University, shares his journey from working at an Autism Center to leading a federally funded APE program at Humboldt. He then dives into his passion for action-based research, explaining how it empowers teachers to systematically meet the diverse needs of their students. We explore his latest publication, Implementing Action Research in Physical Education: A Guide for Physical Educators, and unpack the six critical teaching behaviors that form the foundation of action research—observation, data collection, designing and implementing interventions, analyzing data, reporting data, and reflecting on data. Dr. Adams discusses how these strategies enhance student outcomes, improve IEP meetings, and elevate the professionalism of APE teachers. In addition, he delves into barriers that can deter using action based research in their practices. Tune in to learn how evidence-based methods can bridge the gap between research and practical application in APE!
In this episode, Dr. Maria Lepore-Stevens, from Rowan University, shares how she’s expanding health education within the realm of disability. In this discussion, we explore the concept of "adapted" health education in relation to teaching health education and students with disabilities. Dr. Lepore-Stevens points out the lack of guidance in health education around teaching children with disabilities and the importance of this curriculum for children with disabilities. In addition, she discusses challenges in adapting health education curricula, the lack of inclusive sex ed, the importance of teaching consent and self-advocacy, as well as how inadequate health education fails to provide students with disabilities with a well-rounded education. Tune in for practical strategies and insights on ensuring all students receive comprehensive, evidence-based health education. This discussion was lead by the recent publication from Dr. Lepore-Stevens, entitled "Adapting a human sexuality curriculum for students with disabilities".
Welcome to the latest episode of "What's New in Adapted Physical Education," where we delve into the world of Adapted Physical Education (APE) through engaging conversations with professionals shaping the field. In this episode, Drs. Barry Lavay and Melissa Bittner (CSLUB) sit down with Dr. Terry Rizzo, a distinguished scholar from California State University- San Bernadino to explore his journey, insights, and the evolution of APE. In discussing his background, they highlight how he has focused on advancing inclusion in PE in his department, at the state level, and nationally. The discussion explores Dr. Rizzo’s research on PE teachers' attitudes toward teaching students with disabilities, the evolution of inclusion in PE, and the infusion curriculum model. This model prepares all future educators to teach diverse learners by integrating disability concepts throughout their teaching. Dr. Rizzo reflects on overcoming challenges, including resistance from faculty, and celebrates the positive impact this approach has had on his students and program. Dr. Rizzo also offers practical advice to educators and young faculty about focusing on individualizing student needs, maintaining a positive attitude, and balancing one's personal life. As the episode concludes, Dr. Rizzo underscores the importance of service, staying current with literature, and being a good friend and collaborator to others.
Welcome back to another exciting episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education (APE) where we sat down with Dr. Adam Forbes, a new faculty member at Norfolk State University, to discuss his insights and research on parental perceptions of APE and the critical role parents play in enhancing these services. In these conversations, Dr. Forbes emphasized that parental involvement is key to the success of APE programs and highlights the need for clear communication between APE teachers and parents. In addition, Dr. Forbes explains that “parents need to see the value in APE, but that starts with us showing them what their children are achieving.” The conversation continues by discussing actionable strategies to help APE teachers engage parents more effectively, such as visual communication and highlighting the benefits. By improving communication, developing meaningful relationships, and sharing the impact of APE, PE/APE teachers can create higher quality PE experiences for students with disabilities. As Forbes concluded, “APE isn’t just about physical activity—it’s about creating opportunities for children to thrive in every aspect of their lives. Parents are a critical part of that journey.”
In this special episode of What's New in APE, Special Guest host Dr. Barry Lavay (CSU-Long Beach) is joined by APE graduate scholars Greg and Kendall to interview Matt Barker, a veteran APE teacher from Fairfax County, Virginia. Together, they delve into Matt’s journey into APE, his innovative initiatives, and the strategies he employs to enhance the learning experiences of his students with disabilities. Matt Barker discusses his journey into APE, as it began at summer camps, to special education, and then in APE. Now an itinerant APE teacher in Fairfax County, Matt supports a wide array of classes, including those designed for students with disabilities. Matt recently developed Just Adapt It, a project initially developed during his university days to promote increased movement opportunities for students. During the pandemic, his work gained viral attention, transforming into a comprehensive online resource featuring thousands of videos and tools like “Netflix and Just Adapt It.” This platform has become a go-to hub for educators seeking creative ways to engage students in physical activity, demonstrating the immense potential of social media and technology in advancing APE. In this resource, it highlights tools like an AI goal-writing assistant, video modeling resources, and a GIF library, all designed to simplify and enhance the teaching process. Another key topic of the discussion is Matt’s use of assistive technology to support students with disabilities. From exploring low-cost tech hacks to leveraging support groups and writing grants for equipment, Matt provides actionable advice for educators. He also shares his favorite equipment for APE, including PVC pipes, pool noodles, and projectors.
Welcome back to What's New in Adapted Physical Education, where we shine a light on trailblazers in the field of adapted physical education (APE). In this episode, we interview Nicole McCoy (@NMcCoy_APE), an APE teacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania about how she has transformed her teaching by integrating innovative assistive technologies. Her work exemplifies the power of creativity, collaboration, and determination in breaking barriers to participation and fostering independence for her students. Inspired during her master’s program, Nicole collaborated with high school robotics and building trades classes to create assistive technology devices like switch-activated catapults and bowling ramps to meet her students' needs. Nicole shares several examples of technologies that allow students to engage in meaningful sport and physical activity in a variety of unique ways. For example, she details how a student using a head switch can serve a volleyball inspired both peers and teachers. While challenges like equipment maintenance and securing support persist, Nicole also emphasizes the importance of collaboration and mentorship to overcome them. Nicole’s work highlights the transformative potential of assistive technology in APE, which can serve as a means to encourage others to find creative solutions to ensure equitable opportunities for all students.
In the latest episode of What's New in APE, we interviewed Dr. Nicole Kirk, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, about their journey and research in Adapted Physical Education (APE). Dr. Kirk shared how they initially stumbled into APE through their background in judo and theater in Chicago, when they began working with a student with Down syndrome. This experience ignited their passion for making physical activity accessible for students with disabilities, leading their to pursue formal studies at Southern Illinois University and the University of Virginia, and eventually their PhD at Old Dominion University, where they explored motivation for physical activity among visually impaired and blind individuals under the mentorship of Dr. Justin Haegele. In her current and past research, Dr. Kirk shared insights on the distinct challenges that many disabled individuals face in physical activity, describing how systemic ableism and exclusionary practices often prevent participation. They also highlights the importance of disability sports as an avenue to empower disabled persons and quality physical activity experiences. When conducting research, Dr. Kirk stressed the importance of understanding participants' cultural and social contexts, particularly when working internationally and in lower socio-economic countries. Finally, they expressed the need for more disabled researchers in APE to ensure research aligns with lived experiences.
We’re excited to launch a brand-new season of What’s New in Adapted Physical Education (APE) with a fresh, research-to-practice focus. Starting with this season, we’ll be releasing episodes every two weeks, each centered on in-depth topics that spotlight how research can directly support and enhance practical teaching strategies in the field.In our latest episode, host Scott McNamara welcomes Brad Wiener, an experienced APE supervisor in Fairfax County, Virginia, to discuss the exciting changes to the APE platform and share insights from his role. With 17 years as an APE teacher, Brad now oversees 55 dedicated APE teachers and supports 64 more across a large number of schools. He underscores the critical benefits of having an APE supervisor who has been "in the trenches" and understands the nuances of teaching adapted physical education firsthand.Brad reflects on some key challenges he faces, from communicating policies to advocating for adequate staffing—challenges that often resonate across the APE field. A unique aspect of Brad’s leadership style is his commitment to integrating research into everyday practice. He actively encourages teachers to engage with the latest APE studies, emphasizing the value of structured research and its practical application in the classroom.Additionally, Brad sees tremendous potential in connecting pre-service teachers with current APE professionals. This mentorship not only supports skill-building but also fosters critical thinking—a vital skill as pre-service teachers step into real-world scenarios. Tune in to hear Brad’s insights, and stay tuned for more bi-weekly episodes designed to bridge the research-to-practice gap in APE.
Hello to the What's New in Adapted PE listeners! We have been on a little bit of a hiatus for the last few months as we felt it was time to rethink the direction of the podcast and give it a fresh focus. Over the past few months, we've been reflecting on how to make the content more impactful, and decided to take a more focused approach. We will be attempting to create "seasons" where we’ll be zeroing in on the research-to-practice gap in Adapted Physical Education—how we can better connect the latest research with practical application in the field. I’ll try to consistently release episodes every two weeks until the season wraps up, featuring insightful discussions with experts and educators. This podcast has some of these insights into these reflections and plans. Stay tuned for new content in two weeks!
This podcast episode features an interview of Chris Ahrens of the San Diego Unified School District. After graduating from SUNY Brockport with a degree in physical education and completing a master’s program on an OSEP grant, he has spent the last 15 years working in various positions in the San Diego Unified School District until he reached the position of lead APE teacher. They discussed the way in which podcasts connect APE teachers and allow different perspectives to be shared. He discusses lessons he learned the hard way through podcasting, like how to be flexible and how to disagree politely and respectfully. Ahrens has mild cerebral palsy and had a nine-year career with the U.S. Men’s National Paralympic Soccer Team and was recently a finalist for the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Soccer was a huge part of his life, and he described the excitement of watching World Cup games during his childhood and how the transformational power of sports can lift people up. Next, they have dived into how the pandemic has affected the field of education, with a focus on the mental health of students. When looking back on his career up until this point, he stated that in every school situation he found himself in, he left it better than he found it. He advises Masters APE students to rock the boat, as they have the unique opportunity to change the field for the better. When looking forward to the next 20 years of the field, he compares the rise of online programs versus traditional hands-on experience, as these careers in the APE field require hands-on practice to be successful.
This episode featured a discussion between three emeritus professors in the APE space on the past, present, and future of APE. Dr. Garth Tymeson worked as a professor of APE at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. Dr. Dale Ulrich is a retired professor from the University of Michigan that created the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) that evaluates the gross motor function of children. Finally, Dr. Barry Lavay is a leader in the APE space and worked as a professor at California State University Long Beach. They began by discussing laws and regulations that shaped the field into what it is today, such as creating a separate certification for APE teachers. Others highlighted that often it was debated whether children with disabilities should participate in physical activity, let alone receiving a APE curriculum. At that time, there was no available literature, no assessment or curriculum materials, and very little equipment, which posed both unique challenges and opportunities to adapt and be creative. The three guests also described the challenges and opportunities after becoming faculty members at various university’s APE programs, such as modifying graduate program curriculum, establishing clinical experiences for students, and teaching themselves how to do research at a time when collaboration was not as encouraged as it is now. Valuable skills that these professors built during their first years as faculty included grant and scholarship writing, at which point the professors transitioned into discussing the sometimes-controversial topic of seeking federal and private foundation grants. One point that was highlighted during that conversation was that usually, those deciding on federal funding like to see collaboration across multiple sites. When discussing the biggest changes in APE over the last 30 years, the consensus was there has been an increase in the integration of students with disabilities in the general PE classroom. Appropriate integration has been aided by adding specialized personnel and continued updates and improvements made to rules and regulations. Specific concerns for the field to hopefully be addressed in the next 10 years include the percentage of general PE teachers who do not have the expertise or knowledge on how to accommodate students with disabilities in their classroom. Additionally, they would like to see an increase in visibility and understanding of APE.
This podcast episode featured two APE professionals interviewing Dr. French, who has been a professor in APE for many years. Dr. French credits the beginning of his journey with APE to his parent’s philosophy on diversity and inclusion, which led him to UCLA where he studied what is now called adapted physical education. Dr. French has co-authored many textbooks used in the APE space on subjects like behavior management and physical education. Some of his mentors included his wife, Dr. Lisa Silliman-French, and his fifth grade teacher who ran a local YMCA club that included him as part of the team. After discussing working in research during his time at UCLA with professors who focused on motor development and APE, Dr. French reflected on how the APENS exam most strongly impacted his adapted PE career as it developed a standard in the APE field. When reviewing how he became interested in behavior management, Dr. French stated that it came from a place of survival, of dealing with students in a PE classroom setting and trying to control the classroom. His advice to young professionals was to go beyond professional collaboration and make positive connections with other professionals in the field. Strengths of APE professionals that were listed include specialization in more in depth physical education information, excellent communication skills, and the ability for collaboration between professionals. Challenges for the profession according to Dr. French include a lack of time spent with family and the need for a good statistician to help with professional research. Upon reflecting on his career, Dr. French expressed that he should have collaborated more with his chair, and dived deeper into different types of inclusion research.
This podcast featured an interview lead by Dr. Amanda Young and her Master students from California State University, Long Beach, where they interview educators in the APE field about working with students with behavioral issues. Specifically, one guest works as an APE specialist for charter schools in California, and the one teaches PE at an alternative school for special education in Vermont. The group goes into common definitions and misconceptions in the APE community, such as the population of students that these educators serve. After outlining the different types of support in place at the alternative school in Vermont, such as different types of classroom clinicians working with the teachers, the guests then reflect on the transition process from public school into these more specialized types of programs that collaborate as a close knit community. At this program, the end goal is to get the students able to return to their public school with a behavior plan that allows for independence as well as inclusion. Strategies that these schools use are proactive behavior management, strong communication between teachers, and creating a safe space for students to have what they need. The ability to implement this comes from the ability to be vulnerable and not being afraid to embarrass yourself as a teacher. While these programs might be unique in what they can offer to students, things like the language used to teach students self advocacy can be applied in many settings to help children understand their emotions better. A piece of advice that was given from the teacher’s perspective was to get to know the student, to try and truly understand them as a person. When a student feels like a teacher cares, everyone benefits. This can be found in the community based programs at the Vermont based school, such as basketball, soccer, and gymnastics camp. At the end of the day, flexibility, connection, communication are key to the success of APE programs.
