John Todorovich

Managing Success for Motivated Student Learning in Secondary Physical Education

im’s football players have worked hard for weeks to prepare for the J new season. Each day, they have come eager and ready to learn and practice new plays and improve their skills. He encourages them to focus on improving a single skill each day and to work hard at being the best they can be. The players feel confident about their ability, and they begin to show signs of restlessness in practice as this confidence grows. Without Jim’s consent, they experiment with different plays and take unnecessary risks. In the locker room, they frequently discuss how ready they are to play the opening game. Then, after a 21 to 10 loss in the opening game, Jim’s players lose their confidence. He knows that there are several games ahead and that the players must keep working hard in order to reach their potential and have a successful season. At the next practice, he tells them where they made mistakes and what they can do to improve their performance. Consequently, the players once again practice diligently in order to improve their skills and pursue individual and team success. One of the keys to successful coaching is learning how to manage both the successes and failures of your team in order to maximize success. The interplay between the climate a coach creates and the perceptions that players form about their abilities (both at practice and in comparison with other teams) has a major impact on whether these play-rs will continually put forth maxinum effort (Duda, 1988a, 1988b, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996; Steinberg, 1996; Steinberg & Maurer, 1999). Secondary physical educators can use the same concepts in the classroom that coaches use 011 the playing Field as a means of motivating their students to give consistent, maximum effort in their drive to fulfill their potential (Duda & Nicholls, 1992).

Argoball: A Dynamic-Rules Game for Teaching Striking-and-Fielding Game Tactics.

JOPERD • Volume 79 No. 5 • May/June 2008 I n 1983, Len Almond, David Bunker, and Rod Thorpe published an article entitled “Games Teaching Revisited” in the British Bulletin of Physical Education. This innovative work questioned the approach that physical education teachers took to teaching games, and it has evolved into the “teaching games for understanding” (TGFU) approach championed by many researchers and teachers (e.g., Gorecki, 2004; Hopper, 2002; Oslin, 2004). Also known as a “tactical approach” to teaching games, the TGFU model is based on the idea that understanding the tactical and strategic components of game play, coupled with effective skill execution, improves player performance. Alan Launder (2001) furthered this model with his introduction of “play practice.” Play practice, like the TGFU model, involves developing small-sided games or game-like learning activities that help students to learn the tactics associated with game play. The TGFU model divides games into four types of forms: (1) invasion, (2) net/ wall, (3) target, and (4) striking and fi elding. These game forms differ throughout the world, but the basic aspects of the game transfer from one game to another. Striking-and-fi elding games, such as baseball in the United States and cricket in the United Kingdom, provide examples of how some aspects of a game form can transfer from game to game. All striking-and-fi elding games have the element of a batter striking a ball and running from one place to another to score points, while defenders try to fi eld the ball to prevent the batter from scoring. The elements of striking, running, and fi elding constitute a common theme in this game form. As a result, children who acquire the needed skills and employ effective tactics in striking-and-fi elding games will be able to apply those abilities in other strikingand-fi elding games. Inspired by Danish Longball, “Argoball” was designed to enhance students’ understanding of the tactics associated with striking-and-fi elding games, such as baseball A Dynamic-Rules Game for Teaching Striking-and-Fielding Game Tactics

Perceived Competence and Skill Development in Physical Education: The Effect of Teacher Feedback

This study examined the effects of feedback on perceived competence and student performance in physical education. The sample (N = 113) consisted of fifth-grade physical education students, recruited from two elementary schools and randomly assigned into small groups. Participants within each group were randomly assigned to receive positive general, corrective informational, or no feedback and completed preand post-task questionnaires. Groups were given a lacrosse shot task presentation and then completed a lacrosse shot pre-test, practice session, and post-test, including a preand post-test. During the lacrosse task, teachers administered feedback treatments to participants at the rate of every other attempt for a total of six feedback statements, excluding the control group. Lacrosse experience was found to be 2.45 on a 9-point Likert-type scale, demonstrating that the sample was unfamiliar with the lacrosse skill. Three separate split plot 2 × 3 analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests with repeated measures were conducted to determine whether feedback treatment type influenced participants’ perceived competence, product performance skill, and process performance skill when considering preand post-task measures. The findings demonstrated that feedback appears to have a limited effect on perceived competence and performance during unfamiliar tasks in elementary school physical education.

