Over the next decade, there will need for over 30,000 teachers trained in special education in Minnesota. That’s according to the state’s Department of Education. One aspect of special education that can be difficult to provide adaptive lessons is physical education. Minnesota’s Developmental Adapted Physical Education’s In Your Backyard workshop help P.E. educators with creating adapted physical education.

Mike Doyle is with the Minnesota Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) Leadership Committee. He says students with special needs should get the same physical education experience and opportunities as other kids.

“We modify and we adapt the equipment, the space, the environment to make sure everyone can be successful in the physical education class,” Doyle said. “There is a great need for Adapted P.E. teachers in the state of Minnesota. That’s why it’s great to see UMD and their program getting a lot bigger. I mean, there’s a lot of future professionals here in attendance today. It’s really good to see those high numbers.”

Providing activities for kids with special needs might seem daunting for P.E. teachers. Although the Minnesota DAPE workshop provides several inclusive games and lessons for kids of all abilities.

Kahyun Nam, is an assistant professor at UMD who teaches the DAPE course to aspiring P.E. teachers. He says the college students learn best when meeting with kids of all abilities from local elementary schools to high schools in the Duluth community. He also says it provides future educators a better understanding on how to create a more inclusive physical education class.

“Not all universities offer partnering up with their local schools. Bringing them up here to have a real practical hands-on experience,” Nam said. ‘Peer teaching is also pretty important. But it’s really different when you actually meet those students. So that’s very unique that we do in our program at UMD.”

Having those in-person sessions with students living with disabilities is crucial for people learning to become P.E. teachers. Tyler Dehn is currently a junior at UMD. He says just like how paraprofessionals can help a student struggling in the classroom, it’s important for physical education teachers to adapt their lessons for kids of all abilities.

“We’ve been teaching Duluth East Students and in Nam’s class, actually. We just had two weeks with them,” Dehn said. “You’re just starting to learn your student, and just realizing the things they like. Kids with disabilities in other classes some of them learn differently, so just have different ways to teach them.”

For more information about Minnesota’s DAPE workshops creating Adapted Physical Education you can read more here. Also for another story about how Lincoln Park Elementary kids benefitted from DAPE you can read that story here.