Skeletal maturation,fundamental motor skills and motor coordination in children 7–10 years

Relationships between skeletal maturation and fundamental motor skills and gross motor coordination were evaluated in 429 children (213 boys and 216 girls) 7–10 years. Skeletal age was assessed (Tanner-Whitehouse 2 method), and stature, body mass, motor coordination (Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder, KTK) and fundamental motor skills (Test of Gross Motor Development, TGMD-2) were measured. Relationships among chronological age, skeletal age (expressed as the standardised residual of skeletal age on chronological age) and body size and fundamental motor skills and motor coordination were analysed with hierarchical multiple regression. Standardised residual of skeletal age on chronological age interacting with stature and body mass explained a maximum of 7.0% of the variance in fundamental motor skills and motor coordination over that attributed to body size per se. Standardised residual of skeletal age on chronological age alone accounted for a maximum of 9.0% of variance in fundamental motor skills, and motor coordination over that attributed to body size per se and interactions between standardised residual of skeletal age on chronological age and body size. In conclusion, skeletal age alone or interacting with body size has a negligible influence on fundamental motor skills and motor coordination in children 7–10 years.     

Practice task design in team sports: Representativeness enhanced by increasing opportunities for action

Abstract This study investigated effects of manipulating the number of action possibilities in a futsal passing task to understand the representativeness of practice tasks designs. Eight male senior futsal players performed a passing task in which uncertainty on passing direction for the player in possession of the ball was increased in four conditions and compared with passing data from a competitive match. Performance during a passing task and competitive futsal performance was compared using ball speed and passing accuracy data. Ball speed data were analysed by approximate entropy (ApEn) to capture their regularity in each of the four conditions and during competitive performance. Significantly high levels of regularity were observed in predetermined passes in comparison with emergent passes (i.e., passes with high number of possibilities for action). Similar results for ball speed regularity were observed between practice tasks with a high number of possibilities for action (i.e., emergent passes) and competitive performance. Similar results were observed for passing accuracy in practice tasks with a high number of possibilities for action compared to competitive performance. Increases in the number of action possibilities during practice improved action fidelity of tasks in relation to competitive performance.     

Changing education through learning spaces: impacts of the Portuguese school buildings’ renovation programme

In this article we present findings from the evaluation study of a nation-wide school renovation programme in Portugal. The aim is to analyse policy implementation, taking into account school community participation, discussing how the programme requirement to involve users in the renovation was met, examining perceptions of the programme’s pedagogical principles and the impact on teaching and learning models. The analysis shows that the upgrading of schools increased pride in and responsibility for the school. But teaching practices in schools remain set in a traditional mould. Tensions remain between the objectives defined at the political level and effective conditions for learning.     

Representative learning design and functionality of research and practice in sport

Egon Brunswik proposed the concept of "representative design" for psychological experimentation, which has historically been overlooked or confused with another of Brunswik's terms, ecological validity. In this article, we reiterate the distinction between these two important concepts and highlight the relevance of the term representative design for sports psychology, practice, and experimental design. We draw links with ideas on learning design in the constraints-led approach to motor learning and nonlinear pedagogy. We propose the adoption of a new term, representative learning design, to help sport scientists, experimental psychologists, and pedagogues recognize the potential application of Brunswik's original concepts, and to ensure functionality and action fidelity in training and learning environments.     

Student perspectives of imaging anatomy in undergraduate medical education

Radiological imaging is gaining relevance in the acquisition of competencies in clinical anatomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of medical students on teaching/learning of imaging anatomy as an integrated part of anatomical education. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate the perceptions of second‐year students participating in a clinical anatomy course over three consecutive academic years. A principal component analysis was used to evaluate the dimensionality of the questionnaire. The variables were summarized using frequencies, mean, median, 25th percentile, 75th percentile, minimum, and maximum. The results demonstrated that students felt the teaching of imaging anatomy influenced learning in the clinical anatomy course (mean = 4.5, median = 5.0) and subsequent clinical courses (mean = 4.4, median = 4.0). Regarding the imaging techniques used in the demonstration of anatomical structures, computed tomography (median = 5.0) and magnetic resonance imaging (median = 5.0) were highly rated. Students suggested the use of additional support material (37.6%) and favored a more practical approach. In conclusion, the results of this work highlight the value of imaging anatomy in learning human anatomy. Students' comments pointed out a need to focus teaching/learning programs toward a more practical rather than theoretical approach as well as a need to provide a better fit between sectional anatomy and clinical cases using imaging anatomy. In order to provide an optimal learning environment to students, it also seems important to create improved media material as an additional resource tool. Anat Sci Educ. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Physical activity and school recess time: Differences between the sexes and the relationship between children's playground physical activity and habitual physical activity

The aims of this study were: (1) to observe participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during school recess periods; (2) to determine the relative importance of physical activity during recesses to overall daily physical activity; and (3) to examine differences in physical activity between the sexes during unstructured recess periods. The participants were 22 school children (10 boys, 12 girls) aged 8?–?10 years (mean = 8.9, s = 0.7) in the third and fourth grades. Daily totals for the physical activity variables were calculated by summing the values for each hour of 14?h of physical activity measurements (08:00 to 22:00?h). Recess times (minutes) were as follows: morning 10:30 to 11:00?h and afternoon 15:30 to 16:00?h. We did not differences between boys and girls in daily total accelerometer counts or the overall time spent in MVPA. However, girls were significantly (P <?0.05) more involved (38%) in MVPA during recess time than boys (31%). Participation in MVPA during recess contributes significantly more (P <?0.05) for girls (19%) than boys (15%) to the total amount of physical activity suggested by international health-related physical activity guidelines, while the percentage of time engaged in MVPA during recess time at school accounts for a small amount of the daily MVPA (6% for boys and 8% for girls). The results of this study suggest that school recess time is an important setting to promote MVPA and contributes to daily physical activity in young children, especially in girls.