Alice M. Buchanan

What Teacher Candidates Learned About Diversity, Social Justice, and Themselves From Service-Learning Experiences

This article examines how service-learning provides undergraduate teacher candidates opportunities to cultivate deeper understandings of diversity, social justice, and themselves. Participants were from a mid-Atlantic university and a rural southeastern university. Although from different regions, the teacher candidates shared predominantly White, middle-class backgrounds. Three themes framed the discussion—preconceived notions about teaching in diverse settings, how preconceived notions were overcome (or reinforced), and “learning about myself as a teacher.” Findings suggest that service-learning, emphasizing multiculturalism and social justice, has the potential for empowering prospective teachers to confront injustices and to begin deconstructing lifelong attitudes and constructing socially just practices.

Teaching Responsibility through Sport Education: Prospects of a Coalition

Abstract The purpose of this study was to provide a databased analysis of a combined sport model and from this to develop a theory from practice. In particular, the original concern was to examine the extent to which the teaching of personal and social responsibility (TPSR) could form a coalition with the Sport Education model. Forty-five 6th-grade boys, who had a previous history of struggling with the fair play requirements of Sport Education, participated in a 26-lesson season of Xball, an invasion game designed by those students. As a general summary, it was found that some of the features of TPSR strengthened the foundation of Sport Education, but due to the need to introduce new tasks and problems for students, a hybrid model (Empowering Sport) was developed. This hybrid, with a predominately ecological integration perspective, presents a curriculum model that allows for achievement within a powerful triangle of goals—sport skill competence, social responsibility, and personal empowerment.

Service Learning as Scholarship in Teacher Education

This article describes how two teacher education service-learning programs illustrate alternative interpretations of scholarship. A tutoring–mentoring program in a teaching oriented masters institution and a motor skill development program in a land grant doctoral–research institution are described relative to how each illustrates forms of scholarship as interpreted by Boyer (1990). We discuss how these forms of scholarship—the scholarship of discovery, integration, teaching, and application—relate to stated institutional mission and evaluation practices. Service-learning experiences for preservice teachers can have the multiple benefits of promoting an ethic of service and social responsibility, demonstrating excellence in teacher education, and exemplifying scholarly endeavors.

The impact of an obstacle course sport education season on students' aerobic fitness levels.

A time-honored goal of physical education has been to improve children’s fitness and health (Silverman, 2005; Thomas, Lee, & Thomas, 2003), particularly given increasing evidence that physical activity is associated with shortand long-term health benefits in youth (Biddle, Gorely, & Stensel, 2004; Trost & Pate, 1999). Indeed, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE, 2004) listed two of its national standards as “participates regularly in physical activity,” and “achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.” Nonetheless, although the evidence suggests teachers can do fitness to children through lessons centering on specific fitness outcomes (e.g., Scruggs, Beveridge, & Watson, 2003), the foregrounding of specific fitness objectives presents a double-edged sword. For example, consider the year-long study of fourth-grade children whose physical education curriculum allocated 20% of its time to a required running component (Xiang, McBride, & Bruene, 2004, 2006). While the students’ run performance improved over time, by the end of the year their levels of intention for future participation in running had declined. Further, students’ work-avoidance goal increased as they related to the 1-mile (1.6 km) run. The challenge of teaching fitness and physical activity to children is further compounded when their conceptions of fitness are examined. Many equated fitness with appearance (i.e., “fitness” = looking good = being thin), and others had vague notions about the relationship between exercise and health (Placek et al., 2001). In response to these two challenges (i.e., a lack of attraction to specific fitness topics and a misinterpretation of fitness concepts), a number of programs have been developed to promote physical activity and fitness with fun activities, while helping children understand fitness is not just sit-ups, push-ups, and running the mile. The most global of these programs is Physical Best (NASPE, 2005), with a stated challenge to “educate, challenge, and encourage all children to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes for a healthy and fit life” (p. 355). In particular, Physical Best aims to move students from dependence to independence for their fitness and health by promoting regular, enjoyable physical activity. In the last decade, research identified a number of curriculum models that facilitated student engagement in student-centered learning tasks. These included cooperative learning, tactical games, and Sport Education (Dyson, Griffin, & Hastie, 2004). With regard to Sport Education (SE), Siedentop, Hastie, and van der Mars (2004, p. 2) suggested it was “not just about mainstream sports,” and that seasons of weight training or aerobics fit comfortably within a more expanded notion of sport. Nonetheless, Wallhead and O’Sullivan (2005, p. 196) noted that “research examining the efficacy of SE on indices of student fitness is virtually non-existent.” Further, research from Australia reported that only 50% of elementary teachers and 47% of secondary teachers believed fitness outcomes were achieved more successfully under SE than previous approaches (Alexander & Luckman, 2001). Given the need to find ways to help children achieve fitness goals and that students tend to work harder and treat lessons more seriously in the SE curriculum model (see Alexander, Taggart, & Medland, 1993; Carlson & Hastie, 1997), the purpose of this study was to investigate The Impact of an Obstacle Course Sport Education Season on Students’ Aerobic Fitness Levels

