A Survey of Safety Conditions of Buildings and Grounds in Secondary Schools

Abstract

Black and white children (N = 553) in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two, as part of a total test battery were tested on items of agility, speed, power, flexibility, and endurance. An ANOVA design was employed for both equal and unequal cell frequencies to determine the effects of grade, sex, and race on gross motor performance. Significant (p < .01) improvements were found at each grade for speed, power, and endurance items; males had significantly better performances (p < .01) than females on all items with the exception of flexibility; black children had significantly (p < .01) lower values than white children in the speed item at each grade level.     

The effect of attentional focus cues on object control performance in elementary children

Background and purpose: Attentional focus cues have been shown to impact motor performance of adults and children. Specifically, an external focus of attention results in improved motor learning and performance as compared to adopting an internal focus of attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an internal and external attentional focus cue on children’s object control skill performance during a commonly used motor skill assessment.

Methods: Using a within-participant design, a total of 44 children (M_age?=?7.7 years, 20 boys and 24 girls) completed all three attentional focus conditions. The object control subscale of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd Edition (TGMD-2; Ulrich, 2000. Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Austin: Pro-Ed.) served as the motor skill assessment in present study. The TGMD-2 is a normed and criteria-referenced assessment frequently used to assess fundamental motor skill competence in children. The object control subtest of the TGMD-2 assesses a child’s ability to complete six fundamental motor skills – striking a stationary ball, stationary dribble, catch, kick, overhand throw, and underhand roll. All participants completed the object control subtest of the TGMD-2 under three different attentional focus conditions: baseline (i.e. neutral focus), internal, and external. The internal cue focused on movement performance and the external cue focused on movement outcome. In all three conditions, a video demonstration of proper skill performance was used to ensure no difference in visual demonstration, but the overlaying audio was changed to encompass each attentional focus condition. Children’s motor performance was recorded and later coded by a single researcher blinded to the study. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine if children’s motor scores changed among the three conditions.

Results: Findings demonstrated that children’s performance differed among the three conditions (F_(2,43)?=?3.5, p?Post hoc analysis revealed that children scored significantly better in the external cue condition compared to the baseline (difference?=?1.98, p?Conclusion: Children performed better when given a verbal instruction to focus their attention externally rather than a verbal instruction with no attentional focus cue. No significant differences exist between the internal and external focus condition or between the neutral and internal condition. Our findings align with the literature and support that external attentional focus cues have a positive effect on motor performance. From a teaching and learning standpoint, using consistent instructions appears to be essential for young learners. Slight changes in verbal cues can have a significant effect on how well children execute fundamental motor skills.     

Improving Functional Movement Proficiency in Middle School Physical Education

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether functional movement proficiency could be improved as measured via the Functional Movement Screen using a standardized warm-up protocol in middle school physical education. A secondary purpose was to determine whether such improvement, if it occurred, would positively influence the technical performance of 4 fundamental motor skills: overhand throw, vertical jump, kicking, and running. Method: Participants were 120 7th- and 8th-grade physical education student volunteers. Two classes from each grade level were assigned to the functional group (N = 54) while the remaining 2 classes of each grade were assigned to the control group (N = 66). Baseline measures were obtained using the Functional Movement Screen and the Get Skilled: Get Active (2000) process-oriented motor skill assessment. For 6 weeks, the functional group warmed up by performing functional stretching, stability, and mobility exercises while the control group completed a traditional dynamic warm-up. Results: According to gain score analysis, those in the functional group significantly reduced dysfunctional movements (scores of 1) compared with those in the control group. Further, boys in the functional group significantly improved their Functional Movement Screen composite score as compared with their male counterparts in the control group whose scores declined. No differences were found for fundamental motor skill performance. Conclusion: Replacing the traditional dynamic warm-up with one that emphasizes functional movement in preparation for activity in physical education appears effective for correcting movement dysfunctions in young adolescents.     

Gross Motor Skills and Sports Participation of Children With Visual Impairments

Gross motor skill performance of children with visual impairments and its association with the degree of visual impairment and sports participation was examined. Twenty children with visual impairments (M age = 9.2 years, SD =1.5) and 100 sighted children (M age = 9.1 years, SD = 1.5) from mainstream schools participated. The results showed that children with visual impairments had significantly lower object control but not locomotor skill scores than the sighted children. No significant differences were found between children with a moderate and severe visual impairment. Children with visual impairments who participated in sports had significantly higher object control skill scores than those who did not. No significant associations between motor skills and sports participation were found in the sighted children.     

