Physical Education Outreach Efforts

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Physical Education Outreach
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Our outreach efforts extend far and wide beyond the boundaries of Auburn. As a case in point, over the past four years, Peter Hastie and Oleg Sinelnikov have been travelling to Russia to work with teachers and students in schools in the Tambov region. This program has involved significant teacher development, the extensive provision of equipment, and the presentation of Sport Education programs to students in schools.
Also over the past three years, Jeanine Wert and Sheri Brock have traveled to Arizona to assist with Camp Abilities, a sports camp for children with visual impairments. In 2006, 9 Auburn students worked at the camp as counselors. A group will also travel in 2007. arizona2

Alice Buchanan's outreach program can be characterized in two types of activities: After-school Individualized Motor Skill Programs for underserved children; and Adapted Physical Education Programs (APEP) for children and youth with disabilities. These activities are conducted in school and community settings with populations that are considered korky

underserved. In the After-school program in partnership with Auburn Day Care Centers children 5-12 years old learn and refine motor skills and improve affective behavior while university teacher candidates advance their motor learning knowledge and teaching skills in settings with underserved children. This program includes formal motor skills assessments, and goal-setting strategies and individualized instruction based on assessment results.

The Adapted Physical Education Program serves from 15-30 children and youth who have been identified by the school district as having a disability. The primary partner schools for this program are Beauregard Elementary School and Sanford Middle School in Lee County. Valley, Lannett, Opelika, Auburn City Schools, and other Lee County schools have in the past been served as well. Each AU student is assigned a child for whom he or she is responsible. Under Dr. Buchanan's direction the AU students assess the children's motor skills and use the information to develop a comprehensive physical education Individualized Education Plan (extending the child's existing IEP) which is given to the classroom teacher or special educator, and to the child's parent or guardian.

From 2003 through 2006 Dr. Buchanan and Dr. Mary Rudisill were part of a collaborative team that developed an international outreach curriculum: the Global Bridges International Early Childhood Curriculum for Children Three to Five Years of Age. They worked with a team of colleagues at Auburn and in Beijing, China on the development of an innovative, comprehensive, constructivist pre-school curriculum. They conducted teaching demonstrations and workshops to schools in Beijing and in the Shandong Province of china. The project culminated in five books as well as national presentations.