As a result of educational reforms in many countries, including Finland, new or renovated comprehensive schools have increasingly begun to incorporate open and flexible designs and principles. Multipurpose and adaptable open learning spaces can provide children with amplified opportunities to be physically active during general education.…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of inquiry-based instruction in the teaching of fundamental movement skills to fifth-grade students on the children's perceived motor competence. Utilizing a post-test experimental design with control group, the study was carried out with 260 fifth-grade students studying in ten different classes…

Few assessment tools have been designed to assess motor creativity, and the existing tools have limitations. To bridge this gap, the current study aimed at designing a new movement creativity assessment tool that considers the unique features underlying the expression of creativity through movement. A modified Delphi technique was used to collect…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how teachers describe ways they use movement in the classroom in order to discover benefits and limitations of using movement breaks when working with SPED students in two charter schools on the East Coast of the United States. The brain-based learning theory was used to explore how…

There are many reasons to teach dance as part of the broader curriculum. This article focuses on using dance as a way to foster critical thinking. In this conceptual article, I draw from the National Standards goals that were in line with my own framework of dance as uniquely engaging the three different sensory systems of exteroception,…

Drawing on more than two decades of experience refining this teaching process, as well as insights from two consecutive research studies of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's education work, this article presents best practice strategies for teaching choreography to elementary students in schools. The article outlines the rationale behind the Prepare,…

This article addresses postural awareness and efficiency as a fundamental but often overlooked aspect of movement training that falls naturally into the domain of HPERD pedagogical practice. Beginning with a brief overview and discussion on the anatomical "cost" of poor organization, the body of the article describes activities that can be…

In this paper I argue that the meaning of movement of which embodied knowing, somatic understanding and ecological subjectivity are central tenets, has not received due recognition in the current discourses of physical education. While the interest in the meaning and meaning-making of movement within the physical education discourse has existed…

The National Standards for Physical Education (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2004) and many state physical education standards include a standard that is focused on development of movement patterns, which includes rhythmic skills. The newly adopted Physical Education Model Content Standards for California Public Schools…

Physical education teachers enjoy the special privilege of guiding children to discover unique ways for expressing and communicating ideas, attitudes, thoughts, and emotions through movement. Creative dance lets children explore movement possibilities limited only by one's imagination. Individually and collectively, creative dance encourages…