Inclusion in physical education: Dancing with your eyes
Episode 75: Inclusion in physical education: Dancing with your eyes
Released December 2018
Partners: Róisín Kelly and Susan Marron
Inclusion in Physical Education Dancing with your eyes is an interview with Róisín Kelly, a Generalist Primary Teacher with a keen interest in Physical Education, and Susan Marron a lecturer of Physical Education at The Institute of Education Dublin City University. Róisín describes the teaching strategies that she implements in her teaching to develop meaningful Physical Education learning experiences for her pupils with Special Education Needs. The resource was inspired by Dr. Frances Murphy also a lecturer of Physical Education at the School of Arts Education and Movement.
In this episode we hear the story of Róisín Kelly, a generalist primary teacher in Ireland, who started with a keen interest in physical education and went on to develop skills and strategies in adapted physical activity and inclusion. In many ways her story is typical of many teachers around the world who turn an interest into a real passion and skill. Yet it is also her unique story that has its own twists and turns. Importantly, there are many key messages here too. Messages for all people who are on a similar pathway.
Susan Marron, a lecturer of physical education at the Institute of Education at Dublin City University, starts by asking Róisín about her background and what led her to develop her interest in physical education and young people with disabilities.
You can see that Róisín understood a very important key message early on, that young people with a disability have a voice that needs to be heard. Importantly, if you are looking to expand the choices available in physical education then your best source of ideas is most often from young people directly. Róisín listened, adapted and included!
In this second part of the interview Róisín talks about the strengths and challenges of teaching in different environments. There are more important key messages here too around age appropriateness, visual learning and repetition.
You can see the passion and enthusiasm Róisín brings to her work. In this final part of the interview there are, again, many insights. Not least that teachers should not be afraid to fail, to keep learning and adapting as circumstances change. Set targets that are achievable and plan for success, particularly early on.
At The Inclusion Club we love to see examples of people who are out there making a real difference. People who are open to learning and developing inclusive skills. People who have an interest and passion and turn that into expertise and skill so that people can dance with your eyes if they want to!
Many thanks to Róisín and Susan Marron for allowing us to share their work, and long may it continue.
References:
- CARA Centre: Active and Healthy Lifestyles for People with Disabilities https://caracentre.ie/
- Irish Wheelchair Association Best Start Inclusive Schools Project http://activeschoolflag.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Irish-Wheelchair-Association-Best-Start-Schools-Inclusion-Project.pdf
- Primary Schools Sports Initiative (PSSI) http://pssi.pdst.ie/clickme.html
- Smart Moves Supporting Children’s Physical Skills Development http://www.smartcc.co.uk/smart-smartmoves.html
Episode
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About the author: Susan Marron
Lecturer in the School of Arts Education and Movement, Dublin City University Institute of Education
Susan Marron is a lecturer in the School of Arts Education and Movement at Dublin City University Institute of Education, Dublin, Ireland. A former secondary Physical Education and Geography teacher, Susan’s work focuses on fundamental movements skills of children, digital technology and inclusion. She has created online resources to support teachers in implementing movement programmes which engage children in quality physical education experiences. Her MSc study focussed on physical activity in the primary school playground at break time.