The podcast episode featuring professors from various universities discussing PhD programs in Adapted Physical Education (APE). Dr. Andrew Pitchford from Oregon State University started by highlighting the importance of their interdisciplinary connections between the adapted physical activity program and other departments, such as the Psychological Science Program and the global health department. Oregon State’s program has five faculty members that can use their unique backgrounds to advise their graduate students. Other things that Oregon State has to offer students is their adaptive exercise clinic, community outreach, and fellowship opportunities through the federal government. Next, members of the University of South Carolina spoke about their program, mentioning that a strength of their program is their core group of faculty with specific interests in adapted physical education and activity. The program is organized into four types of experiences: knowledge, teaching, scholarship and service. Students have the opportunity to teach courses independently, successfully complete their dissertation, and co-author research manuscripts among other things. Then, Nicole Kirk from the University of Georgia spoke on their PhD program that features a focus in adapted physical education. The program also houses a sport instruction research lab that works on lifespan physical activity among other topics. Another important aspect of their work is community outreach, which is accomplished by hosting events such as field days with kids from all over the state of Georgia. Coursework is offered in the areas of APA, PE, and parasport training. Finally, a representative of the University of Illinois spoke on their PhD program for Adapted Physical Activity. They are featured within the pedagogy and physical activity program, with a focus in pedagogical kinesiology. The Kinesiology Lab is the centerpiece of their curriculum, which allows students to study PE workforce development, experiences of children with and without disabilities in physical education, and social and emotional learning of all children.
The podcast episode featuring educators from various universities discussing graduate programs in Adapted Physical Education (APE) continues with an exploration of challenges and opportunities facing these programs. This episode features an insightful discussion with representatives from four outstanding APE graduate programs across the United States. Dr. Ali Brian kicks things off, representing the University of South Carolina's 100% online program. With a focus on flexibility and practical application, USC's program stands out for its emphasis on developmental perspectives and hands-on experience. Next up, Dr. Amanda Young sheds light on California State University, Long Beach's Master's program. Boasting tracks tailored for both general and adapted PE teachers, CSULB's curriculum emphasizes behavior management, collaboration, and cutting-edge instructional design. Dr. Brock McMullen represents University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, which has a long history of developing strong APE professionals. Lastly, Dr. Amaury Samalot-Rivera provides an overview of the innovative APE MS program at SUNY Brockport University. Throughout the episode, listeners gain valuable insights into coursework, assignments, practicum experiences, and more. From innovative projects tackling behavior management to the integration of technology and universal design principles, each program offers a unique approach to preparing educators for the diverse challenges of Adapted PE.
In this episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education we have special guest hosts podcast Dr. Brock McMullen and Dr. Garth Tymeson (UW-Lacrosse) who interview three parents - Marlis, Pam, and Andrea - about their experiences with adapted physical education for their children with disabilities. Each parent represents children at different ages and places within the APE and special education process. Specifically in this conversation, they discuss how APE and physical activity provide enables social participation with non-disabled peers, the quantifications they look for in an APE teacher, and their constant need to advocate for APE to their schools. Further in the podcast, they discuss several different organizations and associations that can be used to effectively advocate for APE services.
Listen in on the December NCPEID APE Collaborative focused on working with paraprofessionals in APE. This episode features guests Dr. Seo Lee (University of Wisconsin Superior), Ginny Reid (Orange County Department of Education), and Wendy Arteaga (Orange County Department of Education). In this podcast they address the challenges faced by paraprofessionals in the field of APE, such as limited resources, varying levels of training, and the need for effective communication. Our guests also offer real-life scenarios and offer practical solutions to empower paraprofessionals in overcoming these challenges.
In this podcast, we discuss the Fit Families program, an initiative focused on empowering parents of children with disabilities. Drs. Luis Columna and Laura Prieto (@LaAlma_Prieto) from the University of Wisconsin Madison share insights. Fit Families originated as a program for visually impaired children but expanded to include those with autism. Fit Families provides parents of children with disabilities expert-driven workshops that cover sensory-motor activities, communication, and aquatics. The program has positively impacted parents' awareness, advocacy skills, and children's self-confidence and motor skills. The panelists highlight community engagement, effective communication, and ongoing research as crucial to providing a lasting impact of these families and their physical activity (and overall quality of life). The program aims to expand, with a focus on reaching Latino communities. Barriers like funding and language are also discussed, emphasizing the need for tailored programs for diverse communities.
Listen in on the October NCPEID APE Collaborative focused on young teachers and professors experiences in their first year on the job. his episode feature guests Dr. Samantha Ross (West Virginia University), Dr. Layne Case (California State University, Chico), Elsie Gutierrez (LA Unified Schools), and Ivan Reyes-Acosta (LA Unified Schools). In this panel discussion, they share insights on tackling tasks, being patient, staying true to oneself, building connections, and the importance of having fun in teaching APE. They also highlight the challenges of setting schedules, the significance of mentorship, and the support provided through mentoring programs for first-year APE teachers.
In this exciting episode of What's New in Adapted PE, Dr. David Howe was interviewed about his career journey and the status of ableism (and attempts to overcome it) within physical activity settings. Dr. Howe (@pdhowe9) is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario. He is a former Paralympian and has conducted extensive research in physical activity cultures related to disability sport and related health outcomes. Within this conversation, we discussed a range of topics related to Dr. Howe's career and the many facets of ableism seen within physical activity contexts. These conversations included topics around the need for disability representation within our academics and practitioners, potential pitfalls of tokenism, and questioning the need for the existence of the field of adapted physical activity. This conversation was guided by Dr. Howe's keynote speech at the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (2023).
In another exciting episode of What's New in APE, we interviewed Lindsey Nowland (@LindseyNowland), a PhD candidate from Old Dominion University, about her research expertise in adapted physical education (APE), particularly focusing on self-efficacy when teaching students with disabilities in PE settings. Lindsay shares her journey into this field, highlighting her experiences and her transition from general physical education to APE. Further, we talk about the importance of self-efficacy in PE teachers, specifically exploring the four sources of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological responses. Ms. Nowland emphasizes the need to measure these sources more comprehensively in research to better understand how they impact PE teachers' beliefs and confidence.
Listen in on the September NCPEID APE Collaborative focused Parenting, Professionalism, and Hot Topics in APE. This episode feature re-occurring guests Danielle Musser (Colorado APE Teacher), Amanda Young (Assistant Professor, Caledonia State University, Long Beach), and Chris Ahrens (APE teacher and coordinator, San Diego Unfired). This panel delves into various compelling subjects concerning the field of APE and the intricate balance of personal life experiences. They explore topics such as managing the dual roles of parenting and professional advancement, delving into the transformation of one's career after becoming a parent, and strategies for navigating these life-changing experiences. NCPEID is the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. They play a major role in shaping the direction of adapted physical education and adapted physical activity, as well building and promoting APE & APA programs and services.
Hello, What's New in APE podcast listeners! In this episode, we highlight the journey and experiences of Dr. Lisa Silliman-French, a Professor Emerita at Texas Woman's University with over 35 years of experience in APE. This interview is conducted by two master's scholars from California State University Long Beach, Nikki and Anthony. Dr. Silliman-French shares her journey into APE, starting as a general physical education teacher and discovering her passion for teaching students with disabilities during her undergraduate courses and practicum experience. She discusses her rewarding experiences in higher education, emphasizing the joy of teaching, mentoring doctoral students, and building strong relationships with students. Dr. Silliman-French also highlights her involvement in obtaining a personal preparation grant to fund graduate scholars in APE, emphasizing the importance of effective teamwork and collaboration in her successes. Overall, Dr. Silliman-French provides insight into her rich career and her commitment to advancing the field of APE.
In this episode of What's New in APE, special guest host Dr. Melissa Bittner (@ ) takes us backstage for the upcoming NAPEC conference to preview some of the upcoming keynote speakers and special sessions. Specifically, the NAPEC52 co-coordinators, Heidi Ambrosius (Moreno Valley Unified School District; Lecturer CSU San Bernardino) & Lemi Hayashi (Fremont Unified School District) are interviewed about the conference as a whole and putting the conference together. The session "The Art & Science of Positive Behavior Management to Enhance Student Learning" is previewed by session leaders Barry Lavay (Professor Emeritus CSU, Long Beach;), Amanda Young (Assistant Professor CSU Long Beach). Leslie Kirui (Placentia/Yorba Linda USD), and Julie Williams (Moreno Valley USD). They discuss how this workshop will highlight the importance of developing a behavior management philosophy, as well as provide a variety of methods to (a) design a management plan that includes well-established routines, (b) increase appropriate behaviors and (c) redirect challenging behaviors to assist all teachers in connecting with their students to promote effective learning in adapted physical activity settings. This session will take place on Friday from 2-5 p.m. and cost $20. Next, the Keynote "Shine Through Your Story" is previewed by keynote speaker Jen Heebink, who is the 2022 SHAPE America National Adapted PE Teacher of the Year, 2022 Central District Adapted PE Teacher of the Year, and 2020 MNSHAPE Adapted PE Teacher of the Year. Finally, the Keynote presentation "Let’s Shine Brighter!" is discussed by keynote presenter Greg Bellinder (professor, Azusa Pacific University).
In this podcast, we had an excellent conversation with international APA scholar Dr. Kwok Ng (@kwokwng) about the newly formed Para Report Cards that graded 14 countries, which include the US and Canada, on an assortment of physical activity and health indicators. Dr. Ng is at the University of Limerick, the University of Turku, and the University of Eastern Finland. His research is largely interdisciplinary and focuses on the health promotion of children, especially those with disabilities. Within this podcast we discuss the need for the Para Report Cards, their development, and some of the main findings from the Para Report Cards. In addition, the discussion also touched on the potential impact of these report cards on policies and initiatives aimed at improving physical activity for children and adolescents with disabilities.
Listen in on the May NCPEID APE Collaborative focused on summer camps for children with disabilities. In this episode, 3 summer camps are highlighted: Camp Webber (Ally Keene), Camp Abilities (Lauren Liberman), and Camp Nugget (Amanda Young). In this episode they describe how these experiences not only provide children with disabilities experiences with physical activity with their peers, but also serve as an experience for future professionals to put theory into practice and develop essential skills for working with children with disabilities. More specifically, in this episode they highlight the unique aspects of each of these camps, the counselors and children's experience, and the research around these camps. NCPEID is the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. They play a major role in shaping the direction of adapted physical education and adapted physical activity, as well building and promoting APE & APA programs and services.
Listen in on this exciting conversation with international APA disability sports scholar Dr. Robert Townsend (@robtownsendPhD) from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Dr. Townsend's work is largely interdisciplinary, where he works to bridge qualitative research, social science and disability studies to build upon disability and sport coaching research while dismantling ablest norms that disrupt disabled persons ability to access meaningful sport opportunities. In this episode, we focus on Dr. Townsend's background in APA and disability sports, defining and discussing the state of disability sports coaching, and the notion of infusing disability sports coaching into general sport coaching pedagogy programs. We used his paper "Infusing disability into coach education and development: a critical review and agenda for change" to guide our discussions as well.
Welcome to a unique and special episode of "What's New in APE," where we pay tribute to the remarkable legacy of Eli Wolff, an eminent advocate and leader in the field of disability sports. As a distinguished multiple-time US Paralympian, Eli devoted himself to promoting the inclusion of disabled individuals in sports and physical activities. One of Eli's impactful endeavors was his instrumental role in advocating for provisions concerning sport and recreation within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Additionally, he played a key part in establishing the prestigious ESPY Award for Best Athlete with a Disability. Three of Eli's closest friends and colleagues came on the podcast to remember Eli's work and achievements. This included Dr. Mary Hums (University of Louisville), Dr. David Legg (Mount Royal University), and Dr. Ted Fey (Recently retired from SUNY Cortland). They share heartfelt accounts of their relationships with Eli and recount inspiring stories of how he consistently fostered tangible and meaningful changes for the disability community.
Listen in on the May NCPEID APE Collaborative that features 3 SHAPE APE Teachers of the Year: Katelyn Smith (Rock Creek School, MD), Jennifer Heebink (Buffalo, MN), and Kasia Givenrod (Brea Unified School District, CA). In this episode they discuss their top teaching tips they have learned over their careers. This includes discussing different teaching styles, assessment, IEP strategies, accommodations/modifications, and skill breakdowns. NCPEID is the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. They play a major role in shaping the direction of adapted physical education and adapted physical activity, as well building and promoting APE & APA programs and services. https://www.ncpeid.org/
The "Best in the Business" episode was moderated by Project CAPE Master Scholars from the California State University of Long Beach. Scholars observed 3 APE teachers in Southern CA who were purposively selected for their teaching abilities, numerous accolades, commitment to the profession, and diverse student population. During these practicum experiences, scholars would teach a class and the mentor provided feedback. The Scholars, along with Drs. Melissa Bittner and Barry Lavay interview these mentors about their professional journeys, tips on best practices when teaching APE, and get into assessment as well. Finally, the podcast wraps up with our new favorite segment called "Barry's Burning Questions", where he discusses the use of podcasting amongst APE/PE teachers for professional learning. Project CAPE Scholars include: Nikki Thornburg, Dana Briosos, and Anthony Tang. The "Best in the Business" Mentors include: Kasia Givenrod (Brea Unified School District), Brittani Ikemoto (Los Angeles Unified School District), and Enrique Gonzalez (Garden Grove Unified School District).
Listen in on this special podcast episode that featured a group of guest moderators from the California State University, Long Beach (e.g., Dr. Melissa Bittner, Dr. Barry Lavay) interviewing Dr. Monica Lepore about her professional journey and adapted aquatics. Dr. Monica Lepore, retired APE professor from West Chester University will be discussing current issues in adapted aquatics. She is an adapted aquatics instructor at Starfish Aquatics Institute, Special Olympics swim coach, ARC water safety instructor, USA Triathlon Level 1 coach and USA Triathlon Level 2 paratriathlon coach. Along with discussing Dr. Lepore's background in APE and adapted aquatics, they also discuss the benefits of adapted aquatics for persons with disabilities, as well as important teaching and safety considerations when teaching aquatics to children with disabilities.
Listen in on the April NCPEID APE Collaborative featuring special guests Katrina McClanahan, Brookes Marindin, Rebecca Lytle, and Melissa Bittner who will discuss APE interview tips! Specifically in this episode, this panels discusses the do's and don't of an APE interview, making yourself as attractive a applicant as possible, and how to navigate the interview process.
For this unique episode, we interviewed Christopher Ahrens (@chrisahrens), an APE Teacher for the San Diego Unified School District and former US Paralympic soccer player, who has recently begun his own APE-focused podcast. This new APE podcast, "The Talking Adapted PE Podcast", interviews APE teachers across the US and discusses their day-to-day lives and best practices. Chris just completed season 1, which included 9 interviews with APE teachers and 1 professor. Within this episode we discuss Chris's journey to beginning this new podcast, how this podcast is different, and everything he has learned from the first season of his podcast.
