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ERIC Number: EJ976338
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0892-4562
EISSN: N/A
The Fair Play Game: Promoting Social Skills in Physical Education
Vidoni, Carla; Ulman, Jerome D.
Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, v25 n3 p26-30 Jan-Feb 2012
The implementation of social skills into teaching helps students achieve such important affective outcomes as peer recognition or popularity, respect for others, acceptance of rules, pro-social values, communication skills, and positive social interactions. Within physical education, many professionals believe that students who engage in games and physical activity automatically develop positive social behaviors. However, research has shown that students' development of social skills is not as incidental as many think. As with motor and cognitive skills, social skills need to be explicitly taught, reinforced, and promoted. Based on the "dependent group contingencies" literature, a point system strategy called the Fair Play Game was developed to promote positive behaviors and reduce inappropriate ones in physical education classes. The initial stages of this strategy focus on explicitly teaching and continuously reinforcing (e.g., contingent team points, praises, and performance feedback) the desired behaviors. The subsequent stages of the strategy focus on intermittent reinforcement of the behaviors until the teacher feels that students are able to perform the desired behaviors without the presence of any reinforcement. This strategy has been extended and replicated, and consistent results have been found in general, special, and physical education for several years. This article lays out the Fair Play Game and provides ideas that teachers can implement or modify to particular physical education contexts. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. 1900 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-213-7193; Fax: 703-476-9527; e-mail: info@aahperd.org; Web site: http://www.aahperd.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A