Use Designing Effective Instructional Tasks for Physical Education and Sports to

-understand contemporary perspectives about learning,

-create learning tasks that will motivate participants, and

-design tasks for use with participants of all ages and abilities.

There's more to helping participants develop motor skills than just coming up with relevant drills; if you want participants to succeed, you need to structure learning tasks to keep them interested, motivated, and engaged. But, while there are many resources available to help teachers and coaches improve their curriculum, teaching skills, and management, little has been written about the critical issue of effective task design . . . until now.

Designing Effective Instructional Tasks for Physical Education and Sports provides future and practicing teachers and coaches with sound principles and practical tips for designing effective tasks for their students and athletes. The book differentiates between skills (the desired motor, fitness, cognitive, or social outcomes) and tasks (the instructional activities used in teaching each skill). Focusing primarily on motor skills, the book explains how to


-analyze each skill being taught;

-structure tasks to promote success;

-develop tasks that are fun, engaging, and safe;

-design tasks that stimulate cognitive engagement; and

-assess participants' learning as part of the task.

The text takes the most current research on learning and teaching movement activity and translates it into practical, down-to-earth suggestions for coaches and teachers. Using examples both in the gym and on the playing field, the book shows teachers and coaches alike how to develop instructional tasks that will keep participants interested and engaged-ultimately helping them to succeed.

Loaded with student-friendly features, this book is an ideal resource for physical education and coaching methods or pedagogy courses. Each chapter includes a statement of objectives, learning activities, a summary, and extensive references.

Effective task design is at the heart of effective teaching. Use Designing Effective Instructional Tasks for Physical Education and Sports to learn how to create tasks that increase your participants' chances of success.