Explains the biomechanical principles that underpin the effective performance of the high/low recovery and sculling support strokes used in kayaking. Provides paddlers with some explanation of the actions that they intuitively make. Gives justification for the teaching points used in teaching these techniques. (KS)

A crucial task for sport research is to understand and explain the processes and conditions underlying skillful motor behavior. One way to account for these processes and conditions is to describe and analyze the distinct stages a learner goes through when acquiring a skill. This article starts by elaborating one of the most dominant…

Current models of psychological development rely heavily on connectionist models that use supervised learning. These models adapt network weights when the network output does not match the target outputs computed by some agent. The authors present a model of motor learning in which the child uses exploration to discover appropriate ways of…

We present a computational model that learns a coupling between motor parameters and their sensory consequences in vocal production during a babbling phase. Based on the coupling, preferred motor parameters and prototypically perceived sounds develop concurrently. Exposure to an ambient language modifies perception to coincide with the sounds from…

Integrating somatic practices into the dance technique class by bringing awareness to the bodily processes of breathing, sensing, connecting, and initiating can help students reconnect the mind with the body within the context of the classroom environment. Dance educators do not always have the resources to implement separate somatics courses…

Children with Asperger syndrome may frequently exhibit problems in the areas of social, behavioral, academic, motor, and sensory skills. Interventions are most effective if they are consistently implemented, use concrete information and visual structures, and utilize the assistance of parents, teachers, peers, and therapists.

In this article, the author states that people games and contests have always occupied a special place in the traditional physical training of the native people in northern Russia. This article is prepared on the basis of materials obtained as a result of expeditions conducted from 1990 through 1993 into Siberia's "Khanty-Mansyyski" and…

Failure to attain handwriting competency during the school-age years often has far-reaching negative effects on both academic success and self-esteem. This complex occupational task has many underlying component skills that may interfere with handwriting performance. Fine motor control, bilateral and visual-motor integration, motor planning,…

Children who do not develop a foundation of basic motor skills are less likely to participate in regular physical activity. An excellent way of teaching basic motor skills, as well as health-related fitness, is through gymnastics. Many young teachers, however, think that teaching gymnastics is too challenging and do not know how to incorporate it…

This new text offers a unique developmental focus on gender. Gender development is examined from infancy through adolescence, integrating biological, socialization, and cognitive perspectives. The book's current empirical focus is complemented by a lively and readable style that includes anecdotes about children's everyday experiences. The book's…

Initiatives in education reform emphasize inquiry-based active learning and real-world relevance to increase science literacy nationwide. Active teaching and learning approaches yield rapid intellectual development and may increase interest and motivation to learn science. Incorporating the topic of drug use with neuroscience, biology, psychology,…

In this paper I discuss why pedagogy knowledge and skills may be appropriate for kinesiology students who are not in teacher education programs. After briefly reviewing the changes that have occurred in undergraduate kinesiology and physical education programs, a case is made that students with a degree in kinesiology should have some knowledge of…

Autonomously developing organisms face several challenges when learning reaching movements. First, motor control is learned unsupervised or self-supervised. Second, knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies is acquired in contexts in which action consequences unfold in time. Third, motor redundancies must be resolved. To solve all 3 of these…

The validity generalization model of meta analysis is described and modified for application to concurrent validity studies of motor behavior. An example is presented. (Author/MT)

If physical educators maintain that affective objectives are both desirable and attainable through physical education, then they must understand psychosocial development and influence children in positive ways. An optimal challenge model uses observation, teacher behavior, and personal reflection in an attempt to educate the "whole…