Purpose: This study examined changes in common content knowledge (CCK) among preservice teachers in tennis and volleyball over time from entry to completion of physical education teacher education (PETE) programs in a convenient sample in the United States. Method: Six PETE programs for tennis and five for volleyball were the sites of the study. Participants (tennis n = 245; volleyball n = 238) were preservice teachers who had just entered a PETE program and who finished the first, second, and third years in a PETE program (sophomores and juniors). A demographic background survey and valid and reliable tennis and volleyball CCK tests were the instruments used for the study. Results: Descriptive statistics showed that preservice teachers scored well below the expected level of CCK (80%) in both content areas across the years. Discussion/Conclusion: PETE programs need to do a better job of teaching CCK.
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Preservice Teachers’ Content Knowledge in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs
Emi Tsuda, Phillip Ward, José A. Santiago, Peter Hastie, Insook Kim, Bomna Ko, and Junyoung Kim
Training and Game Loads Across Noncongested and Congested Weekly Microcycles During the Regular Season in a Semiprofessional Women’s Basketball Team
Cody J. Power, Jordan L. Fox, Masaru Teramoto, Vincent J. Dalbo, and Aaron T. Scanlan
Purpose: To quantify and compare loads encountered in individual training sessions and games during noncongested and congested weeks in semiprofessional women basketball players. Methods: Using an observational, longitudinal design, 12 players from the same team had their external (PlayerLoad, relative PlayerLoad, and total and high-intensity inertial movement analysis variables) and internal load (session rating of perceived exertion [sRPE], sRPE-load, percentage of heart rate peak, and modified summated-heart-rate-zones load) monitored across a regular season. Training and game data were categorized into noncongested (0–1 game) and congested weeks (2–3 games). Linear mixed models and Cohen d effect sizes were used for analyses. Results: Comparisons between training sessions revealed higher (P < .05, d = 1.35–5.33) PlayerLoad, total inertial movement analysis, sRPE, and sRPE-load during training session 1 than training session 2 in congested weeks. Comparisons between training sessions and games revealed higher (P ≤ .001, d = 1.10–1.66) sRPE and sRPE-load during games than training sessions 1 and 2 in noncongested weeks, alongside higher (P ≤ .001, d = 1.87–3.55) sRPE during game 1 than training sessions 1 and 2 in congested weeks. Comparisons between games revealed higher (P < .05, d = 0.57–2.82) loads in game 3 during congested weeks compared with all other games. Conclusions: Training appeared to be tapered in congested weeks, likely to account for upcoming increases in game loading, but remained relatively consistent across sessions during noncongested weeks. Individual game loads remained relatively consistent but were noticeably increased when a third game was played in the week.
Volume 41 (2024): Issue 4 (Oct 2024)
Countermovement Jump and Isometric Strength Test–Retest Reliability in English Premier League Academy Football Players
Matthew Springham, Nav Singh, Perry Stewart, Jordan Matthews, Ian Jones, Charlie Norton-Sherwood, Dominic May, Jamie Salter, Anthony J. Strudwick, and Joseph W. Shaw
Purpose: To examine the test–retest reliability of countermovement jump (CMJ) and isometric strength testing measures in elite-level under-18 and under-23 academy football players. Methods: A total of 36 players performed 3 maximal CMJs and isometric abductor (IABS), adductor (IADS), and posterior chain (IPCS) strength tests on 2 separate test days using dual force plates (CMJ and IPCS) and a portable strength testing device (IABS and IADS). Relative (intraclass correlation coefficient) and absolute (coefficient of variation, standard error of the measurement, and minimal detectable change [MDC%]) reliabilities for 34 CMJ, 10 IABS, 10 IADS, and 11 IPCS measures were analyzed using between-sessions best, mean, and within-session methods. Results: For all methods, relative reliability was good to excellent for all CMJ and all IADS measures and poor to good for all IABS and IPCS measures. Absolute reliability was good (ie, coefficient of variation < 10%) for 27 (best) and 28 (mean) CMJ variables and for 6 (IABS and IADS) and 2 (IPCS) isometric measures. Commonly used CMJ measures (jump height, eccentric duration, and flight-time:contraction-time ratio) had good to excellent relative reliability and an MDC% range of 14.6% to 23.7%. Likewise, commonly used isometric peak force measures for IABS, IADS, and IPCS had good to excellent relative reliability and an MDC% range of 22.2% to 26.4%. Conclusions: Commonly used CMJ and isometric strength measures had good test–retest reliability but might be limited by their MDC%. Rate-of-force-development measures (for all isometric tests) and impulse measures (IPCS) are limited by poor relative and absolute reliability and high MDC%. MDC% statistics should be considered in the context of typical responsiveness.
