Phillip Ward

The Role of Content Knowledge in Conceptions of Teaching Effectiveness in Physical Education

Physical education teachers and the programs that prepare them find themselves in the early part of the 21st century in a public policy environment that differs significantly from that of the 20th century. This policy environment is grounded in an ideology that postulates that schools and teachers, rather than social forces, should be held responsible for academic outcomes, and in turn, economic success. For the first time, physical education teachers are being held accountable for student learning in the same way as their classroom peers. Improving the effectiveness of teachers is seen as the primary mechanism for improving student learning. In discussing how teaching effectiveness has evolved, I describe a relationship among the process–product paradigm, the ecological paradigm, and a neo-ecological paradigm called the instructional core. The latter paradigm extends our understanding of teaching effectiveness in new ways by describing the dynamic and interdependent relationship among teacher, student, and content in the gymnasium. It has significant implications for the professional development of teachers and the conduct of teaching effectiveness research. I conclude by discussing why content is so critical to conceptions of teaching effectiveness.

The Transfer of Learning from Play Practices to Game Play in Young Adult Soccer Players.

Background: Physical educators and coaches face an ongoing problem of presenting fun and enjoyable practices that also provide efficient learning of technical and tactical sports skills. Effective instruction also promotes the transfer of learning from practice tasks to the real game. Play Practice (PP) describes a structure for teaching sports that addresses these problems through the development of closely aligned practice tasks that replicate the demands of the game while maintaining the critical aspect of play. Similarities exist between PP and the widely researched Teaching Games for Understanding approach, but PP proposes teaching technique and tactics simultaneously. This study was the first to examine the assumptions of PP as a holistic approach to sport instruction. Purpose: To examine the transfer of learning from closely aligned practices to game play in soccer. More specifically, one purpose was to measure the learning of specific tactical responses from participation and instruction in play practices. A second purpose was to measure the transfer of learning from practice to game play. Finally, this study measured the effect of the sequence of presentation of two closely aligned practices on learning and performance in soccer. Setting: Two coeducational soccer classes in the Basic Instruction Program at a large University in the Midwest United States. Each class met once or twice a week during the spring term for a total of 14 sessions. Participants: Six participants; one male and two female students were selected from each class on the basis of their low to moderate soccer playing ability. Intervention: An experienced teacher and soccer coach instructed both classes on how to perform effectively in attacking situations with more attackers than defenders (attacking overloads). The same 2v1 and 3v2 play practices were used in both classes to provide opportunities to learn the appropriate tactical responses. In each class session, the 2v1 or 3v2 practice was immediately followed by a 4v4 game to assess the transfer of learning from practice to game. Class One participated in 2v1 practices prior to the 3v2, while Class Two participated in the reverse sequence. Research design: A multiple treatment, single subject design was used to assess the effect of the Play Practices and their sequence on the learning and performance of each participant in the two soccer classes. This design allows sequence effects on the learning of participants to be both demonstrated and explained. A-B-C-A and A-C-B-A designs were used in Class One and Class Two respectively. Data collection and analysis: All overload play practices and 4v4 games were videotaped and each participants percentage of correct responses was recorded. Baseline (condition A) for both classes consisted of 4v4 games prior to any overload practice and instruction. In Class One, baseline was followed by the 2v1 (B) and then the 3v2 (C) conditions. For Class Two, the baseline was followed by the 3v2 (C) and then the 2v1 (B) conditions. Each condition comprised four sessions. The final A condition consisted of two games in each class, which provided a measure of the maintenance of learning. As a single subject design study, data were analysed from their graphical representation and visual inspection. Findings: Instruction via these play practices was successful for the most able participants, who learnt to perform the appropriate tactical responses consistently in practice, which transferred effectively to the game. While the instructor was confident that all participants knew the appropriate responses, the less able participants were unable to perform these with consistency during practice, hence minimal transfer to the game occurred. Data from three participants indicated that the 3v2 practice tended to produce a greater transfer to the game but the sequence of practice presentation did not appear to impact learning. Conclusions: Findings suggested that practice performance beyond 70% correct was required before learning would transfer to other settings. Launders notion of alignment was extended to include subtle variations within a practice task to replicate the full range of situations that arise in a game. The need for timely and accurate feedback for the efficient learning of each novice performer was highlighted from video replay. Research to address this common problem of group instruction to prevent the practising of small but significant mistakes is needed.

