Developmental sequences for observing and assessing forceful kicking

Abstract

While football/soccer is the most influential sport in the world, it is surprising that developmental sequences of forceful kicking have not been adequately described and validated in the literature. The purpose of this study was to explore potential developmental sequences for forceful kicking using a prelongitudinal screening method. Data were derived from videotapes of 255 children (girls n = 138, boys: n = 117), ages 4–11 years. Seven potential component sequences in their respective developmental order were initially proposed based on biomechanical and motor developmental principles. Each participant was digitally videoed performing five kicks with maximal effort. Trained research staff coded the initial seven components for each kick and the mode of each participant’s five kicks was used for data analysis. Component level probability curves for each component sequence across age were evaluated using the threshold based generalized partial credit model (Muraki, 1992) within the item response theory framework. As developmental theory would indicate, component levels generally increased with age for most components. Six component ordinal sequence progressions met model requirements (Rel = 0.88, item fit; p > 0.05). Ordinal levels for two components ( Knee action and Follow-through) were altered based on initial empirical model structure fit and the Ball contact component was removed based on a lack of model fit. This study provides sufficient cross-sectional evidence for six component developmental sequences that adequately describe the development of kicking using cross-sectional data. Longitudinal data are required to provide further developmental validation for these sequences.

Unveiling cognitive aspects and accuracy of diagnostic judgments in physical education teachers assessing different tasks in gymnastics

“…As a consequence, awareness of diagnostics in PE and promotion of diagnostic competences should be a fundamental part of teacher education (Ward et al, 2020;Moura et al, 2021;O'Brien et al, 2023). As mentioned before in this article, diagnostic judgments should not be constrained to standardized testing, but also need to be concerned with the assessment of (complex) motor skills which are part of the PE curriculum (Sacko et al, 2021). Accurate judgments on complex motor skills require knowledge about movement characteristics of the intended motor task, knowledge on typical student errors with respect to these characteristics, and extensive experience in observation (i.e., practical training in a real-life scenario) (Ward et al, 2020;Sacko et al, 2021).…”

“…Development of motor competences is considered one of the pillars of PE (Sacko et al, 2021;Dudley et al, 2022), and external feedback about the students' performance is necessary for improving these competences (Magill, 2001;Leukel and Lundbye-Jensen, 2012). Feedback for learning requires that teachers make accurate judgments on characteristics critical to the performance of an intended skill (Sacko et al, 2021). One way to achieve this is by standardized testing (Seidel and Bös, 2012;Herrmann et al, 2016).…”

“…The ability to judge students on a continuous basis, which is considered a core component of teacher knowledge (Baumert and Kunter, 2013;Urhahne and Wijnia, 2021), cannot be substituted by a plethora of formal tests. Hence, besides formal testing teachers are required to make accurate judgments on characteristics critical to the performance of (complex) motor skills which are part of the PE curriculum, by focussing on key movement features that are relevant for performance of an intended task (Sacko et al, 2021). Analysing these characteristics is not trivial but requires both extensive practice in observation and profound knowledge of the intended task (Barrett, 1983;Ward et al, 2020).…”

“…There is evidence that PE teachers do not make accurate judgments (Lorente-Catalán and Kirk, 2016;van der Mars et al, 2018;Sacko et al, 2021), and reasons have been put forward trying to explain why this is the case, e.g., that criteria used for assessment are quite subjective and not based on evidence (Tolgfors, 2018). In fact, there is still very little information about the cognitive processes underlying judgment formation in PE teachers.…”

The impact of motor competence on energy expenditure during object control skill performance in children and young adults

“…Skill performances of kicking and throwing were video-recorded during the 30 second interval condition and scored post-hoc using validated developmental sequences for the throwing. 27,33 The developmental sequence levels were scored based on the coordination pattern that was observed for the different segmental components of kicking and throwing. The modal level from five trials of kicking and throwing were summed and used for data analysis.…”