An investigation into teaching games for understanding: effects on skill, knowledge, and game play.

The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the games for understanding model by comparing it to a technique approach to instruction and a control group. The technique method focused primarily on skill instruction where the skill taught initially was incorporated into a game at the end of each lesson. The games for understanding approach emphasized developing tactical awareness and decision making in small game situations. Two physical education specialists taught field hockey using these approaches for 15 lessons (45 min each). The control group did not receive any field hockey instruction. Data were collected from 71 middle school children. Pretests and posttests were administered for hockey knowledge, skill, and game performance. Separate analyses of variance or analyses of covariance were conducted to examine group differences for cognitive and skill outcomes. The games for understanding group scored significantly higher on passing decision making than the technique and control groups during posttest game play and significantly higher than the control group for declarative and procedural knowledge. The games for understanding group scored significantly higher on control and passing execution than the other groups during posttest game play. For hockey skill, there were no significant differences among the treatment groups for accuracy, but the technique group recorded faster times than the control group on the posttest.     

Youth Leaders' Perceptions of Commitment to a Responsibility-Based Physical Activity Program

This study extended Schilling's (2001) study by investigating program commitment among a larger (N = 12), older (M = 16.7 years), and more experienced (M = 5.96 years) sample of participants in the Project Effort Youth Leader Corps. Individual interviews elicited a greater number and specificity of themes. Program-related barriers included logistics, structure, and relationships, and personal-related barriers included perceived alternatives, personal characteristics, and “real-life” responsibilities. Similar to Schilling's (2001) earlier study, antecedents grouped under program environment, program structure, relationships, and personal characteristics. Participants also described outcomes in terms of behavior and emotional involvement but reported more themes related to leadership. Results are discussed in terms of consistencies and changes over time and implications for program development, expansion, and evaluation.     

Transferring Personal and Social Responsibility of Underserved Youth to the Classroom

This report is an evaluation of an in-school mentoring program for 16 underserved elementary youngsters. The goals of the program are related to a Personal and Social Responsibility Model (Hellison, 1995), which focuses on the following: (1) self-control and respect for the rights of others; (2) effort and participation; (3) self-direction; and (4) helping others. Teacher and mentor journals, and student exit interviews, constituted the data sources. Data sources were reviewed and a program-goal matrix was developed to determine the level of performance of each participant. Results of the study indicated that the youngsters were able to apply the goal of effort to learning tasks in the classroom. The club members struggled, however, to transfer some of the other values to the classroom. One particular problematic area was the club members' inability to set personal goals in the classroom setting.     

Navigating Two Cultures

We investigated the culture of a responsibility-based physical activity program called Project Effort as well as the school culture of its participants. Five children who had at least one full semester of participation in the program participated in the study. We collected data from participants' individual interviews and observations of their involvement at school and in Project Effort. Findings revealed a distinct incongruence between the participants' perceptions of the atmosphere of the after-school program and school. Although explicitly similar values were emphasized between Project Effort and school, participants suggested these values were distorted between the two settings. For example, the empowerment values in Project Effort (e.g., respect, responsibility) were perceived as a discipline approach in the school setting. Participants' perceptions of cultural differences functioned as a barrier to the transfer of program values to the school context.     

Multivariate Relationships of Specific Impression Cues with Teacher Expectations and Dyadic Interactions in Elementary Physical Education Classes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the multivariate relationships of the impression cues of attractiveness and effort with teacher expectations and dyadic interactions in two elementary age groups of children. Three elementary physical education teachers and 128 children (K-3) served as subjects. The children were classified into two groups, one consisting of kindergarten and first grade children and the other second and third grade children. Physical attractiveness was determined from ratings of black and white photographs of each student. Student effort was determined by the ratings of the teachers according to the amount of expressed effort demonstrated by each student during physical activity instruction. Teachers were also asked to rate their students according to four expectancy variables. A dyadic version of Cheffers' Adaptation to Flanders' Interaction Analysis System was the observational tool used to describe teacher-student behaviors. For the older group only, teachers' expectations for the students' social relations, cooperative behavior and ability to reason significantly related to both impression cues. For the younger group, teachers' expectations for social relations and cooperative behavior were significantly related to teacher praise, direction-giving, criticism, and predictable student responses. For the older group, however, the teachers' expectation for cooperative behavior was significantly related to eight behavioral variables, especially to information giving and student-initiated responses.     

