Chow, Jia Yi

In the twenty-first century the Physical Education (PE) landscape is ever changing, with students being immersed increasingly in technologically driven learning environments. Therefore, there is a need to understand how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are impacting learning opportunities. Specifically, how pedagogical practices could benefit from the development of ICT. This study investigated the effect of using ICT in PE when it is accompanied by a pedagogical innovation to promote students’ motivation. Thirty participants from 5 different indoor climbing PE classes were involved. Three experimental conditions were used: (1) Control, a regular climbing lesson, where traditional climbing holds are used, (2) Placebo climbing lesson, where participants climbed on an instrumented climbing wall with electronic climbing holds but the content of the lesson was similar to the regular condition, and (3) Nonlinear Pedagogy climbing lesson, where participants also climbed on the instrumented wall but with technology used in this context to implement innovative tasks routed on Nonlinear Pedagogy concepts (i.e., fostering motor exploration). Participants were involved in all three conditions and at the end of each condition, and they completed a survey set on their experiences in the climbing lessons. Compared to the control and placebo conditions, external regulation and tension scores were significantly lower and enjoyment scores were significantly higher during the Nonlinear Pedagogy climbing lesson. These results indicated that when integrated with a clear pedagogical purpose, ICT could positively impact learners.

Investigations into the relative effectiveness of either focusing on movement form (Internal Focus) or movement effects (External Focus) have tended to dominate research on instructional constraints. However, rather than adopting a comparative approach to determine which focus of attention is more effective, analysis of the relative efficacy of each specific instruction focus during motor learning could be more relevant for both researchers and practitioners. Theoretical advances in the motor learning literature from a nonlinear dynamics perspective might explain the processes that underlie the effect of different attentional focus instructions. Referencing ideas and concepts from a current motor-learning model, differential effects of either Internal or External focus of instructions are examined. This paper also highlights some deficiencies in extant theory and research design on focus of attention which require further investigations.

There were three objectives to this proposal: (i) to develop an ecologically valid match­fitness test for badminton players -the badminton intermittent shuttle test (BIST); (ii) to determine the reliability and physiological validity of the test; and (iii) to examine the influence of fatigue, induced by the BIST, on badminton performance.

Recent technological advancements have allowed movements to be tracked ecologically via markerless motion capture (mocap). However, occlusions remain a major concern pertaining to markerless mocap. Within racket sports where the number of players involved are low and occlusions are minimal, there exists a unique opportunity to delve into and provide an overview on the utilisation of markerless mocap technology. Twenty studies were included after a systematic search. Several methods were applied to obtain 2D positional data. Most studies adopted some form of background subtraction or thresholding method (n = 12), the remaining relied on pose estimation algorithms (PEA; n = 3), Hawk-Eye (n = 2) and object recognition (n = 1). Conversely, only the visual hull method was found to obtain 3D joint kinematics (n = 2). Markerless mocap are conventionally used to extract joint kinematics, however, study results revealed that the predominant use of markerless mocap was to capture the movement of a player’s location on court, this finding was unexpected. Low sampling frequencies of input videos and unsuitability of model detection used in the included studies could have limited the ability for markerless mocap to accurately track movements in racket sports. While current evidence suggests that the use of PEA in racket sports to extract 3D kinematics is limited, perhaps a slightly different approach gearing towards performance analysis, specifically stroke classification with the amalgamation of player location data and joint kinematics may be worth exploring further.

The aim of this paper is to show how principles of ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory can underpin a philosophy of coaching practice in a non-llnear pedagogy. Nonlinear pedagogy is based on a view of the human movement system as a nonlinear dynamical system and has been basically defined as the application of concepts and tools of nonlinear dynamics to coaching practice. A systems orientation is adopted to show how nonlinear dynamical movement systems demonstrate an openness to environmental information flows, use inherent degeneracy to adapt movements to dynamic environments, show capacity for self-organisation, and fluctuate between stability and instability as changes in constraints on performance shape transitions in system organisation. We demonstrate how this perspective of the human movement system can aid understanding of motor learning processes and underpin practice /or sports coaches. We provide a description of nonlinear pedagogy followed by a consideration of some of the fundamental principles of ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory that underpin it as a coaching philosophy. We illustrate how each principle impacts on nonlinear pedagogical coaching practice, demonstrating how they can substantiate a framework for the coaching process.

A constraints-based perspective has the potential to provide physical educators with a framework for understanding how performer, task and environmental constraints shape each individual’s physical education. Understanding the underlying neurobiological processes present in a constraints-led perspective to skill acquisition and game play can raise awareness of physical educators that teaching is a dynamic ‘art’ interwoven with the ‘science’ of motor learning theories.

This study investigated how motor system degrees of freedom were organized as skilled players performed a soccer chipping task. Using an intra-participant analysis, inter-individual kinematics and performance differences were investigated to determine the features governing coordination of skilled chipping actions. Five skilled participants were studied as they performed 10 soccer chips to one target position and another 15 soccer chips to three positions, all with different specific height and accuracy task constraints. Although a 'global coordination pattern' was identified for skilled soccer chipping, subtle inter-individual differences in coordination, displacement of center of mass (COM), selected kinematic variables for the kicking limb and the role of the non-kicking limb were also observed. It was noted that participants were able to adapt foot velocity to different target positions in successfully meeting the task goal. Results highlighted advantages of examining intra-participant data for understanding how skilled performers re-organize motor system degrees of freedom in achieving functional movement behaviors.

This study investigated how developmental ten-pin bowlers can better transit to a heavier ball by comparing differences in performance outcomes and movement execution between two ball weights. Eight pre-transited bowlers bowled 10 first-frame trials each in two ball weight conditions: normal (NB) and heavy (HB); of which 3 trials were analysed. Full body joint kinematics were recorded via a 3D motion capture system. Paired sample t-test on performance outcome, joint kinematics and kinetics was conducted. No differences in performance outcome and peak joint velocities were found (p>0.05). Bowling with the HB resulted in higher peak elbow extension moment and quicker third step, with differences in left shoulder rotation and ankles abduction during the movement (p<0.05). Results suggest strengthening of the musculature around the shoulder and arm to prepare for the transition.