Creating Caring and Equitable Communities for Children of All Abilities

1. I will not play at tug o' war. - I'd rather play at hug o' war, - Where everyone hugs - Instead of tugs, - Where everyone giggles - And rolls on the rug, - Where everyone kisses, - And everyone grins, - And everyone cuddles, - And everyone wins. - Shel Silverstein Creating Caring and Equitable Communities for Children of All Abilities Paul T. Stuhr, Ph.D.1 Esther M. Ortiz-Castillo, M.A.2 Maria Gies, M.A.2 1California State University San Marcos 2The Ohio State University

2. SESSION OBJECTIVES 124th AAHPERD Convention  Saturday April 4, 2009  Tampa Bay, FL The theory and benefits of Adventure Based Learning (ABL). Sequencing, facilitation, and debriefing ABL activities that promote community and cooperation for all ability students. Selection and necessary modifications to help students with physical, cognitive, and emotional disabilities experience equitable physical education.

3. Sport Images Are Teachers, Parents, and Administrators Creating Ecologies Conducive to Desired Learning Outcomes? What More Can Be Done

4. Creating the Ideal Learning Environment Synergy can be a power contributor to student learning (Stuhr, 2008). Children who feel better about school do better in school (Search Institute, 1997).

5. Inclusive Physical Education • Inclusion starts with building a reciprocal caring classroom community. • Educative care requires each teacher to meet the needs of all students in terms of learning. • Community is an inclusive ecology where all members accept others and celebrate personal differences. • Community requires having common goals and working toward accomplishing tasks as a whole.

6. What is Adventure Based Learning • Adventure Based Learning (ABL): The deliberate use of sequenced activities for personal and social development (Cosgriff, 2000). • ABL encourages fun and challenging ways to experience life skills that de-emphasize a win-at-all-cost mentality. • Experiential Education = Doing with Reflection Processing or the “debrief” is critical in ABL. • ABL through participation and active reflection during the debrief can promote a caring classroom where all students feel and have equitable opportunity to be successful.

7. Benefits of ABL Intrapersonal • Increased confidence • Willingness to take risks • Improved self-concept • Enhanced leadership • Greater reflective thinking • Positive experiences Interpersonal • Enhanced cooperation • More effective communication skills • Greater trust in others • Conflict resolution skills • Improved problem-solving • Enhanced leadership • ABL can be used in virtually all settings to help: • promote inclusion, • start working on breaking down walls of social isolation, and • celebrate personal differences.

8. Themes in Adventure Based Learning: • Community • Cooperation • Emotional trust • Physical Trust • Problem Solving • Challenge There are activities associated with each theme

9. ABL Sequencing • Activities should move a group through the following sequence: • Build Community (cooperation and communication). • Empower students establish Trust. • Cultivate Problem Solving. • Challenge students to take risks and further responsibility. • Knowing when to move a group through the next phase of the sequence is crucial. • Facilitation includes: (a) Brief, (b) Activity, (c) Debrief.

10. Experiential Learning Cycle (David Kolb) The Brief Experiencing Now What? What? Applying Reflecting Generalizing So What?

11. The “Brief” in ABL • Short Stories • Poems • Quotes • Personal Experiences • Classroom Experiences • Analogies • Metaphors • DVD Video Clip • Examples: • Hug O War by Shel Silverstein (Poem on Building Community) • The Tree Climber Story (Short Story on Full Inclusion) • Two Famous Quotes (Quotes on Problem Solving)

12. Facilitating the Experience • The key to this curriculum model is that you give the group a problem to solve and then let them work at achieving that goal. • You do not teach how to achieve the goal. • It is the group processes that are of importance here. • You are there to ensure safety - physical and emotional. • You can guide the group to rethink the problem if they are getting frustrated.

13. Debriefing the Experience • Students reflect on the experience. • What - Discuss what was learned, how S’s feel, what was interesting, what was realized, any ah-ha moments. • So What - Why was this experience important for you and why important for overall class/peers. • Now what - Make the transfer to other areas of life. • The facilitator guides the group through the debriefing process.

14. The Debrief • Ensure that the debrief is related to the objective of the activity. • Specific Debriefing Strategies: • Quick Whip • One Word • Dyad or Triad • Drawing • Feeling/Picture Cards • Thumbs up, thumbs down • Song or Dance • Journaling

15. Experiential Learning Cycle (David Kolb) The Brief Experiencing Now What? What? Applying Reflecting Generalizing So What?

16. ABL Activities • Our ABL Activities/Modifications for Today: • Community • Evolution • Cooperation • Fitness Charades • Pairs Tag We will debrief the modifications at the end of each activity

17. EvolutionModifications • Cognitive impairments: • Fewer morphing stages. • Play Rock/Paper/Scissors prior to activity. • Change Rock/Paper/Scissors to a more simplistic motor movement. • Use pictures or cards to express the motions. • Physical impairments: • Create morphing stages that all students can perform. • Use another creative way to express the stages for some students. • Modify the Rock/Paper/Scissors motions to more simplistic forms. • Visual impairments: • Feel the shape of the Rock/Paper/Scissors. • Allow them additional time to recognize each shape. • Demonstrate Rock/Paper/Scissors in a recognizable location for certain visual impairments

18. Fitness Charades & Pairs TagModifications • Cognitive impairments: • Slower speeds for all students for motor movements • Pictures or diagrams with demonstrations for fitness activities • Rehearse fitness activities prior to start • Pair students with a peer partner • Physical impairments: The motor skill (e.g., walking, skipping, slow motion, running, etc.) being performed in traveling can be modified. Use scooters or wheelchairs to help create movement equity. Reduce the size of the activity area. If necessary, provide these students with a foam noodle to help extend their reach. • Visual impairments: Pair up each student with another student or an instructional aide for assistance traveling. In pairs, have one student try wearing a blindfold while their partner communicates (verbally or through touch) to them which direction to travel. Note: When using blindfolds make sure to use safetybumpers (i.e., arms straight out in front of their body with hands out in case they bump into another person).