This study was designed to explore the relationships among individuals’ dispositional ability conceptions, intrinsic motivation, experience, perceived competence, persistence, and performance. Participants practiced a novel task, completed surveys before instruction and after practicing the task, and completed a skill test. The results indicated that participants with higher levels of entity ability conceptions were likely to exert less effort and be less intrinsically motivated during practice. Participants with more experience were likely to feel more competent before and after practice. Perceived competence, incremental ability conceptions, and performance were positive predictors of intrinsic motivation. The results suggest that providing students opportunities to experience a variety of activities and creating an environment in which students can feel competent, believe in the efficacy of effort, and experience success could foster intrinsic motivation to actively engage in activities.

Feedback is considered an important teaching function and researchers in sport pedagogy have shown interest in verifying this importance to achievement in physical education. This review paper examines the feedback research in physical education and discusses factors which might help explain some inconsistencies. The essential role of teacher feedback in motor-skill learning is questioned.

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The effects of augmented feedback on perceptions of ability (SPA), practice behaviors, and performance during motor skill instruction of a novel task were investigated. Fourth-grade students (N = 103) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) no feedback; (b) motivational feedback; (c) task feedback; or (d) motivation and task feedback. They then practiced simple and complex cupstacking skills. On a relatively simple task, the type of feedback did not have a significant effect on children's SPA, practice behaviors, or performance; but on a more complex task, differential effects of feedback were evident. Results indicate that informational feedback is an important factor in facilitating student engagement, fostering positive perceptions of ability, and ultimately improving performance on a challenging task.

This paper presents a model of student thinking and behavior that depicts students as active participants in the classroom who affect classroom events as much as they are affected by them. Research evidence suggests students’ entry characteristics and their initial beliefs, attitudes, and values concerning school and physical education are influenced by the students’ social and cultural landscape. These variables shape students’ thoughts about what physical education is or should be, what their roles as students should be, how they should approach the content offered, and what their chances of success might be. Although student attributes and beliefs help shape initial acceptance of and interactions with the content and processes of instruction, there are things teachers can do to enhance the quality of students’ learning. The environment can influence student perceptions by promoting challenge, emphasizing mastery, and offering opportunities to engage in tasks that are meaningful and valued.