The use of scuba diving as a recreational activity within traditional university instructional programs has been well established. Departments focusing on kinesiology, physical education, or exercise science have often provided scuba diving lessons as part of their activity-based course offerings. However, few departments have developed an…

The barriers that keep individuals from adopting and maintaining active lifestyles are very complex. Strategies for overcoming these barriers and to incentivize and assist inactive individuals to benefit from physical activity are necessary. In addition, it is important to examine the impact of public policy on active living. As youth physical…

There is a growing need for physical education teachers to integrate different types of fitness activities into their lessons in order to provide opportunities for all students to learn and practice a variety of movement skills that will enhance their physical fitness and support free-time physical activity. An increased focus on age-appropriate…

The promotion of physical fitness has been a key objective of physical education for more than a century. During this period, physical education has evolved to accommodate changing views on fitness and health. The purpose of this article is to discuss issues with fitness assessment and fitness education central to the new Presidential Youth…

This article shows how a high school physical education teacher was able to build a curriculum that blends driver education, bicycling skills, and fitness through experiential learning. The article describes the process of developing and gaining administrative support for the curriculum, including acquiring the funding necessary via grants to…

As a result of their participation in K-12 physical education, students should obtain high levels of physical activity and learn motor and/or sport skills. How to accomplish these outcomes in the context of K-12 physical education is a continuous challenge for teachers. The purpose of this article is to introduce the play community model, which…

There are many benefits to having young children train or practice on balance boards. The physical education setting allows educators to provide opportunities for youth to develop essential fitness skills that can be transferred into other life experiences. Balance-board activities and exercises can help in training the central and peripheral…

"Helping General Physical Educators and Adapted Physical Educators Address the Office of Civil Rights Dear Colleague Guidance Letter: Part IV--Sport Groups" provides the the following articles: (1) "Sport Programming Offered by Camp Abilities and the United States Association for Blind Athletes" (Lauren Lieberman and Mark…

Nationwide, only 56% of students attended physical education class on one or more days per week, and only 33% of students attended physical education daily in 2009. Physical educators have the responsibility to create positive experiences in physical education, as well as to develop physical skills and feelings of self-efficacy in their students.…

Task cards are instructional tools that combine a picture of a skill with written instructions about how to perform the skill. This article provides practical guidelines for developing research-based task cards for use in physical education classes. Fitness-related motor skills are used as examples to clarify design principles for task cards. The…

Part 1 of this article, which appeared in the April 2013 of JOPERD, presented the theoretical foundation and evidence-based needs for a main-theme curriculum model called Health Optimizing Physical Education (HOPE) for schools. It also described eight strands that could be used to plan, implement, and assess this version of a comprehensive school…

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP) are designed to provide expanded opportunities for physical activity beyond regularly scheduled physical education time-including before, during, and after school, as well as at home and in the community. While CSPAPs are gaining support, currently there are no models for designing,…

As a result of competitive dance television shows, interest in tap dance seems to have increased in the past few years. Tap dance is a challenging and fun lifetime physical activity that is appropriate for people of all ages. It is an excellent activity for K-12 physical education programs, higher education, parks and recreation facilities,…

The purpose of this article is to provide educators with usable, nontraditional aquatic activities that can be adapted for swimmers and non-swimmers alike. Educators are oriented to a variety of aquatic techniques designed to challenge both health- and skill-related fitness components. By using a series of activity cards, the authors have blended…

"Game sense" is a sport-specific iteration of the teaching games for understanding model, designed to balance physical development of motor skill and fitness with the development of game understanding. Game sense can foster a shared vision for sport learning that bridges school physical education and community sport. This article explains how to…