Tips From the 2022 National Teachers of the Year

TIPS from the 2022 National Teachers of the Year

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By Larissa Brickach

HAPE America’s National Teachers of the Year — selected from an impressive group of state and district Teacher of the Year award recipients — represent the “best of the best” in health and physical education.

On the following pages, they share some of their favorite classroom activities and resources, as well as their top tips for integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) in health and PE, addressing issues of equity and inclusion, and much more!

Adapted Physical Education Jen Heebink @JenHeebink

Q: What are your top tips for integrating SEL in adapted physical education?

JEN: Something I learned recently is that

the average adult can only identify three emotions. For educators who need to teach SEL, that can be problematic. My friend Shylla Webb, who is a social-emotional learning expert, taught me that “if you can name the emotion, you can tame the emotion.” Similarly, once we can identify emotions, we can teach them.

Another tip is one I learned from my friend Randy Spring: Teaching inclusion

starts by teaching students to notice others and become aware of others — right within the activity of the day — and to be brave to recognize an opportunity to press into a relationship no matter how deep or simple. We can teach kids that being world changers begins just by stepping into an opportunity to be brave. It’s what changes them from the inside out into better human beings.

Q: What are your tips for addressing issues of equity, inclusion and accessibility in adapted physical education?

JEN: One of the most amazing steps

I’ve ever taken in my job as an adapted PE teacher was to become a Special Olympics Unified Champion School®.

As an adapted PE teacher, I teach students

with gross motor needs and students without gross motor needs in a Unified Physical Education class. Unified PE is a safe, inclusive space for all students to learn physical education together while connecting to each other in relationships, working on social skills, and accessing to recreation and leisure activities outside the classroom.

Out of that class, we have formed Unified teams as well as a Unified club, where students with and without disabilities hold leadership positions and lead monthly meetings. During these meetings, there is a lot of relationship building and event planning. Last year, students in both the high school and middle school clubs planned a Unified Week, which was about spreading kindness and the message of inclusion. Having a week like this changes the trajectory of our school culture for inclusion.

MORE TIPS FROM JEN: • All students CAN, so take the words, “That student CAN’T” out of your vocabulary. When you find out what a student can do, it’s so empowering to see them move in a way that is successful and connected to recreation and leisure.

Adapted physical educator Jen Heebink (front left), teaches Unified Physical Education at Buffalo Middle School and Buffalo High School in Buffalo, MN. Students and staff in this class are wearing “Speak Kindness” T-shirts from Special Olympics to kick off Unified Week — and spread the message that words matter.

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• If you are a veteran teacher, find a younger teacher to help. Someone believed in you, so pass it on. If you are a rookie teacher, find the veteran who seems like they have it all together (believe me, they don’t) and ask for help and support.

JEN’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: My favorite tool to teach the journey toward inclusion (and steps toward lifelong friendships) is the Special Olympics Inclusion Tiles game. I have actual card tiles, but there is also a free online version.

Health Education

Jessica Matheson @CoachMatheson

Q: What are your top tips for integrating SEL in health education?

JESSICA: Start slow! Integrating social

and emotional learning into your classroom will take patience and practice.

If your students have not been exposed to it, they might not have an open mindset.

Slowly introduce the topic and work in chunks of 30 seconds at a time, then slowly graduate to longer periods of time.

Minnesota health educator Jessica Matheson recommends setting personal goals and displaying them somewhere that you’ll see them frequently. Then, check in with an “accountability partner” on a regular basis.

Strategically plan when you will use SEL strategies. Will you start class every day with one? Will you use a strategy halfway through the class period? Look for areas within your curriculum where they would be most beneficial. For

example, I incorporate a grounding exercise after discussing anxiety, a mindful eating exercise in a nutrition lesson, and progressive muscle relaxation while teaching about stress.

Q: What are your tips for addressing issues of equity, inclusion and accessibility in health education?

