What's New In Adapted Physical Education

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

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 h

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 Verd

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 q

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

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 ava

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 o

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 dev

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

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.