Volume 19 (2024): Issue 10 (Oct 2024)
Volume 43 (2024): Issue 4 (Oct 2024)
Longitudinal Analysis of Race-Management Strategies in a World-Class 200-m Freestyle Swimmer: A Case Study
Camille Loisel, Robin Pla, and Ludovic Seifert
Purpose: To investigate race-management strategies over a longitudinal case study of one of the world’s best female swimmers of the 200-m freestyle to understand if only 1 race-management strategy allowed her to succeed or whether several profiles have been used over the 8 years of analysis. Methods: Different race-management strategies within and between 50-m laps emerged from cluster analysis. To better explain race management, additional characteristics described the level of adversity, the level of competition, the performance outcome, and the type of race. Results: Two strategies of race management between laps have been used, and both allowed her to succeed in her career. The first was characterized by a fast start and a greater decrease of the speed between laps, whereas the second exhibited a more stable speed management. When those strategies were examined in relation to the level of competition and the level of adversity, it appeared that the first strategy was used more in international competitions and associated with higher time intervals between the studied swimmer and the direct rivals, while the second one was used more in national competitions and associated with lower time intervals. Conclusions: Findings suggested that this top elite swimmer did not adhere to a single “ideal” race-management strategy. Instead, she demonstrated flexibility and the ability to adapt her race management to contextual factors throughout her career, effectively controlling adversity. This highlights the importance of including adversity analysis in race-management studies.
Bodily Uncertainty, Precarious Body: An Embodied Narrative of a Physical Education Teacher From an Autobiographical Perspective
Gustavo González-Calvo and Göran Gerdin
School physical education (PE) is influenced by different discourses that play a crucial role not only in the (re)production of PE practices but also in shaping teacher subjectivities. This paper aims to explore how a PE teacher responds to, lives, and negotiates his embodied professional subjectivity over time. To achieve this, we employ an autobiographical approach to delve into the first author’s life story of becoming and being a PE teacher over time, grappling with the unease generated by the knowledge that his body may have an “expiry date.” Through narrative analysis, we discuss and reflect on the complex experience of teaching a physical and corporeal subject such as PE, focusing on four themes: (1)reflecting his life as a PE teacher“the young, healthy and athletic body,” (2) “the uncertain body,” (3) “the precarious body,” and (4) “the shut-up and just-do-it body.”
Creating and Performing Educational Gymnastics Using Computational Thinking Skills
YuChun Chen and Lorraine A. Jacques
Purpose: This study examined how physical education majors used computational thinking (CT) skills in a movement concept course. Method: Twenty-two physical education majors were tasked to create two gymnastics routines (i.e., algorithm design), analyze their routines (i.e., decomposition and abstraction), create and follow a personalized fitness plan (i.e., abstract), revise the routines (i.e., debugging), and perform the routines at the end of the semester. Data were analyzed as a single case study with embedded units using structural coding. Results: The participants demonstrated strengths with debugging and algorithm design; however, they struggled with decomposition and abstraction, which was congruent with previous research regarding these two concepts as the most difficult and important CT skills to master. Discussion/Conclusions: The findings underscore the value of CT skills in a non-STEM (i.e., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) course, expending the instructional appropriateness to expose CT to undergraduate students with little to no interest or previous experience in STEM.
Global Industry Perspectives on Postgraduate Strength and Conditioning Degrees: An Exploratory Factor Analysis
Lachlan P. James, Charlie J. Davids, Scott W. Talpey, Minh Huynh, Maris Lidums, Matthew W. Driller, Vincent G. Kelly, and Paul B. Gastin
Purpose: This investigation sought to determine industry perceptions of postgraduate strength and conditioning (S&C) degrees to understand whether graduates are equipped for the demands of sport performance service roles. Methods: Survey data were collected from 111 participants employed as performance staff or in a role that recruits and supervises performance staff. The survey consisted of 3 main sections: (1) perceptions of career-development opportunities in S&C, (2) perception of S&C postgraduate programs, and (3) perceptions of employability in S&C. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the key factors considered to be of greatest relevance to career progression in S&C. Results: A 2-factor solution was achieved for each of the 3 sections, resulting in 6 total factors. These factors are Academic and Professional Development, Mentorship and Sport Diversity, Student Preparation, Require Greater Emphasis, Testing and Training, and Personal and Professional Growth. Conclusions: Postgraduate S&C programs require a broad range of placement/internship opportunities to (1) provide diverse experiences, (2) allow students to build contacts and develop professional networks, (3) gain exposure to working in high-performance environments and multidisciplinary teams, and (4) access high-quality mentors. Alongside the ability to deliver training and testing, graduates should be equipped with strong organizational and relationship-building skills. Improved graduate capabilities can raise the standards of the profession and result in enhanced service provision to athletes.