Use of neighbourhood parks: Does socio-economic status matter? A four-city study

OBJECTIVES To determine if neighbourhood socio-economic status (SES) is associated with park use and park-based physical activity. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS The use and characteristics of 24 neighbourhood parks in Albuquerque, Chapel Hill/Durham, Columbus and Philadelphia were observed systematically in three seasons (spring, summer and autumn), with nearly 36,000 park users observed. Twelve parks were in high-poverty neighbourhoods and 12 parks were in low-poverty neighbourhoods. In total, 3559 park users and 3815 local residents were surveyed. Park incivilities were assessed and park administrators were interviewed about management practices. RESULTS The size and number of facilities in parks in high-poverty neighbourhoods were similar to those in parks in low-poverty neighbourhoods, but the former had more hours of programming. Neighbourhood poverty level, perception of safety and the presence of incivilities were not associated with the number of park users observed. However, programmed activities and the number of activity facilities were strongly correlated with park use and energy expended in the park. CONCLUSIONS The finding that park programming is the most important correlate of park use and park-based physical activity suggests that there are considerable opportunities for facilitating physical activity among populations of both high- and low-poverty areas.

Generalization of tactics in tag rugby from practice to games in middle school physical education

Background: Many of the issues relating to game performance of students found in the physical education literature can be considered a failure of generalization from practices to games, and from games to games. However, no study in secondary physical education has examined generalization effects as a result of effective game pedagogy in the context of teaching games. Purpose: The purpose of this study was: (a) to examine the effects of technique-focused and tactic-focused instructional conditions on the learning of a tactic by students aged 12–14 years in physical education lessons participating in a tag rugby unit, and (b) to assess the extent to which the performance of this tactic generalized from instructional games to match games. Participants and setting: This study was conducted at an urban middle school (students between 12 and 14 years of age) in the Midwest of the USA. This study was conducted during a 20-day tag rugby instructional unit. Students in three classes participated in the study. Four students from each class were selected to be observed. Intervention: The tactic-focused instructional condition served as an intervention, while technique-focused instruction was used as a baseline. Research design: A multiple baseline design across two classes, with a third class serving as a control, was used to assess the performance of the participants. Data collection: The dependent variable was ‘supporting movement’, which occurred during instructional games and match games. Data were coded for each target student during instructional games and match games using event-recording procedures from observation of a digital-video of the lessons. Coding occurred for each episode for each target student. Each episode ended with any incidence of a pass, tag, score, a ball carriers error, or if the ball went outside the field of play. When the ‘supporting movements’ met the decided criteria they were coded as correct. Data analysis: Each players total number of correct ‘supporting movements’ was divided by the number of opportunities for supporting movement and then multiplied by 100 to calculate the percentage of correct supporting movements for each target student. Findings: Low-skilled, female and male students, and average-skilled female students improved their percentage of correct supporting movements after the tactic-focused instruction was implemented. Generalization from instructional games to match games occurred for all students except average-skilled males. Conclusions: Students who typically remain unaffected by instructional interventions improved their performance of supporting behavior during tactic-focused instruction. Furthermore, those students were able to apply a tactic from instructional settings to match games. This study presents an alternative analysis of the conceptualization of sports and tactics.

College Physical Activity Courses: Why Do Students Enroll, and What are Their Health Behaviors?

More than 13 million individuals are students at colleges and universities in the V.S.. Seven million of those students are 18-24 years ofage. Ofall individuals 18-24 years of age, more than half have attended a college or university (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 1997). These students experience first-time challenges, such as transition from home to independent living, new or differentjob responsibilities and interpersonal relationships, and new opportunities for social choice (Grace, 1997). Several studies have indicated that many college students throughout the V.S. engage in behaviors that place them at risk for serious acute and chronic health problems (Lowry et aI., 2000). While some unhealthy behaviors start in high school, they tend to increase during the college years. Participation in vigorous intensity physical activity decreases from an average of 3.8 days/week in high school to 2.3 days/week during college (Calfas, Sallis, Lovato, & Campbell, 1994). Binge drinking and smoking habits increase, while physical activity levels decline in the years after high school (Cullen et aI., 1999). Because health behaviors are still developing during late adolescence and young adulthood, interventions that increase physical activity and improve health awareness and behaviors among college students could have important consequences for preventing serious acute and chronic health problems (V.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991).

