This article reflects on an instructor's experience of incorporating an optional assignment in a theology class wherein students are invited to learn a new athletic skill, journal while doing so, and then theologically reflect on their experience. It begins with the instructor making a case for the need to bring the body back into the classroom.…

Parents seek sustained intense "hands-on" therapy for their children based on a belief that "more is better." Since the core objective of evidence-based practice (EBP) is to do the right things, for the right child, at the right time, and to optimize intervention outcomes, it is vital to know what the literature says about how much therapy to…

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is frequently under-recognized, but in fact, it occurs in as many as 5-6% of children. DCD is a disorder of motor coordination that is not explained by intellectual disability or any congenital or acquired neurological disorder. Families seek physical and occupational therapy (OT) to ameliorate a child…

The aim is to describe the development of hand function in young adults with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP), who participated in a 2-week Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) camp 6 years earlier. Eleven participants, 16-21 years at follow-up, were assessed at three occasions during 2005 and once in 2011. At the 6-year follow-up, performance…

Movement variability in the golf swing has recently been identified as a priority for future research in golf science. Although this ubiquitous aspect of golf performance has featured in previous empirical investigations of the golf swing, it has tended to be subordinate and studied as an adjunct to other more conventional research questions.…

Although not the focus of her article, phonological development in young children with speech sound disorders of various types is highly germane to Stoel-Gammon's discussion (this issue) for at least two primary reasons. Most obvious is that typical processes and milestones of phonological development are the standards and benchmarks against which…

We argue that 4 fundamental gestalt phenomena in perception apply to the control of motor action. First, a motor gestalt, like a perceptual gestalt, is holistic in the sense that it is processed as a single unit. This notion is consistent with reaction time results indicating that all gestures for a brief unit of action must be programmed prior to…

This article presents ideas and suggestions from various physical educators regarding how the National Standards for Physical Education play a role in their daily PE program. One educator shares that in her middle school's physical education program, students who demonstrate competency in many movement forms (and proficiency in a few movement…

Since Piaget, the view that motor and cognitive development are interrelated has gained wide acceptance. However, empirical research on this issue is still rare. Few studies show a correlation of performance in cognitive and motor tasks in typically developing children. More specifically, Diamond A. (2000) hypothesizes an involvement of executive…

The study by Tefft et al. (2011, in this issue) is one of the few studies that have explored the impact of pediatric powered mobility on families. The parents who participated in their study reported increased satisfaction with their children's social and play skills, ability to move independently, sleeping patterns, and public perception of their…

M. J. Spivey, M. Grosjean, and G. Knoblich (2005) showed that in a phonological competitor task, participants' mouse cursor movements showed more curvature toward the competitor item when the competitor and target were phonologically similar than when the competitor and target were phonologically dissimilar. Spivey et al. interpreted this result…

"Learning can be defined as change in a student's capacity for performance as a result of experience" (Kenneth D. Moore). The intended changes should be specified in instructional objectives. Viewed in this context, an objective can be defined as a clear and unambiguous description of your instructional intent. An objective is not a…

This article presents the opinions of several professionals who were asked: "How important is activity in young children (preschool) to a lifetime of physical activity?" These professionals point out the importance of physical activity to young children.

In their comment on the tolerance-noise covariation (TNC) method for decomposing variability by H. Muller and D. Sternad (2003, 2004b), J. B. J. Smeets and S. Louw show that covariation (C), as defined within the TNC method, is not invariant with respect to coordinate transformations and contend that it is, therefore, meaningless. Although the…

This article presents the author's response to "Transfer or Specificity?" and reports a research that supports a strong case for a fundamental motor skill as a precursor to two sport specific skills as in Gallahue and Ozmun's (2002) theoretical model of motor development. Reported changes in performance of the overarm throw are…