Listen in on the February NCPEID APE Collaborative where board members of the academic journal Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) discuss the purpose of research in the field of APA and provide insights into their journal. Specifically, this collaborative is joined by APAQ editors and renown scholars Dr. Andy Pitchford (Oregon State University), Dr. Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos (University of Toronto), Dr. Justin Haegele (Old Dominion University), and Dr. Deborah Shapiro (Georgia State University). Specifically in this episode, they discuss how one can successfully navigate the writing and review process in their journals, the direction of the journal, and the importance of our work to meaningfully move the field of APA forward.
Within this podcast, friends of the show (Amanda Young and APE graduate students at California State University-Long Beach) lead a very professional IN-PERSON discussion with Dr. Michelle Grenier about her background, journey through her career, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Dr. Grenier is the past President of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), and professor of physical education at the University of New Hampshire. In this discussion they also discuss UDL principles and training physical educators to work with children with disabilities. Dr. Michelle Grenier has an extensive background in both the Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education (APE) field, having worked with students at every level as well as students with disabilities in both regular and adapted environments. Dr. Michelle Grenier, a former professor at the University of New Hampshire, has earned a master's degree in special education along a PHD in education at UNH, and is now the APE representative for the New Hampshire Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Listen in on this exciting conversation with international APA superstar Dr. Brett Smith (@BrettSmithProf) from the University of Durham in the UK. In this discussion, we discuss a large range of topics related to disability and APA. These included the language we use to discuss and refer to disability, how we conceptualize disability, and the idea of co-producing knowledge with disabled folk to create APA messages and best practices. Additionally, we discussed another area of expertise of Dr. Smith's, Qualitative research. In this section of the discussion, Dr. Smith shared his views on different forms of Qualitative research, common pitfalls of this research, and why this type of research is needed. Dr. Smith is the Department Director of Research, has over 200 peer-reviewed research articles, the co-founder and President of the International Society of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, and is the founder and former Editor of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health. His research has largely focused on combining psychology, sociology, public health, and critical disability studies when discussing APA.
Listen in on the January NCPEID APE Collaborative where Dr. Tim Davis (SUNY Cortland) and Brad Weiner (Fairfax County Schools) discuss what the Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS) are, why they were initially developed, and how to become a Nationally Certified APE Teacher. NCPEID is the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. They play a major role in shaping the direction of adapted physical education and adapted physical activity, as well building and promoting APE & APA programs and services.In addition, we introduce a new APE podcast out there called "The Talking Adapted PE Podcast" which is operated by Chris Ahrens (APE Teachers from San Diego County) where he talks with other APE teachers about their day-to-day lives and best practices.
In this episode, we highlight a recent webinar conducted by the New Emerging Scholars of Adapted Physical Activity (NESAPA), which is a new group organized under the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA). In this webinar, their goal was to generate a space for conversations about experiences with applying and landing a Postdoc, regarding research activity, lifestyles, and recommendations during this process. The panelists include:Dr. Kwok Ng (@kwokwng) University of Limerick, Ireland, University of Turku & University of Eastern Finland, Finland & Vice President of IFAPA Dr. Alexandra Stribing (@AStribing), Kean University, USA & NESAPA ChairDr. Nicole Kirk (@TheNicoleKirk), University of Georgia, USA & Former Student Representative. to IFAPA BoardDr. Ryan Hulteen (@Ryan_Hulteen), Louisiana State University, USADr. Emily Munn (@EmilyMunnPhD), University of South Carolina, USA
Listen in on the December NCPEID APE Collaborative with guest speakers – Susan Seman-Wallace, APE teacher from Brighton School District, Kelly Kennedy, APE teacher from Greeley-Evans School District 6, Scott Douglas, Associate Professor from the University of Northern Colorado, and Gina Herrera, CDE Supervisor and Access, Learning and Literacy & Significant Support Needs & Deafblindness Specialist. Our guest speakers will discuss Colorado’s journey to a state-approved APE teaching credential; and implementation suggestions from faculty in states with longstanding APE credentials.
Guest speaker Dr. Martin Block (@MartinBlockUVA) joins us today to talk about the excellent APE Master’s Program at the University of Virginia including its unique qualities and realistic experiences, the funding to keep the program alive, and tips to success from one of his current students in the program. Specially, he discusses how his program was developed initially through federal funding (OSEP), and then through partnerships with the local schools he has been able to maintain the program for almost 30 years. Martin Block is the Director of the program of kinesiology for individuals with disabilities at the University of Virginia, where he has been since 1992. He is the current editor for PALESTRA and has co-authored dozens of book chapters and empirical articles related to the field of APE.
Listen in on the December NCPEID APE Collaborative with guest speaker Cynthia D. Vargas as she discusses the development of a defensible IEP. This podcast will cover topics such as organizing IEP team meetings, IEP meeting notes, after the IEP meetings, and some thoughts on FAPE.Cynthia D. Vargas is the managing partner for F3 Law Firm’s Inland Empire office. She is a legal expert that represents and advises school districts, county offices of education, and special education local plan areas statewide. Prior to law school, she worked as a special education teacher providing her a practical understanding of the interconnectedness of education legal matters. She earned her Juris-Doctor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine.
Listen in on the October NCPEID APE Collaborative featuring guest speakers Heidi Ambrosius and Steve Eggerichs as they discuss everything Pre-School and Post Secondary Transition. Heidi discusses everything pre-school including APE services during early childhood, different models of delivery, and the importance of assessments. Steve Eggerichs touches upon post secondary/transition in APE and different programs including Projects L.I.V.E, Bridge, and SEARCH.
Listen in on today’s co-facilitator Brad Weiner (@APETeacher) and guest speakers Jenn Vedder (@CoachVedder_HPE) and Danielle Musser (@Musser_APE) as they discuss the highly asked for topic of navigating APE deserts with little to no support or infrastructure. Specifically, we discuss what it’s like to come into a school as a new APE teacher and build up an APE program that lacks foundation, history, and resources. This podcast will touch upon many issues related to this subject and provide advice and strategies for APE educators. Brad Weiner helps to facilitate this important discussion given his extensive experience as an APE teacher. Brad has been on the podcast several times and is an educational specialists with Fairfax County in Virginia, as well as a former APE SHAPE teacher of the year with over 17 years experience as an APE teacher. We were also joined by two APE specialists who have successfully navigated APE deserts. Jenn Vedder is an APE and general education teacher from Virginia, currently working in North Carolina. She is also a Health & PE specialist at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and an OPEN national trainer. Danielle Musser, graduate of Texas Women’s University, is an OSEP grant recipient and worked as an APE teacher in Colorado for several years and recently was able to successfully advocate for a new APE endorsement in her state.
Listen in on our international guest speakers Dr. Martin Giese (@MartinGiese5) and Dr. Tobias Buchner (@TobiasBuchner) as they discuss topics within their research article, “The Subject of Special Olympics - Interrogating the Inclusive Potentials of a Sport Movement from an Ableism - Critical Perspective.” Martin Giese is a professor for sport science and sport pedagogy at the Heidelberg University of Education in Germany. He has over 10 years experience with teaching throughout different schools and 6 years with teaching visually impaired students. Tobias Buchner is the head of department of inclusive education at the University of Education Upper Austria, as well as vice chair of the monitoring body of the UN-CRPD. He has experience as a professor for inclusive education and as a soccer coach for students with intellectual disabilities. Within this podcast we discuss how Special Olympics discusses inclusion in their programming, the concepts of ableism and inclusion, and how Special Olympics may be inadveternently perpetuating some ableism concepts through their programming.
Hello What's New in APE Podcast listeners. For this episode, we are featuirng the September NCPEID Collaborative, with special guests David Geslak and Kelly Bonner. David Gelsak has been a guest on the What's New in APE podcast several times and is the founder of Exercise Connection, which provides training, tools, and software to enable exercise and physical activity for children with autism. Kelly Bonner is an inclusive fitness trainer through NCHPAD. She has 15+ years of experience working with individuals with disabilities throughout numerous programs in her work at Lakeshore Foundation. She is a Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine and has a passion for designing inclusive workout programs.
Tune into today’s podcast featuring Dr. Andrew Colombo-Dougovito of the University of North Texas, to discuss a variety of big picture issues within the fields of Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education including societal issues, systematic issues, and inclusivity. Additionally, we discuss the book he recently co-edited "Not Playing Around: Intersectional Identities, Media Representation, and the Power of Sport". Dr. Colombo-Dougovito is a renown scholar in APE and serves as the Director of the Physical Activity & Motor Skills Program and as the Head of the Disability & Movement Research Collective. He also serves on the Advocacy and Policy Committee for NCPEID, and is a member of the editorial board for PALAESTRA and Revista de Sobama: Journal of the Brazilian Association of Adapted Motor Activity.
Listen in on Dr. Kevin Richards and Dr. Scott McNamara as they discuss their shared research around the Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education fields. This podcast will address many findings in their research, specifically focusing on the article recently published entitled "Adapted Physical Educators' Experiences With School Administration and Marginalization". They discuss how school administrators' impact on APE and PE services and how PE and APE teachers can navigate these situations .
Dr. Kevin Andrew Richards (@KARRichards14), from the University of Illinois – Champaign is highly experienced and dedicated in the field of Physical Education. He has done a lot of work around the occupational socialization theory and is a big contributor to the “Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education” podcast.
For this episode, we were able to recover a "lost episode" of the NCPEID collaborative from this Spring featuring guest speakers Dr. Justin Haeglele and Dr. Joonkoo Yun where they discuss why to get your PhD in APE and how to identify the PhD for you. Dr. Haegele (@Justin_Haegele) is an associate professor at Old Dominion University and a frequent guest on this podcast. Dr. Yun is a full professor and chair of the Kinesiology Department at East Carolina University. Both are accomplished researchers, as well as they have OSEP grant (Office of Special Education Programs) funding for PhDs. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community based service-learning programs, and research engagement.
For this episode we had a discussion with Dr. Ron Croce, a full professor at the University of New Hampshire, about his interesting career that intersected with adapted physical education, neurology, biomechanics, and motor learning. Dr. Croce is a distinguished scholar and professor, and has received several awards for his accomplishments. Dr. Croce’s research focuses on: (1) physical and motor functioning of individuals with cognitive and motor impairments, and (2) human neuromuscular functioning and cognition. He has 100+ peer-reviewed publications and is a co-author for the "Developmental and Adapted Physical Activity Assessment" textbook. More specifically, in this discussion we talked about how biomechanics and motor learning fit within adapted physical education, and their importance.
For this episode, I spoke with Dr. Justin Haegele about his most recent research around children with visual impairments and their experiences with inclusion in a physical education setting. Dr. Justin Haegele (@Justin_Haegele) is an associate professor at Old Dominion University, an accomplished researcher in the field of adapted physical activity, and a frequent guest on this podcast. For this episode, Dr. Haegele and I had an in-depth discussion about his recent paper entitled "Absent, Incapable, and “Normal”: Understanding the Inclusiveness of Visually Impaired Students’ Experiences in Integrated Physical Education" where he and his research team interviewed several children and youth with visual impairments about their experiences with feeling a sense of belonging and acceptance within their integrated physical education setting. Within this discussion, we also revisited some of our previous discussions about inclusion vs integration and the notion of how we as physical educators may at times do more harm than good for our students with disabilities.
Listen in on this very interesting podcast, where we have a different format where myself and our guest co-host Dr. Garth Tymeson (Emeritus Professor @ UW-La Crosse) had several generations of APE professionals on the podcast for a short time to discuss their experiences with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) personnel development grant. More specifically, the purpose of this grant was to discuss the significant impacts of the longstanding OSEP personnel development grant programs on APE throughout the US, the current opportunities for higher education faculty and prospective students, and the need for more APE higher education faculty to submit OSEP grant proposals. Dr. Tymeson gathered a group for this podcast that represents 5 “generations” with OSEP ancestry and DNA, who have and will continue to impact the APE profession and countless students with disabilities' lives. These "generations" who had received OSEP funding were represented by:
Dr. Ron French (Emeritus Professor @ Texas Woman's University) Dr. Lisa Silliman-French (Emeritus Professor @ Texas Woman's University) Dr. Manny Felix (Professor @ Winona State University) Dr. Brock McMullen (Assistant Professor @ UW-La Crosse) Julia May (Current Master's Scholar @ UW-La Crosse)
Listen in on the May NCPEID APE Collaborative, featuring two well-experienced guest veterans in the field of APA, to discuss current issues in adapted aquatics as well as lessons and tips for adapting, innovating, and inventing in the APE field.
Dr. Monica Lepore (@MonicaLepore), retired APE professor from West Chester University will be discussing current issues in adapted aquatics. Ann Griffin (@GWAEA_AdaptedPE), retired APE teacher and consultant from Grant Wood Area Education Agency in east central Iowa will be sharing her knowledge and expertise on the challenges and lessons she’s learned from her 40 years of experience in the field.
Listen in on the March NCPEID collaborative featuring a panel of experts in the Adapted Physical Activity (APA) field, as they discuss what’s going on in the field of physical education from services & programs, to inclusion and support, and how these compare from a North American context to a European context.
This panel of experts include Hayley Morrison (@Ms_HMorrison), assistant professor at the University of Alberta in Canada, Aija Klavina (@aijapro), professor at Lithuanian Sport University in Lithuania, Kwok Ng (@kwokwng) from the University of Limerick in Ireland and University of Eastern Finland, and Michelle Grenier (@michellegrenie1), President of NCPEID and recently retired professor at the University of New Hampshire.
This podcast features Dr. Sean Healy from the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy, and Community Health at Dublin City University in Ireland. Dr. Healy has studied around the world, receiving his Master’s Degree in Adapted Physical Activity (APA) in Belgium, and PhD at the University of Virginia. Before recently returning back to Ireland, he also worked for 3 years in the APA program at the University of Delaware. Discussed in today’s episode is Dr. Healy’s article, The Gatekeepers to Fitness: A Correspondence Study to Examine Disabling Practices Among Fitness Center Personnel. This article examines the discrimination faced by disabled people in the fitness industry, along with physical and social barriers, and how these differ throughout different types of disabilities. Listen in for more information on the results of Healy’s study and theories as to why this problem occurs.
