Final Project

This final project included a power point with a voice thread. This process of designing and choosing the important slides for the power point was fairly easy, with the exception of having several important topics to choose from and narrow down. The voice thread experience was unique. It is important to learn how to use this type of technology and with support from my peers and the website tutorial I was able to design a slide that I was comfortable with and felt good about sharing.

I chose to use collaboration, inclusion, acronmys and frame of reference as the sub topics in the power point. I have reflected on my past year of teaching APE and choose things that were valuable to my teaching and learning experience.
 Josie's Voice Thread Power Point

My blog experience

I am new to the 'blogging' world. I found myself very overwhelmed with having a assignment to create a blog and work daily on posting and exploring this new way of communication. After many hours of working I have found that blogging is useful and I can understand why people put so many hours into their blog. I am no longer frustrated and overwhelmed. It was a good experience for me not to be a perfectionist because I do not have the content knowledge to make my blog amazing but I do know enough to do well and get my point of views across in a structured manner.
I have enjoyed looking at others blogs and getting ideas from them. I really think the 10 Local Resources was the most valuable assignment. I have found several activities in my home town that service disabilities and also able to see what other areas have to offer. I will be able to give that information to the families that I know that may be interested in traveling and using those services. http://josiealomia.blogspot.com/ is my blog and http://collabrativemomma.blogspot.com/ is Lindsay's blog. She has a great list of resources in Chico.
I am undecided if blogging will continue after this class. I see the advantages within this profession. Easy access to information to a large amount is the most valuable aspect of blogging. I am still a little intimidated about the technology. 

Diversity in the classroom

It is important and critical to consider diversity in the classroom to understand the students needs and areas to work towards. Considering diversity within the students will help the teacher to understand what the students values are and where the student may need help in overcoming. Culture and cultural differences will also be a factor when the classroom is diverse. Many cultures do not place a ton of value on physical education but will place huge amounts of value on math and science. Other diversity within the classroom could include disabilities.
I have found from my past experiences that when I am forced to open my mind and work with people that are different then myself I gain knowledge that I may not have. It also builds a community that is united that works together.
As a teacher I find it important to consider diversity to become a better teacher and grow as a professional. There may be activities or games that may offend some of the students or a language that would be more helpful to use around those students. Being award of who is the students and how to best teach them regarding who they are is important.  

Religion in physical education with a focus on Muslim and Christanity

Josette Alomia
Jimmy Margiolas
Diversity Article reviews
Kine 515
Summer 2013

             Religion in physical education with a focus on Muslim and Christianity
   
 With the increase in immigration over the past few decades, teachers now have a class full of diverse students, that previous generations of teachers have not seen or experience. The influx of students that come from parents who are immigrants now fill  the classrooms.  And with the students comes religion and cultural customs that teachers might not be familiar with, while at the same time respect them. This is especially true in physical education.

Muslim Views: boys vs. girls
    A religion that most teachers will face that have many different customs then what they might be used to is the Muslim religion, specifically to the Hijab. A Hijab is a head covering for young to adult females. This is especially true in regards to girls. In an article; (Multiple Voices: Improving Participation of Muslim Girls in Physical Education and School Sport Education and Society, v16 n2 p223-239 Mar 2011) a study focused on why Muslim girls of all ages were being pulled from physical education class. The reasons parents gave were inflexibility clothing requirement, again with a focus on the Hijab, uncomfortable with the swim class requirement and overall not valuing physical education. Other concerns were gender organization within the classes. The custom for them is that girls must dress and represent themselves in a certain ways at all times.  This can be a tricky situation especially during PE. Where you must move, dress out, and in some schools swim. The article stated that most of the issues that arise can be overcome by communication between the school, particularly physical education staff and parents. Flexibility of approach, shared decision-making and situation-specific policies were most successful for supporting the inclusion of Muslim girls in physical education and school sport. It just goes to show you that simple communication can solve many issues and can make the experience a lot more pleasant for everyone involved.
    The issue for boys can be very different. In Samaya Farooq and Andrew Parker article Sport, Physical Education, and Islam: Muslim Independent Schooling and the Social Construction of Masculinities, Sociology of Sport Journal, 2009, 26, 277-295. “Motivation for involvement in PE and sport was fueled by their understanding that participation in such activities was 
honorable in terms of their broader religious beliefs.” Meaning that for boys that participating in sports and activities is very important to them and their religion and that they are expected to participate at a high level.  

