Students with disabilities have had a great deal to say about their experiences in general physical education, both positive and negative. Positive remarks include that they feel more "normal" and enjoy how their friends help them and make them feel part of the group. But students with disabilities also express that they are not always allowed to…

Nine common methods of extending movement tasks from simple to more complex proposed by Rink (2010) are (1) adding or decreasing the number of people, (2) modifying equipment, (3) making the space larger or smaller, (4) breaking down a skill into parts, (5) changing the conditions of performance, (6) changing the rules, (7) changing the goal or…

By assigning students a label from one of the 11 disability categories, schools receive money from the government to provide appropriate educational assistance to facilitate student learning (e.g., special equipment, paraprofessional support). But educators often think of this labeling as a double-edged sword: children must have the label to…

Karate can contribute to learning in all three domains (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective), even in elementary-age children. Nevertheless, physical education teachers receive minimal or no training in teaching karate in school settings and are skeptical about doing so. The purpose of this article is to enable physical educators to teach…

The purpose of this article is to provide physical education teachers with information on the prevention, and identification in students, of vocal pathologies associated with yelling during class. It is estimated that 6 to 9% of school-age children have a voice disorder, but only about 1% receive treatment for it. Vocal nodules--benign tumors that…

Using a workbook in physical education is not a common practice, but it can enhance students' cognitive knowledge, motivation for learning, and physical activity outside of school. This article introduces an innovative project that involved using a workbook in a power-walking instructional unit with female high-school students. The article…

Homosexuality and homophobia are rarely discussed in schools, yet they are relevant in motor-development and motor-learning settings because people hold gender-stereotyped beliefs about movement and about lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered individuals. This article addresses homophobia and related stereotypes in physical education settings…

Communication skills are central to teacher effectiveness and instructional expertise. A teacher's communication behaviors can also serve motivational purposes that facilitate a number of important instructional outcomes. This article highlights six skills that every physical education teacher should master. Three of the skills are rhetorical in…

Although implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) has been strongly advocated by federal legislation as well as school districts in recent years, the concept has not been well accepted in adapted physical education (APE), perhaps due to a lack of understanding of the central notion of EBP. The purpose of this article is to discuss how APE…

Students' thoughts, feelings, and attitudes generally determine their level of interest in learning and participation in class. For this reason, getting to know and understand students should be a primary goal in teaching. The purpose of this article is to discuss how physical education teachers can get to know their students by incorporating…

Games-based instructional approaches such as teaching games for understanding and the tactical games approach emphasize the practice of the tactical dimensions of game play that are so important for becoming a more effective player. By using game play as the primary form of practice, teachers can help students to develop a better understanding of…

Historically, physical education (PE) has been designed to do one thing--teach sport skills. However, it is now being asked to deal with lifestyle issues such as obesity and inactivity. Since the target and purposes of PE have changed, a fundamental shift in the way it is delivered is essential to its survival. This article highlights some…

Enabling preservice physical education teachers to critically consider questionable and taken-for-granted practices is an important component of a physical education teacher education (PETE) program. In an effort to offer a teaching and learning context in which to introduce such critical consciousness, the authors have included a staged physical…

The purpose of this article is to provide information to general physical education teachers on how to conduct a self-contained adapted physical education (APE) class. The article begins with an example of a traditional model for a self-contained APE class, where all students work on the same goals using basically the same equipment and…

One of the central functions of teaching is formal assessment. However, formal assessment in school physical education often consists of attributing final grades to students at the conclusion of a unit (i.e., summative assessment). Moreover, grades have often been based on effort, attendance, and dress. Practical and authentic assessment…