Elementary Physical Education

Rebecca (Becca) Lambdin-Abraham-Knipe @Rev_PE

JESSICA: Know your audience. Knowing

the backgrounds of your students, parents, and community members can go a long way in you being prepared to teach various concepts that some may have issues with.

I also recommend using the Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT). When you’re teaching content that some may feel uneasy about, use the HECAT to justify the need to teach these important areas in your curriculum.

MORE TIPS FROM JESSICA: • If you’re overwhelmed by skills-based health education, take it slow. Take your existing curriculum and choose one lesson in each unit and make it a skills-based lesson. Let’s say you have eight units — at the end of the marking period, you’ll now have eight skills-based lessons. Do it again for the next marking period and you’re up to 16 lessons.

• Establish a positive professional learning community. Surround yourself with people who are going to challenge you to become a better teacher and human being. If your coworkers aren’t those people or if you’re a department of one, engage on social media — there’s a fantastic network of teachers that are ready to uplift each other!

JESSICA’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: I recommend this Week 1 Introduction Activity to gain essential knowledge about your students — and introduce different technology skills you may be using in class.

Elementary physical educator Rebecca Lambdin-Abraham-Knipe dresses up as a clown for Circus Day, the culminating event for her developmental gymnastics unit at Maplewood Elementary School in Austin, TX.

Q: What are your top tips for integrating SEL in elementary physical education?

BECCA: I think SEL is foundational and

inherent in everything we do in elementary physical education. My top tip is to take advantage of the teachable moments that your students present you with. When they are having trouble accepting frustration or trying a new skill, take that as a moment to teach about frustration: What is frustration?

What does it feel like and what does it look like? How can we re-regulate ourselves when we start to feel frustrated?

It’s also important in class to demonstrate how you identify your own emotions and verbally walk through your strategy to reregulate. This helps students identify their emotions and learn to regulate themselves. (continued on next page)

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T I P S F R O M T H E 2 0 2 2 N AT I O N A L T E A C H E R S O F T H E Y E A R (continued) Q: What are your tips for addressing issues of equity, inclusion and accessibility in elementary physical education?

BECCA: All individuals have experiences,

expertise, and emotions that are important to share and celebrate as we look to create culturally sustaining environments in schools. Maybe that’s talking about and providing experiences with different abilities in your class, such as having students use blindfolds or modified equipment. Or maybe it’s having a student or parent share a game or sport skill from their culture. Building empathy, equity and inclusion comes from acceptance and understanding of our similarities and differences — so the more we share and learn about each other the more we can grow together.

MORE TIPS FROM BECCA: • Elementary PE is about foundations.

We are building the skills, knowledge, habits, respect, and desire to be physically active for a lifetime. With this comes the specific need to build confidence. Perceived competence is a likely indicator that students will feel comfortable in new sports or physical activity settings — and our job is to help students grow their competence by building confidence in their ability to learn new and hard things.

• The secret sauce to a great year in elementary PE is laying the foundation in the beginning of routines, protocols, procedures, and a classroom community of respect. Don’t move on from these essentials too quickly or you’ll be struggling all year!

Middle School Physical Education

Q: What are your tips for addressing issues of equity, inclusion and accessibility in middle school physical education?

@DrPauloSRibeiro

modeling empathy to our students. I like to provide activities and ask questions that help my students think about others besides themselves. Second, we need to take time to promote and celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of our students. I use a heritage month calendar to raise awareness and understanding of cultures through activities that we do in class. For example, since soccer is one of the main sports in Hispanic communities around the world, I do my soccer unit in September, which is Hispanic Heritage Month.

Paulo Ribeiro

Q: What are your top tips for integrating SEL in middle school physical education?

PAULO: I start my school year by

remembering a phrase I learned in college: “They do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” If you build relationships with students, they will trust you and feel comfortable asking for help. Also, I like to start my classes with team-building activities so I can get to know my students better and they can get to know and build positive relationships with peers.

