Tan Kwang San, Steven

Background: A research was carried out previously on Singaporean children, 6- to 9- year-old, assessing their fundamental motor skill proficiency. In the research, results rated for locomotor (LOCO) skills were “average” and “below average” and object control (OC) skills were “poor” and “below average”.

Objective: The objective for writing this systematic review is to make a comparison based on the fundamental motor skill proficiency of Singaporean children with children around the world, age 6- to 9- years old.

Methods: Papers selected for review are those that meet the selection criterion. The criterion are: studies conducted using TGMD-2 test kit and children between the age group of 6- to 9- years. Three other countries were selected in this review: Hong Kong, Portugal and Indonesia.

Results: Hong Kong boys and girls had better FMS proficiency than Singaporean children in both LOCO and OC skills. No significant difference in the FMS raw scores between that of Singaporean and Portuguese boys and girls. Indonesian children were scoring higher than Singaporean children in both LOCO and OC scores. Indonesian children were performing better in OC skills and scoring much higher than Singaporean children.

Conclusion: Singaporean children’s FMS level is low and lower than other countries.

In the past 2 decades, major progress in understanding the relationship between physical education (PE) instructional processes and learning outcomes had been made. Improved observational methods for assessing instructional processes and the use of this information to better understand the teaching and learning context have contributed to this knowledge. However, the general quality of Singapore school PE instruction is relatively unknown due to a relative paucity of research in this area. The development and use of an appropriate observation protocol for use in a PE lesson context can help record one or more instructional processes pertinent to PE in a school setting. The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of activity structures in PE classes across the different grade levels. Data for this study were drawn primarily from 35 videotaped PE lessons across 8 schools in 19 content areas. The presentation will provide insights to the different activity structures most commonly observed in the different PE grade settings. Furthermore, opportunities for students to achieve the different objectives of PE as indicated in the PE curriculum will also be highlighted, together with recommendations to support the teaching and learning of PE in schools.

Everyone who steps in front of a group of students wants to teach well. Teachers spend countless hours in preparation for teaching. Many continue their education far beyond their initial training by attending workshops, reading relevant books and articles, and pursuing advanced degrees. It is interesting to note, however, that it appears to be the better teachers, those with more experience and expertise, who more avidly pursue knowledge to teach better. In a recent study, it was found that experienced teachers believed they had a great deal to learn about teaching, while novice teachers believed they knew everything they needed to know about teaching (Schempp, Tan, Manross, & Fincher, 1998). The better teachers are eager to learn. It is perhaps one reason they are better teachers. Over the course of the last several years, research conducted at the Sport Instruction Research Laboratory at the University of Georgia (USA) has focused on understanding the characteristics and qualities of expert teachers in a variety of subject areas. While all of the subjects studied were sport or physical activity related, the findings hold implications for all teachers looking to improve their practices.