Improving Fitness Levels of Students with Visual Impairments in Physical Education

Abstract

Visual Impairment is a form of sensory impairments that affects roughly 6.8% of children younger than 18 years of age, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortantely, an analysis of previous research shows that these students have been found to have low fitness levels due to a number of factors. While there are a lot of factors that play a role into a persons fitness level, teaching strategies used by physical education teachers can be one of the most important. In order to work towards improving these students fitness levels, quality teaching strategies must be identified for physical education teachers to use on a daily basis in class. Thus, the purpose of this synthesis was to determine effective ways to improve the fitness levels of students with visual impairments in physical education. For example, preteaching, tactile modeling, physical guidance, sound sources, and rule & equipment modifications were all found as effective strategies from the literature review.