Influence of Sports and Physical Activity Programs on the Activity of High School Youths and Young Adults

What Was Done? Researchers employed a weekly activity checklist to collect data on the number of PA sessions each participant engaged in per week. The study collected baseline data from 808 participants, using classroom-administered selfreport questionnaires when participants were in their first year of secondary school (12-13 years of age). A convenience sample of 10 Montreal-area secondary schools was used for the study. Throughout the next five years, follow-up data were collected every three months. A final data collection survey was administered to each participant at age 20. The principals and vice-principals of the participating schools completed a checklist in the third year of the study to collect data on the estimated number of intramural and extramural sports opportunities available within each school.

Exercise: It's Not Just Physical

What Was Done? Over a six-month period, Annesi et al. (2011) analyzed 137 obese, sedentary women. The participants were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (n = 73) or control group (n = 64). Using social-cognitive theory, the researchers measured both groups’ physical self-concept, exercise barriers self-efficacy, mood, and body-area satisfaction. During the six months, both groups had six, one-hour individual meetings with a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) wellness specialist. The treatment group’s meetings followed the “Coach Approach” protocol, consisting of exercise training, goal setting, psychological skills instruction, and a behavioral contract. In addition, the exercise routine was constantly evaluated and updated in order to increase adherence. In contrast, the control group’s meetings focused only on exercise instruction and physiological concerns. Both groups received the same nutrition and weight loss information based on the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines. After six months the researchers retested the participants on the variables of interest and calculated each group’s attendance ratio (sessions attended divided by sessions assigned).

How Do High School Girls Feel About Different Physical Activities

7 JOPERD • Volume 83 No. 7 • September 2012 What Was the Question? Because it is widely reported that high school students are not very active and generally do not remain physically active outside school settings, Wilkinson and Bretzing (2011) tried to determine which physical activities would be more alluring for high school girls. Specifically, they asked girls in a school-based fitness course (1) whether they preferred fitness units or sports units, (2) what their reasons were for their preferences, and (3) what their perceptions were of the benefits, if any, of fitness units.

Can Dance Participation Enhance the Physical Activity Level of U.S. Adolescents

50 JOPERD • Volume 83 No. 9 • November/December 2012 What Was the Question? Few studies have recognized the benefits of dance among youths in the United States. Dance has been found to build cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and bone mineral density, while reducing the percentage of body fat. O’Neill, Pate, and Liese (2011) examined both the frequency of dance participation and the contribution that dance participation makes to the total amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among adolescents in the United States.

Can Teachers Increase Student Self-Regulation in Elementary Physical Education?

13 JOPERD • Volume 83 No. 6 • August 2012 What Was the Question? Kolovelonis, Goudas, Hassandra, and Dermitzaki (2012) examined the effectiveness of the socialcognitive model of self-regulated learning development, an instructional approach for teaching sport skills in elementary school physical education. This approach suggests that sport skills may be taught more effectively through a sequential practice routine consisting of oral instruction, practice with feedback, goal setting, and practice with selfrecorded performance.

Can Instructional and Motivational Self-Talk Improve Student Performance?

10 JOPERD • Volume 83 No. 5 • May/June 2012 What Was the Question? Psychological techniques may improve students’ performance in sport and physical education. One such technique is the use of selftalk (i.e., saying motivational or instructional phrases or skill cues to oneself). The purpose of the study conducted by Kolovelonis, Goudas, and Dermitzaki (2011) was to examine the influence of instructional and motivational self-talk on the motor performance in physical education of upper elementary students. Research in sport settings suggests that instructional and motivational self-talk can positively influence motor performance in physical education with skills such as a basketball chest pass and modified push-ups.