Differential Effects of Three Teachers Over a Unit of Instruction

The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of three teachers on psychomotor, affective, and cognitive outcomes over a 15-lesson volleyball unit. Three intact middle school physical education classes were used. Pre- and posttests were administered for the overhead set, forearm pass, and serve psychomotor skills. A semantic differential test with four affective dimensions and a written test on the rules, strategies, and mechanics of volleyball were also administered pre- and posttest. Data on instructional characteristics were obtained using academic learning time (ALT-PE); observation system for content development (OSCD-PE), and a content analysis of lessons.

The following were key aspects of the results: (a) Teachers differed in their approaches to the content of the unit more than in the characteristics of their instruction as determined through observational data; (b) teachers differed in respect to the psychomotor skills for which they were able to produce statistically significant student gain; (c) the skill level of students played a major role in psychomotor outcomes; (d) affective measures started high and remained high from pre- to posttest with significant change occurring positively with the low-skilled in one measure; (d) cognitive learning was significant from pre- to posttest in rules and mechanics but not in strategies. Instructional characteristics, as described in this study, did not change from skill to skill, but student learning did. This led the authors to conclude that the instrumentation for instructional variables was not sensitive to differences in the way individual skills were handled by individual teachers.     

Age,Physical Activity,Physical Fitness,Body Composition,and Incidence of Orthopedic Problems

Abstract

The incidence of orthopedic problems was examined in 5, 582 men and women who attended the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas between 1974 and 1982. The effects of age, physical activity, physical fitness, and body mass index (EMI) on the occurrence of these problems were examined using a proportional hazards approach. The expected risk of orthopedic problems per person-year was 0.045 for men and 0.046 for women. For men, physical fitness, BMI, and physical activity were associated with orthopedic problems, while for women, physical activity was the main predictor. Age was not a factor for either gender. The effect of change in physical fitness, physical activity, and BMI was examined in a subset of 2, 325 persons with more than one visit to the clinic. For women, physical activity and a decrease in BMI were associated with orthopedic problems, while for men none of those factors were significant. Again, age was not a factor in either group. The absence of any age effect on the occurrence of problems suggests that with regard to orthopedic problems, moderate amounts of physical activity in generally healthy persons may be recommended without special consideration as to age.     

Aerobic Capacity in Black Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Our purpose was to determine the aerobic capacities (VO₂max) of a group of black female adolescents (age = 11.4 ? 15.8 years) randomly chosen from a single urban school. Of 91 girls selected, 64 performed an incremental treadmill running test to volitional exhaustion and achieved VO₂max as determined from expired gas measures. Other measures included height (m), weight (kg), and calf and triceps skinfolds (for % fat estimates). Girls were also asked whether they had achieved menarche. VO₂max averaged 37.3 ± 6.2 ml·kg^?1 ·min^?1 and was significantly correlated (r[62]) with height (?.32, p < .01), body mass index (?.63, p < .001), and % fat (?.65, p < .001) but not with age (?.16, p > .10). Postmenarchal girls were significantly taller and older than premenarchal girls. Contrary to previous studies, the girls' VO₂max values were not related to biological age. Our subjects' aerobic capacity values averaged 14% less than those of nonblack U.S. female adolescents previously reported in the literature. This difference in VO₂max was primarily a function of body weight. Study implications support the possibility that overweight in adult black women may originate prior to or during early adolescence. Future longitudinal studies should be designed to investigate the effects of aerobic fitness on cardiovascular risk factor reduction in black adolescent girls.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) among adolescent athletes

The aim of the present study was to examine the factorial validity of the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas et al., ) among adolescent athletes using confirmatory factor analysis. The TOPS was designed to assess eight psychological strategies used in competition (i.e. activation, automaticity, emotional control, goal-setting, imagery, negative thinking, relaxation and self-talk,) and eight used in practice (the same strategies except negative thinking is replaced by attentional control). National-level athletes (n?=?584) completed the 64-item TOPS during training camps. Fit indices provided partial support for the overall measurement model for the competition items (robust comparative fit index?=?0.92, Tucker-Lewis index?=?0.88, root mean square error of approximation?=?0.05) but minimal support for the training items (robust comparative fit index?=?0.86, Tucker-Lewis index?=?0.81, root mean square error of approximation?=?0.06). For the competition items, the automaticity, goal-setting, relaxation and self-talk scales showed good fit, whereas the activation, emotional control, imagery and negative thinking scales did not. For the practice items, the attentional control, emotional control, goal-setting, imagery and self-talk scales showed good fit, whereas the activation, automaticity and relaxation scales did not. Overall, it appears that the factorial validity of the TOPS for use with adolescents is questionable at present and further development is required.     

