Across the academic landscape, scientific organizations host conferences that enable researchers to come together to foster learning, stimulate innovation, and promote change. Within the diverse field of kinesiology, conferences can help develop and disseminate knowledge on a range of issues such as athlete development and coach education. The purpose of the present article is to discuss the possibilities of thinking beyond conventional conferencing formats by creating dynamic social learning spaces that promote networking, critical thinking, and reflexivity. The theory underpinning social learning spaces is explained, followed by a narrative chronology of the three phases of evolution of the blue room group, an interdisciplinary collaboration of youth sport scholars who aim to foster innovation across subdisciplines of kinesiology. An interpretative summary of the blue room group as a social learning space is presented, in accordance with the principles of caring to make a difference, engaging uncertainty, and paying attention. The perceived benefits of kinesiology, as well as the challenges and limitations of the blue room, are discussed based on the authors’ experiences operating within a continuously evolving and shifting social learning space.
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Using Social Learning Spaces to Think Beyond and Innovate Conventional Conferencing Formats
Fernando Santos, Martin Camiré, Scott Pierce, Dany J. MacDonald, Leisha Strachan, Tarkington Newman, Stewart Vella, and Michel Milistetd
The Lifetime Fitness Program: Structured Physical Activity for Older Adults and Meaningful Experiential Learning for Kinesiology Students
Emerson Sebastião, Ashley M. Morgan, Kaitlyn P. Pawelczyk, and Jonathon W. Senefeld
Physical activity is associated with improvements in both health and longevity and is highly recommended for older adults. Public health and nonprofit organizations have invested considerable efforts to promote physical activity among this population. The present manuscript describes the specifics of the first university-based adult fitness program (Lifetime Fitness Program) and how this program promotes healthy aging through physical activity while serving as an important venue for experiential learning among students. Thus, the goal of this paper is to provide a “road map” to guide strategies and methods to promote physical activity and healthy aging in an academic setting and provide students with meaningful experiential learning opportunities.
Effective Instruction and Curricular Models: What Do We Know About Student Learning Outcomes in Physical Education?
Pamela Hodges-Kulinna, Zach Wahl-Alexander, Kahyun Nam, and Christopher Kinder
This essay aims to elucidate effective teaching through the utilization of instructional models in physical education. In this essay, Rink’s seven essential teaching tasks provide the foundational structure, complemented by an examination of four legitimate student outcomes in physical education: physical, cognitive, social, and affective domains. A literature review of 222 research studies on teaching effectiveness of nine instructional models reporting on teacher behaviors and student outcomes was coded following a four-step reliability coding process to establish a consensus on the articles included. This essay serves as a resource for comprehending the application of instructional models in physical education curricula, highlighting the need for continuous research into their efficacy and the replication of studies to validate outcomes across various educational settings. In addition, it highlights the importance of integrating K–16 teacher assessment data within these models to demonstrate the educational impact across learning domains.
Erratum. Effective Instruction and Curricular Models: What Do We Know About Student Learning Outcomes in Physical Education?
Kinesiology Review
The History of Physical Activity Promotion in Physical Education and Suggestions for Moving Forward
Erin E. Centeio and Timothy A. Brusseau
Physical activity (PA) is an essential component of the physical education classroom, whether it is used to practice motor skills, increase motor competence, or provide experience and opportunities to nurture lifelong PA participation. This chapter outlines the history of PA in the school setting, beginning with physical education and expanding through a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program model including PA during the school day (e.g., recess and classroom-based activity), PA before and after school (including active commuting), staff involvement, and family and community engagement. We begin by discussing the theoretical underpinnings of PA in the school setting and then outline previous research around PA implications. Ideas and suggestions for how the field of physical education and PA in schools can move the field forward together to embrace PA during the school day while being culturally and socially just are presented. Finally, future directions and implications for research are discussed.
Sport and Exercise Psychology and Women’s Sport/Physical Activity Across Generations: Perspectives From Pre-Title IX Boomer Through Millennial to Post-Title IX Gen Z
Kira Borum, Erin J. Reifsteck, and Diane L. Gill
Our author team represents three distinct generations, including an early Baby Boomer senior scholar, a Millennial mid-career scholar-professional, and a recent Gen Z graduate student. All three of us have been involved in sport and exercise psychology (SEP) from a feminist and social justice perspective during our academic careers and have traversed the intersections of these disciplines in our SEP practice and scholarship. In our conversations, we discuss the evolution of women’s place in sport/physical activity and SEP over time and situate our experiences across varied generations and positionalities, including highlighting our connections to, and the unique role of, our home institution. In those conversations, we acknowledge the progress that has been made while recognizing the ways in which sport/physical activity and SEP remain contested spaces. We conclude with our reflections and thoughts on moving forward to address diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice for participants, practitioners, and scholars.
Continuing Professional Development in Physical Education: Future Directions and Lessons Learned
Ben D. Kern and Kevin Patton
Demand for supporting the delivery of high-quality physical education (PE) has never been more important, and continuing professional development (CPD) that results in changes in PE teachers’ practices and improvements in student learning outcomes is in short supply. PE-CPD has historically fallen short of meeting this end, though there are written descriptions of successful PE-CPD spanning the past 4 decades. In this paper, we examine shared features of effective PE-CPD, identify and review gaps in PE-CPD literature, and discuss lessons learned to enhance future efforts by policymakers and stakeholders responsible for designing, planning, and facilitating learning opportunities for physical educators. We conclude with a critical discourse challenging readers to consider the following four questions: (a) What is the purpose of CPD? (b) What is worth knowing regarding CPD? (c) What can be done to improve the quality and quantity of CPD? and (d) Who should be doing something about it?
Social Justice and Physical Education in the United States: The Need for New Maps
Dillon Landi and Sue Sutherland
This paper is a reflection, a critique, and, hopefully, an inspiration to think about how future generations can reshape physical education in the United States. To do so, we first pay homage to our pioneers, who, we argue, were transformative leaders because they used research to respond to the sociopolitical issues of their time. In saying this, we reflect on how these ideas from that time were critically important but have also been developed for a different time, place, and demographic of people. We then trace the social justice research in the United States by highlighting the promises and pitfalls of current scholarship because it often asks “tough questions” but provides “weak solutions.” To conclude, we believe that the future of physical education needs to be about allowing those “new voices” to become the future leaders of our field. In so doing, they will change the landscape of physical education knowledge, movement, and practices.
Policy and Advocacy in Physical Education: Looking Back, Looking Forward
Risto Marttinen and Aaron Beighle
In this paper, we provide an overview of physical education (PE) policy and advocacy research in the United States. We examine the past policy and advocacy work that has been completed in the field and make connections to international policy work. We examine the potential changes the future holds for developing scholarship in the area. We define policy and advocacy and explain how teachers as policy actors are key figures in any policy enacted. The paper also examines the relationship between PE and the public health arena, which completes a lot of PE-focused policy research. The paper concludes with a focus on PE teacher education and the work that higher education must do to help educate future professionals to be advocates for policy change.
