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To evaluate the influence of scientifically based curricula intended for the physical education (PE) classroom, researchers should consider fidelity, or the extent to which teachers who are implementing a PE curricular intervention adhere to the model of curriculum and instruction inherent in the research design. The purpose of this study was to assess PE teachers' fidelity of implementation as they implemented a research-based PE curricular intervention and to examine the relationship between teachers' fidelity to the curricular intervention and student outcomes. Six teachers from three middle schools taught one 20-lesson unit from a PE intervention to their sixth grade students. Teachers' fidelity of implementation was documented using nonparticipatory observations. Students' knowledge acquisition was measured on a standardized knowledge test prior to and after the 20-lesson unit. Students' physical activity intensity levels were measured on lesson observation days using accelerometers. Multiple regression with fidelity score as the predictor and knowledge acquisition as the criterion variable indicated that teachers' fidelity scores accounted for a large portion of variance in student knowledge growth (R² = .79, adj R² = .74, p < .05). Approximately 48% of all observed lesson time involved moderate to vigorous physical activities. Based on the findings from this research, it appears the more faithful teachers are to teaching research-based curricula as designed, the greater the impact the curricula can have on student achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that interest in knowledge facilitates students' academic achievement in learning. Because individual interest is often based on how much one knows, in other words existing or prior knowledge, studying adolescents' interest in health-enhancing physical activity and its benefits should address the relation between the interest and their existing or prior physical activity knowledge. Understanding this relationship may help us facilitate students to not only develop interest in knowing more about but also actual adopt a healthy, active lifestyle. This study used a large-sample structural equation design to identify the relationship between middle school students' interest in physical activity knowledge and their prior physical activity knowledge, and to assess the change of this relationship over time. Guided by the declarative-procedural knowledge framework, latent growth models were developed and tested on data collected from a random sample of 3882 students from ten middle schools. The latent growth curve model indicated that, 1) on average, students experienced a significant interest decline in both procedural and declarative knowledge; 2) prior knowledge helped slow the decline and facilitated interest growth in knowledgeable students. The results suggest that existing knowledge determined the interest change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]