A continuation of the podcast discussion on APE hiring and mentoring processes with recurring guest speakers Dr. Barry Lavay (@BarryLavay), Professor Emeritus who recently retired and was a full professor of APE at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and the APE coordinator for 33 years and Dr. Melissa Bittner (@MBittner_APE), Assistant professor since 2017 and current APE Coordinator at CSULB. Building off of the hiring process discussion, this podcast discusses the importance for new faculty mentoring as well as explores strategies needed for a strong mentoring relationship between veteran professors and recently hired faculty. Most importantly, we believe replacing retired APE faculty positions and strong mentoring of junior faculty are two topics that are often not discussed but have strong ramifications to preserving the APE profession! While all “What’s New in APE” listeners will find this podcast of interest, higher education Ph. D. APE candidates and junior faculty will find this podcast especially useful.
In this podcast we talk to Dr. Barry Lavay (@BarryLavay), Professor Emeritus who recently retired and was a full professor of APE at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and the APE coordinator for 33 years and Dr. Melissa Bittner (@MBittner_APE), Assistant professor since 2017 and current APE Coordinator at CSULB, regarding the hiring and mentoring of new faculty. Both critical issues that are needed to help continue to maintain a strong APE higher education program. In this podcast we discuss the importance of replacing the positions of retired APE higher education faculty and the cruciality of these veteran APE professionals being involved in the search process for new hires, as well as remaining on the faculty for a few years in order to mentor the new faculty members.
Listen in on the February NCPEID collaborative featuring guest speakers Dr. Rebecca Lytle and Danielle Musser! Dr. Lytle, professor and APE program coordinator at California State University at Chico discusses the key factors to writing successful grant applications and specifically the OSEP grant (Office of Special Education Programs). She has had an OSEP personal preparation grant for over 15 years and is currently finishing up her third 5 year grant. Her presentation speaks upon everything from following format guidelines, adjusting your content to reach your audience, required training, benefits of a strong team, how to effectively portray plans & objectives, and many more topics.
NCPEID’s second guest speaker, Danielle Musser, the 2020 SHAPE Colorado APE teacher of the year, discusses how to be successful with APE program funding. Musser earned her Master’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in APE from Texas Woman's University, she has earned CAPE certification and has been able to raise over $130k for her APE program in the last 8 years. Her presentation gives amazing tips and tricks from her own personal experiences with program funding and goes in depth about the importance of making connections, collaborating with companies, and building publicity for your program.
For this episode of What's New in APE, I led a discussion with Matt Ney, who is the founder of the new company called Kakana. Kakana is a online service that provides physical activity opportunities tailored to meet individuals with disabilities' unique needs. More specifically, Kakana offers a wide range of adapted classes (e.g., yoga, mediation, cardio), a team of instructors (many of whom have disabilities) that are trained in working with people with disabilities, and a large catalog of fitness videos. In addition, this is Matt's second business in the area of health and physical activity, as he initially created a company Fitbound that focused short bursts of exercise, or brain breaks, for all children to do while in school. Within this podcast we discuss how and why he developed Kakana, the reasons he chose to be for profit vs. non-profit, and why this service is so unique.
Hello APE podcast listeners and welcome to another episode/post on the What's New in APE platform! For this episode, I was able to bring back Paralympian Jessica Heims to talk about here recent experiences with competing in the 2020 Paralympics and navigating COVID.
Jessica is a recent graduate from the University of Northern Iowa, where she competed on the University's track and field team as a discus thrower and sprinter. You can follow Jessica on Twitter @Jessie_Heims.
For this episode of the What's New in APE Podcast, we are able to deliver a recording of the December NCPEID APE Collaborative where two highly regarded experts in the field of APA discussed different types of assessments, how to use them, and how they were developed. First Tonya Moore (@mooretonya2003), the Physical Education and Health Coordinator at Los Angeles County Office, explained how to use the CARE-R2 assessment. The CARE-R2 assessment is often used to assess the motor skills and development of children with moderate-severe disabilities to help determine appropriate placement options and IEP goals. when determining appropriate adapted physical education placement, triennial assessments and IEP goal development.
The second guest speaker was Dr. Dale Ulrich (@TGMD3Ulrich), who is an accomplished researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Michigan and the developer of the TGMD. The most recent version of this assessment is the TGMD-III and is a psychometrically validated motor skills assessment designed to quickly assess children aged 3-11 years old. It can be used to identify areas of need, eligibility for APE services, IEP goals, and appropriate PE placement.
For this episode of What's New in APE, I led a discussion with APE journal editors Dr. Martin Block, Dr. Jeffrey Martin, and Pauli Rintala addressing their experiences within the field of Adapted Physical Activity and as research editors. Discussed in this podcast are a variety of topics including effective strategies for teaching and learning in APE, overcoming language barriers, and the importance of research for the adapted field.
Dr. Martin Block, editor of Palaestra, is the Program Director of Kinesiology for Individuals with Disabilities at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1990. He has also served as past president of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA) and past president of the National Consortium of Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID).
Dr. Jeffrey Martin, editor of APAQ, is a professor at Wayne State University. He received his Ph.D. in exercise and sport psychology in 1992 from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Currently, his major research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of disability sport and physical activity and he has published over 200 research articles and book chapters.
Pauli Rintala, editor of the European journal for Adapted Physical Activity, is a recently retired professor from the University of Jyväskylä, who specialized in APA. He received a Ph.D. from Oregon State University and since then has been in Finland where he has worked within various different fields and with many different research projects.
A recording of the November NCPEID APE Collaborative, with guest speaker Dr. Luis Columna of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Columna is an associate professor and author of two books, as well as numerous peer reviewed journal articles. He has served on various different journal committees and has given over 100 presentations/workshops at the international, national, and state level. This podcast discusses Columna’s Fit Families Program, a program that promotes family involvement in physical activity for children with autism. Explained in his presentation is the importance of families’ roles in regard to encouraging physical activity, as well as various strategies for teaching families what to do, as well as how to handle family construct and eliminate barriers to family involvement.
Within this podcast we had a discussion with Dr. Michelle Grenier, President of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), about the importance of advocacy for quality Physical Education resources for individuals with disabilities, and the efforts of NCPEID to spread information and awareness.
Dr. Michelle Grenier has an extensive background in both the Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education (APE) field, having worked with students at every level as well as students with disabilities in both regular and adapted environments. Dr. Michelle Grenier, a former professor at the University of New Hampshire, has earned a master's degree in special education along a PHD in education at UNH, and is now the APE representative for the New Hampshire Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Dr. Michelle Grenier's organization NCPEID, as discussed, is a national organization that focuses on influencing the development of the APE field through advanced research, advocacy, and encouraging and stimulating people such as physical educators and legislative mandates. More information about NCPEID can be found on their official website https://www.ncpeid.org/ .
For this episode, I am able to share the most recent APE Collaborative hosted by the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID). This is a brand new collaborative, where experts in the field of APE are invited to speak on a specific topic and then viewers are able to interact with one another and the experts. For this very first collaborative, the guest speakers were Dr. Suzanna Dillon (Professor at Texas Woman's University) and Brad Weiner (APE Teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools). Both of these panelists are former What's New in APE podcast guests and renown scholars and practitioners within the field of APE. Dr. Dillon discusses how to promote and advocate APE to others outside of the field of APE, such as school administrators and parents. The second panelist, Brad Weiner, discusses a range of APE teaching strategies one can utilize to deliver more effective APE services to students.
During this episode of What’s New in APE we will be discussing the 50th National APE conference (NAPEC) that will be held virtually on November 4-6, 2021. Today we have Kathy Russell one of Conference Directors and Dr. Barry Lavay one of the Program Committees chairs to discuss the celebration that is planned to mark the 50th anniversary of this conference, an “Academy of Adapted PE Stars”. Kathy and Barry will briefly discuss the evolution of the conference during the past 50 years. They will then share the decision making that went into having an entirely virtual conference using the SOCIO event platform. Also examined will be the variety of different events and socials planned for conference attendees. Barry and Kathy will share the program that includes some great keynote speakers, as well as over, 50 sessions based on a variety of APE topics with dynamic speakers from all over the country. Even though the conference is virtual conference attendees will have many opportunities to interact with other attendees. If you are interested in attending the conference check out the conference website at: https://www.cahperd.org/Public/SCAPE/SCAPE%20APE%20Conference/Public/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=2021NAPEC
For this episode, I am able to share the recent APE Collaborative hosted by the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID). This is a brand new collaborative, where experts in the field of APE are invited to speak on a specific topic and then viewers are able to interact with one another and the experts. For this very first collaborative, the guest speakers were Dr. Garth Tymeson (Emeritus Professor of UW-Lacrosse) and Dr. Ali Brian (Associate Professor of University of South Carolina. Both of these panelists are former What's New in APE podcast guests and renown scholars within the field of APE. Dr. Tymeson discussed the latest Dear Colleague Letter in relation to APE, how these letters come to be, and the impact of this letter and other Dear Colleague Letters on the field of APE. The second panelist, Dr. Ali Brian, discussed research tips and advice for young scholars, as well as common pitfalls many researchers make, in the field of APE.
The next NCPEID sponsored APE collaborative is scheduled for October 21st @ 12 pm EST, and will feature Dr. Suzanna Dillon (Professor at Texas Woman's University) and Brad Weiner (APE Teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools). They will discuss APE advocacy and best teaching practices.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kathleen Martin Ginis and discuss some of her work that has focused on physical activity interventions and recommendations for individuals with disabilities, how to change health-related behaviors, and the dissemination of knowledge related to health and disability. Dr. Martin Ginis is a professor at the University of British Columbia and the founding director of SCI Action Canada (which is a lab that "conducts research on how to inform, teach and enable people living with spinal cord injury to initiate and maintain a physically active lifestyle").
Dr. Martin Ginis is one of the most prolific researchers to have been spotlighted by the What's New in APE platform, as she has over 300 peer-reviewed published articles and received over $11 million in grants.
Within the episode, we discuss Dr. Martin Ginis's journey to becoming a researcher in the field of adapted physical activity, the need for evidence/guidelines to support physical activity interventions for individuals with disabilities, and how practitioners can help to create sustained change in individuals with disabilities' health-relate behavior. In addition, Dr. Martin Ginis defines knowledge translation, and the need to effectively translate knowledge so that people with disabilities and those that work with them in physical activity spaces can access quality information about disability and health.
In this episode, I had a conversation with Kae McCarty (@KM_McCarty) about the status of disability sports at the collegiate level. Ms. McCarty is completing her doctoral degree at Oregon State University, under her adviser Dr. Megan MacDonald, where she is conducting research around disability sport and college athletes. Ms. Within this discussion we discuss the types of disability sport available across the US, the importance of sport for college students with disabilities, the barriers that disrupt and prevent disability sports at a collegiate level, and the notion of disability sports sometimes being used as a form of "inspiration porn".
I am very happy to release a new episode of the podcast, as I have been on somewhat of a hiatus for the last month or so as I have recently moved my family to New Hampshire. In the beginning of the podcast, I recorded a short update on the changes going on in my life.
For the rest of the episode, I had a conversation with Dr. Anthony Maher (@ajmaher5) about inclusion and how autistic individuals experience physical education. Within this discussion we discuss a recent research paper he co-authored on autistic youth's experience in an integrated physical education setting. We also confer about the meaning of inclusion, how adapted physical education looks in the United Kingdom, and how to create more inclusive physical education environments for children with disabilities.
This episode was led by repeat guest hosts from California State University, Long Beach: Dr. Barry Lavay (APE Professor, @BarryLavay) and Dr. Melissa Bittner (APE Professor, @MBittner_APE). In this episode we join them in one of their undergraduate APE classes, where they had a panel of recent APE student teachers and their mentors they worked with in the field. They go in-depth and discuss their experiences, how they navigated the pandemic and student teaching, and the keys to becoming a successful APE teacher.
In this episode, I had a conversation with Amanda Ebert (@eberta2) about ethical and moral issues that practitioners in the field of adapted physical activity (APA) deal with on a regular basis. This conversation was guided by a paper Ms. Ebert and her adviser Dr. Donna Goodwin published from her Master's thesis called "Sand in the Shorts: Experiences of Moral Discomfort in Adapted Physical Activity Professional Practice". Within her recently published article, Ms. Ebert interviewed a number of APA practitioners about the moral issues that they face, and how they attempt to navigate them. Within this discussion we also confer about common moral issues APA practitioners may encounter, why and how to discuss these moral discomforts, and that it is normal to have these feelings about moral discomfort within such a complex field.
In today's very special episode we had an interview with Drs. Pauli Rintala (University of Jyväskylä) and Kwok Ng (University of Eastern Finland and University of Limerick) about the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) and the field of adapted physical activity (APA) at an international level. Follow Dr. Kwok Ng @kwokwng. Also follow @ISAPA2021 and @ifapanet for updates about IFAPA and the upcoming ISAPA conference.
Discussed in this podcast is the ISAPA, which acts under IFAPA, which will be held online, and will be from June 15th through 18th. This year’s theme is Quality Partnerships in Adapted Physical Activity: Stronger Together. The goal for ISAPA is to bring international researchers together to share their research in hopes of learning about what is going on in other countries. This podcast covers IFAPA and ISAPA, the international perspectives gained from attending ISAPA, how this years ISAPA will be unique, and changes in ISAPA overtime. For more information on IFAPA, you can visit their website at: http://ifapa.net. If you are interested in the 2021 ISAPA, check out their website at: https://www.jyu.fi/en/congress/isapa2021
In this special episode, we had Dr. Lauren Liberman from SUNY Brockport college to discuss how to teach students with visual impairments (VI) in a physical education setting. Dr. Lauren Lieberman is a a Distinguished Service Professor in the area of adapted physical education. Prior to graduate school, she taught at the Perkins School for the Blind in the Deafblind program for five years. In addition, Dr. Lieberman founded and currently runs Camp Abilities, a sports camp for children with VI, each summer in Brockport, NY. She has helped start fourteen Camp Abilities programs in the United States and other countries.
Specifically in this podcast, we discuss the different types of VI and how this may affect their physical education experiences, teaching strategies specific to working with children with VI, and applying universal design principles with students with VI. The direction of this podcast discuss was guided by a chapter written by Dr. Liberman in the Winnick and Porretta textbook called "Adapted Physical Education and Sport".
In addition, please go to this link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lj_jNMmwCaHZD6p-HLW-Hyjx3JxVJzsV/view?usp=sharing) to access a transcript of this podcast interview. I am going to begin to add transcripts to older podcasts as well!
