MAHPERD "Voices From The field"

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 We’re joined by Melanie Lynch, a nationally recognized health education leader and former SHAPE Pennsylvania president, to make the case for skills-based health education that actually prepares students for real decisions, real pressure, and real life. If teens can look up facts instantly, what should school health teach? The answer is health literacy through practice: decision making, self-management, goal setting, advocacy, analyzing influences, and interpersonal communication.

Melanie breaks down what she sees students struggle with most, and why “teaching content” is not the same as teaching competence. She shares the  National Health Education Teacher of the Year application process, including filming a lesson and surviving a timed committee interview that forces you to distill an entire career into clear, evidence-based moves.

We also get practical. Melanie walks us through her famous “Celebrity Death Assignment,” a research-driven drugs and alcohol lesson that replaces boredom and scare tactics with empathy, analysis, and meaningful discussion. From using YRBS data to keep curriculum current, to writing a textbook built around skills, to mentoring new teachers, this conversation stays grounded in what works.

Finally, Melanie connects the dots between roller derby and education: falling down, learning fast, and letting fear fuel growth instead of shutting you down. We wrap with why OPEN’s free resources and training matter for teachers who need support now. Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and please leave a review so more educators can find the show.

Resources: 

https://open.varsityuniversity.org/physical-education/

X @Melanielynch52

Email: [email protected]

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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Listeners, we have a great episode for you today!

We sit down with Greg Austin to talk about what happens when you lower barriers, build the right supports, and still train for real strength, real skills, and real progress for neurodivergent athletes.

Greg shares his family’s story, including raising their son Lucas and realizing how few high-quality fitness options existed beyond seasonal sports or short-term activities. From there, we dig into what makes Inclusive Fitness different: year-round coaching, sensory-friendly spaces, and professional standards that mirror what many neurotypical adults expect from gyms and personal training. We also get specific about what “data-driven” means in practice, from detailed intake and assessment to tracking outcomes that include not just strength and endurance, but engagement, self-direction, choice making, communication supports, and the prompts that actually help an athlete succeed.

The biggest takeaway is simple but challenging: presume competence. Greg explains why meeting someone where they are does not mean lowering the bar, and why functional strength training is a life skill that supports independence, confidence, and quality of life for decades. You’ll also hear powerful transformation stories plus ways families, educators, and community members can get involved through referrals, scholarships, and events like local 5Ks.

Subscribe for more educator and practitioner voices, share this conversation with someone who works with neurodivergent students or adults, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Resources: 

• Inclusive Fitness
• Instagram IG:
• Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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Health class can’t be a one-and-done unit that ends with a multiple-choice test. We sit down with Mary Connolly, program leader at Bay Path University and Cambridge College, to unpack what skills-based health education really looks like when it’s built on the Massachusetts Health and Physical Education Framework and aligned with social emotional learning (SEL). The goal is simple and ambitious: teach students the skills they’ll actually use to navigate pressure, uncertainty, and real-world health decisions.

We get concrete about the practices behind the approach, including decision making, self-management and goal setting, communication and relationship skills, analyzing influences, accessing valid and reliable information, and self-advocacy. Mary explains why these skills matter even more in a world shaped by AI, advertising, and nonstop misinformation. We also talk about using Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data to focus limited class time on what students are truly facing, from substance use trends to bullying patterns, mental health indicators like feeling sad or hopeless, and the growing concern of teen gambling.

We also dig into implementation: why licensed health educators matter, how districts can strengthen program leadership, and how teachers can plan better lessons using standards language, backward design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and authentic assessment. If you’ve been wondering how to move from “covering content” to coaching skills students can demonstrate, this conversation will give you a clear path forward.

If this helps you rethink health education, subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find it.

Contact:

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Comprehensive Health in MA

MAHPERD Membership

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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Some students walk into the gym ready to compete. Others walk in scanning for the closest exit, hoping the ball never finds them. That gap isn’t just about effort or attitude. It’s often the environment we’ve built and the narrow set of “right ways” we’ve allowed students to participate. We’re breaking down Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for physical education with practical, ready-for-tomorrow strategies that make PE more inclusive without lowering expectations.

We start with multiple means of engagement: how to move students from compliance to real buy-in using choice within structure. Think tiered challenge stations that let beginners find success fast, flexible roles that keep students meaningfully involved even when gameplay feels overwhelming, and simple self-regulation supports that help students reset and rejoin when the gym gets loud. These UDL strategies reduce behavior issues by preventing frustration before it starts.

