Zachary Wahl-Alexander

Using Sport Education in a University Physical Activity Course.

At a majority of colleges and universities around the country, basic activity courses are taught predicated on teaching students basic skills and instilling healthy habits. The purpose of this article is to outline and describe a physical conditioning course that utilized the sport education (SE) model and emphasized outside engagement to instill an enjoyment of physical activity. The primary objectives of SE are to provide an authentic sporting experience and to create students who are enthusiastic, literate and competent consumers of sport. The physical conditioning class met 26 times over a 16-week period with each session lasting 75 minutes. Using the SE model in this fitness class, students were able to increase their accountability, affective qualities, and interest. In order to emphasize outside engagement, teams were awarded by completing outside activities together, utilizing and maintaining an online forum, and meeting and exceeding weekly step goals. The SE model was successful in encouraging outside engagement within this university activity course, which provided fun opportunities to be physically active.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Students' Autobiographical Memories of Participation in Multiple Sport Education Seasons.

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school students’ recollections of their participation in a significant number of Sport Education seasons over a period of five years. Thirty-one (18 boys and 13 girls) eighth-grade students (average age at data collection = 13 years) who had all participated in at least 17 Sport Education seasons served as the participants in this study. Autobiographical memory theory guided qualitative data collection, which included surveys, formal interviews, focus group interviews, and autobiographical critical reflections. Student responses were categorized into general events, which had a focus on evaluating, preparation, first season, integrity, competition, and gamesmanship. Descriptive event-specific memories included authenticity and gameplay as most memorable aspects of students’ experiences within multiple Sport Education seasons. The findings suggested that participating in multiple Sport Education seasons leads to better developed student roles and a stronger sense of fair play. More importantly, adherence to the central features of Sport Education and meaningful participation in several iterations of quality Sport Education seasons may be required for students to move closer to achieving the lofty goals of the model for students to become competent, literate, and enthusiastic sportspeople.

Children's Activity Levels and Lesson Context during Summer Swim Instruction.

Summer swim programs provide a unique opportunity to engage children in PA as well as an important life-saving skill. Offering summer swim programs is critical, especially for minority populations who tend to have higher rates of drowning, specifically in youth populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the lesson context and children’s participation levels during a summer swimming program taught by two experienced PE teachers. The participants in this study were two experienced PE teachers and 45 children who were enrolled in the summer swim program. Data were collected using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) and analyzed using MANOVA and ANOVA statistical tests. Results indicated that the students overall MVPA levels during the swim program were very high (58.96 %). Results also indicated that a majority of the lesson context was spent in skill practice (47.31%), and management (20.23%) was the lowest. These findings provide additional indications that swim instruction is a viable option to provide children with ample MVPA. It would be beneficial moving forward for schools to include swim instruction in the curriculum not only to improve water safety, but also to provide high levels of PA.

Using a Fishing Sport Education Season to Promote Outside Engagement

This article will provide a detailed account of a fishing sport education season focusing on the six key features of the model. Five specialty roles were created for this season, specifically for the fishing content. With this fishing content, teams participated in a variety of skill challenges, and fishing derbies that were staggered throughout the 19-day season. In this iteration, the culminating event was composed of a two-day Bass Master Classic, and an award ceremony held during the final class period. The instructor incorporated extracurricular fishing by allotting additional points to teams that not only fished outside of school, but also chose to participate with family and friends. Using the sport education model for instruction helps to produce children who are not only literate and competent in lifetime physical activities but are also enthusiastic about future participation.

Swim to the Top: A University Partnership Focused on Enhancing Swimming Competency in African American Youth

Swimming is considered by many to be a significant form of physical activity with many health benefits. Few opportunities exist for African American youth to participate in programs focused on providing developmentally appropriate swim instruction, due in part to a lack of aquatic facilities and programs in urban schools and communities. In an effort to alleviate this problem, the Office of Community Affairs at a large public university in the southeast United States, in addition to several graduate students from the kinesiology department, decided to create a swimming program focused providing developmentally appropriate swim instruction to African American youth. Swim to the Top (S3T) was created with the primary objective of developing stronger swimming skills in African American children. The purpose of this article is to describe how the S3T program was created, share the challenges that were faced throughout its inception, and illuminate the experiences from the program with the hope that future programs will spawn from the current one.

Preservice physical education teacher socialization through an outdoor education field experience

ABSTRACT Outdoor education (OE) has an increased presence in physical education as it addresses the discipline’s national standards and promotes involvement lifetime physical activity. However, physical educators’ learning to teach OE is not well documented. The purpose of this study was to understand preservice physical educators’ experiences in and perspectives on an OE field experience. Participants included 13 third-year preservice physical educators (10 male, 3 female). Qualitative data were collected using focus group interviews, observations and guided reflections. Results indicated that preservice teachers (PSTs) perceived a controlling course environment that limited educational outcomes. They did, however, increase in confidence teaching OE, and applied skills learned in the teacher education program. With the exception of learning to be more adaptable, however, the PSTs did not perceive the experience as relevant to future teaching. Results are discussed within the framework of occupational socialization theory, and implications for practice are noted.

