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It was the purpose of this study to examine students’ perspectives on three teaching strategies. Seventy middle school students were interviewed, and they rank ordered the strategies. A constant comparison process guided the interview data analysis, while the rank order data were analyzed via descriptive statistics and a Friedman Analysis of Variance by Ranks. Two key concepts that influenced students’ perspectives on the effectiveness of the teaching strategies were their conceptions of the affective dimensions of each strategy and their knowledge beliefs.

A wide variety of instructional strategies have been identified for possible use in physical education. However, researchers have not been able to effectively compare the strategies and their effects on students and teachers. Nor have they been able to help teachers match strategies to given learning situations. The problems result from the lack of a widely accepted and useful model for the structure of instructional strategies. Such a model is proposed. According to this model, an instructional strategy has a macrostructure comprised of a series of eight different types of instructional steps in a particular sequence. Each step in an instructional strategy is further defined according to a number of variables, each of which has a particular value. The array of these values for an instructional strategy determines its micro-structure. Further study of the model is recommended to enhance its usefulness to teachers and researchers.

Guided by the Model of Domain Learning (MDL), the study was designed to explore the extent of interrelations among prior knowledge, learning strategies, interests, physical engagement, and learning outcomes in a sixth-grade (N = 91) volleyball unit. Pearson product-moment correlations and a path analysis were conducted for the research purpose. The results showed that students’ prior knowledge, learning strategies, and interests were interrelated. Physical engagement and learning outcomes were directly influenced by the interactions among prior knowledge, interests, and learning strategies. The findings in the study support that learning in physical education is domain-specific and a progressive process that encompasses both cognitive and affective components.

The Hurwitz Instructional Strategy Model (HISM) is applied to Mosston’s spectrum of styles. Each style is redefined as an instructional strategy, and appropriate objectives for each strategy are identified. The structures of the newly defined spectrum strategies are then described and analyzed. The analysis reveals that the styles as strategies can be grouped into three families of strategies: modeling, task, and inquiry. It is suggested that these families may be further expanded. The analysis also identifies a number of additional strategies hidden in the spectrum. It is concluded that the HISM is useful for analyzing instructional strategies and the analysis of the spectrum may enhance its usefulness.

The debate regarding the teaching of sport and games appears to be more complex than a matter of technical versus tactical approaches. The authors identify facets of the debate. One of these facets concerns the undifferentiated use of the terms tactics and strategy. The authors argue that these two concepts need to be clarified if decision-making and critical-thinking are to be encouraged on the part of the students. A framework is put forward for the analysis of the functioning of team sports. The framework includes: (a) an overview of the internal logic of team sports based on two essential features, the rapport of strength and the competency network; (b) an operational definition of strategy and tactics as they relate to the internal logic of team sports; and (c) nine principles underlying tactics and strategy and presented as potential guides for teachers and students in the teaching-learning of team sports and games.

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of two postlesson conferencing strategies on preservice teachers’ reflective practices. Fourteen PETE majors each taught three 30-minute lessons to classes of 9 to 13 learners. After each lesson, the preservice teachers conferenced with a trained supervisor under either a directive approach (teacher tell-student listen) or a collaborative approach (student tell–teacher listen/question). The participants then completed two written tasks, a significant event task, and a video-commentary task. In the collaborative approach, the preservice teachers expanded the scope of their reflections to encompass the technical skills of teaching and critical issues related to teaching and schooling. For the video-commentary assignment, the main focus of both groups’ responses was on technical aspects of teaching, and for the significant event assignment, the focus of the responses was on technical, situational, and sensitizing issues of teaching.

This study examined the effectiveness of social learning (SL) or structural developmental (SD) teaching strategies on the moral development of elementary-age students. Participants were 204 physical education students in Grades 4,5, and 6; three classrooms in each grade were randomly assigned to control, SL, or SD groups. Self-report measures assessed moral judgment, reason, and intention; teachers rated prosocial behavior. By mid- and postintervention class-level analyses, the SL and SD groups scored significantly higher than the control on moral judgment and/or intention; by postintervention, the SD group was significantly higher on moral reason. Mid- and postintervention student-level analyses showed that the SL and SD groups scored significantly higher on moral judgment, intention, and behavior; the SD group was significantly higher on moral reason. These results provide support for the effectiveness of both social learning and structural-developmental teaching strategies on the moral development of children in physical education.

The ability to think about why and what one does is vital to intelligent practice, practice that is reflective rather than routine (Dewey, 1904/1965; Richert,1991; Zeichner, 1987). This study describes how specific reflective pedagogical strategies influence preservice teachers to reflect on practice. Six junior physical education major were assigned to one of two groups: the Level 1 reflective group (LI-RG) or the Level 2 reflective group (LII-RG). Participants in the LI-RG completed new reflective assignments while the participants in the LII-RG completed the course’s regular reflective assignments. Data were collected through interviews, logs, and video commentaries and were analyzed using inductive analysis techniques. The reflective framework for teaching in physical education (RFTPE) was developed to describe the focus and levels of reflection by physical education teachers. The findings supported the positive influence of new pedagogical reflective strategies in promoting the reflective abilities of preservice teachers.

As part of a larger study, this paper describes teachers’ perspectives and strategies on including overweight and obese students (OWS) in instruction related to motor skill/game play and fitness development in physical education. Using the Social Ecological Constraints framework, a qualitative multicase study was conducted using multiple in-depth interviews, class observations, and artifacts from nine experienced and committed suburban middle school Physical Education teachers. Constant comparison was used to generate themes and trustworthiness procedures were used to confirm findings. Two types of strategies for including OWS in instruction were identified: First-order and Second-order. School resources, shared program goals, and beliefs about students and teaching were factors influencing teachers’ decisions and actions for teaching motor skill/game play and fitness content to OWS.