ALT-PE in Mainstreamed Physical Education Classes Susan Aufderheide Purdue University

Transcription

1 ALT-PE in Mainstreamed Physical Education Classes Susan Aufderheide Purdue University Academic Learning Time - Physical Education (ALT-PE) has proven to be an extremely useful tool, both by itself and together with other methodologies, for examining what is happening in mainstreamed elementary and secondary school physical education classes. The purpose of this paper is briefly to demonstrate how ALT-PE has been used in a variety of ways in the study of mainstreamed physical education. In the first section, an overview of three investigations which examine mainstreamed physical education classes will be presented. The final portion of the paper will highlight the usefulness of ALT-PE in the mainstreamed setting. The passage of Public Law (Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 1975), and its mandate that handicapped students be placed in the least restrictive environment for learning, has resulted in large numbers of handicapped children being in regular physical education classes with their 'normal' peers. One effect of mainstreaming the handicapped student which must be taken under consideration is whether such placement is effective in terms of opportunities to learn for both the handicapped and nonhandicapped students. Do all students in mainstreamed settings have adequate opportunities to learn? In particular, do they receive similar opportunities to respond and similar amounts of instruction and feedback from the teacher? Do handicapped students learn at the expense of the other students in the class? Are handicapped students' needs ignored in mainstreamed classes? What teacher skills contribute to educational equity? Although questions such as these have not been studied thoroughly in physical education settings, several researchers (Brophy & Good, 1974; Crowe, 1979; Martinek, 1979; Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968) have examined teacher/student classroom interactions and report that teachers, whether consciously or unconsciously, exhibit differential behavior toward certain students. Recent studies of teacher effectiveness have used a process-product analysis whereby teacher and student behaviors were observed directly and then correlated with measures of student achievement. These studies have shown that the major variable that seemed to discriminate between more and less effective teachers was opportunity to learn, which included a measure of the amount of time students spent engaged academically (Berliner, 1979; Medley, 1979; Rosenshine, 1979). The concept of how students use time in class has been refined (Berliner, 1979; Siedentop, Birdwell & Metzler, Note 1) to distinguish among allocated time, engaged time, and Academic Learning Time. While the relationship between ALT and achievement in physical education has not yet been demonstrated empirically, the concept is theoretically sound. The question remains: What is the effect of mainstreamed physical education classes on the opportunities to learn of handicapped and nonhandicapped students? As an educator and researcher interested in physical education opportunities for handicapped students, this investigator sought to find a way to examine student SUMMER

2 Mainstreamed Classes learning in the mainstream setting. The Academic Learning Time - Physical Education (ALT-PE) instrument was chosen as the vehicle for examining the equity of student opportunity to respond in mainstreamed physical education classes. ALT-PE and Individualized Instruction an n- a l 'E 3.?d ill In an initial investigation (Aufderheide, 1980), mainstreamed physical education classes at the elementary school level were observed. The purpose of this investigation was twofold: (a) to determine the differences between the amount of ALT engaged in by handicapped and nonhandicapped students, and (b) to examine the differences in the amount of ALT made available by teachers who were users and nonusers of individualized instruction. Academic Learning Time was used as a criterion variable for verifying the degree to which mainstreamed and regular students had equal access to learn. There were no statistical differences in the amount of ALT for handicapped and nonhandicapped students. The handicapped students were engaged appropriately in academic tasks at a high level of success 43.9% of the time, while the nonhandicapped were engaged appropriately 47.8% of the class time. However, students (handicapped and nonhandicapped alike) of teachers who used individualized instruction were engaged in more ALT than were students of teachers who did not individualize (50.5% and 41.3% respectively). By documenting the percentage of time mainstreamed handicapped and nonhandicapped students spent engaged in academically appropriate tasks with a high degree of success, the investigator was able to provide support for the concept of mainstreaming as an effective method of teaching mildly handicapped students without distracting from the learning environment of the nonhandicapped students in the same class. Also ALT-PE data were used to provide support for the continued use of individualized instruction in mainstreamed physical education classes. ALT-PE and Ethnography In a second investigation (Aufderheide & Templin, Note 2), ALT-PE was used together with ethnography to describe mainstreamed physical education classes at the secondary school level. Ethnography was used to document teacher behaviors in the mainstreamed setting. Academic Learning Time was used to assess opportunities to learn for handicapped and nonhandicapped students. No statistical differences were found between the amount of ALT made available to the two groups of students. Handicapped students were engaged in ALT-PE 44.9% of the time, while nonhandicapped students were engaged 45.9% of the total class time. There were no major differences in the way physical education teachers interacted with the handicapped and nonhandicapped students, but some minor differences were apparent. Teacher-student contacts were higher for the handicapped students as were the number of corrective and positive feedback statements. It was thought that this behavior may have been the result of the teachers' knowledge about the investigators' interest in handicapped students' opportunities. Based on ALT-PE and ethnographic data collected, both groups of students had equal opportunities in their physical education class and participated in class to the same extent. ALT-PE and OSIA-PE In a study currently under way (Aufderheide & Olson, Note 3), ALT-PE and the Observational System for Instructional Analysis - Physical Education (OSIA-PE) are being used to determine specific teacher behaviors that may be associated with differing levels of student ALT in mainstreamed elementary school physical education 23 JTPE

