APE Instructional Strategies for Students with Disabilities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which prompt type should be FADED FIRST when using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy with a student with cerebral palsy?
- Physical (hand-over-hand) prompt
- Visual prompt
- Verbal prompt (Correct answer)
- Gestural prompt
Correct answer: Verbal prompt
In least-to-most prompting, verbal prompts are the least intrusive and are typically the first level used and therefore the first to be faded.
Question 2: A student with Deaf-Blindness is learning to walk a balance beam. Which instructional strategy is most appropriate?
- Loud verbal cues only
- Tactile modeling and hand-under-hand guidance (Correct answer)
- Visual demonstrations from across the gym
- Eliminating the activity as it is too dangerous
Correct answer: Tactile modeling and hand-under-hand guidance
Tactile modeling and hand-under-hand guidance provide physical information to a student who cannot access visual or auditory instructional cues.
Question 3: A student with Down syndrome has hypotonia. Which activity modification best addresses this condition during a gymnastics unit?
- Increase load and speed of all movements immediately
- Focus on core stability exercises and use of stabilizing equipment (Correct answer)
- Restrict the student to observation only
- Replace PE with occupational therapy sessions
Correct answer: Focus on core stability exercises and use of stabilizing equipment
Core stability exercises and stabilizing equipment address the low muscle tone characteristic of hypotonia and support safe participation.
Question 4: When implementing co-teaching in APE, what is the primary benefit for students with disabilities?
- Students receive a separate adapted curriculum
- Students benefit from two teachers providing simultaneous support in the general PE setting (Correct answer)
- The APE specialist handles all grading independently
- Students are grouped solely by disability label
Correct answer: Students benefit from two teachers providing simultaneous support in the general PE setting
Co-teaching allows both the APE specialist and general PE teacher to support all students together, promoting inclusion and reducing stigma.
Question 5: Which behavioral strategy involves reinforcing successive approximations toward a target motor skill?
- Extinction
- Shaping (Correct answer)
- Chaining
- Flooding
Correct answer: Shaping
Shaping reinforces progressively closer approximations to a target behavior, making it effective for building new motor skills step by step.
Question 6: An APE teacher uses station rotation where each station has a picture card, object cue, and verbal instruction. This strategy primarily supports students with:
- High athletic ability
- Multiple learning modalities and diverse disabilities (Correct answer)
- Only visual impairments
- Only hearing impairments
Correct answer: Multiple learning modalities and diverse disabilities
Providing visual, object-based, and verbal cues at each station addresses multiple learning modalities and supports diverse learners simultaneously.
Question 7: A student with spina bifida uses forearm crutches. During a soccer unit, which is the MOST appropriate inclusion strategy?
- Exclude the student from soccer for safety reasons
- Permit the student to kick a stationary ball and modify defensive rules (Correct answer)
- Require the student to use a wheelchair instead
- Have the student act as referee only
Correct answer: Permit the student to kick a stationary ball and modify defensive rules
Allowing a stationary kick and modifying defensive rules enables meaningful participation while respecting the student's mobility needs.
APE Instructional Strategies for Students with Disabilities 3
Which prompt type should be FADED FIRST when using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy with a student with cerebral palsy?