Physical Activity and Fitness Knowledge in Middle School Physical Education

• In Event: Physical Activity, Health, and Change in Physical Education

Abstract

Concept-based physical education curricula engage learners in both cognitive and physical task to help them effectively adopt health-enhancing physical activity for a lifetime. This study was conducted to identify the impact of a concept-based PE curriculum on in-class physical activity. A MANOVA analysis revealed that the students in the concept-based curriculum were as active as those in the comparison curriculum (MET experimental= 3.66, MET comparison=3.82, p=.65). An ANOVA analysis showed that, within the concept-based curriculum condition, the students with high cognitive engagement were more physically active than the students with low cognitive engagement (MET experimental= 3.87, MET comparison=3.18, p<.001). The findings suggested that the concept-based PE curriculum can facilitate knowledge learning without reduced opportunities for students to be physically active.

Authors

• Anqi Deng, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Tan Zhang, Winston Salem State University

• Stephanie Wells

• Yubing Wang, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

• Ray Schweighardt, The University of Virginia’s College - Wise

• Ang Chen, University of North Carolina - Greensboro