Exergaming technologies have emerged in physical education in recent years as an attempt at revitalizing physical activity levels among youth. Research on the effects of exergaming is increasing; however, there is no research on practicing physical education teachers' implementation in the United States. Studies indicate that physical educators…

This study explored the effectiveness of a stretching program on hamstring extensibility among Latino high school students in a physical education (PE) setting. Students, aged 13 to 15, in five required PE classes were assigned to either an experimental group (n = 60) or a control group (n = 42). Experimental students performed a 3-min stretching…

Music is a pervasive presence in society and is routinely used to influence human behavior in a variety of settings and for a variety of purposes including exercise behaviors and physical education (PE) classes. However, little evidence exists to support what effect, if any, music has on learner outcomes in PE. The effects that playing music…

The purpose of this study was to identify current practices for the delivery of exercise physiology content at the undergraduate level. An anonymous 22-item survey was sent to instructors of exercise physiology to collect information concerning the structure of course offerings and instructional practices. One hundred ten instructors responded to…

A study found that college students may have a misplaced confidence in their ability to assess their own fitness and plan their own exercise programs. Results indicate that a lecture-laboratory course does improve the knowledge level of students and seems to improve their confidence in exercise planning. (JN)

Conceptual physical education (CPE) courses are typically included in university course work to provide students knowledge and skills to engage in physical activity for life. The purpose of this study was to identify CPE course characteristics that contributed to positive and negative student perceptions. Participants included 157 undergraduates…

Physical education teachers can help obese children develop effective movement patterns while encouraging an active lifestyle. Teachers should be familiar with: (1) the impact of obesity on children's physical and mental health; (2) the importance of exercise for weight control; and (3) implications for the physical education program. (PP)

The low level of fitness in junior-high school students is an area of great concern. An important, but misunderstood, part of the physical education curriculum is the development of aerobic fitness. What is the best way to go about developing aerobic fitness? Four groups of primarily Caucasian (79.9%) Grade 8 and 9 students (n = 144), attending a…

Examined the effect of specialized teaching strategies to increase amounts of time spent in the training zone on middle school physical education students. Students' heart monitor data were compared with data from an earlier study without the teaching strategies. More students from the second study were within the training zone. (SM)

This study compared fitness outcomes of regular physical education (PE) programs to special PE programs that implemented a curricular module. Fifth and seventh graders who were exposed to the fitness module did not make significantly greater gains in selected fitness scores than students who participated in regular PE programs. (SM)