Coding of Learned Kinesthetic Location Information

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the coding characteristics of kinesthetic location information acquired during learning trials. Forty-eight blindfolded subjects learned to make a linear response with the right hand to a criterion location during 13 trials. Upon completion of the learning trials, subjects performed 10 trials without knowledge of results (KR) under one of four treatment conditions which were defined by the limb used and the dominant source of feedback available. Specifically, the conditions were right-hand control with kinesthetic feedback, left-hand kinesthetic, right-hand visual, and left-hand visual. The results of the ANOVAs for absolute error (AE) and constant error (CE) from the no-KR trials revealed that the visual feedback groups made significantly greater response errors than did the kinesthetic feedback groups. The blocks main effect for CE was also significant. Analysis of variable error (VE) indicated that the visual feedback groups were significantly more consistent in their responses than were the kinesthetic feedback groups. Within a motor learning paradigm, the concept of a spatial-location coordinate system was supported by the similar performances of the right-handed and left-handed groups. A discrepancy in this system was identified when visual feedback was provided for controlling the response to a location previously learned with kinesthetic cues.     

Interaction between motor ability and skill learning in children: Application of implicit and explicit approaches

The benefits of implicit and explicit motor learning approaches in young adults have been studied extensively, but much less in children. This study investigated the relationship between fundamental motor ability and implicit/explicit learning in children using the errorless learning paradigm. First, the motor ability of 261 children (142 boys, 119 girls) aged 9–12 years (M?=?9.74, SD?=?0.67) was measured. Second, children with motor ability scores in the upper and lower quartile learned a golf-putting skill in either an errorless (implicit) or errorful (explicit) learning condition. Four groups were formed: Errorless High-Ability (n?=?13), Errorless Low-Ability (n?=?11), Errorful High-Ability (n?=?10), and Errorful Low-Ability (n?=?11). Learning consisted of 300 practice trials, while testing included a 50-trial retention test, followed by a 50-trial secondary task transfer test, and another 50-trial retention test. The results showed that for high- and low-ability errorless learners, motor performance was unaffected by the secondary task, as was the case for high-ability errorful learners. Low-ability errorful learners performed worse with a secondary task and were significantly poorer than the corresponding high-ability group. These results suggest that implicit motor learning (errorless) may be beneficial for children with low motor ability. The findings also show a trend that children of high motor ability might benefit from learning explicitly (errorful). Further research is recommended to examine the compatibility of implicit and explicit approaches for children of different abilities.     

Individual Differences Influencing Immediate Effects of Internal and External Focus Instructions on Children’s Motor Performance

Purpose: A large pool of evidence supports the beneficial effect of an external focus of attention on motor skill performance in adults. In children, this effect has been studied less and results are inconclusive. Importantly, individual differences are often not taken into account. We investigated the role of working memory, conscious motor control, and task-specific focus preferences on performance with an internal and external focus of attention in children. Methods: Twenty-five children practiced a golf putting task in both an internal focus condition and external focus condition. Performance was defined as the average distance toward the hole in 3 blocks of 10 trials. Task-specific focus preference was determined by asking how much effort it took to apply the instruction in each condition. In addition, working memory capacity and conscious motor control were assessed. Results: Children improved performance in both the internal focus condition and external focus condition (?_p² = .47), with no difference between conditions (?_p² = .01). Task-specific focus preference was the only factor moderately related to the difference between performance with an internal focus and performance with an external focus (r = .56), indicating better performance for the preferred instruction in Block 3. Conclusion: Children can benefit from instruction with both an internal and external focus of attention to improve short-term motor performance. Individual, task-specific focus preference influenced the effect of the instructions, with children performing better with their preferred focus. The results highlight that individual differences are a key factor in the effectiveness in children’s motor performance. The precise mechanisms underpinning this effect warrant further research.     

