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For many years, pedagogical scholars and physical education (PE) teachers have worked to enhance effective teaching and learning environments. Yet for some children, youth, and young adults, many of the benefits associated with a physically active lifestyle remain elusive. Enhancing programming and performance to meet physical activity goals may require moving programsbeyond“effective.” It will require teachers and program leaders to focus programmatic attention on strategies to actually increase students’ out-of-class physical activity behavior. Transformative PE provides physical activity content within a nurturing and motivating environment that can change students’ lives. It focuses on PE students’ role in cognitive decision making, self-motivation, and their search for personal meaning that can add connection and relevance to physical activities. In this SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical EducatorsResearch Quarterly for Exercise and SportLecture, I have synthesized the research on these topics to emphasize useful findings applicable to teachers’ everyday planning and teaching. Using sport, physical activity, dance, and adventure activities as the means to an end for personal and social growth, we can meet our commitment to effective standards-based education while preparing students for a lifetime of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Students’ prior knowledge plays an important role in learning new knowledge. In physical education (PE) and physical activity settings, studies have confirmed the role of students’ prior knowledge. According to Placek and Griffin, these studies demonstrate thatour students are not empty balls waiting to be filled with knowledge and skill (air) when they arrive at our gymnasium doors. Instead they come ready for action, each with her or his own conceptions (mental models) of activity in general and, more specifically, the focus of that particular unit, lesson, or skill.Currently, however, we have little understanding of how mental models are generated in PE and guide students’ understandings and activity choices. Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine third-grade students’ mental models of energy expenditure during exercise and identify the underlying conceptual structures from which they were generated. Method: Forty-five third-grade students were interviewed during their regular PE class on their understanding of energy expenditure during exercise. Interviews were analysed using descriptive and axial coding to examine emerging categories and themes. Trustworthiness of data was established through the use of five strategies: (a) the adoption of research methods well established, (b) random sampling, (c) background, qualifications and experience of interviewers, (d) negative case analysis and (e) peer review. Results: Data revealed two mental models of energy expenditure during exercise. In the first mental model, students believe that ‘When you exercise, you lose your energy and when you are out of energy, you have to stop and rest to get your energy back.’ Energy expenditure during exercise is understood as an on/off process. Contrary, students in the second mental model believe that ‘When you exercise, you lose your energy but you can manage your energy expenditure depending on your pace (concept of intensity).’ Energy expenditure is understood as a dimmer switch process. These mental models are generated by underlying conceptual structures. Conclusion: Results are discussed related to (a) previous studies on students’ mental models and (b) the role of students’ prior knowledge in PE and physical activity settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This commentary uses the lens of curricular implementation to consider issues and opportunities afforded by the papers in this special edition. While it is interesting to envision innovative approaches to physical education, actually implementing changes in the complex institutional school environment is exceptionally challenging. These authors have done an excellent job presenting viable solutions and fore grounding challenges. Yet, without a concerted effort to invite teachers to engage with us in this process, our implementation initiatives may not enhance the meaningful and educative process that these scholars envision for physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on a study which examines the predictors for lifelong physical activity participation. The study reveals that one of the most reliable predictors for students who are likely to engage in physical activity even after graduation is early physical activity experiences. It emphasizes that students will develop lifetime physical activity choices if the teacher inculcates its usefulness, acquisition of skills and knowledge and enjoyment in their lessons.

The article presents an evaluation of study concerning the definition of learning as a conceptual change physical activity settings and physical education. It mentions that the concept opens up opportunity for learners' to explore their understandings on factors that influence their behavior choices and decision making. In effect, understanding of conceptual change may lead to a meaningful construction of knowledge about health, performance, and the role of physical activity in creating one's personal active lifestyle.