Impact of a university physical conditioning sport education season on students’ fitness levels

Objectives: Basic activity programmes are offered in numerous universities, with the primary objective of increasing involvement in different physical activities while instilling the value of lifetime fitness. Although these programmes have been shown to be beneficial, there is a lack of research focused on their effectiveness of improving physical activity levels. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine changes in college-aged students’ aerobic fitness levels following participation in a university physical conditioning course. Methods: Participants in this study were 47 university students from two physical conditioning courses, one taught using Sport Education and another taught with direct instruction. Student’s aerobic fitness levels were assessed through the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) and the one-mile run prior to and following the 5-month course. Results: Results indicated a significant difference between groups on the total number of laps completed during the PACER test. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that students who participated in the Sport Education physical conditioning course experienced significant improvements over time for both tests and a significant improvement over traditional instruction in the number of PACER laps run.

In-Depth Analysis of a Teacher’s Experience Implementing Sport Education in an After-School Context

The Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program approach has been suggested to provide students with additional opportunities for physical activity (PA) outside of traditional physical education (PE). Although research suggests that this program is successful at increasing children’s levels of PA, research on implementing pedagogical models to provide additional benefits has been limited. The purpose of this study was to analyze a teacher’s experience of implementing Sport Education (SE) in an after-school context. The participant in this study was the PE teacher at the elementary school where the SE program occurred. Data were gathered from document analysis, formal interviews, and reflective journaling. Data analysis occurred through coding and categorizing each data set using analytic induction and constant comparison. The results of this study identified three main themes: specific features of SE that were utilized successfully, how community collaborations helped the success of the club, and constraints that were faced during implementation. The after-school setting in which this club was carried out provided an opportunity for an elongated season that increased the levels of festivity and affiliation. Furthermore, it is recommended that university programs expose preservice teachers to this model. Subscribe to TPE

Changes in Perceived Burnout among Camp Staff Across the Summer Camp Season

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Burnout is considered a major problem in a variety of occupational contexts, and especially in human service professions. Researchers have postulated that burnout could result in the reduction of performance, quality of life, and other factors including turnover and absenteeism (Whipp, Tan, & Teo, 2007). Given the negative consequences associated with burnout syndrome, scholars have begun investigating factors that fuel individuals to thrive in the face of adversity and avoid feelings of burnout. To date, there is lack of depth examining the prevalence of burnout in camp contexts; initial results indicate substantial deterioration of well-being and high levels of burnout in camp counselors during the summer (Bailey, Kang, & Kuiper, 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between camp counselors’ resiliency and levels of burnout at different phases throughout the summer. The participants in this study were 80 summer camp counselors from one traditional, residential summer camp in the U.S. Northeast. The sample was comprised of 38 males and 42 females. The average age of the participants was 19.20 years (SD = 2.07), with the majority of participants being Caucasian (77), with the remaining participants reporting African American (2), and Asian (1). All staff members completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory three times, and the CD-RISC, a multidimensional measure of resilience, once during the summer. Following initial assessments, 3 x 2 (Time x Gender) Mixed ANCOVAs were used to examine changes to the three burnout constructs of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment over time while taking gender into consideration and holding perceived resilience constant. Based on the metric underlying the scale of measurement, perceived depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment were low at all three iterations. Emotional exhaustion was low-moderate at time point one, and low at time points two and three. Based on the mean values K. males perceived significantly higher depersonalization at all three time points. No significant differences were found between males and females for emotional exhaustion, reduced personal accomplishment, or resilience. Camp counselors who displayed high resiliency tended to present depressed levels of emotional exhaustion during the third iteration of the survey. Furthermore, resilience correlated significantly with reduced personal accomplishment at each of the three iterations. This suggests that counselors with high resiliency were shielded from the effects of burnout specifically at the end of the summer.xa0 Subscribe to JPRA

Influence of a Training Program on Camp Counselors’ Perceived Competency When Accounting for Prior Camp Experience

The purpose of this study was to evaluate summer camp counselors’ perceived competency prior to and after an 8-day training at an independent for-profit overnight camp. The participants in this study were 101 camp counselors who were employed at an overnight summer camp in the northeastern United States. Counselors’ perceived competency was measured with a 21-item survey with seven subscales including typical day routine, conflict management, counselor expectations, safe camp environment, relationships, develop camper skills, and behavior management, prior to and following staff training. Results from the survey indicate increases across all constructs were significant, and the three factors with the largest increase after the orientation training were typical day routine, counselor expectations, and developing camper skills. The two factors with the smallest increase were behavior management and creating a safe camp environment. Devoting additional time teaching tangible methods on how to handle conflict and cultivate camp skills may similarly lead to stronger competency in staff. In the future, integrating video module training for staff prior to training may be beneficial. Subscribe to JOREL