Preservice teachers at USC have received a valuable lesson in how to make school physical activities suitable for children of all abilities, including those with disabilities.

Sunshine Coast-based sport and disability advisory teacher Dale Lanini provided more than 100 USC Education students with strategies on how to provide inclusive opportunities in physical education and classroom activities.

Mr Lanini, a contributing author to the Australian Sports Commission's national Disability Education Program, delivered an ‘Active Bodies are Better Able’ workshop with the Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association at USC’s Sport Stadium.

The hands-on workshop saw students participate in games and activities that could be adapted to suit all levels of physical or intellectual impairment.

Associate Lecturer in Education Natalie McMaster said the Education students from USC’s Sunshine Coast, Gympie and Fraser Coast campuses were keen to take their new skills into the classroom.

“Sport and physical activity has so many benefits for children,” she said. “We wanted to ensure our preservice teachers were confident and knowledgeable about the best way of creating an inclusive learning environment.

“The workshop encouraged preservice teachers to focus on the potential of children to learn, rather than focusing on what a child may not be able to do.

“The most important messages were that teachers need to change their language, raise their expectations, and set goals for all their students.”

— Gen Kennedy