Then we tackle multiple means of representation, because an echoing gym is an instructional obstacle. You’ll hear how to turn your space into an “information dashboard” with laminated station cards, QR-code skill demos, visual agendas, and clear floor and equipment cues so students know what to do and what success looks like even if they miss your verbal directions.

 Finally, we hit multiple means of action and expression: grading and assessment that separate understanding from raw athletic skill, plus growth-based, self-referenced progress that rewards improvement and persistence.

If you want UDL in PE to feel doable, not theoretical, hit subscribe, share this with a PE teacher friend, and leave a like and review so more educators can find it. 

What’s one small change you’ll try in your next class?

Resources:

UDL Guidelines 

**Deep Dive* Novak Education (Guide to UDL)

Sport Education Book (Amazon)

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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One “high-quality” lesson can still leave students out, and that’s the problem Dr. Katie Novak helps us solve. We sit down with one of the world’s leading voices on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to talk about how inclusive education actually works when you design for real human variability. If you teach PE, health, or any subject where confidence and belonging matter, this conversation is packed with practical moves you can use right away. 

We dig into the idea we keep coming back to: firm goals with flexible means. Using unforgettable analogies like a dinner party where lasagna excludes half the guests and a 5K where everyone finishes differently, we unpack how UDL shifts the work from “fixing kids” to removing barriers in the environment. Along the way, we connect UDL to motivation, social emotional learning, accessibility, and why student choice can raise engagement without lowering standards. 

You’ll also hear how Dr. Novak designs professional development for teachers using UDL principles, including options for sitting or standing, devices or notebooks, and multiple ways to process learning beyond the default turn-and-talk. Then we bring it back to the gym and classroom: backward design, priority standards, mastery-based learning, adapted equipment and rules, supportive roles in games, and “exploding the verbs” so students can demonstrate understanding in more than one format. 

If this helped you rethink lesson design, share it with a colleague, subscribe, and leave a quick review so more educators find it. What is one barrier you want to remove first?

Resources:

Novak Education

IG: @Novak Education

The Education Table Podcast

Blog: (UDL in P.E.)

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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One of the most valuable teaching insights we've heard recently is surprisingly simple: if learning only happens while you're lecturing, a single interruption can bring the entire class to a standstill. In this conversation, I sit down with Toni Rose Deanon to explore the Modern Classrooms Project and discuss how educators can redesign instruction so students continue learning, thinking, and understanding expectations—even when the teacher isn't leading from the front of the room.  

We break down the three pillars blended learning, self-paced learning, and mastery-based learning with concrete classroom signals to look for. TR shares why instructional videos are often misunderstood, how mastery checks and revision shift grading from punishment to progress, and why self-pacing actually requires stronger backward planning and tighter alignment. You’ll also hear how the must-do, should-do, and aspire-to-do structure supports differentiation, letting advanced learners deepen their work while freeing time for small groups and real-time feedback. 

The conversation stays grounded in the human side of teaching: relationship building, brave spaces, student confidence, and teacher burnout. TR points to the value of community support through the Modern Classrooms Project podcast, free courses, and collaborative spaces for teachers and school leaders, so nobody has to implement alone. 

If you’re looking for practical strategies for personalized learning and a healthier way to run your classroom, press play, then subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review. What’s the first small change you want to try?

Resources: 

• Modern Classroom Project
• MCP Podcast
• MCP Facebook Group
• MCP (Virtual Mentorship)
• Instagram

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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If you’ve ever walked into a gym with 80 plus students and thought, “How am I supposed to teach real skills, keep everyone safe, and still meet state standards?” you’re not alone. I sit down with longtime educator Wendi Daniels to unpack what it actually takes to run a high-quality elementary physical education program and why  “just rolling out the ball” remains a damaging practice that continues to negatively affect kids. 

 
Wendi shares the story behind her book, Revolutionary PE, created when Texas TEKS standards changed and she wanted new and veteran teachers to have lesson plans that truly work. We talk through how she structures a year with clear expectations, warm-ups, cooperative games, and sport-based units that follow seasons while still staying flexible. You’ll hear practical ideas for differentiation by grade level, equipment modifications, and what it looks like to manage massive classes without losing movement time.

We also get specific about inclusive PE. Wendy explains simple adaptations like the “magic ball,” plus other strategies that keep students with disabilities participating instead of watching from the sideline. Then we dig into assessment and grading systems that reward participation and growth, along with documentation and parent communication that holds up when questions come in.