For this episode, I am able to share a recent keynote lecture that occurred at my university (the University of Northern Iowa), where Dr. Justin Haegele spoke to our college of education about children with disabilities' experiences with inclusion in a physical education setting. Dr. Justin Haegele (@Justin_Haegele) is an associate professor at Old Dominion University, an accomplished researcher in the field of adapted physical activity, and a frequent guest on this podcast. Below is a blurb about his keynote lecture from the Carlton-Melichamp Lecture in Education website.
"Since its introduction into educational vernacular, inclusion has become an international buzzword that now underpins educational policy and practice. However, the meaning of the term inclusion is contentious, and appears to change depending on the context in which it is used. In this presentation, the speaker will discuss one conceptualization of inclusion, as a subjective experience, and the implications this orientation has on research and practice. He will then provide a detailed overview of his research which has focused on amplifying the voices of persons with disabilities to understand, from their perspective, their experiences with inclusion. The presentation with conclude with a discussion about how to move educational research forward utilizing this conceptualization".
In this episode we discuss justice pedagogy and the need for diversity and representation within the field of PE/APE. This podcast features three panelists from The Ohio State University, which included Dr. Samuel Hodge who is a full professor of physical education and adapted physical education, and two of his PhD candidates: Thomas Wilson and Ross Jordan. Specifically within this podcast the panelists discuss their experiences of living as Black Americans and how this experience constantly shapes their perceptions and lived experiences. In addition, we define and discuss the importance of justice pedagogy, as well as the need to have continued discussions about race and intersectional identities within a variety of spaces within the field of PE/APE.
In this episode we discuss service learning programs (where college students work with individuals with disabilities in a physical activity setting) within college APA programs, and how contact theory is applied to these experiences. To guide this discussion, we had three panelists who have run these programs and conducted research on the topic: Dr. Cathy McKay an assistant professor at James Madison University, Dr. Andrea Taliaferro an associate professor at West Virginia University, and Layne Case a doctoral student who is finishing up her dissertation at Oregon State University. Specifically within this podcast we define contact theory and discuss its application to service learning programs in APA settings, how one could best apply contact theory to their service learning programs, and how in-service teachers might be able to apply aspects of contact theory to their own classroom.
Hello APE Viewers! I recently had the opportunity to sit down with two scholars who recently authored a chapter in the textbook "Routledge Handbook of Adapted Physical Education" called Public Health Research. These scholars included Dr. Byron Lai, an assistant professor within the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Dr. Heidi Stanish an associate professor of Exercise and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Within their co-authored chapter, they define public health as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and prompting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private communities, and individuals" (Winslow, 1920, p. 30). During this podcast episode we discuss the relationship between public health and adapted physical activity (APA) and the existing research related to physical activity and sedentary behaviors among people with disabilities that currently exist. We also highlight the lack of research in these areas, what we can do with the research available, and why it is important to use a public health lens when promoting the field of APA and adapted physical education.
In our third installment of talking to those involved in the Multi-Institution Adapted Physical Activity (APA) Mentorship Consortium, we talk to two of the developers of the original idea for the consortium: Drs. Justin Haegele (Old Dominion University) and Joonkoo Yun (East Carolina University). Within this episode we discuss how they developed the idea for the consortium, the need for more quality research in the field of APA, how they secured funding for the program, and where they see this consortium going in the coming years.
As mentioned in previous posts, the Multi-Institution APA Mentorship Consortium is beginning to train 28 high quality and competent scholars at the doctoral degree level at nine universities across the country, to serve as higher education faculty, and train pre-service physical education teachers and related service professionals to appropriately educate youth with disabilities. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community based service-learning programs, and research engagement. This consortium includes East Carolina University, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Oregon State University, Texas Women’s University, University of Delaware, University of Virginia, and West Virginia University.
You can also follow updates from the consortium on Twitter: @AdaptedPA
Welcome to the What's New in APE Podcast blog/podcast. In this episode, I had a discussion with two APE teachers in the state of Georgia that have created high quality videos that deliver programming specific to PE for students with disabilities, as well as Special Olympics Training and Games. More specifically, these APE teachers include Dave Martinez and Amy Aenchbacher. Both have over two decades of experience teaching APE and work within Cherokee County School District, as well as help run the Cherokee County Special Olympics. Within this discussion, we discuss teaching APE during the pandemic, how they started developing high quality videos, and where they see the use of these videos after the pandemic subsides.
In this episode, I had a discussion with two APE teachers in the state of Georgia that have created high quality videos that deliver programming specific to PE for students with disabilities, as well as Special Olympics Training and Games. More specifically, these APE teachers include Dave Martinez and Amy Aenchbacher. Both have over two decades of experience teaching APE and work within Cherokee County School District, as well as help run the Cherokee County Special Olympics. Within this discussion, we discuss teaching APE during the pandemic, how they started developing high quality videos, and where they see the use of these videos after the pandemic subsides.
This episode is very unique, in that it is an example of a project from my Technology in Physical Education (PE) undergraduate course at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). This project had PE undergraduates create a podcast focused on a specific area of PE and for a specific audience. After listening to all of them, I felt one group did an outstanding job and I wanted to highlight their thoughts and hard work on this platform. This group (which included: Thone Golwitzer, Brooke O'Connell, and Jakob Horstman) discussed the feeling of having to fight for others respect due to their college major, feelings of marginalization, and their views on the importance of PE. In addition, they also interview Dr. Tam Burt, a PE faculty member at UNI, about her experiences of feeling marginalized when she was a PE major in college.
As explained in an earlier post, "The journey of choosing to pursue, and actually pursuing doctorate are very difficult and individual". Somewhat in a continuation of the recent podcast episode focused on how PhD students choose and navigate a PhD program in the area of adapted physical activity (APA), for this episode we interviewed a panel of APA doctoral advisers that are a part of a newly formulated APA Consortium. More specifically, this episode included the well-known scholars: Dr. Martin Block (University of Virginia), Dr. Deborah Shapiro (Georgia State University), Dr. Sean Healy (University of Delaware), and Dr. Samantha Ross (West Virginia University). Within the episode we specifically discuss their research interests, how to navigate the PhD journey, and the qualities of a good PhD mentor. In addition, we discuss how the APA Consortium is beginning to train 28 high quality and competent scholars at the doctoral degree level at nine universities across the country, to serve as higher education faculty, and train pre-service physical education teachers and related service professionals to appropriately educate youth with disabilities. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community-based service-learning programs, and research engagement. This consortium includes East Carolina University, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Oregon State University, Texas Women’s University, University of Delaware, University of Virginia, and West Virginia University.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Nancy Spencer and discuss some of her work and perceptions towards disability and disability models. Disability models are used to view and conceptualize disability, as well as to understand how society interacts and impacts disability. Dr. Spencer is an Associate Professor at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation. Dr. Spencer has written numerous articles questioning how we view disability in the field of adapted physical activity. Recently she wrote a book chapter called "Disability Language in Adapted Physical Education", along with Drs. Peers and Eales, in the Routledge Handbook of Adapted Physical Education. In addition to her work on disability models, Dr. Spencer's research interests are in the areas of adapted physical activity and children’s physical activity. According to her faculty page, she is "committed to understanding how to facilitate inclusive and meaningful experiences in play, sport (parasport) and recreation for children and specifically people who experience disability, using qualitative approaches to research".
For this episode, I was able to bring back Paralympian Jessica Heims to talk about how COVID-19 has disrupted the 2020 Paralympics, and how this organization and herself are working towards 2021. In addition, we discuss living with a disability during COVID-19, and the recent films Rising Phoenix and Crip Camp and what they mean to the disability community.
Jessica is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Northern Iowa. She also currently competes on the University's track and field team as a discus thrower and sprinter. Furthermore, Jessica recently broke two world records in discus throwing. You can follow Jessica on Twitter @Jessie_Heims.
The journey of choosing to pursue, and actually pursuing doctorate are very difficult and individual. In this episode, I had a panel of three adapted physical activity (APA) doctoral students from across the nation discuss their journeys to get a doctorate in the field. The three panelists included: Chloe Simpson (West Virginia University), Thomas Wilson (The Ohio State University), and Justin Bueche (Old Dominion University)Each of these young scholars are a part of a newly formulated APA Consortium. This APA Consortium aims to train 28 high quality and competent scholars at the doctoral degree level at nine universities across the country, to serve as higher education faculty, and train pre-service physical education teachers and related service professionals to appropriately educate youth with disabilities. This training will occur through coursework, practicum, a consortium-wide enrichment program, community-based service-learning programs, and research engagement. The faculty engaged in this Consortium are known leaders nationally and internationally in adapted physical activity, which places this project in an advantageous position to provide quality and essential doctoral-level training. This consortium includes East Carolina University, Georgia State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Oregon State University, Texas Women’s University, University of Delaware, University of Virginia, and West Virginia University.
For this episode of the podcast, I interviewed the lead author, Dr. Seth Jenny (@DrSethJenny), of the recently released textbook "Technology for Physical Educators, Health Educators, and Coaches: Enhancing Instruction, Assessment, Management, Professional Development & Advocacy". This textbook is obviously very relevant during the recent COVID pandemic. Indeed, Human Kinetics explains that "This text will help health and physical education teachers and coaches improve their abilities by learning to effectively use technology in the areas of instruction, assessment, management, communication, professional development, and advocacy". Indeed, this textbook offers an array of resources and strategies on how to use a wide range of technologies within a physical education setting, as well as this textbook as a full chapter dedicated to the implementation of assistive technology to meet students with disabilities' needs.
Within this interview, we discuss the development and use of this textbook. We talk about specific technologies and strategies one can implement within their classes. In addition, we debate whether online physical education can be implemented effectively, and where the field of physical education currently stands on online physical education and how COVID may change those perceptions.
Dr. Barry Lavay, an adapted physical education professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, has been so kind to bring his expertise and personality to the podcast. In fact, for the next two episodes Dr. Lavay will be interviewing Dr. Geoffrey Broadhead about his career in the field of adapted physical activity (APA), as well as his insights on the status of field and where we are going.
Dr. Geoffrey Broadhead is a pioneer in the field of a APA and has many noteworthy achievements. More specifically, Dr. Broadhead is the founding editor for the quintessential Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) journal, and a former professor of APA at Louisiana State University and Kent State University.
For the second episode, Dr. Lavay talks to Dr. Broadhead about the founding of APAQ, and this journals impact on the field of APA. In addition, they discuss how this journal helped to legitimize and validate the APA profession. More specifically, they discuss the driving factors for the development of APAQ, the creation of the editorial board for APAQ, and some of the research trends APAQ has focused on.
This episode of What’s New in APE is extra special, as we have a guest moderator taking the reins today. Dr. Barry Lavay (@BarryLavay), an adapted physical education professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, has been so kind to bring his expertise and personality to the podcast. In fact, for the next two episodes Dr. Lavay will be interviewing Dr. Geoffrey Broadhead (@geoffbroadhead) about his career in the field of adapted physical activity (APA), as well as his insights on the status of field and where we are going.
Dr. Geoffrey Broadhead is a pioneer in the field of a APA and has many noteworthy achievements. More specifically, Dr. Broadhead is the founding editor for the quintessential Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly (APAQ) journal, and a former professor of adapted physical activity at Louisiana State University and Kent State University. In addition, Dr. Broadhead has received a number of honors and awards for his contribution to the profession such as SHAPE Fellow member, the NCPEID Hollis Fait Scholarship Award recipient in 1988 for recognition of his distinguished scholarly contributions to APA, National Advocacy Award from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, and since 1996 Editor Emeritus of APAQ the official journal of IFAPA.
For this very first episode, Dr. Lavay talks to Dr. Broadhead about his upbringing and professional training in England, and how he made the transition to the United States of America and the field of APA. Within this topic, they have an in-depth discussion about how Dr. Broadhead became initially interested in health and physical education for individuals with disabilities. Dr. Broadhead also shares his insights on what he learned from pioneers he studied with in the field of APA when he first began his career. Furthermore, they will begin to discuss some of Dr. Broadhead’s research interests, which have focused on an array of topics, including some crucial work on physical fitness testing for individuals with intellectual disabilities, that laid the foundation for many of the laws that have incorporated language regarding APA today.
Brad Weiner (@APETeacher), an adapted physical educator for Montgomery County Public Schools and longtime contributor to the podcast, acted as the moderator for this episode. Brad leads this podcast by attempting to examine how adapted physical educators use and view research within the field of APE. This episode had on three panelists who all were authors of a recent research article (Adapted Physical Educators’ Perspectives of Educational Research) that surveyed 124 adapted physical educators on their views and use of research.
The panelists included: Dr. Scott McNamara (ScottMcNamara12), the regular host for this podcast and an assistant professor at the University of Northern Iowa; Dr. Andrew Colombo-Dougovito (@amcdphd) from the University of North Texas; and Mr. Christopher Ahrens (@chrisahrens), an APE Teacher for the San Diego Unified School District and former US Paralympic soccer player.
Within the episode the panel discusses why and how they undertook this research project, why APE teachers may not use or read research, why APE teachers should use research, and the importance for APE teachers and APE researchers to collaborate.
Due in part to the recent Black Lives Matters (BLM) Movement highlighting inequalities within our healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems, we dedicated to devote an episode to discuss this movement and social justice. For this podcast had on two scholars with expertise in social justice in the fields of physical education and adapted physical education to discuss topics related to BLM and social justice. More specifically, we discuss the role of race within physical education, how disability and race intersects, critical race pedagogy, and how continue this discussion moving forward. In addition, Clark's (2020) recent paper entitled "Toward a critical race pedagogy of physical education" was used to guide this conversation.
This podcast features two panelists: Dr. Langston Clark (@LangstonDClark) who is an assistant professor of physical education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Dr. Samuel Hodge who is a full professor of physical education and adapted physical education at The Ohio State University.
Welcome to the What's New in APE Podcast blog. In this episode, I was able to have a panel discussion with three APE and/or grading experts to discuss grading philosophies and procedures within the field of APE. The panelists included: Brad Wiener (@APETeacher), a former SHAPE America National APE Teacher of the year and a current an adapted physical educator for Montgomery County Public Schools; Dr. Kristi Roth (@midlifetreks), a full professor at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and one of the co-authors of Principles and Methods of APE and Recreation; and Dr. Matt Townsley (@mctownsley) an assistant professor in the educational leadership department at the University of Northern Iowa. Within this discussion, the panel tackles topics related to (1) what is the purpose of grading, (2) barriers and issues with grading in APE, (3) standards-based grading in APE, (4) an adapted grading scale APE teachers can use within their classes, and (5) grading policies and laws.
