Case Studies in PE - Inclusion 1 finished
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Case Studies in Physical Education
Read through the case study and answer the questions.
Questions should be answered in the word document under each individually numbered
question.
Inclusion 1
Authors
Emyr W. Williams
Cary D. Kinchin
Mary took the last three steps of the gym stairway in one bound. As she entered the
physical education office, an excited young voice bellowed from behind, “Have a great holiday,
Miss Wong.” Mary Turned and saw Tom, a grinning eight-grade student with bookbag bulging
over his shoulder. She waved at Tom and replied, “Good luck with your basketball tournament.
With all the scheduled games, you should be in great shape for the New Year.” Mary picked up
the pile of Christmas cards she’d received from the students. The top one read, “Have a great
vacation. Thanks for all the help this semester.”
All of the seventh-grade students in fifth
period had signed their names on the card. Mary knew now that the holiday season was
about to begin. She’d survived her first semester of teaching middle school physical
education.
Mary left college with an excellent report following her student teaching experience at an
urban middle school. She had received her undergraduate degree and teaching certification
from a large Midwestern university. Following graduation Mary decided to forego seeking
teaching positions in the large city in which she’d trained, instead choosing to return to her
suburban home-town to teach. Teaching had been her life-long ambition. Both her parents were
teachers and they had encouraged her to pursue this career. Mary accepted a position at Range
Hill Middle School in northwestern Ohio. Range Hill Middle School had a student population of
550. Located in a fairly affluent middle -class suburban area. Students were mostly white (95
%), with the other 5 % predominantly African American. During the interview Mary had been
impressed by the innovative and progressive philosophy of the school, and the teachers’
dedication to students learning. She was delighted when they offered her the position. Mary
anticipated that working at an idyllic school like Range Hill would enable her to attain many
professional attributes characteristic of an effective teacher.
Although the holiday season was upon her, Mary was feeling physically and mentally
drained. As the hallway door slammed, a wry smile came over her face. Mary said to herself,
“That Tom, he’s not stopped beaming from the first day of class.” Tom’s toothy grin would be a
memory to cherish over the holidays.
Rocking back on her chair, Mary’s smile quickly faded as her eyes focused upon the large
manila folder on the shelf above her file cabinet. Sally Conner’s bulging file was a reminder of
one of the few bothersome aspects of her first semester at Range Hill. Mary’s mind wandered
back to the new teacher orientation meeting before the start of the semester with the principal,
Ms. Webb. In that meeting the new teaches were informed about the inclusion policy of the
district. There were 11 students with
Severe Behavior Disabilities (SBD) attending Range Hill.
At the end of the meeting , Principal Webb asked Mary to stay behind. Ms. Webb informed Mary
that as she was new to the physical education department, she wasn’t going to be required to
accept any students with SBD in her classes this academic year, although she would definitely
have students with SBD in her classes next year. However, this year , if Mary didn’t wish to take
any students with SBD, they would be included in Mr. Brady’s physical education classes
. Ms.
Webb added that it might be beneficial for Mary to work with a child with diverse behavior,
such as Sally Conner, as it would give her valuable experience. At the same time, it would
reduce the number of students with SBD that Mr. Brady (the only other physical educator at the
school) would have. Rising quickly from behind her desk, Ms. Webb picked up her briefcase and
headed toward the door. While opening the door for Mary, Ms. Webb stated, “I have every
confidence that you’d do a great job with Sally. I must go – more meetings at district
headquarters. It’s going to be another long night. If you have a problem with including Sally in
your class this year, make an appointment with my secretary to discuss this further. But, I
believe you’ll do fine.” Ms. Webb left Mary to deliberate on what she’d been volunteered for.
Sally Conner had just been moved up to the seventh grade.
Sally was prescribed Ritalin
(a drug commonly used to treat hyperactive children). Her father had recently taken a job, after
being unemployed for over a year. His new position involved extensive traveling and very little
time at home. An assessment by the district psychologist indicated that Sally felt deserted by
her father’s absence from home, and unfairly treated by her mother. Sally stated that her
mother always blamed her, instead of her two younger brothers, when any disputes arose within
the family.
Sally’s attendance at school was inconsistent. Her mother had a difficult time getting
Sally to school some days, due to her indifference. Occasionally she had to walk her to first
period and remain there until the teacher arrived. This was the extent of Mrs. Conner’s contact
with Sally’s teachers. A number of attempts by the school to arrange parent-teacher
conferences were thwarted by Mrs. Conner. With her husband away nearly all of the time, and
having to look after the two young boys, Mrs. Conner said that she didn’t have time to attend
parent-teacher conferences concerning Sally’s behavior in school.