Mastery and exercise play interventions: motor skill development and verbal recall of children with and without disabilities

Background: Fundamental motor skill proficiency is essential for engagement in sports and physical play and in the development of a healthy lifestyle. Children with motor delays (with and without disabilities) lack the motor skills necessary to participate in games and physical activity, and tend to spend more time as onlookers than do their peers. As such, intervention programs are crucial in promoting motor skill development of children with motor delays. While mastery climate (MC) interventions have shown to positively impact children’s motor performance, what is unknown is the impact of cognitive strategies used by children within these climates. Furthermore, although vigorous play seems to be related to the development of gross motor skills, it is still unknown if children with and without disabilities would benefit from exercise play (EP) interventions.

Purpose: This study examined the effects of MC and EP interventions on the motor skill development and verbal recall (VR) of children with motor delays. The sample included children with and without disabilities.

Research designs: One hundred and thirty-eight children from 27 urban public schools were referred to the present study. Children were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development second edition (TGMD-2) and a VR checklist. Sixty-four children (18 with disabilities and 46 without) met the inclusion criteria, which was a score less than the fifth percentile on the TGMD-2. Participants were randomly assigned to the MC or EP 14-week interventions emphasizing gross motor skill practice.

Data collection and analysis: Children were assessed at pre- and post-intervention. A 2 (groups)?×?2 (disability) × 2 (time) analyses of variance with repeated measures on the last factor was conducted. Change scores, t-test comparisons on the delta scores and Cohen’s D were also calculated.

Results: The MC group demonstrated significant and positive changes over the intervention period. Further, the MC group showed superior locomotor and object control performance and higher recall of verbal cues (p?≤?.05) at post-intervention compared to the EP group. Children with and without disabilities within the MC showed similar patterns of improvement. The EP intervention did not demonstrate significant improvements.

Conclusion: Children with and without disabilities showed improvements in motor skills and VR when exposed to an MC, incorporating the six TARGET structures. These structures included (a) providing feedback and encouragement, providing opportunities for decision-making and establishing personal goals, (b) including parents in the recognition of children’s achievements, (c) creating opportunities to experience leadership and self-pacing, (d) guiding children to use verbal cues and modeling when practicing gross motor skills, and (e) providing demonstrations and teaching children to self-monitor their performance. Instruction is therefore seen as critical to learning gross motor skills, as demonstrated from the findings. Although there were opportunities for vigorous play within the EP intervention, the children did not show improvements in motor performance or VR. These findings suggest that new trends in teacher education physical education to prioritize physical activity over good motor skill instruction may not be advantageous for children in the early years, and should be reconsidered.     

Application of Generalizability Theory in Estimating the Reliability of a Motor Performance Test

Abstract

This paper discusses the use of generalizability theory, a flexible intraclass approach, for estimating the reliability of a motor performance task. The generalizability technique provides variance component estimates for each factor of an analysis of variance design. These variance estimates can be utilized to define a number of reliability coefficients which are dependent upon the logical or theoretical rationale for assigning variance component estimates as true score or error score variance. The second section of this paper presents a study illustrating the use of generalizability theory in estimating the reliability of a motor performance task. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of first-ball scores for beginning college bowlers. The facets of the generalizability study were identified as sex of the bowler, trials, and days. Three reliability coefficients, R ₁ (.93), R ₂ (.92), and R ₃ (.84), were computed by assigning the different factors to either true score or error score variance. The performance of beginning college bowlers as measured by first-ball scores is reliable. While the information might be useful for the teacher or researcher who is interested in detecting between-subject differences in coeducational bowling classes, the primary purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the use of generalizability theory to estimate reliability coefficients for a set of motor performance test scores.     

Summary and frequency of KR presentation effects on retention of a motor skill

This experiment investigates the recent proposal of Schmidt, Young, Swinnen, and Shapiro (1989) that summary knowledge of results (KR) improves skill retention. In Schmidt et al.'s experiment, however, summary length varied concomitantly with the frequency of KR presentation. The current investigation held KR presentation frequency constant while manipulating the number of trials seen in the summary KR display. Subjects were required to perform a timing task on a linear slide. Five groups (n = 12) of subjects participated in acquisition trials then in 10-min and 2-day delayed no-KR retention tests. In 4 conditions, subjects completed each acquisition block without any KR, but following each block they received KR on either 15, 7, 3, or 1 of the 15 trials performed in that block. In the final condition subjects received immediate KR. Analysis of the absolute constant error (magnitude of CE) data for acquisition revealed all groups improved with practice and the immediate KR group performed better than all the summary groups which in turn did not differ significantly. Analysis of the magnitude of CE retention data found performance to be worse on the 2-day retention test for all groups. The effect of condition was significant. The 1/1 group had lower error scores than all other groups, which in turn were not significantly different. Analyses of variable error (VE) revealed only that VE decreased with practice. These findings suggest frequency of KR presentation may be the basis for the summary KR effect found by Schmidt et al. (1989).     

