Practicum in Adapted Physical Activity

No other workbook will help students learn more, remember more, and take more from their experience than Practicum in Adapted Physical Activity.

Whether students' practica are in adapted physical activity, adapted physical education, therapeutic recreation, general special education, or any program that includes people with disabilities, this workbook will help them prepare for their experience and evaluate it through journal writing, self-assessment, and critical reflective thinking. The book will help ground them in an abilities-based approach to adapted physical activity. And, ultimately, it will enhance their success in their budding careers.

Practicum in Adapted Physical Activity provides students with these opportunities:

•  Experience and respond to a variety of settings and challenges when working with people with disabilities
•  Process and assimilate their practicum experience and hone their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills
•  Evaluate their performances as teachers and leaders and their approaches to working with people with disabilities
•  Prepare for job hunting through portfolio-building experiences while sharpening their teaching and leading skills
• Create a reflective journal of their personal learning experiences during the practicum

This hands-on workbook, through the use of its real-life scenarios, self-evaluation checklists, handy tips, and reflective journaling exercises, leads students toward a greater understanding of the structure and purposes of a variety of experiences in practica. It helps them plan strategies for improved field performance, enhances the relationship with their mentor-teachers and leaders, and provides a variety of ways to reflect on the practicum experience and record insights for future reference. It also offers professional portfolio-building tools, assisting students in job hunting. In doing all this, it prepares students to be effective field professionals.

Part I prepares students for their practicum as they learn about service delivery and the tools and strategies to make the practicum successful. It also explores motivational aspects and inclusive teaming.

Part II focuses on different types of practicum supervision, various learning styles, and assessment tools. In Part III, students learn how to evaluate their experiences, reviewing their competencies, evaluating their programs, and taking with them lessons learned as they leave their practica. The exercises in each chapter help them explore and retain the salient information from their practica.

Practicum in Adapted Physical Activity can be used in conjunction with a variety of textbooks, or it can stand alone alongside a practicum experience. This workbook helps students apply the principles they learn, promotes their development as practitioners, and helps them make the most of their practicum experience—all while they prepare for professional employment.

Claudia Emes, PhD, faculty of kinesiology, the University of Calgary, has been a professor and researcher of adapted physical activity (APA) for many years. She has organized and run Special Olympics competitions and a national paralympic competition, and she wrote a seminal article on the abilities-based approach to APA published in Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly in fall of 2002. She has also participated in the creation and delivery of a program of inclusive postsecondary education for people with intellectual disability. Emes is an active volunteer in APA with several national and international organizations, including Special Olympics Canada, the North American Leadership Council of Special Olympics Inc., and the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity.

Emes has earned a Teaching Excellence award in kinesiology from the University of Calgary and was named a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA of Calgary in 1998. She lives in Calgary with her husband, Allen, and enjoys spending time with her adult children, along with running, skiing, and reading in her leisure time.

Beth P. Velde, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of occupational therapy at East Carolina University. She has been an educator in therapeutic recreation, adapted physical education, rehabilitation studies, occupational therapy, and related fields. As an educator, she is an active researcher and writer, having authored three other books and two book chapters. She received the Dean's Award for Research in 2002 and was named recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Service Award by the Mental Health Association of Pitt County. Rouse is on the National Advisory Panel for Evidence-Based Decision-Making and Active Learning Strategies, and she was a coprincipal investigator for the Learn and Serve Grant. She and her husband, Frank, live in Blounts Creek, North Carolina, where she enjoys running, boating, and writing, in addition to her teaching.