Various impediments pose a challenge to the educational process for students, teachers and guardians alike. In Australia, the subject area of Physical Education with a focus on Physical Impairment is no exception. Therefore, this paper shall identify and explain the relevant student traits concerning the subject above. Also, it will consider the variance in a mainstream classroom, as well as techniques that uplift successful access to, and indulgence in the curriculum for all students in the class with keen view on Physical Education. Further, the essay will cite and describe teaching strategies that are inclusive and appropriate for the learner characteristics together with a selection of given Australian policies that influence the imparting of Physical Education for year seven to twelve secondary students.
Inclusive Education
Various impediments pose a challenge to the educational process for students, teachers and guardians alike. In Australia, the subject area of Physical Education with a focus on Physical Impairment is no exception. Therefore, this paper shall identify and explain the relevant student traits concerning the subject above. Also, it will consider the variance in a mainstream classroom, as well as techniques that uplift successful access to, and indulgence in the curriculum for all students in the class with keen view on Physical Education. Further, the essay will cite and describe teaching strategies that are inclusive and appropriate for the learner characteristics together with a selection of given Australian policies that influence the imparting of Physical Education for year seven to twelve secondary students.
Learner Characteristics
Various disabilities are relatable to learning the Physical Education subject and which arise due to physical impairment. The shortcomings involve cognitive inadequacies, as well as perceptual ones that are usually psychological, and identified by characteristics such as written language inadequacies, reading challenges, underdeveloped social skills, arithmetic complexities, hyperactivity and low concentration span, as well as behavioral challenges (Pullen et al., 2013). Various anatomical shortfalls that relate to hearing/listening, reasoning, attention, visual and auditory disabilities cause the above issues.
Written language inadequacies
Students for year seven to twelve with physical impairment tend to have difficulties in writing and articulating technical wordings that are basic for the Physical Education subject. Vocabularies tend to be an enormous task when making accurate notes (Raymond, 2016). Another uphill would be punctuating and grammar, which may occur across the board for areas of study other than the one in question.
Various factors affect classroom learning for the secondary students with this characteristic in multiple ways. The speed with which their understanding happens is quite slowed relative to those who are not physically challenged. The latter is due to the attribute that written language goes hand in hand with whether one lags behind or not. Also, the students end up psychologically frustrated because they may feel discouraged and unable to catch up with the rest.
Inadequacies in written languages have negative and positive effects on classroom teaching. On the contrary dimension, the teacher has to input more effort, including supervising such students closely and encouraging them to consult always, which is time-consuming. Positively, teachers tend to enhance their accommodative skills required in their daily teaching of Physical Education lessons. They have to plan and research more on how to deliver the writing capabilities of the students, but without going outside of the educational context. The result is more informed teaching staff who also shares tolerance with students who are typically abled.
Underdeveloped learners’ social skills
Over 70% of learners from the seventh to the twelfth year portray immense shortcomings when it comes to social skills (Hwang & Kearney, 2013). Physical Education classes dwell on teamwork and interaction, which form the core of socialization. Thus, the given diversity area stated paves the way for construction of social abilities such as public speaking, self-confidence, and empathy among other parameters. Australian students with physical impairment do not have the said skills to keep the social clusters afloat. Thus, they fall out in most instances.
The impact on classroom learning for underdeveloped learners’ social skills is that they lag behind. The students’ inability to keep abreast with the social dialogue and discussions in the classroom setting means that the little they grasp is the much they learn and nothing more. On the other hand, underdeveloped social skills for brilliant students are detrimental to the rest of the class. The impaired learners may be very knowledgeable, but due to their inability to interact, they will hardly spread the key aspects of the subject area. Psychological issues often arise with students who exhibit this trait. Lack of exposure to life circumstances makes them feel they are the only ones handling such scenarios, which if shared, they would learn that some challenges are life’s normality. As such, these students are emotionally vulnerable and can experience extreme consequences of depression and loneliness.
