About APHP at UW Oshkosh
In 2002, the Adapted Physical Education Program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh went through a major upgrading so that students completing the 26 hour minor not only meet Wisconsin requirements for Adapted Physical Education Licensure but also meet all requirements in preparation for taking the National Adapted Physical Education Specialist Exam (APENS), the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance’s Adapted Aquatics Certification, and hope to within two years time also certify students through the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP) for coaching. It was very important to us as we upgraded our program that our students can meet APENS competency standards because we anticipate the State of Wisconsin and other states utilizing this exam for master teacher certification in the area of Adapted Physical Education and our University will become a test site in 2004 for this exam. Since adapted aquatics, is so important when working with some of the individuals with more severe disabilities, we wanted our students to have a strong background in this area and feel this will assist them with summer employment opportunities. In addition, we feel that in this day of Title IX it is important for all physical education graduates to be prepared to coach and that adapted sports will be growing in the schools because of PL 93-112 Section 504 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and PL 101-336 Americans with Disabilities Act 1990.
It is also important that our teacher preparation program meet NCATE standards and be on the cutting edge of what is happening in teacher education. For the past several years as teacher preparation programs around the country have gone through certification, NCATE has been requiring that Universities show that students have more then just book learning prior to their student teaching experience. They are now requiring that programs show proof that students have knowledge in their subject areas, have had experiences other than just tests that show the student can put the knowledge they have obtained to practical use, and that they are capable of reflecting on what the outcomes of these experiences were so that changes can be made to improve learning. As part of the teacher certification program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Adapted Physical Education Program is required to follow these same guidelines.
In the Fall of 2005, the faculty in the Department of Kinesiology and Health recognized the additional need for our students majoring in Exercise Science and Health Promotions to have the opportunity to take the Adapted Physical Education Minor to be prepared to work with individuals with disabilities in fitness clubs, YMCA’s and various other organizations. This decision was made due to the fact that the 2000 U.S. Census reported that 37% of school aged individuals and 45% of the United States population identified themselves as having some form of disability or health impairment and the shortage of qualified personnel to meet the needs of these individuals in fitness facilities.
As we added and made course changes in our program, it was important to include the competencies needed for APENS, Adapted Aquatics, AAASP, NCATE, and Wisconsin Licensure in adapted physical education. As the program was being developed we needed to also remember that students learn in different ways using the different learning modes of sight, sound, and action. In addition, we wanted our graduates to be able to move to all 50 states in the United States and meet requirements in all of them to teach adapted physical education. With these criteria in mind, we settled on the following 26 hours of courses to include in our minor and included service learning experiences in each of them so students would have an opportunity to put their knowledge to use as well as reflect on these experiences. The courses in our Adapted Physical Education Minor are:
- SpEd 352/552 Children and Youth with Disabilities in General Education – 3 hours. This course is required of all future teachers in the State of Wisconsin and provides background information on a variety of disabilities. Students in this class are required to complete 20 hours of service learning in the schools involving some form of special education including adapted physical education.
- PE 373/573 Adapted Physical Education – 3 hours. This is our introduction class to adapted physical education and students are required to put in a minimum of 15 service learning hours working with students in the public schools in adapted physical education or in disability sports programs. In addition, these students write an IEP, develop a task analysis for a skill of one of their students with a disability that is appropriate for their age and abilities. They also complete one in depth study on a disability that is orally presented to the class and teach a physical activity with students simulating the disability.
- PE 374/574 Assessment and Prescription Techniques in Adapted Physical Education – 3 hours. In this course the students study the IEP Process in depth, are exposed to and learn how to administer numerous tests in physical fitness, motor skills, perceptual motor skills, and posture. The students are required to make a videotape or power point presentation on how to correctly administer and interpret results of one of the tests studied in class. The students also under the supervision of a field supervising teacher, administer 5 physical fitness tests, 5 motor or perceptual motor tests and 5 posture tests and prepare the results for an IEP meeting.
- PE 375/575 Lifespan Motor Development – 2 hours. In this course, students study normal and abnormal motor development. They are required to videotape a preschooler, elementary student, secondary student and an elderly person performing a skill assigned to them to analysis before the class with two partners.
- PE 376/576 Sports for Individuals with Disabilities – 2 hours. In this class various sports, classification, organizations, and other aspects of sports for individuals with disabilities are covered. In addition, students in a lab setting in conjunction with Oshkosh Public Schools, the Oshkosh Recreation Department and the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Intramural Program, complete 10 hours minimum of service learning, coaching Special Olympic and Paralympic athletes and other forms of sports for individuals with disabilities.
- PE 380/580 Adapted Aquatics – 2 hours. In this course various forms of adapted aquatics programs and sports are covered. In addition, students in a lab setting at the YMCA under the supervision of the course instructor have the opportunity to teach individuals with a wide range of disabilities and complete requirement for the AAHPERD Adapted Aquatics Instructor’s Certification.
- SpEd 381 Behavioral Change and Management – 3 hours. In this course students study the different types of appropriate and inappropriate behavior and how to manage individuals with behavioral problems. The students are required to complete observation hours in the public schools with students with behavioral disabilities and prepare behavioral modification programs.
- PE 422/622 Physical Education for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities – 3 hours. In this course the students study the various curriculums available in physical education for individuals with developmental disabilities and how to teach them. The students in a lab setting complete a minimum of 10 hours in the Oshkosh Public Schools with the Oshkosh Recreation Department sponsoring a Special Moving School Program for individuals with disabilities in the community and their families under the supervision of their teacher providing a wide range of physical fitness activities to keep students and families active.
- PE 424/624 Physical Education for Individuals with Chronic and Permanent Physical Disabilities – 3 hours. This course allows the students to study various curriculums available for individuals with an assortment of physical disabilities and how to teach them. In this course students with be given administrative responsibilities for some phase of our Fishing Has No Boundaries Event. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is proud to be the first and currently only University to be a Chapter of Fishing Has No Boundaries and will be holding a fishing event for individuals with disabilities each spring for approximately 150 disabled fishermen.
- PE 482/682 Practicum in Adapted Physical Education – 3 hours. In this experience students are assigned out in the public schools or with organizations that would hire a student majoring in Exercise Science and Health Promotion, that work with individuals with disabilities to complete a minimum of 180 hours of work consisting of assessing, program prescription, IEP or IPP meetings, and teaching or clinical duties under the supervision of an adapted physical education specialist.