Student achievement motivation has become a complex construct in physical education because of the competitive nature of sports and physiological discomfort associated with exercising. With updated national standards, physical education has been undergoing a long-deserved curriculum reform that is expected to enhance student motivation by addressing personal, instructional, and curricular influences on students' intent to continue a physically active lifestyle. In this article, the authors summarized findings from research on 2 major achievement motivation constructs in physical education (rather than sports): achievement goals and interests. The authors also attempted to interpret the findings in relation to students' learning knowledge and skills in physical education. Advances made and issues evolved in the research were conceptualized, critiqued, and interpreted in the dynamics of teaching and learning. During the process, the authors further examined the efficacy of the findings and potential contribution of motivation research to the much-needed curriculum reform in physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In social constructivist educational theory, the classroom is seen as a community of learners. According to social constructivists, learning occurs through peer interactions, student ownership of the curriculum and educational experiences that are authentic for students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers used social constructivist strategies to encourage student construction of knowledge and meanings, and how students constructed knowledge and meanings in two middle school physical education classrooms. A qualitative naturalistic design was used to collect data over a five-month period with two experienced middle school physical education teachers. Data included 11 weeks of observational field notes and interviews with teachers and students. Data were analyzed using cross-case and inductive analysis. Findings indicated that the teachers' strategies created a learning environment in which students actively constructed knowledge and meanings by making connections to their peers and by connecting physical education to their lives, their communities, and the real world. Students shared information, assumed leadership and responsibility, and became decision-makers. By connecting to their peers, students felt supported in their learning. This study offers additional findings in support of social constructivist pedagogy in physical education that encourages individual growth and social awareness in communities of learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing trusting relationships between teachers and students in urban secondary schools everywhere is a challenging task that is essential to maintaining an effective learning environment. Trust involves a fragile web of relationships nurtured through positive daily interactions. We examined strategies that US urban high school teachers used to encourage hard-to-teach students to comply with school and class rules and engage in learning. Based on recommendations of these alienated students, we interviewed 18 teachers and observed four of their classes regularly for 4 months. We examine themes supporting an emerging theoretical framework of educational trust. Teachers encouraged their marginalized students to participate in learning by creating a curriculum and class environment that permitted many opportunities for engagement, provided positive interactions, encouraged the development of shared curriculum, and fostered student ownership. These features provided the foundation for educational trust based on themes of shared expectations, persistence, commitment, and voice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effectiveness of Sport for Peace, an urban high school physical education curriculum reform initiative to enhance student engagement and willingness to interact positively with others. Use three-phase research design; Results suggesting that the curricular structure fostered shared responsibility for learning, trust, respect, and a sense of family.

Critiques the circumstances often found in sport-based physical education and reports on the use of an innovative approach to team-sport curriculum aimed at enhancing girls' levels of engagement and satisfaction in urban high school physical education. Girls' experiences in multi-activity team sport classes; Girls' experiences within a context of alienation and disengagement.

Focuses on educational value orientations which reflect teachers' philosophical beliefs about schooling which serve as the basis on which teachers make their decisions. What the subsequent examination of the representativeness of the statment led to; Purpose of the investigation.

Presents a study which was conducted to determine how the perceptions and actions of boys and girls influenced students' construction of realities in secondary school physical education in the United States. How data was analyzed; Reproduction of traditionally dominant forms of femininity and masculinity by students; Concept of gender in sports.

Describes physical educators' value orientations for curricular decision making in urban and rural teaching settings. Role of beliefs in curricular decision making; Priority on self-actualization and social responsibility; Differences in school contexts in urban and rural schools.

Discusses the domain specifications and content representativeness of the revised value orientation inventory (VOI) for physical education teachers. VOI revision process; Disciplinary mastery; Learning process; Self-actualization; Ecological integration; Social reconstruction.

The purpose of this study was to model expert judgment in test and instrument development using the many-faceted Rasch model. A 150-item value orientation inventory-2 (VOI-2) assessing the value of physical education curriculum goals was developed and evaluated by 128 university educators and 103 school-based physical educators. The experts were asked to rate the consistency of each item to represent one part of the broad curriculum goals using a 5-point rating scale. The many-faceted Rasch model was used to calibrate the rating scores, and 6 facets -- gender, ethnicity, employment type, rater, content area, and item -- were defined. Severity and consistency of the experts' judgments were examined and corrected before being applied to item evaluation. Further, the impact of group membership on expert judgment was examined. Items were then evaluated based on their logit scores and the consistency of their performance. Results suggest that most VOI-2 items were content domain representative and the raters were truly experts. The many-faceted Rasch model demonstrates a psychometrically appropriate technique for applying expert judgment in test development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore and reveal naïve conceptions and misconceptions about energy embedded in elementary school students’ prior knowledge. Students’ performance on standardized knowledge test was used to classify students into low, median and high levels of knowledge about the cardiovascular system. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with students in each group to extract their understanding of energy in relation to food choices, physical activities, and exercises. Analysis of the interview data generated six categories of naïve conceptions and two categories of misconceptions. Different conceptual change theories, including Chi’s ontological change theory, Ohlsson’s resubsumption theory, and enculturation theory were used to analyze and understand these naïve conceptions and misconceptions and why they could be robust to change. The analyses confirm the need to adopt a multi-theoretical approach to the understanding of students’ naïve conceptions and misconceptions (Chinn & Samarapungavan, 2009. Conceptual change-multiple routes, multiple mechanisms: A commentary on Ohlsson. Educational Psychologist, 44(1), 1-10). The findings encourage physical and health educators adopt different strategies to address the potential learning obstacles brought by students’ naïve conceptions and misconceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which was conducted to investigate situational and personal contextual factors that teachers and students reported enhanced or minimized students' educational engagement in urban high school physical educational classes. What personal context factors included; Details on the study's findings.