Influence of Decision-Making on Attitudes,Creativity, Motor Skills and Self-Concept in Elementary Children

Abstract

Attitudes, creativity, self-concept and motor skills were measured to determine the influence of decision-making on elementary children. Three groups of children (N = 208) were tested, one group was taught with the teacher dominating all classroom decisions, another group was encouraged to share in the decision-making, and a third group served as a control. Data were collected immediately before and after an eight-week instructional period. MANCOVA indicated that the two treatment groups had significantly higher scores than did the control group, and the shared decision-making group scored significantly higher than the teacher dominated group on measures of creativity, motor skills and self-concept. A 2 (treatment) × 2 (sex) × 5 (grade) ANOVA revealed significantly more positive attitude scores for children allowed to make decisions regarding their learning. Further, Pearson product-moment correlation showed the tested variables to be independent measures of a child's development.     

The effect of exercise intensity on coincidence anticipation performance at different stimulus speeds

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of exercise intensity on coincidence anticipation timing [CAT] performance at different stimulus speeds. Fourteen young adults (11 males and 3 females) volunteered to participate in the study following ethical approval. After familiarisation, coincidence anticipation was measured using the Bassin Anticipation Timer under three conditions: rest, moderate-intensity and high-intensity exercise with stimulus speeds of 3, 5 and 8 mph, set using an incremental running protocol until the participants reached a steady state of 70% and 90% of heart rate reserve (HRR), respectively. Results indicated a significant exercise intensity×stimulus speed interaction (p=0.0001) for absolute error (AE). There were no significant differences in AE across exercise intensities at a stimulus speed of 3 mph (p>0.05). AE was poorer during high-intensity exercise (90% HRR) compared to rest (p=0.022), and moderate-intensity (70% HRR) exercise (all, p=0.004 or better) at 5 and 8 mph. Variable error (VE) was similar across exercise intensities at stimulus speeds of both 3 and 5 mph (p>0.05). At a stimulus speed of 8 mph, VE was significantly poorer during high-intensity exercise compared to rest (p=0.006) and moderate-intensity exercise (p=0.008). There were no significant differences for constant error (p>0.05) across exercise intensities or stimulus speeds. High-intensity exercise is associated with poorer CAT performance. However, stimulus speed plays a key role within this association where faster stimulus speeds were associated with a more marked decrease in coincidence anticipation performance.     

Who SKIPS? Using Temperament to Explain Differential Outcomes of a Motor Competence Intervention for Preschoolers

Purpose: Although motor skill interventions often improve fundamental motor skills (FMS) during preschool, the extent of individual children’s success in development of FMS still varies among children receiving the same intervention. Temperament is multifaceted and includes negative affect (high levels of frustration or anger), effortful control (focus, self-regulation, and concentration), and surgency (energy and activity level). Temperament often influences cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes and may be a significant factor in the development of FMS. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of temperament on children’s improvement in FMS within a gross motor intervention. Method: Participants (N = 80; M_age = 55.36 months, SD = 6.99 months) completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-Second Edition prior to and after intervention. Teachers completed the Child Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form to examine each child’s temperament. To account for possibility of a Type 1 error, we conducted 6 separate 2 (temperament variable: high, low) × 2 (treatment: intervention, control) analyses of covariance and examined posttest scores for locomotor and object-control skills with pretest scores as covariates among participants with high and low surgency, negative affect, and effortful control. Results: Results revealed children with low levels of negative affect and surgency and high levels of effortful control demonstrated greater gains (η_p² = .05–.34) in both locomotor and object-control skills during motor skill intervention compared with their peers. Conclusion: Providing interventions tailored to temperamental profiles could maximize gains in FMS through intervention.     