For the 5th, and likely final episode of this COVID series, I sat down to discuss how COVID has impacted the day-to-day life of Dr. Kristi Roth, a full professor at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and one of the co-authors of Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education and Recreation. In addition, we discuss how to use her app to find APE activities and how-to videos. She details how she has created this app, as well as other technologies to curate quality content for others to easily use in order to find useful content. To further drive home the point that these mediums allow experts to curate and provide easily accessible resources to those who need it. Finally, Dr. Roth and I discuss best practices in online learning, and some advantages of using online learning.
For the 4th, and final installment of the COVID-19 APE podcast series, Brad Wiener (@APETeacher) joined us to discuss how he has navigated his job as an adapted physical educator during the pandemic. Brad is a former SHAPE America National APE Teacher of the year and is a currently an adapted physical educator for Montgomery County Public School, in Maryland. In this episode, Brad discusses how he is delivering APE services to students, how his school is monitoring students' IEPs, as well as he shares how and why he developed a variety of APE related resources during the pandemic. Brad has revamped his APE website since the pandemic, and has created a variety of resources (curriculum for different age groups, videos, worksheets, etc) that parents and APE teachers can use to continue to provide services to students with disabilities. In addition, Brad discusses how we need to use these resources as templates, and customize them for our individual students' needs.
For the 3rd installment of the COVID-19 series, Dr. Melissa Bittner (@CSULB_APE) discussed how she is coping with the pandemic from a university viewpoint. Dr. Bittner is an assistant professor of adapted physical education at California State University, Long Beach. Because of the pandemic, her undergraduates were missing the opportunity to work with students with disabilities, so Dr. Bittner took the initiative to create an online practicum program, where her students conduct a free online lesson Tuesday through Friday at 1 pm PST.
Because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to create a series of podcasts that highlight some different resources that may help APE teachers deliver services to students with disabilities during this time.
For the second episode. we had Matthew Bassett (@PhysEdApps) tell us about a plethora of resources he has developed with the help with several other physical educators across the nation, for SHAPE America. Matt is a general physical educator for San Jose Charter Academy in California, and in 2017 was named the CAHPERD Elementary Teacher of the Year. Matt discussed how his job has been impacted by the pandemic, how he plans on continuing to deliver quality physical education to his students, and how he started working with SHAPE America to develop the SHAPE America Corona Virus Resources page, which provides a resource list of different online physical education resources one can use to continue to deliver quality physical education services to students during the pandemic. In addition, he outlines a variety of tutorial videos for physical educators to use to help them through this crisis.
Because of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to create a series of podcasts/blog posts that highlight some different resources that may help APE teachers deliver services to students with disabilities during this time. Please contact Scott McNamara @ scmcnamara23@gmail.com if you have any additional resources we should highlight.
For the first episode in this series, we had David Gelsak from Exercise Connection to come on and discuss his Exercise Buddy app. David briefly discusses his how he created Exercise Connection, how he is dealing with COVID-19 as a business owner, how APE teachers and families can utilize Exercise Buddy during the pandemic, and how he is continually adapting his program and app.
This episode of What’s New in APE is extra special, as we have a guest moderator taking the reins today. Dr. Barry Lavay, an APE professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, is tackling his second podcast series and interviewed Dr. David Porretta about his career in the field of APE, as well as his insights on the status of APE and his friendship with the Late Dr. Joseph Winnick. Dr. David Porretta is a pioneer in the field of APE and has many noteworthy achievements. Dr. Porretta is a Faculty Emeritus from the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University.
For the second episode, Dr. Lavay and Dr. Porretta give an in-depth analysis on the development and maintenance of one of the most well-known APE textbooks in the field "APE and Sport" which is published by Human Kinetics. They discuss how this book was unique in its' content and format, how the book has changed over the years, potential changes to the 7th edition of the textbook, and how this book was foundational in the development for of the Human Kinetics publishing company.
Hello! This episode of What’s New in APE is extra special, as we have a guest moderator taking the reins today. Dr. Barry Lavay, an APE professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, is tackling his second podcast series and interviewed Dr. David Porretta about his career in the field of APE, as well as his insights on the status of APE and his friendship with the Late Dr. Joseph Winnick.
Dr. David Porretta is a pioneer in the field of APE and has many noteworthy achievements. Dr. Porretta is a Faculty Emeritus from the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University. In addition, he has has numerous major publications and has regularly presented scholarly papers at international, national, and state meetings.
For this very first episode, Dr. Lavay talks to Dr. Porretta about his friendship with Dr. Joe Winnick. More specifically, Dr. Porretta explains how Dr. Winnick helped to share the field of APE since the late 1960's and influenced his own personal and professional growth. Areas touched on include Dr. Winnick's: (1) ability to secure large external grants to fund APE related areas, (2) development and maintenance of one of the most well-known APE textbooks in the field "APE and Sport" which is published by Human Kinetics, (3) contributions to the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), and his (4) journey to create the BrockPort Physical Fitness Test.
Please stay tuned for the next episode where Dr. Poretta continues to discuss his own research, the field of APE, and his professional growth through the years.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Luis Columna about his background in the field of APE, and his recent projects and research endeavors. Dr. Columna is a native of San Juan Puerto Rico and currently is an Associate Professor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. His research focuses on ways to increase the participation of families (especially Hispanic) of children with disabilities into physical activity and also his research focuses on ways to better prepare physical activity professionals and physical education teachers to work with diverse populations. One of Dr. Columna's projects that is discussed with the podcast is FitFamilies. FitFamilieis is a physical activity program that brings together children with disabilities, their parents, college students and in-service professionals in the fields of APE and special education.
We are excited to bring you a new episode that explores recent collaboration efforts between Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) and APE teachers.
Joining us for this episode are four distinguished guests from California State University, Long Beach: Barry Lavay (APE Professor, @BarryLavay), Melissa Bittner (APE Professor, @MBittner_APE), Alaine Ocampo (SLP Professor), and Belinda Daughrity (SLP Professor). Each of the experts listed above were recently involved in a research project that examined how pre-service APE teachers can encourage peer engagement and social communication in tasks related to children with disabilities' participation in physical activity. Along with discussing their recent research and the importance of their findings, the guests also discuss the guiding principles of SLPs, the importance of training APE teachers with regards to SLP, and how SLPs and APE can effectively collaborate.
For this episode, we spoke with two of the directors of the non-profit "AdaptFit", which is an organization that offers adapted physical fitness programs for people with disabilities in the Los Angeles region. The two directors, Kristin Abadjian and Suzanne Bonne, discuss how AdaptFit has been able to offer new opportunities for people with disabilities to become more physically active in their community. Within this podcast they discuss what drove them to create AdaptFit, the impact of the program on local families, and how they were able to overcome obstacles in order to create a successful and thriving business that helps people with disabilities meet their fullest potential.
Check out their website for more information: https://www.adaptfitlife.com/
Dr. Mitchell Yell was recently on the podcast to discuss special education laws and APE. Dr. Yell is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair of the Teacher Education and Special Education departments at University of South Carolina. During the summer of 2019, Dr. Yell was the keynote speaker at the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities.
Within this podcast episode we discuss how IDEA came to incorporate specific language related to physical education, how one can help advocate for APE within the IEP process, and specific court cases that have dealt with special education law and physical education.
For this episode, we had a local non-profit executive director, Steve Husome, come in to our studio to discuss one of his endeavors called "Adaptive Golf Iowa". Adaptive Golf Iowa is a relatively new organization that aims to "spread joy through the game of golf to those living with disabilities throughout Iowa". Recent successes of Adaptive Golf Iowa include purchasing adaptive golf carts (see link for brochure that displays the carts) and putting on annual golf clinics that allow people with disabilities to work on their golfing skills.
Within this episode Steve discusses his journey in founding Adaptive Golf Iowa, the mission of the organization, and the power of adaptive golf. Within this conversation, Steve also shares his own experiences as an amputee and how adaptive golf helped him overcome the loss of a limb.
This is part 3 of a 3 part series where Dr. Barry Lavay, an adapted physical education (APE) professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, interviews Dr. Jeff McCubbin about his career in the field of APE, as well as his insights on the status of APE and where we are going.
Dr. Jeff McCubbin is a pioneer in the field of APE and has many noteworthy achievements. More specifically, Dr. McCubbin served as the Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Colorado State University from 2011-2019. Prior to that he was a University Distinguished Professor of Exercise Science and Executive Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. Dr. McCubbin is also a past president of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities.
The third and final episode of this interview series has Dr. Lavay and Dr. McCubbin discussing a wide range of topics with regards to the field of APE. Dr. McCubbin first begins by discussing his experience as an administrator. This conversation dives into why Dr. McCubbin chose this path, why APE professionals may be uniquely situated to be administrators, and the importance of PETE administrators to advocate for PETE and APE programming. Next, they discuss the vision of physical education and APE, and how a clear vision is needed for the field to continue to survive and thrive.
This is part 2 of a 3 part series where Dr. Barry Lavay, an adapted physical education professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, interviews Dr. Jeff McCubbin about his career in the field of APE, as well as his insights on the status of APE and where we are going.
Dr. Jeff McCubbin is a pioneer in the field of APE and has many noteworthy achievements. More specifically, Dr. McCubbin served as the Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Colorado State University from 2011-2019. Prior to that he was a University Distinguished Professor of Exercise Science and Executive Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. Dr. McCubbin is also a past president of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities.
Within the second episode, Dr. Lavay and Dr. McCubbin give some advice to young faculty members within the field of APE and how to seek and manage grants. In addition, Dr. McCubbin reflects on the importance of mentoring young professionals within the field of APE. Finally, in this episode they discuss the identity crisis within our field of APE. Asking those powerful questions of who are we and where are we going as a field.
This episode of What’s New in APE is extra special, as we have a guest moderator taking the reins today. Dr. Barry Lavay, an APE professor at California State University, Long Beach and longtime contributor to the podcast, has been so kind to bring his expertise and personality to the podcast. In fact, for the next three episodes Dr. Lavay will be interviewing Dr. Jeff McCubbin about his career in the field of APE, as well as his insights on the status of APE and where we are going.
Dr. Jeff McCubbin is a pioneer in the field of APE and has many noteworthy achievements. More specifically, Dr. McCubbin served as the Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Colorado State University from 2011-2019. Prior to that he was a University Distinguished Professor of Exercise Science and Executive Associate Dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University.
For this very first episode, Dr. Lavay talks to Dr. McCubbin about his professional development and training within the field of adapted physical education. Within this topic, they have an in-depth discussion about how Dr. McCubbin became initially interested in health and physical education for individuals with disabilities. Dr. McCubbin also shares his insights on what he learned from pioneers he studied with in the field of APE when he first began his career. Furthermore, they will begin to discuss some of Dr. McCubbin’s research interests, which have focused mainly on the role of physical activity and exercise on improving functional skills and reducing secondary complications of disability.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Ali Brian and discuss some of the recent research Dr. Brian had conducted and published. Dr. Brian is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina in the Department of Physical Education. Dr. Brian’s research interests include promoting perceived and actual motor skill development of preschool children with and without disabilities in socioeconomically disadvantaged environments. Within this podcast episode we discuss a recent article that focused on motor competence delays within a large and diverse group of preschool children in the United States (US). The article, which is called 'Motor Competence Levels and Developmental Delay in Early Childhood: A Multicenter Cross‑Sectional Study Conducted in the USA', highlights the uniform decline in motor competence in preschool children across the US. This article, as well as other research endeavors Dr. Brian is currently engaged in, allow us to better advocate for quality physical education for preschool children across the US.
Please follow Dr. Brian on Twitter @DrAB4PE
This podcast was dedicated to learning more about adapted dance within the physical education curriculum. This episode guest starred two brand new PhD students at the University of Wisconsin Madison- Heather Katz (@hcats88) and Laura Prieto. Within this conversation, we discuss what is adapted dance, how one can incorporate it into their PE curriculum and include students with disabilities, and the impact of adapted dance on students with disabilities.
Welcome to the blog portion of the What's New in APE' podcast platform! In this episode we will highlight a Paralympic school day model that is an "educational program that aims to create awareness and understanding in schools about persons with an impairment" (International Paralympic Committee, 2019). Within this episode we will talk with stakeholders from universities, K-12 schools and a wheelchair basketball team that implement Paralympic school days. More specifically, we will discuss how these stakeholders got involved in this program, how the program impacts students with and without disabilities' perspectives, and how someone else could get bring this model to their own school!
This podcast focuses on the social justice within the field of adapted physical education (APE). Social justice is often defined as in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society, and for this podcast we discuss these concepts in relation to APE. More specifically, we discuss how one would be able to create a more inclusive and accepting class culture, barriers to social justice in a physical education setting, language use and social justice, and how to deal with inappropriate language and actions.
This podcast features a panel of 3 guests, including Dr. Josephine Blagrave (@blagraveaj)Chico State University; Dr. Kerri Vanderbom from The National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability and Chico State University; and Dr. Andrew Colombo-Dougovito (@amcdphd) from the University of North Texas.
You can find out more about Dr. Colombo-Dougovito's research and interests through visiting his website (colombodougovito.com/).
For this episode, Paralympian Jessica Heims was able to meet with me and discuss her journey to the 2016 Paralympics, as well as her current journey to the 2020 Paralympics. Furthermore, within our conversation, we discussed her training regimen, how she got involved within track and field, her physical education experiences, and obstacles to getting to the Paralympics.
Jessica is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Northern Iowa (the university I teach at!). She also currently competes on the University's track and field team as a discus thrower and sprinter. Furthermore, Jessica recently broke two world records in discus throwing.
You can follow Jessica on Twitter @Jessie_Heims
Recently, I was able to attend the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) conference at the University of Virginia. For this episode I simply made a brief reflection about my experience at the conference. More specifically, I highlighted some of the keynote speakers and presentations I was able to experience, international perspectives in the field of adapted physical education/activity, and some information about the next ISAPA conference in Finland in 2021.
For this episode, I was able to sit down with Charlie Rowe, the founder and owner of the company 'Adaptability', which is a private business that provides APE services to students with disabilities in school settings.. Adaptability is a company based out of Downers Grove, IL and focuses on ensuring the safety and success of students with disabilities in their general PE or APE curriculum. They offer a wide variety of services to ensure children of all abilities receive quality PE. Their most popular services include: APE classes, Consultation and Coaching to PE teachers and support staff, Professional Development training.