The curriculum may superimpose a content-specific context that mediates motivation (Bong, 2001). This study examined content specificity of the expectancy-value motivation in elementary school physical education. Students' expectancy beliefs and perceived task values from a cardiorespiratory fitness unit, a muscular fitness unit, and a traditional skill/game unit were analyzed using constant comparison coding procedures, multivariate analysis of variance, x2 and correlation analyses. There was no difference in the intrinsic interest value among the three content conditions. Expectancy belief attainment, and utility values were significantly higher for the cardiorespiratory fitness curriculum. Correlations differentiated among the expectancy- value components of the content conditions, providing further evidence of content specificity in the expectancy-value motivation process. The findings suggest that expectancy beliefs and task values should be incorporated in the theoretical platform for curriculum development based on the learning outcomes that can be specified with enhanced motivation effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expectancy-Value Questionnaire (EVQ) measures student expectancy beliefs and task values of the domain content (Eccles & Wigfield, 1995).In this study the authors examine measurement invariance of EVQ in the domain of physical education between elementary and middle-school students. Participants included 811 students (3rd–5th grades) from 13 elementary and 903 (6th–8th grades) from 13 middle schools. Students completed the EVQ in their physical education classes within the same semester. A series of hierarchical steps for testing the measurement invariance were conducted based on means and covariance structures. The results suggest that the questionnaire possesses configural and metric invariance, but noninvariant item intercepts between these two groups of students (∆CFI > .05). EVQ can be used to measure expectancy-value constructs in physical education for both middle-school and elementary students. Yet the noninvariant item intercepts posted questions on how the measured construct difference should be interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The curriculum may superimpose a content-specific context that mediates motivation (Bong, 2001). This study examined content specificity of the expectancy-value motivation in elementary school physical education. Students' expectancy beliefs and perceived task values from a cardiorespiratory fitness unit, a muscular fitness unit, and a traditional skill/game unit were analyzed using constant comparison coding procedures, multivariate analysis of variance, X2, and correlation analyses. There was no difference in the intrinsic interest value among the three content conditions. Expectancy belief attainment, and utility values were significantly higher for the cardiorespiratory fitness curriculum. Correlations differentiated among the expectancy-value components of the content conditions, providing further evidence of content specificity in the expectancy-value motivation process. The findings suggest that expectancy beliefs and task values should be incorporated in the theoretical platform for curriculum development based on the learning outcomes that can be specified with enhanced motivation effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been demonstrated that situational interest in physical activity may derive from five dimensional sources, Novelty, Optimal Challenge, Attention Demand, Exploration Intent, and Instant Enjoyment. The purpose of this study was to examine the multidimensional sources in elementary school physical education. The five dimensions were measured in 5,717 students in third, fourth, and fifth grades from a random sample of 30 elementary schools. Students' responses were randomly divided into two samples for a two-step confirmatory factor analysis. The results confirmed that the five dimensions are primary sources of situational interest for elementary school physical education. The findings implied that situational interest should be taken into account as a necessary curricular component in elementary physical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructivist physical education emphasizes cognitive engagement. This study examined the impact of a constructivist curriculum on in-class physical activity. Caloric expenditure in metabolic equivalents (MET) and vector magnitude count (VM) data from a random sample of 41 constructivist lessons were compared with those from a random sample of 35 nonconstructivist lessons. Statistical analyses revealed that students in both curriculum conditions were active at a similarly low-moderate level (MET = 2.6 for experimental, 2.5 for comparison, p = .30). Differences (p < .05) were found between the three units within the constructivist curriculum. The findings suggest that the constructivist approach may facilitate knowledge learning with little risk of reducing in-class physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructivist physical education emphasizes cognitive engagement. This study examined the impact of a constructivist curriculum on in-class physical activity. Caloric expenditure in metabolic equivalents (MET) and vector magnitude count (VM) data from a random sample of 41 constructivist lessons were compared with those from a random sample of 35 nonconstructivist lessons. Statistical analyses revealed that students in both curriculum conditions were active at a similarly low-moderate level (MET = 2. 6 for experimental, 2.5 for comparison, p = .30). Differences (p < .05) were found between the three units within the constructivist curriculum. The findings suggest that the constructivist approach may facilitate knowledge learning with little risk of reducing in-class physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]