If you’re searching for elementary PE lesson plans, aligned PE curriculum support, health resources, or digital tools like clickable video demos, this episode is for you!

Please subscribe and share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find the show.🙏

Resources:

• Revolutionary P.E
• Game Videos
• You Tube Videos
• Book on Amazon
• The PE Specialist

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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If you’ve ever heard a student say, “We just played tag,” and felt that sinking feeling, you’re going to want this conversation. 

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Hilary Glencross, PE teacher educator, curriculum designer, and founder of UBD Movement Lab, about how to make physical education look and feel like real learning without losing the joy of movement. 

We dig into Understanding by Design (UbD) and why backward design changes everything in PE: start with the end goals, align to standards, build assessments with purpose, then choose activities that actually teach something. Hilary explains what a strong standards aligned physical education curriculum looks like, why student voice drives engagement, and how clearer vocabulary and learning targets help kids explain the “why” behind what they’re doing. We also unpack assessment in PE, including cognitive and authentic options that give students more than one way to show growth. 

Then we get practical. Hilary shares her SHAPE America standards to Massachusetts frameworks crosswalk and how it can save districts hours of tedious alignment work, freeing teams up to focus on essential questions and better unit plans. We also talk UDL and SEI supports for multilingual learners in PE, including visuals, sentence stems, word wall cards, and smarter ways to structure partner talk so every student can participate in the moment. 

If you care about inclusive PE, curriculum mapping, standards alignment, and making physical education easier to defend and easier to teach, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review with the curriculum challenge you’re trying to solve right now. Check out the site below!

Resources:

https://www.ubdmovementlab.com/#/

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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A well-run gym doesn’t happen by luck. I’m joined by Tom Gelardi, a nationally recognized elementary physical education teacher in New York City, to talk about what strong PE instruction really looks like day to day. We get into the practical challenges every PE teacher faces: big classes, limited space, nonstop movement, and the kind of behavior issues that can derail a lesson fast. Tom breaks down why preparation is the first classroom management strategy, how he sets expectations with students so consequences feel fair, and why a single relationship built outside class can change everything inside the gym.

We also dig into inclusive physical education and student leadership. Tom shares how starting simple (even with something as basic as a balloon) creates early success for all learners, then how he scales equipment and tasks based on observation. He explains how he spots emerging leaders and teaches students to use their talent to help classmates grow, not to show off. Along the way, we talk about skill feedback, purposeful grouping, and why character development and social emotional learning (SEL) often matter more than perfect technique.

Finally, Tom tells the story of how his YouTube and TikTok content grew from rainy-day needs to pandemic remote learning resources, and how being on camera actually made him a sharper teacher. If you’re an elementary teacher, PE teacher, or instructional coach looking for concrete behavior management strategies, inclusive lesson ideas, and real-world professional development, this conversation is packed with tools you can use.

What’s one strategy you want to try in your next class?

Subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators can find the show. 

Resources:

Insta- @Coachgelardi

YouTube- 

Blueskye

OPEN

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected] 

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When a school tries to solve student wellness one office at a time, everyone burns out and kids fall through the cracks. I’m joined by Dr. Jeanie Alter, Executive Director of the American School Health Association (ASHA), to talk about what changes when we treat school health as a coordinated team effort across counselors, nurses, teachers, administrators, families, and community partners.

Dr. Alter shares the story that pulled her into this work early: helping make her high school campus smoke free back in the early 90s. From there we trace how prevention, the eight dimensions of wellness, and community coalition work shaped her research and leadership, and why out-of-school time and home environments matter just as much as what happens during the school day. If you care about student mental health, substance use prevention, and whole child support, you’ll hear practical ways to connect the dots.

We also get real about barriers, especially privacy and information sharing in schools. HIPAA, FERPA, special education, IEPs, and 504 plans create genuine complexity, but coordination is still possible with clear roles, better communication, and shared responsibility. We close with concrete ways to get involved through ASHA committees, the Future Leaders Academy, conferences, and local school health advisory councils, plus one small step you can try tomorrow to build a stronger support network for students.

If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so more educators and families can find it. What’s one cross-role connection you want to make this week?

Resources:

https://www.ashaweb.org/

Email: [email protected]

https://ma-hperd.org/

Thanks for listening! 🙏🏼 If you picked up a new idea or felt inspired by today’s episode. Please take a moment to follow the show and share it with another educator who’s passionate and let’s keep the conversation going!” I’d love to hear from you and if your interested in being a potential guest on the show; email [email protected]