Melinda A. Solmon

Children's Motivation in Elementary Physical Education: An Expectancy-Value Model of Achievement Choice

Abstract This study examined childrens motivation in elementary physical education within an expectancy-value model developed by Eccles and her colleagues. Four hundred fourteen students in second and fourth grades completed questionnaires assessing their expectancy-related beliefs, subjective task values, and intention for future participation in physical education. Results indicated that expectancyrelated beliefs and subjective task values were clearly distinguishable from one another across physical education and throwing. The two constructs were related to each other positively. Childrens intention for future participation in physical education was positively associated with their subjective task values and/or expectancy-related beliefs. Younger children had higher motivation for learning in physical education than older children. Gender differences emerged, and the findings provided empirical evidence supporting the validity of the expectancy-value model in elementary physical education.

Practice Schedule Effects on the Performance and Learning of Low- and High-Skilled Students: An Applied Study

This study examined the effects of practice schedule manipulations implemented in an instructional setting on the performance and learning of low- and high-skilled students. College undergraduates (N = 83) enrolled in 5 tennis classes completed a pretest on the forehand and backhand ground strokes, practiced these skills under a blocked or alternating schedule, and then completed a posttest. Results indicated that practice schedule effects on learning were influenced by student ability. Low-skilled students assigned to the blocked schedule had higher posttest scores than those assigned to the alternating schedule, whereas no significant differences were found for high-skilled students. These findings are discussed in relation to previous applied and laboratory-based findings and as a means for manipulating practice difficulty in teaching physical education.

Cognitive Conceptions of Teaching and Learning Motor Skills.

It has recently been suggested that background knowledge, expectations about success and failure, motivation for learning, and the ability to understand instruction play a central role in determining how much a student learns. The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature for evidence that student thought processes mediate achievement in physical education. A cognitive conception of learning is presented, and the notion that students play an active role in the learning process is explored.

The Effects of Augmented Feedback on Students' Perceptions and Performance

Abstract The effects of augmented feedback on perceptions of ability (SPA), practice behaviors, and performance during motor skill instruction of a novel task were investigated. Fourth-grade students (N = 103) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) no feedback; (b) motivational feedback; (c) task feedback; or (d) motivation and task feedback. They then practiced simple and complex cupstacking skills. On a relatively simple task, the type of feedback did not have a significant effect on childrens SPA, practice behaviors, or performance; but on a more complex task, differential effects of feedback were evident. Results indicate that informational feedback is an important factor in facilitating student engagement, fostering positive perceptions of ability, and ultimately improving performance on a challenging task.

Development of an Instrument to Assess Cognitive Processes in Physical Education Classes

Using the mediating process paradigm (Doyle, 1977) as a framework, the need to develop reliable and valid instruments for assessing cognitive processes is apparent, and that was the purpose of this study. Participants (N = 819) completed the Cognitive Processes Questionnaire in Physical Education (CPQPE), as well as three other instruments addressing dispositional goal orientation, perception of motivational climate, and beliefs about causes of success in physical education. The five-factor structure that emerged in an exploratory factor analysis produced an acceptable fit with the data in the confirmatory factor analysis. The subscales of the CPQPE were related to a task-involved goal perspective and the belief that success is attributed to motivation and effort. The results indicate the CPQPE is a valid and reliable instrument that can provide valuable information about the teaching and learning process.

Achievement Goals and their Correlates among American and Chinese Students in Physical Education A Cross-Cultural Analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine achievement goals and their correlates in physical education from a cross-cultural perspective. One hundred and eighty Chinese students and 121 Anglo-American students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades completed questionnaires assessing their goal orientations, perceived ability, task choice, and satisfaction in physical education. Analyses indicated that the same two-dimensional factor structure of goal orientation, namely, task and ego orientation, cut across the two cultural groups in physical education. Cultural variations were found for the relationships between achievement goals and related motivational variables. The findings suggest that factorial structure of achievement goal holds cross-culturally, whereas the relationships vary as a function of cultural background of students.

Motivational Climates in Ten Teachers' Elementary Physical Education Classes: An Achievement Goal Theory Approach

Using achievement goal theory as a theoretical framework, in this study we identified and described motivational climates in second- and fourth-grade elementary physical education classes. Participants were 10 physical education specialists from 6 schools and their intact second- and fourth-grade classes. Videotaping of teachers (4 lessons per teacher) and teacher and student interviews and questionnaires were used for data collection. The data revealed that, for the majority of lessons at both grades, the teachers provided students with a variety of activities, made learning meaningful, recognized and evaluated students based on effort/mastery, used heterogeneous grouping, and provided sufficient practice time. All these are mastery-focused practices. The teachers, however, recognized/evaluated students in public ways more often than privately and seldom allowed students choices in their own learning, characteristics of a performance-focused climate. Taken together, the findings indicated that the motivational climate these teachers created was neither mastery nor performance focused but a blending of the 2 approaches.

The landscape of elementary school physical education

Elementary school physical education has repeatedly been shaped by the forces of history. Presently, concerns about the obesity epidemic and the low levels of physical activity in children are exerting a major influence on curriculum. Whereas building physical fitness has been a dominant influence during wartime, the focus today is on (a) providing students with ample opportunities for vigorous physical activity, (b) teaching basic motor skills, and (c) guiding children toward subsequent adoption of physically active lifestyles as adolescents and adults. The purpose here is to provide readers with information about the social context and present status of physical education in elementary schools. Attention is given to the effect of national recommendations from governmental and scientific health agencies, newly devised standards from professional organizations, recent legislative mandates, experimental trials of sustainable in‐service education, and the role of research in shaping both pedagogy and curriculum.

The role of perceptions of task difficulty in relation to self-perceptions of ability, intrinsic value, attainment value, and performance

This study examined the role of perceptions of task difficulty in relation to self-perceptions of ability, intrinsic value, attainment value, and performance. Seventy-nine 8th graders completed surveys prior to task instruction and after the last practice session. Two days later, they completed a skill test. Participants who perceived the Lunastix task as more difficult were likely to have lower levels of self-perceptions of ability, express lower levels of interest, and obtain lower levels of performance scores on the skill test. Perceptions of task difficulty were negatively predicted by initial self-perceptions of ability. Further, for those who had more experience in obJect manipulation activities and reported higher ratings of their obJect manipulation ability, they were likely to express higher levels of initial self-perceptions of ability. When teaching a novel difficult task, teachers should relate it to other similar activities, provide students practice opportunities, and create a mastery-oriented learning environment.

Promoting School Students’ Physical Activity: A Social Ecological Perspective

Guided by a social ecological perspective, the aim of this study was to investigate the predictive strength of individual (barrier self-efficacy), social environmental (support from parents, friends, physical education teachers), and physical environmental variables (equipment accessibility, neighborhood safety) toward physical activity among school students. Participants were 285 students enrolled in a suburban public school. Hierarchical linear regression analysis highlighted the influence of self-efficacy, social support from parents, friends, physical education teachers, and accessible equipment on students’ physical activity. The findings indicated that physical educators and health promoters need to consider multiple factors as they design effective interventions to promote physical activity and prevent physical inactivity among school students. This study also supported the use of a social ecological perspective to investigate students’ physical activity.