The Effects of a Curricular Fitness Integration on the Heart Rates and Skill Improvement of Elementary Physical Education Students

Authors

  • Brett Everhart
  • Clay Harshaw
  • Jennifer Broderick
  • Erik Stubblefield
  • Bobby Williamson
  • Randy McDonough

Abstract

Researchers have demonstrated that American youth are not as fit as necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, physical education students are not typically engaged during lessons at appropriate intensities for any fitness-related effects. The majority of physical education programs are sport-related; therefore, teachers focus on sport-related skills. When students are engaged in sport-skill instruction, often they complete a sport or motor skill trial and then wait for the next opportunity to respond. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a curricular intervention on students' heart rates and skill improvement in a mini-basketball unit. An experimental group (n = 48) of fourth and fifth graders was taught via the Fit-Sport Model while a control group (n = 44) were taught via the traditional sport skill instructional process. Significant heart rate differences were found for a sub-sample of both groups, but no differences were evident in skill improvement for the larger sample described above.

Downloads

Published

1999-04-27

Issue

Section

Articles