3 classes. The data will be analyzed to determine if there are any differences in teacher-student interactions between teachers and handicapped students and between teachers and nonhandicapped students in mainstreamed classes. The data will be analyzed further to determine if differences exist in the amount of ALT learning time in which a student is engaged and the various categories of teacher-student interaction as specified in OSIA-PE. It is felt that the results of this investigation will have implications for designing teaching strategies in mainstreamed physical education classes. Summary In these investigations the ALT-PE instrument has proven to be a valuable tool for examining the mainstreamed physical education setting. By using Academic Learning Time-Physical Education data the investigator and others have been able to: 1. Begin to describe specific types of student interactions with physical education content material. The questions raised in the introduction about adequate opportunities to learn, similar opportunities to respond and whether or not the handicapped and nonhandicapped students received similar amounts of instruction and feedback in mainstreamed physical education classes were examined in the preceding studies. The ALT-PE instrument proved to be a viable tool for demonstrating that in the physical education classes in these investigations there were no significant differences in opportunities to learn and/or respond for the two groups. If teachers were behaving differentially toward the handicapped and non handicapped it did not affect the amount of academic learning time they provided their students. However, it was found that the teachers were better able to determine appropriate task difficulty levels for the non handicapped students. Examine the potential of individualized instruction in mainstreamed settings. I ndividualized instruction, as defined in these investigations, referred to instruction which is based on the present level of functioning of each student. A teacher who used an individualized approach was one who: a) had written statements of long term goals and short term objectives based on present level of functioning of the student; b) defined these skills in observable and measurable terms; c) continuously assessed and recorded student status on targeted objectives; and d) prescribed instruction based on assessment data. By using an individualized approach the teachers provided their students with increased opportunities to respond. This, in turn, resulted in increased amounts of academic learning time being accrued for both nonhandicapped and handicapped students. Thus, it appeared that both groups of students had a greater opportunity to learn in the individualized instruction format. 3. More thoroughly examine the entire learning environment by using ALT-PE in conjunction with other analytic methodologies such as OSIA-PE and ethnography. Using ALT-PE and ethnography together the investigators were better able to describe what was occurring in the mainstreamed setting. It was possible to attend to more variables than if only one methodology had been used. Combined efforts such as these show promise in further elucidating variables in the mainstreamed physical education setting. SUMMER