Adaptability was created by Charlie Rowe after seeing a large need for quality physical education services for students with disabilities across Illinois. From a young age Charlie has enjoyed helping/assisting people with disabilities. Charlie has provided a wide variety of APE services to 70+ schools in his tenure. These services include the teaching of self-contained and Reverse Inclusion APE classes, providing Coaching services to PE teachers and support staff, Professional Development training as well as program improving consultation services. To learn more about Adaptability or inquire about joining our team, check out their website at www.AdaptabilityPE.com
This is part two of a two part series where we are discussing how the field of APE works within the field of PE. In addition, this episode is very special because this episode will once again, also be featured on Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education. If you’re interested in other episodes from Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education, you can stream the podcast on a variety of platforms @ podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-with-research-in-health-and-physical-education/id1434195823?i=1000437405199
The main focus of this episode is the divide between physical education and adapted physical education, and how we as researchers can potentially help to bridge this gap. Dr. McNamara and a panel of 3 experts in physical education discuss what they perceive the divide to be in both research and practice, as well as potential solutions to overcome the divide.
This episode features Risto Marttinen, Ed.D., Kevin Andrew Richards, Ph.D., & Terry L. Rizzo
This is a very special episode, as not only do we tackle a rich topic, but in addition this episode was recorded and published on 2 separate podcast platforms! This episode will also be featured on both Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education, which is a podcast that focused on on the fields of health and physical education. If you’re interested in other episodes from Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education, you can stream the podcast on a variety of platforms from: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/playing-with-research-in-health-and-physical-education/id1434195823?i=1000437405199
The main focus of this episode is the divide between physical education and adapted physical education. Dr. McNamara and a panel of 3 experts in physical education discuss what they perceive the divide to be in both research and practice, as well as potential solutions to overcome the divide.
This episode features a panel of 3 experts in Physical Education.
Risto Marttinen, Ed.D., is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, Fullerton. In addition, he is the host the podcast Playing with Research in Health and Physical Education. Kevin Andrew Richards, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology & Community Health at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Terry L. Rizzo is the Department Chair and a Professor and in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University, San Bernardino.
This episode of What’s New in APE is the third and final episode dedicated to the upcoming International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) conference. This episode features Ann Griffin, who currently serves as the APE consultant with the Grantwood area education agency (AEA) in the great state of Iowa! In addition, she is the contact person for educators who need resources for facilitating APE for 32 different school districts. Ann will be presenting at this year’s ISAPA conference, where she will be hosting a practitioner’s day. Within the podcast, Ann and I discuss the practitioner's day and all of the great activities she is currently planning! Ann and I also discuss (1) how teachers can use research in their daily lives, (2) the multitude of APE resources offered by the Grantwood AEA, AND (3) her background as a teacher.
Once again, ISAPA returns to the United States this year (2019) for the first time since 1992. It will be held June 14th through 18th in Charlottesville, Virginia. This year’s theme is Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The goal for ISAPA is to bring international researchers together to share their research in hopes of learning about what is going on in other countries. If you are interested in the 2019 ISAPA, check out their website at: http://isapa2019.org/index.shtml
In this episode we will continue our conversation about the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) and APE at an international level with former guest Dr. Justin Haegele, an APE assistant professor from Old Dominion University. Within this conversation, Dr. Haegele shares why he believes that ISAPA is a great conference for teachers, pre-service teachers, and higher education professionals to attend. In addition, Dr. Haegele discusses some aspects of the research he will be sharing at ISAPA, which focuses on how he used the social justice theory of intersectionality to examine how male adults with visual impairments perceive their physical education experiences. If you are interested in the 2019 ISAPA and seeing other valuable research and practitioner presentations, check out their website at: http://isapa2019.org/index.shtml. Finally, this episode is part 2 of a 3-part series. In the next episode we will Ann Griffin from Grantwood AEA on to discuss more about the ISAPA conference and her intended presentations.
In today's very special episode we had an interview with Dr. Martin Block about the International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA) and APE at an international level. Dr. Block is a professor of APE and co-director of the Masters program in APE at the University of Virginia,. In addition to these roles, Dr. Block also serves as the President of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA). IFAPA is an organization of adapted physical activity professionals and students from all around the world. Currently, This podcast covers IFAPA and ISAPA, and differences in APE between the United States and other countries. It also covers the gap between research and practitioners in APE, and what IFAPA is doing to address this gap.
For more information on IFAPA, you can visit their website at: http://ifapa.net
If you are interested in the 2019 ISAPA, check out their website at: http://isapa2019.org/index.shtml
Hello podcasters and welcome back for a brand new episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education (APE)! For this episode we had a very special episode with Dr. Justin Haegele, an APE assistant professor from Old Dominion University. For this episode, Dr. Haegele and I had an in-depth discussion about his research in the field of APE, and the differences between the terms 'inclusion' and 'integration' in relation to physical education. We discussed how 'inclusion' fits within special education laws, as well as he questions whether an 'integrated' setting/placement is always the best fit for students with disabilities. Dr. Haegele feels strongly that in the field of physical education, we often misuse the term 'inclusion' as a setting/placement, rather than as a philosophy that can be used regardless of setting/placement that can drive one's teaching practices.
The Lakeshore Foundation is an organization aimed instilling lifelong wellness in people with disabilities and those with chronic health conditions through a variety of means. The organization provides its members opportunities both within their Birmingham, Alabama facility and out in their respective communities to learn and practice physical activities, sports, and recreational activities. I had the chance to interview two people directly involved in the Lakeshore Foundation. Beth Curry is the Chief Program Officer and works with the physical activity programs. Beth earned her Masters of Physical Therapy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1984 before pursuing a career in healthcare. The other interviewee is Lisa Hillborn, who serves as the director or recreation and athletics.
For this episode of What’s New in APE, I was able to interview two of my undergraduate students (John Nagel & Landon Kilmesh) who recently completed the introduction to APE course that I teach at the University of Northern Iowa. This was also my first semester teaching the introduction to APE course at the University of Northern Iowa, as well as it was the first semester that we had a service learning component on campus, where our undergraduate physical education students were able to teach physical education to students with disabilities at the university. During this episode we were all able to reflect on the introduction to APE course, discuss how this class helped to prepare them to teach physical education to students with disabilities, and how working with students with disabilities helps to change our perceptions on life and ourselves.
Hello! This episode of What’s New in APE is a second recording from the 47th Annual National Adapted Physical Education Conference (NAPEC). The conference was held November 8-10, 2018 in San Diego, California. It is put on by the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD), who advocates for healthy lifestyles for all. As an annual conference, overarching themes for the weekend change from year to year. The 2018 theme was inclusion, and featured a variety of speakers that addressed the theme in light of numerous APE topics.
The main topic discussed in this episode is the history of NAPEC, what it has accomplished since its’ inception, and the future of NAPEC. The guests on this episode include Marci Pope (Lecturer at California State University-Chico), Rebecca Lytle (Professor at California State University-Chico), Barry Lavay (Professor at California State University - Long Beach), Kathy Russell (School Administrator at Los Angeles Unified Schools), and Joanie Verderber (Retired APE professor). In addition, at the end of the episode, the panel took questions from the audience about NAPEC and related items.
If you would like to learn more about NAPEC, visit their website at: https://www.cahperd.org/Public/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=2018NAPEC
NAPEC’s parent organization, the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD), also has various information and resources for PE teachers, and can be found at: https://www.cahperd.org/Public/Home/Public/Default.aspx?hkey=f7e5386d-b157-46d1-8b67-0e161a1feec0
If you want to hear more from the 2018 NAPEC, check out the previous episode: The power of connectedness as educators and the state of Adapted Physical Education: NAPEC Keynote
Please share this podcast and blog with anyone who you think may benefit from learning more about APE. Thank you for continuing to listen and support What’s New in APE!
This is a very different podcast, as it was recorded at the 47th National Adapted Physical Education Conference in San Diego as a Keynote Speech. Scott McNamara begins by discussing how we can use our own platforms to connect with one another and promote our field. In addition, we had a panel discussion with Dr. Beth Foster (California State Polytechnic University, Ponoma), Dr. Rebecca Lytle (California State University in Chico) , Chris Ahrens (APE Teacher in San Diego), & Ann Griffin (APE Consultant for Grantwood AEA. We had a discussion about the current state of APE and inclusion.
This podcast focuses on the APENS - the Adapted Physical Education National Standards. The purpose of APENS is to define standards for APE teachers. Adapted physical educators can take the APENS exam, which is based off of the 15 standards, to become certified adapted physical education. This allows us schools and other education stakeholders (e.g., teachers, parents) to understand who is qualified to teach APE with the special skills and insights needed to properly teach physical education to students with disabilities.
This podcast features a panel of 3 guests, including the founder of APENS Dr. Luke Kelly from the University of Virginia; Dr. Tim Davis from SUNY Cortland who currently runs the day to day operations of APENS; and Toni Bader, an APE teacher for the Seattle School District that is passionate about ensuring that APE teachers are qualified to teacher students with disabilities.
This is also the first podcast recorded using new podcasting equipment, so also take note of the improved sound quality!
Check out a brand new episode of What's New in APE! This post/podcast focuses on my experience of going through the dissertation process and the investigation I conducted for my dissertation. Within this short podcast episode I discuss how I chose my dissertation topic and what it meant for me to complete my PhD program. Also, make sure to check out the blog post as there is a link to the dissertation defense presentation and a link to a free webinar I recently conducted with a focus on APE and assistive technology for the Center on Assistive Technology and Disability (CTD).
In this episode, I had an in-depth conversation about the need for APE teaching endorsements at the state and national level with Dr. Suzanna Dillon, an APE professor and my dissertation adviser at Texas Woman's University and Toni Bader, a APE teacher for the Seattle School District. In this podcast, we discussed some of the experiences and successes that the panelist have had in advocating for the need for an APE endorsement at local, state, and national levels.
This episode is the second part of a two part series that focuses on NCPHAD: Building Healthy Communities, which is a public health practice and resource center on health promotion for people with disabilities. NCPHAD has a multitude of resources for all types of adapted physical activity professionals, including APE teachers. For this episode we were able to do a in-person interview with two staff members at NCPHAD. The two interviewees were Dr. Jim Rimmer, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the director of the UAB-Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative and Director of NCPHAD; and Alex Martinez, the Expert Inclusion Specialist for NCPHAD. My hopes from this episode are to share resources from NCPHAD to my listeners/readers, please go to their website to see all of the resources that they offer! This episode focuses specifically on (a) whether people with disabilities can be healthy, (b) archiving adaptions in our field (grades), and (c) how we can use research in our field and how we can help researchers.
This episode specifically focused on NCPHAD: Building Healthy Communities, which is a public health practice and resource center on health promotion for people with disabilities. NCPHAD has a multitude of resources for all types of adapted physical activity professionals, including APE teachers. For this episode we were able to do a in-person interview with two staff members at NCPHAD. The two interviewees were Dr. Jim Rimmer, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the director of the UAB-Lakeshore Foundation Research Collaborative and Director of NCPHAD; and Alex Martinez, the Expert Inclusion Specialist for NCPHAD. My hopes from this episode are to share resources from NCPHAD to my listeners/readers, please go to their website to see all of the resources that they offer!
This podcast is part one of a two part episode. Part one focuses specifically on (a) what NCPHAD is and how it came to be, (b) how to navigate their website, and (c) some of the different resources they have available and how they developed them.
In this part 2 episode, I continued my in-depth conversation with Dr. Monica Lepore, an APE professor at the West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lepore recently was given a sabbatical to go around the country to examine different practicums (college courses that give college students the opportunity to work with students with disabilities). She took this journey to find out the status of the different programs out there and how we can attempt to assist all APE practicum programs to be as strong as possible. Dr. Lepore was able to travel to 8 APE practicums within the last few months, and joined us on the podcast to share her findings and reflect on her experience. This podcast is part two of a two part episode. Part two focuses specifically on (a) the key points that make practicums successful, (b) the idea of volunteerism and how it relates to APE, and (c) we discuss the realities of housing our practicum experiences within a segregated APE setting, rather than in a more inclusive setting.
In this episode, I had an in-depth conversation with Dr. Monica Lepore, an APE professor at the West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lepore recently was given a sabbatical to go around the country to examine different practicums (college courses that give college students the opportunity to work with students with disabilities). She took this journey to find out the status of the different programs out there and how we can attempt to assist all APE practicum programs to be as strong as possible. Dr. Lepore was able to travel to 8 APE practicums within the last few months, and joined us on the podcast to share her findings and reflect on her experience. This podcast is part one of a two part episode. Part one focuses specifically on (a) why Dr. Lepore decided to take a sabbatical to learn more about APE practicums, (b) how each practicum was interesting and also similar to her own program, and (c) how to those in higher education can develop stronger practicum experiences for their students.
Check out the accompanying blog here: http://mrmcnamaras.blogspot.com/2018/04/service-learning-in-ape-part-1.html
Hello APE podcast listeners/readers! This episode/post is different then most, as this episode/post is focused on my experience at the SHAPE America conference this year and on a book review of the new textbook 'Developmental and Adapted Physical Activity Assessment (2nd Ed)' by Horvat, Kelly, Block, and Croce. I needed to do an informal reflection on my experiences at SHAPE this year, as it was truly a unique experience I had. In the podcast, I discuss my experiences with some of the engaging presentations, research that was presented, and some of the great networking that occurred.
I am excited to be bringing you a new episode on adapted physical education (APE). This episode picks up from where we left off in episode 1, where we spoke to representatives from a regional center (Region 10) in the state of Texas, which helps to provide resources and professional development specific to APE to the entire state of Texas. This second part of a two part episode, had an in-person interview with three of the APE professionals at Region 10. The three interviewees were Amy Talbert, Randy Foederer, and Angela Campbell. Unfortunately, in many other states we do not have a designated regional center that helps to promote the field of APE. My hopes from this episode are to share resources from Region 10 to my listeners/readers, as well as to give you all the idea and maybe the framework to develop regional centers similar to Region 10 in other states. This podcast is part two of a two part episode. Part two focuses specifically on (a) APE transition tools, (b) how to advocate for APE, and (c) how develop a Partner PE program.
