No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study supported Schon's notions of reflective practice as being applicable to teachers involved in teaching physical activities in the context of unforgiving learning environments and specifically to teachers in the sport diving community. According to Schon, one's ability to recognize patterns and act effectively and efficiently in situations of uniqueness and uncertainty depends upon one's capacity to frame problems. In doing so, one draws upon a repertoire of past experience arid ways of capturing that experience which enables the development of the ability to reframe problems in light of information gathered from the direct experience. Reframing occurs through the processes of reflection-in-action and reflection-onaction and is a response to an internal dialogue related to the action setting, in which something has not happened as expected, thus producing a curious or intrigued response. A number of issues specific to teacher reflection in unforgiving learning environments emanated from the analysis of one sport diving teacher engaged in teaching an entry-level sport diving course which involved three different teaching environments (the classroom setting, the confined water [pool] and open water [ocean] environments). Three research questions guided the analysis. In answer to the first research question: What factors do sport diving practitioners reflect upon in each of the three environments? six reflective themes were identified in this case study with five being common across the three teaching environments and the remainder being specific to the classroom environment. The common themes were: a trusting relationship, the necessity of teacher control, to see the 'unforgivingness' of the environment, learning from one's practice, challenges to one's practice and understanding one's practice. In answer to the second research question: What influences the reflective process? the analysis revealed thirteen underlying or influencing factors or dispositions across the three teaching environments with eight of them being common to either two, or all three, of the environments. In answer to the third research question: What is the nature of sport diving practitioners' reflective practice? five categories have been used to address the analysis: 1) across environment related, 2) classroom and confined water (pool) related, 3) confined water (pool) and open water (ocean) related 4) classroom and open water (ocean) related and 5) specific to one environment. The reflection process documented in this study suggested that Schon's notion of reflective practice is very applicable to the professional development of sport diving as his conception of reflection applies to the three areas of teaching which exist in unforgiving learning environments: the problem solving disposition of teacher reflection, the learning from one's practice, and the probing of internal dialogue.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between divergent thinking and Schmidt's schema theory of motor learning in a population of first year University physical education students. / Problem solving teaching methodology was used as the intervention program in this study and the main sources of data were the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and tests of Schmidt's schema theory designed by the researcher. Descriptive data were used to explain the intervention program. / A mixed model analysis of variance was used to compare the pre-test and post-test performance on Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and the Pearson product-moment correlation technique was used to compare the results of the TTCT post-test and the Schmidt test. / Results showed minimal differences attributable to the intervention and no relationships between the two tests. Analysis of the descriptive data suggests several limitations to the intervention program and some suggestions for further research are offered.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether perceptions of cohesion served as a mediator between motivation and future participation (operationalized as intention to return). The participants were 162 intramural athletes participating in various team sport activities. Each participant completed a questionnaire that assessed cohesion (individual attractions to the group-task and-social; group integration-task and-social), motivation (amotivation, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, intrinsic motivation), and intention to return (using a one-item statement). The results found two mediational relationships: (a) individual attractions to the group-task served to mediate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and intention to return, (b) group integration-task served to mediate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and intention to return. A number of aspects related to the specific results are discussed.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of course frequency on attitudes of college students toward physical education. A secondary purpose was to establish the effects of fitness level on attitudes toward physical education. Finally, the interaction of course frequency and fitness level on attitudes toward physical education was to be identified.Students enrolled for PEG 124 (n = 97) served as subjects for this study. There were 68 male subjects and 29 female subjects. The three times a week course frequency had 42 subjects, whereas the two times a week course frequency had 55 subjects.Subjects completed an adaptation of Adam’s (162) survey on attitudes toward physical education the first week of class and the last week of class. To estimate each subjects fitness level, the Rockport Institute’s One-Mile Walk Test was administered.A 2x3x2 ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that course frequency, as well as fitness level, had no significant effect on attitudes toward physical education. Moreover, the interaction between course frequency and fitness level was non-existent. Further analysis did reveal that there was a significant change in attitudes from the pre-test attitude survey to the post-test attitude survey for the entire sample. However, this change could not be attributed to any of the variables that were analyzed in this study. There also was no statistically significant difference in attitudes toward physical education between males and females. / School of Physical Education

Continuing education requirements in all fields and professions are intended to promote continued competence, to develop current knowledge and skills, and to enhance professional skills and judgment beyond the levels required for entry-level practice. The idea of enhancing one’s knowledge and the ability to stay current with the newest updates in one’s profession is vital to the success of an individual and his/her profession. The profession of athletic training is no different. Being a part of the allied health field, the profession of athletic training continues to evolve. All professionals continue their education through experiences, formal schooling or continuing education systems. How can continuing professional education be most effective in enhancing the certified athletic trainer (ATC) in the ever evolving allied health field? The purpose of the study was to examine and then determine the most preferred method of continuing professional education (CPE) for certified athletic trainers (ATC). The research study evaluates the most effective instructional method to disseminate the content, context and the process of the athletic training profession to its members through continuing education activities. Continuing education requirements are intended to promote continued competence, development of current knowledge and skills, and enhancement of professional skills and judgment beyond the levels required for entry-level practice. The governing body of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) requires its members to participate in continuing education activities for these reasons. The study involved 287 certified athletic trainers (ATC) and their responses through a survey instrument. The survey instrument was sent to every certified athletic trainer in Indiana through the Internet and their responses were collected by Ball State University’s Research Design and Analysis Services. The ATCs responded to a multitude of questions concerning their view of continuing education, impediments to continuing education and their demographics. After reviewing the data, certified athletic trainers responses resulted in showing a strong preference to hands-on and interactive opportunities as being the best perceived delivery system to provide the profession and its members with continuing education experiences. / Department of Educational Leadership