Physiological variables and performance markers of serving soldiers from two “elite” units of the British Army

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare selected physiological variables and performance markers of soldiers from two “elite” units of the British Army. Ten soldiers from each of the two units were recruited for this study (n = 20). All participants completed three tests while carrying a 20 kg backpack load: (1) a maximal treadmill test using the Bruce protocol; (2) a 2 mile backpack run test specific to Unit A on a consistently flat tarmac road; and (3) a 29 km time-trial over hilly terrain typical of a mountainous area used by Unit B for performance assessment. Heart rate, maximal blood lactate concentration and performance (run time) were assessed during all three tests, with peak oxygen uptake also being measured during the maximal treadmill test. Measurements of anthropometry, isokinetic strength and mental toughness (MT48) were also recorded. There were no significant differences in terms of performance markers between the units (P > 0.05). Performance on the maximal treadmill test correlated with performance on the 2 mile backpack run test (r = ?0.57) and 29 km time-trial (r = ?0.66). Performance on the 2 mile backpack run test in turn correlated with 29 km time-trial performance (r = ?0.77), accounting for 59% of the variance. In conclusion, the maximal treadmill test and the 2 mile backpack run test are useful indicators of performance on the arduous hill march and could be employed in the screening and selection of potential recruits.     

Changes in the perception of action possibilities while climbing to fatigue on a climbing wall

Abstract

In two experiments we examined changes in the perception of action possibilities as a function of exertion. In Experiment 1, participants repeatedly climbed on a climbing wall in a series of trials that progressively increased in number to 10 trials, resulting in increased exertion. Before and during climbing, the participants judged their maximum reaching height and perceived exertion. On a separate day, participants climbed another 10 trials while performing actual maximum reaches. Higher perceived exertion was associated with decreases in perceived maximum reach while the actual reaches did not decrease. However, the perceptual changes occurred early during task execution when the participants were not yet fatigued. When exertion set in, neither perceived nor actual maximum reaching appeared to be affected. In Experiment 2, we included exhaustion trials. The findings replicated the early changes in perception observed in Experiment 1, which may be explained by hands-on experience with the task. Furthermore, while climbing to exhaustion, perceptual judgements largely changed in keeping with changes in the actual maximum reach. Thus, there appeared to be a functional relationship between participants' actual action capabilities, rather than their state of physical fatigue per se, and perceived action possibilities.     

Optimized versus corrected peak power during friction-braked cycle ergometry in males and females

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare optimization and correction procedures for the determination of peak power output during friction-loaded cycle ergometry. Ten male and 10 female sports students each performed five 10-s sprints from a stationary start on a Monark 864 basket-loaded ergometer. Resistive loads of 5.0, 6.5, 8.0, 9.5, and 11.0% body weight were administered in a counterbalanced order, with a recovery period of 10 min between sprints. Peak power was greater and occurred earlier, with less work having been done before the attainment of peak power, when the data were corrected to account for the inertial and frictional characteristics of the ergometer. Corrected peak power was independent of resistive load (P > 0.05), whereas uncorrected peak power varied as a quadratic function of load (P < 0.001). For males and females, optimized peak power (971 ± 122 and 668 ± 37 W) was lower (P < 0.01) than either the highest (1074 ± 111 and 754 ± 56 W respectively) or the mean (1007 ± 125 and 701 ± 45 W respectively) of the five values for corrected peak power. Optimized and mean corrected peak power were highly correlated both in males (r = 0.97, P < 0.001) and females (r = 0.96, P < 0.001). The difference between optimized and mean corrected peak power was 37 ± 30 W in males and 33 ± 14 W in females, of which approximately 15 W was due to the correction for frictional losses. We conclude that corrected peak power is independent of resistive load in males and females.     

Images of women in literature on physical education and sport: Representations of social transformation in France under the third republic, 1870-1939

Writings on 'the female' under the Third Republic in France provide evidence of the profound changes taking place in the social representation of femininity and masculinity during the period. They correspond to dramatic changes in the socio-economic context in parallel with those in the scientific models being used to describe human bodily movement. This paper sets out to demonstrate both the structure of the discussion on femininity and the practice of exercise, and the possible links with changes in women's education and their social position in France. It attempts to go beyond the traditional analysis of the historical relationships between women and exercise in the period under examination (1870-1939). It reviews the debates on these relationships taking place at the time in France and within the state education system during the Third Republic and focuses on three specific aspects: work, school and society.