Scientific Literature of Physical Education

You should become familiar with the literature of research on teaching Physical Education. The articles must be cited from a peer-reviewed journal. Here are some examples of journals that you may choose from: Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (JOPERD), STRATEGIES, Journal of Teaching in PE (JTPE), Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport.

Summary of Article

In this article, the authors focus on helping educators understand the benefits of introducing modified sports to students. These games teach students discipline and skills that might be hard to accomplish in other exercises.

Since sports are usually accompanied by many rules, using an adjusted or “mini” form of the game, physical educators can have students experience the different sports with a lot less stress. The modifications can range from reducing court sizes and the number of players in a team to even the amount of time allotted to each game.

Strengths: what, if any implications were discussed? How could it help improve the quality of teaching?

The activity has a lot of strengths, the main one being how modifiable it is. Physical educators can take this activity and introduce it to all their students with no difficulty, because it can be easily adjusted for any age range. The article shows various drills, equipment, and rule modifications that can be used to slowly progress the difficulty of the game for students. It also has a lot of parts to it, such as the drills, partner exercises, and even the game itself. It is an activity that includes the whole class and can be a healthy and fun change from the typical jumping jacks and push-ups.

Weaknesses: Why do you believe the suggestions won’t work and/or what needs to be changed?

For the most part, I don't believe much needs to be changed about the suggestions given in the article. My only concern is that this shouldn't be considered the only type of exercise provided for students. Yes, it is fun and can be closely monitored by teachers, but I feel that if sports are the only activity, it might prevent students from learning other types of basic exercises (i.e., stretches, strength training, etc.). Not to mention, sports are not appealing to all students. Therefore, a sole focus on them may discourage other students from wanting to participate in exercise.

Assessment: what makes it an effective (or less than effective) article?

This article had a lot of strengths, the main one being its thoroughness. It is broken down into sections based on the process in which students can be introduced to sports. This is a great strategy for physical educators because it gives them a guideline as to how to approach the activity and even how to introduce it to smaller children, especially if they have no background in sports. The article also included modifications to the activity itself. It shows different balls that can be used to play mini-volleyball according to students' abilities. Not to mention, it takes into consideration how the developmental level of students can affect their ability to play the sport.

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