MC special populations course allows for both hands-on learning and a change of perspective
May 25, 2022
For Dr. Jeremy Steeves, associate professor of exercise science at Maryville College, classroom instruction is only a small part of his job.
When it comes to teaching the course PHR321: Physical Education and Recreation for Special Populations, applying the knowledge imparted to students who take it is only as beneficial as the application of that knowledge in a real-world context.
“It’s a course with a community-engaged learning focus that partners Maryville College students with Foothills Elementary School students in a way that benefits everyone” Steeves said. “What is a college if it doesn’t share its rich resource of students and knowledge to help serve in the surrounding community? The valuable and specific learning benefits that result from the academic-community partnership include providing supplemental instruction for Foothills Elementary School students with complex learning needs to develop body awareness, interpersonal skills, and executive functioning skills through hands-on/play-based and responsive/adaptive lessons. For the MC students, it provides the opportunity to approach planning and teaching from diverse perspectives and develop instructional responsiveness in a real-time setting.”
During the 2020-2021 academic year, Steeves was forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to seek out innovative ways of presenting the course material and engaging students in hands-on learning. Previously, members of the class welcomed students with disabilities from nearby Eagleton Elementary School to the College’s Cooper Athletic Center on Fridays for a guided day of play and exercise. In addition, they were required to volunteer at the Special Olympics Powerlifting Competition held annually at Foothills Mall. During COVID, Special Olympics was put on hold, and MC students worked virtually with students with disabilities from John Sevier and Foothills Elementary, but collaboration via Zoom sessions wasn’t ideal, he said.
“This year, I was really excited to return to face-to-face interactions which facilitate more relationship building opportunities between the college students and elementary students,” he said. “We try to ensure that our partnerships with local elementary schools are based on mutuality and reciprocity, and when that is the case, then it is a win-win for both sides.”
Classroom knowledge and hands-on experience
Funded by the Bonner Community-Engaged Learning (CEL) Initiative Faculty Cohort, the CEL designated course partners students with special education classes in local elementary schools, and during the most recent semester, CEL funds allowed for a partnership between the course and Foothills Elementary, where K-3 special education teacher Amanda Waters utilized Maryville College students to provide six physical activity lessons, and to plan and deliver a year-end Special Olympics activity day.
The class is structured so that the first half of the spring semester course is front-loaded with foundational knowledge, Steeves said. The second half was spent on a community engagement component, in which students prepared a 24-page booklet designed to assist in training and on-site support for the Special Olympics, followed by putting that knowledge into action at the event itself. As part of the instructional content, Steeves said, the students were tasked with examining their preconceptions about the populations at the heart of the course.
For some, like exercise science major Sierra Whitesides ’23, the material helped facilitate a better understanding of needs with which she was already somewhat familiar, she said.
“I have a family member with special needs, so I grew up around many adults in the community,” she said. “While working with the children at the elementary school, I got to see how much diversity there was in the community. Seeing how the children processed the instructions we gave them during the games and exercises was very interesting and helped me appreciate how all children learn differently. I really enjoyed this class and feel it is important for many different career fields.”
Other students, such as Luke Johnson ’24, found their perspectives challenged and their views broadened through early discussions of defining, recognizing and affirming individuals with disabilities.
“Early on in the course, we talk about the idea that about two-thirds of people claim they feel awkward around people with disabilities, mostly because the majority of society has a lack of engagement or interaction with those individuals,” Steeves said. “In reading about the value of experiential learning, we talk about the impact it has on the attitudes of students toward individuals with disabilities, and they come to understand that a lot of that discomfort is because of the fear of, ‘Will I do something wrong or say something wrong?’ And rather than risk that, a lot of people don’t even try to engage.”
“This collaboration further supports this new social attitude, that advocates for increased acceptance, inclusivity, and ensures that teaching practices/learning opportunities are there to support diverse and complex learning needs,” Waters added.
As an example, Steeves pointed out, class members are introduced to the story of Temple Grandin, who didn’t speak until she was 4. Although doctors told her parents to institutionalize her, with the support of a few key figures in her life, she went on to earn a Ph.D. in animal science and became known around the world as an advocate for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter, as well as a spokesperson for autism.
“That just goes to show that all students can learn but may need different levels of support to be successful and truly excel,” Steeves added.
A new perspective
Grandin’s story of perseverance, and more importantly the assistance provided by individuals in her life who looked at her capabilities rather than her disability, serves as one example of the ways in which students with disabilities can exceed expectations with the right modifications or accommodations.
“The positive interactions that occur between the Maryville College and Foothills Elementary School students throughout this course have a profound impact on everyone involved. Both sets of students claim the highlight of their weeks are the time that they get to spend together having fun, laughing, and being silly while learning new sports skills and playing games.
As the required U.S. Pluralism course for the College’s physical education licensure majors, it is a mandatory class for many of the participants. The students receive training in disability awareness, such as learning about the use of person-first language; communication techniques; instructional strategies; feedback techniques; behavior management; game modifications; assessment and evaluation techniques. The students gain significant leadership and teaching experience through creating lesson plans that meet the SHAPE America’s National Standards for K-12 physical education to develop physically literate individuals; the development of easily modifiable, inclusive, low-impact games, and delivering their content each week.
Student feedback, Steeves said, indicates that many participants feel it offers a fundamental shift in how special populations are viewed.
“A lot of students have said that it’s a class almost all Maryville College students should be taking, based on the knowledge and life skills gained, such as ethical decision-making, building relationships, critical thinking and problem-solving through taking part in the transformational experience of working with the Foothills students, as opposed to reading about it in a textbook, listening to a lecture or guest speaker, or watching a film,” he said.
For Johnson, a physical education/health major working toward his K-12 teacher licensure, the combined material was educational and supplemental, but his hands-on experiences at Foothills Elementary “was one of the most influential and educational experiences from my time here at MC,” he said.
“I was able to use the teaching skills that I learned from this course and apply them in a classroom setting,” he added. “Working with the kids at Foothills Elementary and watching them improve over the course of the semester through playing games, learning new techniques and having fun was a very rewarding experience for me, and increased my desire for a career as an educator.”
And that, Steeves added, is a lesson at the heart of his course.
“The whole idea is to help students see how that experiential learning enhanced the foundation of classroom learning, but also appreciate how it changed their attitudes toward individuals with disabilities,” he said. “And that’s a hallmark of community-engaged learning.”