This article summarizes the research base on teacher effectiveness in physical education from a historical perspective and explores the implications of the recent emphasis on student performance and teacher observation systems to evaluate teachers for physical education. The problems and the potential positive effects of using student performance scores as well as establishing a comprehensive evaluation program are explored with supportive evidence that some level of accountability is necessary in our field to make significant change.

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The purpose of this article is to discuss the relationship between learning theories and teaching methodology from the perspective of the researcher and the teacher. All teaching methodologies have their roots in particular learning theories. Teaching methodologies are discussed in terms of the learning theories upon which they are founded. Learning theories are discussed in terms of their assumptions and the issues which divide them. A case is made that researchers need to validate the treatment not only in terms of the methodology the teacher uses but the learning process experienced by the learner. If it is the process which produces particular kinds of learning, then teachers need to be knowledgeable about the assumed learning processes of a teaching method and be able to observe for and teach for that process.

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Interest in alternative models for gamestsport instruction has increased in recent years. Recent research has compared tactical approaches to gamestsport instruction with more skill-oriented approaches (Gabriele

This study investigated the effects of direct instruction and an environmentally designed instructional strategy on the product and process characteristics of kindergarten and second grade children in the standing long jump. One hundred and sixteen kindergarten and second grade students participated in the study and were assigned to a 3-day, 60-trial, direct instruction group or a 3-day, 60-trial, environmentally designed instruction group. A pretest, posttest, and retention test were administered in a flat mat testing condition and one designed to elicit performance through the testing environment (the swamp). Both instructional intervention groups were different from the control group at the posttest and the retention test. Younger students, less skilled students, and students tested at the pretest benefited most from the environmental testing condition. With age, skill, and experience the environmental testing condition lost its advantage. The instructional interventions had different effects on the process characteristics of the jump.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in knowledge representation and problem solutions in expert and novice youth baseball players. Ninety-four players in two age divisions, 7-8 years of age and 9-10 years of age, were assigned to three levels of expertise: high; average; and low skilled. Each subject participated in an interview session to elicit knowledge representation and solutions to five different defensive game situations. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for content, solution to the problem, errors in problem solution, and qualitative trends. The frequency of advanced solutions to each of the five situations were analyzed in separate chi-square tests for age and expertise. Differences among the levels of expertise were found for the accuracy of solutions to three complex situations. Age was significant for only one situation. Patterns of knowledge content accessed during advanced and less advanced responses indicated both experts and novices were in a beginning stage of developing baseball knowledge structures. Errors in problem solutions indicated children had difficulty monitoring critical conditions and making correct inferences. Players' and teammates' ability to execute baseball skills seemed to influence the content and structure of tactical knowledge accessed during problem solution.

Birthed over a decade ago and built on a solid foundation of conceptual and empirical work in public health, the comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) model set the stage for a new and exciting chapter of physical activity promotion through schools. On the academic front, there has been much enthusiasm around the potential of CSPAPs to positively affect youth physical activity behaviors and trajectories. However, program uptake in schools has yet to take hold. This article examines the CSPAP model and proposes an illustrative supplement to enhance communication about its application. The authors begin by charting the model’s challenging contextual landscape and then highlight the model’s early successes in spite of such challenges. Subsequently, they turn their attention to limitations in the way the model is presented, which appear to undermine CSPAP advocacy, and focus on improving the messaging about CSPAPs as an immediate step toward increased implementation.