Tutorship is a variable for underdeveloped social skills for any Physical Education subject area. Coordination amongst the affected students means that preparations for lessons, in this case, have to be considerate of the fact that life skills have to be incorporated. Tutors' delivery of knowledge is in such a way that it bases on the instruments that propagate social expertise. There is the tendency in planning that makes it compulsory for the students to partake interactions as a way of learning to grow their skills. Delivery is in teams that include the physically impaired students amongst the ordinary ones. Hence, the teamwork needed enhances the classroom set up for an efficient learning process.
Low Concentration Spans and Hyperactivity
Small concentration spans are a characterization of physically impaired students. Given various tasks that need commitment regarding time, they may fail to deliver to completion because they cannot keep at it for an extended period without being distracted or losing interest altogether. In place of longer concentration spans as their counterparts, these students tend to be on the move, often without purpose (Cortiella & Horowitz, 2014). They are restless.
In a learning environment, the mentioned traits have more cons than pros. Fellow students get distracted by the restless challenged ones, and the whole class may not learn long enough uninterrupted. In many instances, they arouse agitation from classmates who may end up being violent to them or otherwise. Learning for such individuals is reduced to minimal or none in some lecture periods. Consequently, the inability to grasp much during study time results in low performances that yield anxiety and dissatisfaction (McGrath et al., 2011). Notably, these students end up depressed depending on the classroom outcomes such as test results if they are not guided adequately
Lecturers with hyperactive students have harsh lessons to handle. The fact that their concentrations spans are short and may interrupt classes means the planning should entail intermittent breaks that are synchronized with distraction intervals for these learners. The delivery of knowledge and critical pointers of the subject need patience and are prompt such that they should reach students during their peak concentration moments. For Physical Education, the lecturer will have to engage learners to keep track of when they are at their best and also to save their energy that is essential for refocusing every time they are distracted.
Reading and Comprehension Challenges
The most exhibited learner characteristic for physically impaired children is reading and comprehension. Mainly, it touches on the cognitive aspect of the brain and perceptions. Over 90% of bodily impaired children may exhibit this trend up to year seven and eight (Montague, 2008). However, they outgrow this through consistent training from guardians and teachers alike. Thus, it is a tag team effort to eradicate such challenges.
The effects of learning in an enclosed set up for physically impaired students are significant for physical education subject areas. The results are adverse, but if approached by students as a challenge that needs overcoming, this characteristic is mildly influential. Students for year seven to twelve are socially shameful of given shortcomings. A failure to be standard in reading and comprehending elicits scorn from classmates and to some extent is demoralizing. The students may give up with the knowledge that they cannot undertake simple exercises such as reading efficiently and negating their classroom score.
The planning and delivery of tutors are forced to be cognitive of the fact that other students need to understand the challenge their counterparts are facing. Thus, it is from the point of comprehension that the class as a whole builds the confidence of the affected students to grow (Montague, 2008). Therefore, lesson plans are thorough and deliveries psychologically tactical.
Behavioral Challenges
Students may be naturally impaired physically or due to artificial occurrences such as accidents. The artificially resultant disasters impact significantly on the student’s behavior. As a result, it is difficult to find a huge percentage of a given population of physically challenged students being able to keep their behavior on course consistently. Psychological effects take the toll on them, and they are not confident on whether or not they fit in the society or classes well. Such situations need the input of guardians, teachers, and counselors to gradually train the students in virtue to retain consistency and positive growth.
The general challenge for learners of such nature is that they can be consistent over an extended period, but with an emotional low they fall deep and change in behavior. Teachers preparation and delivery for such lessons should base on the foundation of first restoring hope that what pertains Physical Education is still achievable, regardless of the impairments. Experiences, in this case, are filled and delivered with messages of hope from time to time and encouragement. Also, the lessons that can significantly advance a positive drive in behavioral growth involve practical circumstances that embody the experience of change.
Teaching Strategies
For mainstream classes with physically impaired students, various techniques can be employed to ensure the adequate teaching of many topics, especially physical education. The main aim of incorporating strategies would be to allow for inclusivity amongst differently-abled students. The two approaches in this essay are practical, realistic, useful and applicable in Australia for year seven to twelve physically impaired students and are as below;
Classroom Structures and Teaching Strategies
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- Dr. Amos Wesonga (Author), 2016, Inclusive Education, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/439524