Mary recalled the first physical education unit of the year – soccer. Those balmy
September days seemed an age ago. Mary could tell that Sally wasn’t excited by soccer simply
by her body language. Sally was shy and intimidated by the other students.
The first few lessons
were fine because she worked alone. As the unit progressed, she refused to participate in group
activities. Mary recalled the fifth day of the unit when Sally sat on the field and refused to
budge. Mary took time out from the rest of the class in an attempt to encourage Sally to play.
After nearly five minutes Sally agreed to join in on one condition: Mary had to be her partner.
Mary agreed, while the rest of the class continued to work with minimal guidance from the
teacher. At the lesson’s end, Mary placed her hand on Sally’s shoulder and praised her for the
good work during that lesson. Mary and Sally’s partnership became the pattern for the next two
lessons.
By the end of the second week, Sally’s expectation to always pair up with Mary had
become unacceptable
for Mary. Feeling that she couldn’t devote all of her time to Sally, while
the other students were essentially fending for themselves, Mary decided to stop being Sally’s
partner. For the next two days Sally refused to participate in any way. Mary, in return, avoided
devoting any time to Sally. Sally’s classmates tried to encourage her to join in but they also
became tired of her behavior.
Finally, Mary sat down with Sally in the office to talk to her about
her unacceptable behavior, the help others were trying to give her, and her refusal to accept it.
All Sally could say was, No one likes me. My mom doesn’t like me, my dad always leaves me,
those kids always tease me, and you won’t help me.” Mary said that Sally must learn to join in,
that there were 27 other children in the class that needed help too; she wasn’t the only one.
Sally erupted into a major tantrum and stormed out. Mary shouted for her to come back, but
Sally disappeared into the hive of activity in the corridor.
Timmy and Jane, from Sally’s soccer class, came to Mary upset because some of the
students in their group were goofing off. Mary couldn’t see this because she had been spending
so much time with Sally. The two students also told her that the bigger skids were dominating
the play every lesson, and they didn’t think it was fair. “We both like soccer and want to learn
about the game and improve our skills,” Timmy and Jane complained. Mary had apologized and
promised that thing would be different, that she would spend more time with all of the students.
Mary reflected on the tough lesson that she’d experienced and considered strategies she
could introduce to rectify the situation. Mary recalled her first conversation with Range Hill’s
SBD specialist, Gordon Bennett, after he had observed Sally in Mary’s class. Mr. Bennett was
responsible for the welfare of the 11 students with SBD attending Range Hill. Gordon admitted
that he had trouble working with Sally and in establishing lines of communication with her
parents. He suggested that Mary document Sally’s Behavior and contact him if necessary. At
that time Mary did not realized how much material she would be gathering about Sally.
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Initially Mary jotted brief notes on Sally’s inappropriate behavior, however, as the
semester progressed, these notes lengthened, becoming more detailed. Frequently Mary had
one-on-one conversations with Sally at the end of the lesson, and the topics of their encounters
were kept on file. Concurrently dated records of Mary’s attempt to contact Sally’s parents, as
well as the conversations she had with Mrs. Conner, were recorded with the notes supplied on
weekly contacts with Mr. Bennett. Additionally, other students’ complaints concerning Sally’s
behavior in class were noted. Finally Sally’s attendance record was included in the file.
Although Mary kept in contact with Gordon Bennett throughout the semester, she had
reservations about seeking administrative support. After all, she had agreed to have Sally in her
class. Additionally she felt that a cry for help would present an unfavorable impression of her
teaching competence in the eyes of the administrators.
The second unit of the year had been gymnastics. Mary shook her head as she
remembered the ordeal of those lessons. Sally again demanded Mary’s undivided time and
attention. Julia, another member of the class, had kindly offered to help Sally and be her
spotter. Sally, however, refused to have anything to do with Julia or any of the other students.
Occasionally at the end of some class periods, Sally would start to participate and Mary would
encourage her. Initially,
Mary even forfeited some of her lunch break to talk with Sally in the
hope that her behavior would change for the better. This pattern of only starting to work at the
end of the lesson continued until Mary realized that this was Sally’s way of monopolizing her
attention. The next lesson Sally spent the first 40 minutes of a 45 minute lesson in the
bleachers. Five minutes before class finished, Sally got up and was ready to begin. Mary said
that this would have to stop as she had other obligations to attend to during her lunch hour.
