Elizabeth Harris

Action Research Write-Up

EDUC 501

Section 1 - Identification of the Problem

Does teacher involvement in physical education impact off task behaviors of students
diagnosed with ADHD?
How does having a physical education teacher who is actively involved with their
class impact the amount of off-task behavior demonstrated by students with ADHD?
I chose this problem because I have worked with children in the past with ADHD and
I wanted to be able to benefit them the most I could when they in my hands as an
educator or mentor.
By researching this problem, I have been able to better understand what I can do in
the classroom, gym, and outside environments to be able to help this child participate and like participating in physical activity. I feel that by researching this issue, I
have been able to obtain answers to be able to assist those with the same experiences working with children with ADHD.

Section 2 - Action Plan

The literature that I used when addressing my question, included my exceptional

child textbook used in Dr. Diss exceptional child class on teaching students with a
disorder.
My intentions of answering my question was to collect data by having the teacher
participate two days and not participate on the other two. After the teacher was or
was not involved within class, I would then have the students fill out a survey so they
could answer the question; Did the amount of participation the students had in class
result from the teacher being involved within the activity or the student being more
interested in the activity being taught?
The timeline in which the study would be completed would be within a three week
rotation where the teacher is involvement in the class on days 1 & 3 and no teacher
involvement on days 2 & 4.

Section 3 - Data Collection

Research Site Description:

The State/Region: This study will be conducted in the state of Virginia, more specifically, in a rural town within Southwest Virginia. The United States Census Bureau
has recorded a total of 8,326,289 for the state of Virginias population, geographically
covering a total of 39,490.09 square miles. From the total population recorded,
11.8% are within the poverty level of the economy (QuickFacts Beta, 2013).

The County/District: The United States Census Bureau suggest there are 31,555
people, 12,650 households, and 9,607 families residing in the county where the research will be conducted. The Virginia Employment Commission census from 2010
represents the female population being 16,503 while the male population accounts

for 15,705. The racial makeup of the county is 95.9% White, 2.4% Black or African
American, 0.2%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 1.2% two or More Races,and 1.8% Hispanic or Latino.
Including all races 51% are female with the remaining 49% are male. There were
13,493 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with
them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. Some additional
numbers recorded in the county are, 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.83 (State and
County Quick facts: Smyth County, VA; 2015). The average income for an Smyth
County, VA household is $37,239 with a poverty rate of 17.3%. Males had a median
income of $26,698 versus $19,712 for females. The per capita income for the county
is $16,105. About 9.90% of families and 13.30% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.20% of those under age 18 and 14.00% of those age 65 or
over. These incomes have increased the amount of students within the county requesting free and reduced lunch per year from 2010 (Virginia Community ProfileSmyth County, 2015). The United States Census Bureau indicated in rural, Smyth
County, VA there are 517 industries helping to employ the population with a negative
decrease of 5.3% since 2013. The Virginia Employment Commission also states,
Smyth County has experienced a steady decrease in unemployment percentages
since June of this year, which also contributes to the decline in unemployment from
the new industries within the community. Geographically, Smyth County covers
450.93 square miles (State and County Quickfacts:Smyth County, VA, 2015). The
Department of Education shows from those being twenty-five or older a total of
79.9% will graduate from high school and only 15% will continue their education and
receive a Bachelors degree or higher.

The School: For the purposes of this research and to protect the privacy of the students, the school where the research will be conducted, will be referred to as Orange
County High School in Smith County, VA. The goal of the research is to determine if
teacher involvement will impact those 6 exceptional children with Attention Deficit
Hyperactive Disorder. To elaborate more about Orange County High School where
this research will be conducted, 13 schools within the county, Orange County High
School totals their enrollment at 459 out of the 1,445 total from the county. Out of the
459 students in the school a total of 46 from 687 in the county have been identified
with a disability of some type and all are within the ninth and tenth grade (Special
Education Child Count, N.D). The department of Education states the average
teacher to student ratio is 15 to 1. Being located in a small, rural, low income town,
the number of students on free and reduced lunch is 36% (166 of 459 students). The
racial makeup of this community consist of 91.4% white, 1.7% of African American,
and 7.9% of other races combined (State and County Quick facts: Smyth County,
VA, 2015). This research will be conducted at a small, low income school with a typical Physical Education class having 35-40 students. Data will be gathered from a
class with 30 students (15 girls/15 boys) and focusing on 6 diagnosed children with
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder.
The class: The classroom in which I will be collecting data has a total of 30 students
and 6 have either ADD or ADHD. The 6 with this disability are those in which I will be
collecting data from. There are two girls and four boys, all are white. This particular

class meets daily, 5 times a week, and has a time period of 10:20am-11:50am. In
align with the school schedule it will be the second class they will have in their day
before going to lunch which is right before their third period class.
The type of data being collected would be done on a tally sheet based on what was
observed in a classroom. The days the teacher would be involved, they would have a
video recorder set up where the class could later be watched to tally the number of
off task behaviors demonstrated in class. On the days that the teacher was not involved they would have a tally sheet marking the behaviors as they were demonstrated.
Being a physical education teacher I felt this would be the best way to represent the
study for students with ADHD in this type setting. The literature I read helped me to
decide this because of the behaviors or actions that take place due to ADHD.

Section 4 - Data Analysis

From observing a child with ADHD in this setting helped me to understand that participation of the leader or teacher would help the student to stay involved within the
period of time they are in your class.
I found that each child is different even when they have the same disorder. For example if they are more likely to want to be away from individuals you may need to
take them away from the group for a couple minutes to have a cool off time. They
are then able to join the group and participate in a manner in which is beneficial to
them individually.
The meaning that the data had for me was it shows that teachers being involved
helps children be more involved within your activity and to be is a way that also could
be beneficial to typical students.

Section 5 - Future Action

The implications that my study would suggest would be that the teacher can explain
the activity and then be involved by doing the activity the same time the students are
participating.
My recommendation due to my research would be for teachers to be hands on for
everything they ask their students to do. If the involvement helps 1 or 2 students from
your class it was worth the time and effort you put into being involved.

References:
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