A different view: Christianity

But the importance of being involved in sports and being physically active is not only isolated to students of Islam and Muslim Religions. In a study (Institutionalized Sport as Quasi-Religion: Preliminary Consideration) Journal of Sport & Social Issues. Fall/Winter79, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p17-27. 11p. the article mentioned that some view sport as a religion, the symbols and traditions involved, and hold beliefs related to sports. Sport and religion study shows considerable support for the general contention that sport is at least quasi-religious in nature. The study focused on how evangelical Christians were particularly involved with religion and sport, especially regarding football.”M. Kenneth Brody1
 This shows that many religions value sports and physical activity.
    After reading and reviewing the articles we both agreed that religion is something we have to deal with one way or another in our respected classroom in the future. It is important that we are aware of it, so at the same time we can be respectful to our student’s families and customs. We may not agree with it or understand it but we must respect it. As stated earlier a lot of misconceptions or misunderstandings can be eliminated if teacher would communicate with the parents. And this is something we both plan on doing.
 
Bibliography

·    Islam, Hijab and Young Shia MuslimCanadian Women’s Discursive Constructions of Physical Activity Nisara Jiwani, Sociology of Sport Journal, 2010, 27, 251-267

·    Multiple Voices: Improving Participation of Muslim Girls in Physical Education and School Sport S Dagkas, T Benn, H Jawad  Education and Society, v16 n2 p223-239 Mar 2011

·    Against Lesbian, Gay  ,and Bisexual Coaches: The Influence of Race, Religious Fundamentalism, Modern Sexism, and Contact with Sexual Minorities George B. Cunningham Texas A&M University Herek’s , 2007, 2009

·    Institutionalized Sport as Quasi-Religion: Preliminary Consideration Journal of Sport & Social Issues. Fall/Winter79, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p17-27.M. Kenneth Brody1


·    Sport, Religious Belief, and Religious Diversity). , Randolph Feezell, Journal of the Philosophy of Sport. May2013, Vol. 40 Issue 1, p135-162.

·    Sport, Physical Education, and Islam: Muslim Independent Schooling and the Social Construction of Masculinities, Samaya Farooq and Andrew Parker; Sociology of Sport Journal, 2009, 26, 277-295

·    Exploring teaching practices in physical education with culturally diverse classes: a cross-cultural study. Symeon Dagkas, European Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 30, No. 4, November 2007, pp. 431–443

·    A Culturally Appropriate School Wellness Initiative: Results of a 2-Year Pilot Intervention in 2 Jewish Schools,  Maureen R. Benjamins  & Steven; Journal of School Health August 2010, Vol. 80,No. 8 Pg. 378-386

·    Diversity in Public Education: Acknowledging Immigrant Parent Knowledge, Yan Guo, Canadian Journal of Education 35, 2 (2012): 120-140

·    Ethnicity and Conflict in Physical Education Carroll, Bob, Hollinshead, Graeme, British Educational Research Journal, 01411926, Feb93, Vol. 19, Issue 1

Swimming with the Stars

My swimming experience was a wonderful time to cool off and get to see other teachers interact with students. I am a visual learner and find tremendous growth watching other and then practicing what has been taught. The students were amazing!! I had a opportunity to work with the preschool children who were deaf, hard of hearing... they were super cute and able to engage with me. I had a chance to interact with a sweet little 4 year old who was very cautious. We practiced wall crawl, blowing bubbles and horsey rides. I had a chance to learn how to do basic signs and then give the students positive feedback. 
I have notices that all kids LOVE water... especially on a hot day. The leading teacher was able to enforce safety through out the class. During the experience I was able to collaborate with my peers, giving them feedback and then also hearing some as well. This is a very powerful way to learn. Instead of working out of a text and hearing how to practically apply strategies to different situations, nothing can beat the real world experience, doing to work, facing the challenges and modifying on the spot. I wish I was able to watch students with limited mobility transfer from chair to water. Collaboration is very valuable in this type of setting because several eyes are watching the same activity and there is a opportunity to hear different suggestions from different point of views. 

(picture of 'my' stars... not the durham stars- actual pictures not available)

Nine Articles... Collaboration, Consultation, and Inclusion

Collaboration

Voices from the Field: Skill Sets Needed for Effective Collaboration and Co-Teaching

Brinkmann, Jodie ; Twiford, Travis

    The objective of this article was to point out the need for collaboration in education and included the No Child Left Behind and IDEA act. It asked several teacher to rate the need for collaboration and how effective it was used. The teachers pooled stated that the need for collaboration was very strong and desired to have time in the future to collaborate.

International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation

Collaboration as a Tool to Improve Career and Technical Education: A Qualitative Study of Successful Collaboration among Extension Agents and Agricultural Science Teachers

Author(s):

Murphrey, Theresa Pesl ; Miller, Kimberley A. ; Harlin, Julie ; Rayfield, John

    This article was interesting because it focused on the Ag industry and how it is helpful to collaborate with others within the industry regarding careers and products that are used. It also focused on how time can be a element of negativity because finding the time to collaborate is often hard. Barriers to collaboration included lack of time to collaborate, the number of schools in a county, the size of the county compared to the location of schools, and negative personal views toward individuals (competition). The overall feeling from this article was that it is valuable and also important to collaborate with others.