Teaching and Assessing Content Knowledge in Preservice Physical Education

Teaching and Assessing Content Knowledge in Preservice Physical Education Shiri Ayvazo a , Phillip Ward b & Paul T. Stuhr c a Department of Sports Education Leadership, University of Nevada#Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154 b School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 c Department of Kinesiology, California State University, San Marcos, CA 92096 Version of record first published: 26 Jan 2013.

How important is perception of safety to park use? A four-city survey

Our purpose was to determine the relative importance of individual- and park-related characteristics in influencing both local park use and specific engagement in active sports, walking and sedentary pursuits. We surveyed 3815 adults living within 0.80 km of one of 24 study parks in four US metropolitan areas. Chi-square statistics and baseline-category logit models examined how perceived safety and park characteristics were related to park visitation and types of park activities, controlling for city, individual and park characteristics. Survey participants who perceived the parks as safe (88%) had 4.6 times the odds (95% CI 3.5–6.0) of reporting having visited the study park. Men and African Americans were more likely, and older individuals and those who self-reported being in fair or poor health less likely to perceive parks as safe. Parks having low incivilities scores and those with four or more different facilities, such as tennis courts, swimming pools, basketball courts, etc., were more likely than parks with fewer facilities to be perceived as safe. While park facilities had a much smaller odds ratio for predicting park visits (1.8), it affected 70% of the population. The implication is, if these associations are causal, modifying park facilities may have a greater population impact than improving perceptions of park safety. Our findings are consistent with studies suggesting that increasing the variety of park facilities and offering more organised activities may encourage physical activity among specific target groups.

Goal Setting and Performance Feedback

Goal setting and performance feedback are two of the most used and most studied performance-enhancing strategies in sport. Both strategies have roots outside of sport with the seminal work for goal setting being conducted in organizational management in work settings and for performance feedback in both organizational management and education. Goal setting and performance feedback have been used extensively in sports settings –long before researchers started attending to their effects, and probably as long ago as individuals wanted to improve their performance. Today goal setting and performance feedback are well known to coaches and researchers alike as effective tools for performance improvement.

Physical Activity Surveillance in Parks Using Direct Observation

Introduction Primary features of observational public health surveillance instruments are that they are valid, can reliably estimate physical activity behaviors, and are useful across diverse geographic settings and seasons by different users. Previous studies have reported the validity and reliability of Systematic Observation of Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) to estimate park and user characteristics. The purpose of this investigation was to establish the use of SOPARC as a surveillance instrument and to situate the findings from the study in the context of the previous literature. Methods We collected data by using SOPARC for more than 3 years in 4 locations: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Ohio; Chapel Hill/Durham, North Carolina; and Albuquerque, New Mexico during spring, summer, and autumn. Results We observed a total of 35,990 park users with an overall observer reliability of 94% (range, 85%–99%) conducted on 15% of the observations. We monitored the proportion of park users engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and found marginal differences in MVPA by both city and season. Park users visited parks significantly more on weekend days than weekdays and visitation rates tended to be lower during summer than spring. Conclusion SOPARC is a highly reliable observation instrument that can be used to collect data across diverse geographic settings and seasons by different users and has potential as a surveillance system.

What We Teach Is as Important as How We Teach It.

JOPERD • Volume 77 No. 8 • October 2006 W hen one observes the video there are certainly issues here that one can point to as problematic. These issues include a lack of accurate demonstrations, the absence of frequent feedback, wait time in lines, low time on task, minimal levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and a high number of unsuccessful performances by students relative to the stated task. These are certainly important issues, but all of these behaviors can be, and in fact are, addressed quite successfully in teacher education programs. As new teachers gain experience in the fi eld, many of these teaching skills will improve. More important, at least in my view, is that improving these pedagogical skills does not contribute to a literate, competent, sportsperson who could play this activity competently at a family picnic or at a park and have an appreciation of this activity both in terms of its place in culture and its characteristics as a sport. I agree with my colleagues about the pros and cons of football as the chosen content both in terms of gender and culture. I consider this issue an important piece of the analysis here. That being said, I am left to examine the way in which football has been taught. My primary concerns focus on representation of the content, or the manner in which football is presented to these students, both in terms of how it is structured as a set of experiences (the social activities that support the instructional goals of the lesson) and of the actual tasks that students learn.