Perceptions of Physical Competence,Motor Competence,and Participation in Organized Sport: Their Interrelationships in Young Children

Abstract

This study examined the interrelationships among perceived physical competence, motor competence, and participation in organized sport in young children. Males and females in Grades K through 4 (n = 250) were given The Perceived Competence Scale for Children (Harter, 1979) or The Pictoral Scale for Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children (Harter, Pike, Efron, Chao, & Bierer, 1983), a 9-item motor competence assessment battery, and a questionnaire regarding their participation in sport. Results revealed that perceived physical competence for children in these grade levels was not significantly related to their participation in organized sport programs. Motor competence was significantly related to participation in that participants in organized sport programs performed selected gross motor tasks better than did nonparticipants. Further, children's reported perceptions of physical competence were significantly related to their demonstrated motor competence. Discussion focused on the theoretical and practical implications of the results.     

Relation of Performance of Selected Physical Skills to Perceptual Aspects of Reading Readiness in Elementary School Children

Abstract

Relationships between performance scores in reading achievement, Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception, Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale, two perceptual-motor tasks and eye-hand dominance tests were studied in 75 first and second grade children. Correlations among many variables were significant although none were high enough for reliable prediction of one variable from another. Mixed eye-hand dominance was not found to be associated with deficient performance in any of the tests. Factor analysis failed to provide factors indicative of interrelationships among elements of visual, motor, and reading functions.     

The Use of Capacitive Touch Sensors for Temporal Measurements

Purpose

Physical activity participation in physical education is compromised when students nonsuit. We investigated: (a) reasons for nonsuiting/support of policy change and whether they differed by gender, ethnicity, or grade; and (b) the likelihood of nonsuiting based on the same demographics.

Method

Participants (N = 627) were 6th and 7th graders attending 1 urban middle school located in San Diego, CA. Students completed a questionnaire composed of 4 demographic items, level of agreement with 15 reasons for nonsuiting, and level of support of 6 proposed policy changes. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to classify reasons for nonsuiting items and policy change items. Demographic differences among resultant factor scores and individual items were analyzed using t tests. Associations between factors/items and nonsuit frequency and demographics were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

Girls, Latinos, and 7th graders were more likely habitual nonsuits ( ≥ 4 nonsuits) compared with their respective counterparts. Statistically significant factor scores (reasons for nonsuiting; emotional excuses, utilitarian excuses) were higher among habitual nonsuits but were not different based on gender, grade, and ethnicity. Seventh graders and girls had statistically significantly higher policy change factor scores compared with their respective counterparts.

Conclusion

Acting on student input toward reformulating suiting-out policy as well as addressing emotional excuse reasons, which are primarily under teacher control, may result in lower incidence of habitual nonsuiting.     

Gross Motor Competence and Peak Height Velocity in 10- to 14-Year-Old Canadian Youth: A Longitudinal Study

The objective of this study was to evaluate gross motor competence and growth spurt in Canadian youth. Eighty-two children (38 boys, 44 girls) were assessed over a time period of five years. Growth rate was measured quarterly; motor competence was evaluated once per year using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. Peak height velocity (PHV) occurred at a significantly younger age in the girls (11.3 ± 0.4 years) than the boys (13.4 ± 0.3 years; p < .001), and growth rate during PHV was significantly greater in the boys than the girls (2.8 ± 1.3 vs. 2.0 ± 0.7 cm/quarter; p = .003). Gross motor competence outcomes were significantly above the North American normative scores (p < .05) over the measured time period. After the occurrence of PHV, strength, strength/agility, and gross motor skill significantly decreased in girls (p < .01), and running speed/agility significantly decreased in boys (p < .05). This finding emphasizes that motor competence in pre-adolescent children may suddenly decrease after their growth spurt.     

Informational-Motivational Components of a Model's Demonstration

Abstract

The effects of the informational and motivational components of a model's demonstration on motor performance were investigated. A secondary aim was to examine the effects of observer sex on observational learning. Male and female fifth- and sixth-grade students (N = 80) were compared under four conditions comprising the presence or absence of informational and/or motivational cues using the Bachman ladder-balance task. Access to informational cues was manipulated by means of a model demonstration. Motivational cues consisted of a model providing subjects with verbal knowledge of results (KR) of model's prior task performance. Results of the Sex × Informational Cues × Motivational Cues (2 × 2 × 2) ANOVA indicated that males had higher average performance scores than females. These differences, however, did not appear to be due to greater modeling by males. Subjects receiving a model demonstration had higher performance scores than subjects not given a model demonstration. The results were interpreted as evidence that the informational component of a model's demonstration is the primary element affecting motor performance.