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…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the effects of a differential-learning program, embedded in small-sided games, on the creative and tactical behavior of youth soccer players. Forty players from under-13 (U13) and under-15 (U15) were allocated into control and experimental groups and were tested using a randomized pretest to posttest…

Purpose: This feasibility study compared the effects of 2 movement programs, traditional and mastery climate (i.e., the Children's Health Activity Motor Program [CHAMP]), on lesson context and children's physical activity (PA) levels. A secondary aim was to examine sex differences in PA levels in both programs. Method: Seventy-two preschoolers…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to know whether an intervention using an adaptation of the teaching games for understanding approach (named teaching races for understanding [TRfU]) led participants to improve skill execution, decision making, race performance, race involvement, race knowledge, enjoyment, intention to continue practicing…

Purpose: As the scope of motor development and learning knowledge has successfully broadened over the years, there is an increased need to identify the content and learning experiences that are essential in preparing preservice physical educators. The purpose of this study was to generate expert consensus regarding the most critical motor…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a content knowledge (CK) workshop on the enacted pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teachers and in turn the effects on student learning. Method: A quasiexperimental design was used to examine 4 questions: (a) How does student learning differ as a function of PCK? (b) How does…

Fundamental motor skills (e.g., run, jump, catch, and throw) are essential building blocks for more advanced and context-specific skills. Children with these motor skills are able to function independently while learning and exploring their environment. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) "Active Start"…

The effectiveness of a global learning strategy on the skill level attained in one closed primary motor task and two related ones was investigated. Eighty university students were randomly assigned to groups using either a content-dependent or content-independent strategy. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

A review and commentary on the previous article discusses the effects of stabilized retinal images on performance and the perceptual organization of a patterned skill. Future research on distribution-of-practice is considered. (JD)

Examines developmental differences of modeling and verbal rehearsal on children's performance of a sequential motor task. Results indicate that for facilitating motor skill acquisition in elementary school children verbal rehearsal strategies may be needed to supplement a visual model to help them selectively attend to relevant task components and…

Further commentary on distributed practice and the acquisition of motor skills points out that there are at least two viable theoretical perspectives that can be brought to bear on issues surrounding the acquisition of perceptual-motor skills. (JD)

There is strong evidence that massed practice depresses performance and learning when learning is assessed by absolute retention measures. This finding is discussed relative to other literature on distribution of practice as well as recent issues in motor learning. (JD)

The effectiveness of three teaching styles in promoting motor skill acquisition and social skill development were examined in 96 fifth-grade students. Styles B, C, and E from Mosston's "Spectrum of Teaching Styles" appeared to be beneficial in helping students learn motor skills. (CJ)

Aspects of information feedback and practice conditions were studied to gain insight into processes underlying the observational learning of motor skills. A major purpose was to test whether subjects observing a practice variability strategy would perform better than those observing a model practicing under constant conditions. (Authors/PP)

The effects of practice on the bilateral transfer of complex dance movement patterns were studied by having subjects learn two sequences under eight different conditions. Results indicate that teachers have been correct in expecting students to transfer movements bilaterally (from one side to the other) but should teach to the nonpreferred side.…