Sally burst into tears and left the gymnasium. For the past week or so, Sally has refused to
dress and participate in any of her physical education classes.
As Mary began to gather her things, she wondered if Sally would be back after the
holiday break. Just as Mary was about to switch off the office lights there’s was a knock at the
door. “Miss Wong?” a voice inquired, “I’m John Conner, Sally’s dad. I want to know why you
have not been helping my daughter in her physical education classes
. I have a copy of her IEP
[Individualized Education Program] here with me, and would like to go over this with you now!”
Questions
1.
What is the primary issue within this case?
The primary issue in this case is Mary was not given proper training or guidance before accepting a
student with an IEP. Additionally, Mary was not given Sally IEP to go over to properly prepare her
lessons to include Sally.
2.
What circumstances contributed to the issue?
For starters, Mary being a fist year teacher with no knowledge on how to include students with (SBD) in her
gymnasium contributed to the issue. Another major contribution to the issue was the inability to communicate
with Sally parents.
3.
At what point within the case could there have been intervention(s)? What personnel might
have/should have initiated this intervention? What could they have done to address the issue?
Inventions should have been done at the beginning of the school year for Sally IEP to be discussed and given
full disclosure to ensure Mary could meet the accommodations. The principal Mrs. Webb and Mr. Bennett
should have initiated this intervention. They all could have done a phone conference instead of pushing for the
mother to be present in the school. They could have seen if Sally qualifies for a one to one paraeducator. Most
importantly they could have given Mary some training or resources to use when it comes to dealing with
students with (SBD).
4.
What might have been some consequences of the(se) intervention(s) for the student (Sally), the
teacher (Mary), or the school?
If Mary was given the proper resources and if the meeting was held in the beginning of the school year with
Sally parents it would have given Mary resources to provide the best education for Sally and solidified
Mary’s conviction in the schools reputation for inclusion.
5.
What roles did the major characters play in creating the issue within the case?
Mrs. Webb never gave full disclosure on Sally’s case.
Mary never advocated for herself to get the proper resources to help prepare her lessons to include Sally.
Mr. Bennett did not offer any remedy to the situation all he offered was for Mary to keep track of Sally behavior.
Sally mother would not communicate with anyone when they reached out to discuss Sally IEP.
Sally would manipulate the teacher to only focus on her and not participate if it was any other way.
6.
How do you think Mary might handle the conversation with John Conner?
I think Mary would take a copy of the IEP and hold a teacher/parent conference at that time with John
Conner. However, Mary should ask him is their other ways to reach him due to needing a meeting with the
principal Mr. Webb, Sally and her parents to discuss her educational needs to be included. Mary should
suggest a meeting with everyone after the holiday break so Sally can start getting her proper education and
Mary can have the proper resources to include her.
7.
What impact might the IEP have on the dialogue between Mr. Conner and Mary?
Mary will need to just get a copy of the IEP and hold a meeting with everyone with her being a first year
teacher and the IEP being a legal document she technically agreed to make all the accommodations for
Sally in which she never had a clue on what they were.
8.
What could Mary have said to the principal (Ms. Webb) at the initial meeting?
Mary could have asked Ms. Webb could she shadow the other physical educator for the first quarter to see
how he includes the (SBD) students before accepting a student in her class. Mary could have asked Ms. Webb
for a meeting with everyone to find out Sally accommodations. Mary should have said I am willing to take on
this task however, I need the proper resource so I can properly educate this student.
9.
What factors might have impacted Mary’s decision to refuse Sally’s inclusion into the class?
Mary’s inexperience of teaching impacted her decision to refuse Sally’s inclusion into the class. If Mary would
have known all the levels of accommodations Sally needed it might have impacted her decision to refuse
Sally’s inclusion into the class.
10.
What further instructional strategies could Mary have adopted in the soccer and gymnastics
units to better include Sally?
Mary could have adopted the following instructional strategies in the soccer and gymnastics units to better
include Sally:
Employ the buddy system or in this case group of three with the instructor starting off in the group
Independent Station teaching
Student lead instruction
Visual and written task directions
Give constant cues and feedback
Proximity and eye contact
11.
What are the related issues and questions raised by this case?
How many IEP’s are not being accommodated due to student teacher ratio. Is their parental involvement when
it comes to figuring out an educational goal for these students? Should first year teachers be given the choice
for student inclusion?
12. What are some of the strategies you might use to address these issues?
Some strategies would be workshops and continuing education training to help the teachers better prepare to
include every student. Another strategy is having parents/guardians give back up relative information if any
available to always have a way to communicate with someone regarding the student education.
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