Collaboration between Multicultural and Special Teacher Educators: Pulling Together the Threads in the Conversation

Villegas, Ana Maria

Source:

Journal of Teacher Education

    The main idea before collaboration can begin in to know and understand who is doing the collaboration. Everyone who comes forward to collaborate comes with a set of religious, cultural, family beliefs. The extreme importance is to have a open mind. The author also spoke to the fact that if collaboration is not done, there is a tremendous amount to loose.

Consultation

Enabling Outcomes for Students with Developmental Disabilities through Collaborative ConsultationVilleneuve, Michelle ; Hutchinson, Nancy L.

Source:

Qualitative Report, v17 Article 97 2012. 29 pp.

     In this study the occupational therapist were used to discover how affective consulation in the public education system. The sudey found that it was a overwhelming amout of positive praise in how affective it was working as well as how the students were retaining the knowledge. Specific ways that educator-occupational therapist collaboration can be facilitated were identified in three areas: (a) focus for educational programming; (b) communication practices; and (c) leadership practices of educators.

Analysis of Parent, Teacher, and Consultant Speech Exchanges and Educational Outcomes of Students with Autism during COMPASS Consultation

Author(s):

Ruble, Lisa ; Birdwhistell, Jessie ; Toland, Michael D. ; McGrew, John H.

Source:

Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation, v21 n4 p259-283 2011. 25 pp.

    Autism was the focus of this article. With the rates of Autism increasing the education system has a requiremnt to meet the needs of these students. Consultation is one methond of meeting  the needs of these students as well as meeting IEP goals. Verbal interactions are a huge portion of the consultaion service that some students with autism will recieve.

A Practitioner's Guide to Consultation and Problem Solving in Inclusive Settings.

Musti-Rao, Shobana1

Source:

Teaching Exceptional Children. Sep/Oct2011, Vol. 44 Issue 1, p18-26. 9p.

    This article focuses on the early moments of consultation and identifying students who are in need of education assistance. The focus was in the public schools in Singapore. According to the authors, the stages of the problem-solving consultation process include relationship building, problem identification, problem analysis, program implementation, and program evaluation.

Inclusion

Inclusion

"Less Afraid to Have "Them" in My Classroom": Understanding Pre-Service General Educators' Perceptions about Inclusion

Author(s):

McCray, Erica D. ; McHatton, Patricia Alvarez

Source:

Teacher Education Quarterly, v38 n4 p135-155 Fall 2011. 21 pp.

    The main focus of this article was to inform classroom teacher of strategies associated to having kids with special need into their classroom. Many teachers feel overwhelmed and under educated when faced with inclusion in their own classroom. The article showed that after a few days of having the student working into their class the more confident the teacher felt. The more confident the teacher felt the better the teacher taught.

How to Cope with Bias While Adapting for Inclusion in Physical Education and Sports: A Judgment and Decision-Making Perspective

Author(s):

Hutzler, Yeshayahu ; Bar-Eli, Michael

Source:

Quest, v65 n1 p57-71 2013. 15 pp.

    In this article the content was the connection between physical education and sport and the judgments associated to inclusion. Often times physical education is turned into a competition while the focus should be on the skill and skill development. The article gave strategies and tables of how to focus on inclusion with the bias. The specific concepts of judgment and decision making are then imported into examples of inclusive contexts, where events in judgment and decision making terminology.

Seeing beyond the Impossible

Author

Hai Nguyen

    This article was my favorite, it was about a young boy who was blind and always left aside in game and activities. He slowly lost interest in most things at school and in life until one day was asked to  participate in gymnastics. He ended up becoming very good and participated in high school. This article is a excellent example of how inclusion works to build confidence and happiness.

Communication is an important tool in collaboration because...

Communication is a key component to collaborative practice because it is a method to release what is in your mind and a way to get personal ideas and strategies shared with others. Communication can be verbal, directly speaking your ideas, writing them down on paper or even non-verbal, the way you conduct your body language and mannerisms. Communications is key for collaboration because it also involves listening. Affective collaboration happens when all people are able to share ideas and also support other ideas that are mentioned, building a solution together.
In special education it is crucial to collaborate with others because I have found that it helps to become a better teacher. For example, I was working on a skipping goal with a student and during the Triennial IEP the OT was mentioning that this student was also struggling with balance on the right side of the body... This brought to my mind why skipping has been so challenging... the student would skip with the left, then walk with the right. I was so fascinated that I first did not notice the balance issue, and then was able to have a strategy to possibly improve this students balance first, then work on the skipping goal. Without that information I would still be struggling, gaining little ground and becoming frustrated with the lack of progress.