I am excited to be bringing you a new episode on adapted physical education. This episode specifically focused on a regional center in the state of Texas, which helps to provide resources and professional development to the entire state of Texas. For this episode we were able to do a in-person interview with three of the APE professionals at Region 10. The three interviewees were Amy Talbert, Randy Foederer, and Angela Campbell. Unfortunately, in many other states we do not have a designated regional center that helps to promote the field of APE. My hopes from this episode are to share resources from Region 10 to my listeners/readers, as well as to give you all the idea and maybe the framework to develop regional centers similar to Region 10 in other states. This podcast is part one of a two part episode. Part one focuses specifically on (a) how Region 10 came to be, (b) what types of professional development they deliver to different schools, and (c) some of the different assessment tools they developed and how they can be used.
Part two of the transition podcast focuses specifically on (a) the Slippery Rock transition program that focuses specifically on vocational and health skills for students and young adults with disabilities, (b) why health and PE often are forgotten in the realm of transition, and (c) how we think APE should be incorporated in the transition program and where we see the future of APE programming within the transition process.
In this episode, I had had an in-depth conversation with two experts on the transition process and how to integrate students with disabilities into community recreational settings. The panelists included former guest Lara Brickhouse, the 2017 SHAPE APE teacher of the year and an APE teacher who works with students with disabilities during the transition process; and Dr. Robert Arnhold, a professor and director of the adapted physical activity program at Slippery Rock University. Dr. Arnhold also assists with a transition program at Slippery Rock University that focuses on daily living skills, work skills, and health for students in the transition process. This podcast is part one of a two part episode. Part one focuses specifically on (a) what the transition process is in special education, (b) the APE teachers' role in the transition process, and (c) how to develop community connections that will lead to meaningful opportunities for students with disabilities to be active in their communities.
In this 2nd part of a two part episode, I had the opportunity to sit down and have in-depth conversations with multiple experts who were somehow connected to the Minnesota Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) conference. In this episode I was able to meet with two of the DAPE keynote speakers who discussed their presentations and why their topics were of great importance to the field. The two keynote speakers were Lara Brickhouse, the 2017 SHAPE APE teacher of the year; and Dr. Suzanna Dillon, my dissertation adviser :) and the president of the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities. With listening to this podcast, it is my hope that (1) some of the listeners learn about the great things that are occurring at APE conferences and the impact of that leadership has on our field; and (2) that if you are in a state that does not have an APE conference of leadership, that you might consider developing one yourself or with a small group of other passionate APE teachers.
In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down and have in-depth conversations with multiple experts who were somehow connected to the Minnesota Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) conference. In this episode I was able to meet with some DAPE members who discuss why they attend the DAPE conference every year. In addition, I was also able to talk to two board members of the DAPE leadership committee, Mike Doyle and Jennifer Heebink, on why they decided to join the DAPE leadership and what their roles on the leadership committee. Lastly, we found out a little bit about the history of the DAPE conference. With listening to this podcast, it is my hope that (1) some of the listeners learn about the great things that are occurring at APE conferences and the impact of that leadership has on our field; and (2) that if you are in a state that does not have an APE conference of leadership, that you might consider developing one yourself or with a small group of other passionate APE teachers.
In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down and have an in-depth conversation with a panel of experts on teaching children with autism in a physical education setting. The panelist for this podcast are all professors and researchers within the field of adapted physical education and specialize in physical education for children with autism. The panelist were Dr. Martin Block, a professor of adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at Virginia University and the author of the textbook A Teacher's Guide To Adapted Physical Education: Including Students with Disabilities in Sports and Recreation; Dr. Sean Healy an assistant professor in adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at Humboldt University; and Melissa Bittner a past podcast guest and who recently finished up her dissertation and will begin teaching and conducting research next fall in adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at California State University Long Beach. This podcast is part two of a two part episode. Part two focuses specifically on how to work with bullying and children with autism and current research trends in the field of autism and physical activity.
In this episode, I had the opportunity to sit down and have an in-depth conversation with a panel of experts on teaching children with autism in a physical education setting. The panelist for this podcast are all professors and researchers within the field of adapted physical education and specialize in physical education for children with autism. The panelist were Dr. Martin Block, a professor of adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at Virginia University and the author of the textbook A Teacher's Guide To Adapted Physical Education: Including Students with Disabilities in Sports and Recreation; Dr. Sean Healy an assistant professor in adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at Humboldt University; and Melissa Bittner a past podcast guest and fellow Texas Woman's University PhD candidate who is finishing up her dissertation and will begin teaching and conducting research next fall in adapted physical education in the department of Kinesiology at California State University Long Beach. This podcast is part one of a two part episode. Part one focuses specifically on (a) what is autism and how has the definition recently changed, (b) motor delays in children with autism, and (c) evidence based practices to use with children with autism.
In this episode, I was had the opportunity to sit down and have an in-depth discussion with Dr. Ronald Davis on implementing disability sport within a general physical education setting. The podcasts focuses specifically on (a) how Dr. Davis got involved in disability sport, (b) the definition of disability sport,(c) how to integrate disability sport units into a general physical education setting, and (d) working with wounded veterans and integrating them back into their communities through sport (see Project INVEST). Dr. Ronald W. Davis, is a professor of adapted physical education in the department of kinesiology at Texas Women’s University. He has almost 30 years of experience in higher education promoting professional development and advocating for people with disabilities. Dr. Davis has published extensively both nationally and internationally on injuries to elite athletes with disabilities, legal mandates for those with disabilities, training for people with disabilities, and related topics.
This is a very special episode where I was able to meet and interview Dr. Dale Ulrich, one of the most influential APE professionals in our field. Dr. Ulrich is the creator of the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD), and is a professor at the University of Michigan in Kinesiology and Adapted Physical Activity/Education. This episode was originally supposed to be a quick follow-up to the last assessment podcast, but the conversation went a bit longer than expected and was able to stand on its own. In this podcast we discussed how and why to use the TGMD as an assessment tool, using the TGMD for placement and for eligibility for APE services, and how the new TGMD-3, which should come out this summer, is different than the TGMD-2.
In this episode we took questions from the audience and the panel answered to the best of their abilities. The questions included asking about how we change perception, language to use when writing up assessments, and how to better assess entire APE programs.
I am extremely excited to be sharing with you the second part of a three part episode with a live podcast from the 45th National Adapted Physical Education Conference in California. This podcast discussion focused on assessment within APE. In this episode we discussed using assessment for eligibility reasons and using on-going (formative) assessment. In addition, at the end of the podcast we take a few audience questions in regards to assessment. To learn more about the California state APE conference Click Here.
I am extremely excited to be sharing with you all my second live podcast series from the 45th National Adapted Physical Education Conference in California. This podcast discussion focused on assessment within APE. In this panel we had another all star panel filled with a variety of APE/assessment experts. Our panel included Dr. Lisa Silliman-French, an APE Professor at Texas Woman’s University and a former APE teacher and special education coordinator for 17 years; Dr. Barry Lavay, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University and author of the co-authored textbook Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings; Kathryn Russell a Special Education Administrator for Los Angeles County Office of Education and a former APE specialist; and Marci Pope a Co-Director for the Northern California Adapted Physical Education Consortium and a lecturer at California State University. The podcast will be broken up into 3 separate episodes which each focus on a portion of assessment, with the lst having audience participation. This podcast discusses why we need to assess, what areas we need to assess, and the question of eligibility with APE.
I am extremely excited to be bringing you all the very first live recording What's New In Adapted Physical Education podcast!! Now when I say live, we mean that it was recorded with a panel of experts and we had a live audience viewing and interacting with the panel. The podcast was able to have this opportunity thanks in large part of being able to present at the 3rd annual Adapted Physical Education conference at Texas Woman's University. The podcast had two parts: one on service delivery and another on behavior management. This is on service delivery
This week's episode focuses again on the utmost important issue of parent advocacy for adapted physical education. The panel discusses the transition process for parents and physical education, adapted physical activity programs in the community, and the somewhat recent Dear Colleague Letter on extracurricular activities.
This week we are excited to be giving you a brand new episode of the podcast which focuses on parent advocacy for adapted physical education (APE). In this episode we were joined by Rocco Aiello, an APE coordinator and author of the book Sports, Fitness, and Motor Activities for Children with Disabilities A Comprehensive Resource Guide for Parents and Educators; Sherry St. Clair, a parent of a person with a disability; and Dr. Garth Tymeson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In this episode we discussed why parents should advocate for APE services for their students with disabilities, how to effectively communicate to the IEP team, and where to find information on how to receive APE services on your IEP.
I hope everyone has been enjoying the Camp Abilities podcast! We are excited to be giving you the third and final episode of podcast episodes which focus on Camp Abilities! This episode discusses some of the greatest moment each director has experienced in their own camps and we conduct a care to share, which is an guided discussion which occurs at the end of the day at each Camp Abilities.
I hope everyone really enjoyed the first episode of the Camp Abilities Podcast! This second episode has the panelist go more in-depth about the benefits of Camp Abilities, how to keep students with visual impairments active, and some of the research on working with people with visual impairments.
This podcast is very near to my heart as I have been blessed to have been apart of starting a Camp Abilities in Michigan. Camp Abilities is a sports camp specially designed for children with visual impairments. At Camp Abilities we grow leadership and sports skills in our campers and provide a unique experience for children with visual impairments. There are Camp Abilities all over the world, with most of them based within the United States. For this podcast we had Camp Abilities directors from all over the US. We were happy to have directors from Maryland, New York, St. Louis, and Alaska. We were also joined by the founder of Camp Abilities, Dr. Lauren Lieberman. This will be the first of a three part podcast focusing on what is Camp Abilities, how camp benefits children with visual impairments, and how camp gets the community involved in adapted sports and promote children with visual impairments to be more active in their own communities.
The second portion of the collaboration podcast discusses why we collaborate with one another and the use of social media in collaborating with other as well.
This podcast was dedicated to learning more about the collaboration process for APE teachers and the IEP process. This episode guest starred two North Dallas APE teachers, Geoben Johnson and Heather Katz. They discussed in-depth their programs and how they use collaboration to inform the IEP process as well as to strengthen their programs.
Hello podcast followers! I am excited to be bringing you the 13th official episode of the podcast. This podcast was a casual conversation about ADA with former guest Jeff Lee, from Adaptive Sports and Recreation Association in San Diego. In this podcast we have a casual conversation about some of the parts of the law, the history of how the law came to be, and Jeff's perspective of how the law affected his life, as a person who has a disability. The conversation we had was short and casual. I want to open this conversation up to our viewers and ask people to shed more light on the law of ADA and how it has affected your life and/or people in your lives.
This is the second episode that focuses on behavior management for adapted physical educators and physical educators. The host also discusses some updates from the latest SHAPE conference.
Hello APE Podcast Listeners! Sorry we haven't aired any episodes for a few weeks but that is all about to change now! This will be the first episode of a three part episode with a panelist of behavior management experts. Our panelist included Dr. Lavay, the author of the new textbook Positive Behavior Management in Physical Activity Settings; we also had on Celine Viajar, a ASD consultant for the Portland public schools; and last but not least we had our very first reoccurring guest, Brad Weiner, Brad is a former APE National Teacher of the year and works at a Maryland Public School as a APE teacher. In this episode we discuss the topics of how philosophy plays a role in behavior management, setting expectations for students and sensory integration needs. We hope you enjoy the episode!
I hope everyone enjoyed the last episode of the podcast with some of the non-profits from throughout the nation which focus on adapted physical activity.
This was the second episode where we included the new portion of the show called, "What's New in the History of APE/APA"! This episode focused on the origins of Special Olympics.
I hope you all enjoy!
his episode specifically focused on non-profits within the field of adapted physical activity for people with disabilities. We were able to gather a terrific panel of directors from various non-profits from across the nation. In this podcast we discuss topics relating to why someone would start a non-profit all the way to how to get people with disabilities more involved in physical activity.
Additionally, we are very excited to have added a new portion to the show. It is called What's New in History in Adapted Physical Activity. The portion looks at interesting events and facts in history with people with disabilities. Not all of the features will pertain to APE/APA events. Such as the one I chose to spotlight today, where does sign language (ASL) come from. Let me know what you think of the new portion.
We did a best of all our 10 interviews. We also get to find out more about the creator of the podcast Scott McNamara.
I am proud to bringing you the 9th episode of Whats New in APE! It has been a tremendous journey so far and I am excited for it to continue. For the 10th episode we were honored to have on two adapted physical educators who are mother and daughter. The mother, Jean Young, is an adapted physical educator in Poway Unified School District in California. Jean's daughter, Amanda Young is an adapted physical educator at TCU in Texas. Amanda is also a colleague of mine at Texas Women's University and is working on her dissertation which focuses on communication with parents of children with Down Syndrome.
We discuss the new app everyone is talking about, Exercise Buddy and how it helps kids with Autism by creating a strong exercise program for them.
Interview with Dr. Hagaele from Old Dominion University on topics such as how to best work with para educators.
Podcast 105: Matt Mescall and staying active outside of school by What's New In Adapted Physical Education
Gold Medalist Tanner Gers discusses Beep Baseball and how he is trying to get it into the Paralympics and why he believes it is so important to do so
For the third episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education, we were joined by the exceptional Brad Weiner, the 2013 AAPHRED Adapted Physical Educator of the Year. Brad has been an amazing asset to the field of APE for many years and has made many contributions to our field. Brad has created and published original assessments for children with special needs, founded Camp Abilities Maryland, is the Vice President for the National Consortium For Physical Education For Individuals With Disabilities(NCPEID), and has presented on the topic of adapted physical education at conferences all across the country. During our interview we discussed a variety of topics including how he became an APE teacher, what the NCPEID is and how it benefits APE teachers, inclusion for kids in a PE setting, and some of the biggest obstacles APE teachers come across.
I am proud to be giving you our second exciting episode! In our second episode, I interviewed Erica Hope, a 3rd year APE teacher in Michigan. Erica's day primarily consist of working with adapted aquatics and early childhood at a center-based school for students with a wide variety of disabilities. During the interview we discuss an array of topics. The topics ranged from adapted aquatics, early childhood, the IEP process, and issues with being a new APE teacher. In the podcast she goes into detail about the accommodations she uses on a regular basis in an aquatics and early childhood setting.
This very special first episode was conducted with Caryl Dazer and I. Caryl is a very passionate APE teacher in Livonia Public Schools in the state of Michigan. We discussed her views on the field of APE, strategies on how to communicate with parents and other staff and some common obstacles that an APE teacher may find in the field.