This article focuses on a comparative analysis of traditional Physical Education games and experiential learning on the part of teacher candidates enrolled in an Ontario Faculty of Education and one in Southwest China. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) partnership grant for research on Reciprocal…

This study investigated the effects of group play on communication skills in upper primary students. A quasi-experimental method for evaluation and comparison of communication development was adopted, and two classes of fifth-grade female students were randomly selected. They were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group.…

When discussing the game of dodgeball, people usually discuss it with fond memories and excitement for the thrill that came from the game. Then there were those who strongly disliked it for reasons that it was embarrassing, hurtful, and just not fun. The game of dodgeball has been played by many students in their physical education (PE) classes,…

This paper reports on research framed as a strengths-based appreciative inquiry (AI) into the use of a game sense (GS) approach for sport and games teaching in physical education (PE). The aim of this research was to find the elements which sustain teachers in the use of a GS approach. This is particularly pertinent given strong advocacy for GS as…

Background: Obesity and physical inactivity are serious public health concerns in the United States (US) and globally. COVID-19 restrictions are resulting in decreased physical activity (PA) levels among children. Purpose: To determine barriers and challenges to PA promotion among children during COVID-19 and inform a PA promotion video. Methods:…

The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the extended use of student-designed games. 207 students (grades: eight, nine, eleven) from one school participated. They were randomly divided in Experimental (student-designed games) and Equivalent group (traditional instruction). Both experienced the same learning units (two, 12 sessions) over the…

This paper explores the tacit expert knowledge and understanding about games curriculum and pedagogy of three men, Len Almond, David Bunker, and Rod Thorpe, credited as the founders of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model. The model emerged from teacher practice in the late 1970s and was little theorized at the time, apart from a…

Background: In the 1970s and 1980s, there was considerable discussion about the potential of student-designed games to help students develop a more refined and deeper understanding of games. Unfortunately, despite these sophisticated conversations, there has been limited empirical research on the effectiveness of student-designed games,…

This Amy Morris Homans Lecture illustrates and interprets the philosophical meanings behind changing movement patterns in the field of physical education, examining the foreign gymnastic or formal era (1820s to the early 20th century), the natural movement era (1900 through the 1930s), and the present period of change, also called the discipline…