Integrating Elementary Physical Education and Science: A Cooperative Problem-Solving Approach

E very day, children are asked to make connections between the information they learn in school and the outside world. For instance, if they want to buy something at the store, build a car for a soapbox derby, or measure the correct amount ofchemicals needed to make a model volcano come to life, they would need to be able to make certain mathematical calculations outside of the classroom. This holds true for other subject areas as well. It is important for children to make these conceptual connections to real-world experiences if they are to perceive curricular content as meaningful and relevant. The ways in which children draw meaning from instructional contexts has long intrigued curriculum specialists in all areas ofeducation. In the past, it was believed that children would benefit most from the back-tobasics movement, where the focus was on departmentalized disciplines that

Using Positive Behavior Support in Physical Education

Physical educators are constantly seeking ways to improve their teaching effectiveness and to manage the ever-increasing challenges they face, such as large classes, inadequate equipment, lack of support for children with special needs, and more. Teachers in special education and general education were introduced to Response to Intervention (RTI) and the use of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) just a few years ago as ways to improve student achievement and independence, and to manage student behavior. Such strategies are not limited to the classroom and can be very effective tools to use in physical education. This article provides a brief description of RTI and PBS and discusses how to utilize PBS in physical education.

Integrating Global Games in the Elementary Physical Education Curriculum.

September/October 2011 Integrating physical education with other academic subjects has been a dimension of the physical education curriculum for years, and is intended to help increase physical activity and cognition (Hatch & Smith, 2004). Although physical education integration is not a groundbreaking idea, the amount of recent articles and research suggest a renewed curiosity with its application (Altman & Lehr, 2003; Brock & Campbell, 2001; Buchanan, Howard, Martin, Williams, Childress, Bedsole, & Ferry, 2002; Hastie & Martin, 2006; Jehue & Carlisle, 2000; Kahan, 1998; Lozon, 1997; Placek & O’Sullivan, 1997). Furthermore, one might argue that physical education and its application of skilled movement cannot be separated from the academic curriculum and has always been an integral part of teaching.

The Table Tennis Triathlon: An Integrated Sport Education Season

This article describes an integrated, 10-day unit that was designed using the sport education model in physical education. English language arts and social responsibility were integrated into a unit of table tennis in fifth-grade physical education. The student roles were adapted to best fit the needs of the unit. Through the integration of three domains of learning, students developed their cognitive (English language arts [grammar and vocabulary]), affective (social responsibility) and psychomotor (table tennis) skills.

A New and Improved Physical Education Setting for Children with ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a growing disorder that is rarely addressed in the physical education setting. Through strategies of organization, offering a structured environment, and delivering a reward system to all students, students with ADHD can be provided a more familiar and comforting environment to avoid the side effects of overstimulation, inattentiveness and lack of social ability. One of the time-honored goals of physical education is maximum participation. To achieve this with students with ADHD, the first step is to adjust the teaching environment and curriculum to be inclusive of everyone. This article offers ideas to assist the physical education teacher with making reasonable adjustments to the curriculum that are both easy and beneficial for all students.

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support in a Physical Activity Summer Camp

This purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) in a summer camp. The camp provided physical activity opportunities to underserved children attending a summer program at a local, rural public school. Certified physical education teachers led activity stations. Participants in the study were 25 boys and girls aged 9 to 12. Teachers at one activity station implemented PBIS (i.e., Station 1), and teachers at a second activity station (i.e., Station 2) did not for the duration of the study. The dependent variable was the behavior marks documented by the teachers and the independent variable was PBIS instruction. Results indicate a significant difference between Station 1 where PBIS was implemented versus Station 2 where it was not. Implications are discussed.