The successful inclusion of students with disabilities is highly dependent on the supports provided. As students with disabilities have become more integrated into the general education setting, the need to extend the support of the special education teacher has grown tremendously. Consequently, the use of paraprofessionals, or educational assistants, has also increased. After a brief introduction, this article will outline steps and strategies in effort to help physical education teachers utilize paraprofessionals effectively within an inclusive setting.

While the paraprofessional support is a much needed and welcomed aspect, it is clear there are some weaknesses. Namely, in the physical education setting, there is an overall ambiguity of their role and responsibilities (Bryan et al., 2013). There tends to be a lack of direction for paraprofessionals in the physical education setting, and their role within this setting is often undefined (Silliman-French & Fullerton, 1998). Essentially, there is a breakdown in communication and collaboration among key players such as the physical educator, the special education teacher, the parent, the student, the paraprofessional, and administrators.

Communication among relevant stakeholders is a key factor in working with students with disabilities. Paraprofessionals are often overloaded with assisting in various educational curricula, personal care, and implementing different behaviors management strategies. Therefore, physical education teachers should make sure to clearly communicate with the paraprofessionals as to how best provide assistance within physical education. A nice first step in communication would be for the physical educator to define the expectations. Creating a job description that includes what is expected from the paraprofessional in the physical education classroom will help in identifying the actual responsibilities that need to be met.

The student’s educational goals should also be identified and discussed. In this discussion, there needs to be a focus on ‘how’ you intend to help the student meet their goals and ‘what’ the paraprofessional needs to do to assist the student along the way. Once goals are identified and discussed, providing the paraprofessional with a ‘cheat sheet’ that outlines activity modifications which allow the student to work towards meeting their goal(s) can be a helpful tool to streamline the instructional process. You may find it helpful and/or necessary to consult with an adapted physical education specialist to assist in the development of goals as well as appropriately modifying activities to meet the goals. If your district does not have an adapted physical education specialist, there are some helpful website to assist: http://www.pecentral.org/adapted/adaptedsites.html http://www.pelinks4u.org/archives/adapted/060106.htm

Finally, help your paraprofessionals by creating a sense of ownership and appreciation for them within physical education. Introduce them to the class, and provide a space in the physical education office for them to put their things. Additionally, because time is often quite limited during the school day and within the physical education lesson, a weekly email to the paraprofessional that reflects the past week’s successes and challenges and communicates upcoming lessons will help keep all parties up to date. Lastly, don’t forget to acknowledge your appreciation of their work and contribution. Giving ‘thank yous’ and perhaps even nominations for formal recognition are sure ways to help your working relationship and let them know their work isn’t going unnoticed.

Don't forget about the #pechat that takes place every other Monday at 7:00pm PST. This event is full of great conversation about hot topics within our field and innovative teaching ideas. Find me here (@collinbrooksie).

Links:

A new trend in schools is for students to bring their own device (BYOD) to class. This strategy embraces students using their smart phones and mobile devices during class.

@LovePhyEd President of WHPE has created a google doc for teachers to share their instant activities

@awenstrom an Apple Distinguished Educator wrote an ibook for the use of technology in elementary Physical Education. Its a good quick read.

Quick Response (QR) codes: QR codes allow students to access data quickly. For example, if you made a google doc that included task cards, students could quickly scan the QR code associated with the doc and it would instantly appear on their mobile device. This is just one of many ways you can use QR codes. i-nigma is great QR coder reader app to download on you mobile device.

Here is some great resources for QR codes:

@physedreview deidcates a chapter of his new ebook to QR codes

@PEScholar: http://www.pescholar.com/blog/3271/qr-codes-in-pe/

@mrobbo: has some awesome QR info dating back to 2008!

@phys_educator: http://www.thephysicaleducator.com/blog/files/qr_code_projects.html

http://www.fcps.edu/ChesterbrookES/qrcodes.htm

http://itinsidepeoutside.blogspot.com/2012/07/qr-codes-in-pe.html

http://mrwickenspe.wordpress.com/category/qr-codes/

http://handheldlearninginpe.com/qr-technology/

What I think is important when discussing the topic of becoming more professionally involved, is to recognize it's not just a one-way process. When we encourage people to become members of our national or state professional associations they often think we're just asking for their money. And if all we can offer them is a journal or the chance to attend a conference (which will also cost them money) they see no reason to join. We haven't been very good at showing them that becoming professionally involved offers them huge personal benefits. Working alone or with a small number of colleagues in a school is very isolating. It's tough to be aware of what others are doing an easy to fall into the routine of continuing to do what you've always done. All around us the world is fast changing. If we don't change with it we risk becoming irrelevant. When we isolate ourselves we don't see the threats coming until it's too late and our programs and positions are on the chopping block. Being involved professionally with colleagues outside of our school district is a great reality check. It helps us to stay on top of current trends and to anticipate where we need to be taking our programs. And most of all, over the years I've discovered it's a great way to develop long-lasting relationships with people who share my teaching interests and passion. It always puzzles me how my teaching colleagues who don't participate in other professional activities stay motivated. Doing the same thing day after day and year after year may be easier, but seems to me to be mind numbing. And, worst of all, it guarantees that we aren't meeting the needs of the students who are trusting us to prepare them with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to be healthy and active. Another way to think about professional involvement is to recognize that we need our state and national associations to represent us elsewhere. Decisions being made affecting our schools and ultimately health and physical education programs are being made by state and federal politicians. There's a reason that legislators are reluctant to do anything to threaten senior citizens (represented by AARP) or gun advocates (represented by the NRA). Size matters, and these political groups are big! I once heard it explained pretty simply: If we don't have a place at the dinner table, we'll likely find ourselves on the menu. Presently, probably less than a quarter of the health and physical education teachers in any state belong to their state professional association. Nationally, less than 10% of America's health and physical education teachers belong to SHAPE America (formerly AAHPERD). It's not surprising we "don't get no respect" when we are so disconnected and powerless. Imagine the difference if SHAPE America boasted 200,000 members or more! Probably few of us have not heard about threatened or real cuts to public school health and physical education programs. We feel picked on, but really it's often our own fault. We simply don't do enough to let school administrators, legislators, or the public understand our value. We seem to think it's sufficient to teach classes and go home. I wish we were better appreciated but I also wish more teachers recognized they can change this perception by getting involved professionally and supporting colleagues who are working to keep them employed. It's simply not fair to expect others to do this for us. Health and physical education potentially has a wonderful future in the 21st century but if we are to realize it we have to change the way all of us think about belonging to our state and national professional associations. Otherwise, it's very possible we could go the way of the dinosaurs.