Second, I purposefully integrate activities into my daily Physical educator Paulo Ribeiro uses anticipatory set activities with students lessons that help at Parkway Southwest Middle School in Ballwin, MO, to increase engagement, my students learn feelings of inclusion, and open discussions about equity, diversity, and social justice issues. and practice SEL strategies.

Next, it’s important to create a welcome For example, to practice self-awareness and safe environment where all students I created a daily self-assessment feelings feel safe, heard, and included — and that check-in board which helps students tell celebrates students regardless of ability, me how they are feeling and allows me to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, guide them in brainstorming SEL strategies and religion. Provide students with that might be helpful. opportunities to talk about current events

BECCA’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: Advocacy about the importance of physical education starts in your own backyard. Invite parents, guardians, and caregivers to come to PE class to learn more and participate in activities.

I started this with Family PE Week in October and continued with a second invitation during the first week of May to celebrate National PE & Sport Week.

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PAULO: It all starts by teaching and

in the classroom, and be aware of students’ celebrations, observations, and holidays.

MORE TIPS FROM PAULO: • Use a variety of teaching styles to help all students learn and take time to modify and differentiate instruction. Allow student choice and provide opportunities

for students to self-select activities, self-assess, work individually or in pairs/ groups, and do reciprocal teaching.

• Prepare students to be successful in the classroom and in the future by engaging them in activities with other students so they learn to collaborate, build respect and social awareness, and show empathy to students from other races, cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, etc.

PAULO’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: The “What’s up? Board” (named by my students) is a great activity that allows students to tell me how they are feeling as they enter my class.

With this information, I can better prepare them to learn and help them brainstorm SEL strategies to improve the way they feel. It also serves as a self-assessment at the end of class, and the students’ answers help me better tailor my teaching to their specific needs.

High School Physical Education Charlie Rizzuto @RizzutoEd

Q: What are your top tips for integrating SEL in high school physical education?

CHARLIE: Be intentional. Create

multiple pathways for students to “check in” with themselves or others. Also, survey students in a way that will help you measure not only their ability to recognize their own emotions or the emotions of others but also regulate those emotions and connect them to specific behaviors and possible real-world impact.

Be consistent. Make the journey of emotional literacy part of the fabric of your class and part of the culture that you create from the first day of school. I have always used the “Zones of Regulation,” but there are other SEL-based curricula.

Be brave and be honest.

Don’t get discouraged by the process; trust it, revisit it, and make it better. Be honest with yourself and know your limits as a teacher in relation to mental, emotional, and social Physical educator Charlie Rizzuto and students at New York’s Oyster health, and try to learn Bay High School take part in a post-lesson anchoring activity that more to be better at generates conversation and includes checks for understanding. navigating those waters.

However, do not try • Simply having students move for to take something on that is outside a 40-minute class period does not your scope, as this can have unintended do much to improve their wellness. consequences at times.

However, teaching them what they Q: What are your tips for addressing issues of equity, inclusion and accessibility in high school physical education?

CHARLIE: First, we need to make sure

that we understand what it means to be culturally responsive in our practice — and we must understand that culture is much more than race and ethnicity.

Culture encompasses socio-economic status, mental health, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical abilities, and anything else that makes someone who they are. Creating an environment where the unique makeup of each individual is normalized will help to promote equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

need to learn as they move and play can create meaning and relevance, which helps to optimize how transferable and impactful their experiences in PE will be. When these experiences transfer into students’ daily lives, they are more likely to get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

CHARLIE’S RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: For those who may have missed this at SHAPE America’s Back to School Summit, here is a copy of the presentation I did with Paulo Ribeiro on Building a More Culturally Inclusive Classroom.

In addition, culture must also be viewed in terms of classroom culture. Creating a culture of mutual respect, rapport, and understanding of all people helps to optimize not only empathy and understanding, but opportunities for relevant, meaningful learning experiences.

MORE TIPS FROM CHARLIE: • Remember, activity is the vehicle to something bigger. Activity brings joy and promotes wellness. Don’t turn participation in activities into a grade.

That practice is counterproductive to what we are trying to instill in our students with regard to movement.

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