Confirmation of a Teacher Expectancy Model: Student Perceptions and Causal Attributions of Teaching Behaviors

Abstract

This study described patterns of observed and student perceived teaching behaviors directed to high and low expectancy students and determined how students attribute causes to the teaching behaviors. Eleven certified elementary classroom teachers and their second and third-grade classes served as subjects for the study. Twenty-seven high expectancy and 33 low expectancy students were identified by having the teachers rate their students in terms of expected levels of performance for the school year. Three types of teacher feedback were recorded by trained observers: a) praise/encouragement; b) skill correction; and c) corrective behavior feedback. Students were also interviewed to see whether their perceptions of the teachers' actions were consistent with the coded dyadic interactions. In addition, interviewers asked the students to describe the causes for the teacher's actions. Each cause was classified into one of four attributional categories: a) personal causes; b) teacher causes; c) environmental causes; and d) complex causes. Major differences between observed and perceived teacher praise and corrective behavior feedback were found for high and low expectancy students. Attributional data also revealed that low expectancy students tended to attribute corrective behavior feedback to personal causes much more so than high expectancy students. High expectancy students, on the other hand, were more inclined to attribute the same behavior to teacher characteristics.     

Understanding the Transfer of Values-Based Youth Sport Program Goals From a Bioecological Perspective

Over the years, technology has been developed for use in motor behavior research, and motor behavior researchers have adopted existing technologies when appropriate to their questions of interest. Along with the use of new technologies, of course, come some pitfalls we need to be aware of and attempt to minimize. In the following pages I will discuss how technology has facilitated our efforts to understand motor behavior and identify technologyrelated factors that can hamper progress as well as some trends we may see in the future.     

Youth leaders' perceptions of commitment to a responsibility-based physical activity program

This study extended Schilling's (2001) study by investigating program commitment among a larger (N = 12), older (M = 16.7 years), and more experienced (M = 5.96 years) sample of participants in the Project Effort Youth Leader Corps. Individual interviews elicited a greater number and specificity of themes. Program-related barriers included logistics, structure, and relationships, and personal-related barriers included perceived alternatives, personal characteristics, and "real-life" responsibilities. Similar to Schilling's (2001) earlier study, antecedents grouped under program environment, program structure, relationships, and personal characteristics. Participants also described outcomes in terms of behavior and emotional involvement but reported more themes related to leadership. Results are discussed in terms of consistencies and changes over time and implications for program development, expansion, and evaluation.     

Pygmalion in the Gym: A Model for the Communication of Teacher Expectations in Physical Education

Abstract

Much research on teacher expectations has focused on ways in which teacher perceptions of student ability can ultimately affect student performance. The majority of this research has indicated that teacher expectations not only determine certain types of student performance, but also serve to sustain low and high levels of performance. Observational research has also demonstrated that differential teacher-student interactions are related to certain levels of teacher expectations. For example, it has been shown that high expectancy students receive more praise, acceptance of ideas, contact and wait time, and more response opportunities than low expectancy students. Much of this research has been generated from studies related to classroom instruction. Very little of this research, however, has been operational in the physical education setting. One reason for this is the absence of a model in physical education through which this type of research can be generated. This article presents such a model showing how expectations are formed, how they are communicated, and how they sustain low and high levels of student growth and performance. The model further illustrates the causal relationship among teacher expectations, dyadic interactions and student growth and performance. Suggestions for future research techniques to determine causal flow among variables are also presented.