4 Mainstreamed Classes 4. Begin to broaden the knowledge base concerning the process of mainstreaming by examining what is actually happening in mainstreamed physical education classes today. What is being found in the mainstreamed class is that the placement of handicapped children in classes with the nonhandicapped is fairly effective. The needs of both groups of students are being met, especially in classes where the teacher is able to use individualized instruction as described in these investigations. Data obtained in the second study suggest that both the handicapped and nonhandicapped student receive similar amounts of feedback and instruction from the teacher. This is more true in classes where the handicapped students were appropriately placed. 5. Enhance inservice and preservice education of current and prospective physical education teachers by using the knowledge obtained from these investigations. The question of what teacher skills contribute to educational equity in mainstreamed settings was brought to light in these investigations. If Academic Learning Time is related to achievement in the motor domain, physical education teachers should implement strategies that allow for optimal amounts of learning time at levels appropriate for individual skill development. The fact that individualized programming is specified in PL further supports the continuing need for preservice and inservice training to help teachers acquire the skills necessary to do this. Perhaps the most effective teaching strategy to use in mainstreamed classes would be the individualized instruction strategy outlined above. An individualized teaching strategy provides the teacher with an objective and systematic way to identify and diagnose student needs, to assess individual progress, and to keep and maintain systematic records on student behavior and progress. To mainstream successfully, an environment must exist where both the handicapped and the nonhandicapped have similar opportunities to learn. An individualized instruction model can help provide the teacher with a set of procedures to improve the educational equity for both the handicapped and nonhandicapped in this setting. The data obtained from the ALT-PE investigations can provide further assistance to the teacher in mainstreamed classes. In order for academic learning time to be accrued the teacher must be able to diagnose student skill in order that lesson appropriateness be achieved. It seems that individualized instruction and academic learning time go hand-in-hand. Teachers can also use the academic learning time data to evaluate their own teaching and their teaching environment. Teaching methods that are correlated with low levels of academic learning time should be closely examined and perhaps modified or changed. Methods that result in high academic learning time should also be examined to determine why such high ALT values are being obtained. Perhaps the lesson is too easy and the students are simply going through the motions and no new knowledge or skill is being learned. By using a teaching strategy which allows the teacher to plan for the needs of every student Academic Learning Time can be increased. This in turn can result in increased learning! It is essential that preservice and inservice teachers become aware of and proficient in these skills if mainstreaming is to be an effective way of educating the handicapped. 25 JTPE

5 Reference Notes 1. Siedentop, D., Birdwell, D., E Metzler, M. A process approach to measuring teacher effectiveness in physical education. Paper presented at the AAHPERD National Convention, New Orleans, March, Aufderheide, S., & Templin, T. An integrated approach to the assessment of ALT-PE in a secondary level mainstreamed physical education class. Paper presented at the AAHPERD National convention, Boston, Aufderheide, S, & Olson, J. Teacher behaviors associated with high student academic learning time in mainstreamed primary school physical education classes. Study in progress, References Aufderheide, S. Individualized teaching strategies in mainstreamed physical education classes: Relationship to academic learning time. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas, 1980) Dissertation Abstracts International, 1980, 41, 1472A. (University Microfilms Na ) Aufderheide, S., McKenzie, T., & Knowles, C. Effect of individualized instruction on handicapped and nonhandicapped students in elementary physical education classes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 1982, 1 (3), Berliner, D. Tempus educare. In P. Peterson E H. Walberg (Eds.), Research on teaching Concepts, findings and implications. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing, Brophy, J., & Good, T. Teacher-student relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Crowe, P. An observational study of teachers' expectancy effects and their mediating mechanisms. AAHPERD Research Consortium Symposium Papers: Teaching behavior and women in sports (Vol. 2, Book 1 ), 1979, Federal Register, (163), August 23, 1977 (P.L ). Martinek, T. A model for the study of pygmalion effects in physical education. AAHPER Research Consortium Symposium Papers: Teaching behavior and women in sports (Vol. 2, Book I), 1979, Medley, D. The effectiveness of teachers. In P. L. Peterson and H. J. Walberg (Eds. ), Research on teaching: Concepts, findings, and implications. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing, Rosenshine, B. Content, time and direct instruction. In P. L. Peterson and H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Research on teaching : Concepts, findings, and implications. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing, Rosenthal, R., and Jacobson, L. Pygmalion in the classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, SUMMER