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Many physical educators today are teaching lifetime sports, including outdoor activities such as cycling. Even though cycling is a low impact exercise that aids stamina and fitness, little is known about additional benefits in other areas including agility, balance, and explosive power. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if there are physical benefits (i.e., static balance, explosive leg power, agility) to students participating in a single bicycling unit in physical education (PE) class. Middle school students in the treatment school rode bicycles during their PE classes for 2 months. Students in the control school did not have access to bicycles during PE classes. Before the bicycle unit began, students in both schools were measured on stork stand with eyes closed, vertical jump, and agility. Students in the treatment school then participated in PE classes that included a bicycling unit, whereas the control school students participated in PE classes that did not include bicycling. Pretest scores were used as covariates, and results showed that students in the treatment group scored higher than students in the control group at posttest on all three tests. Although many schools have begun using lifetime activities in their PE classes, the results suggest that these activities not only may be fun for students but also will help them experience fitness benefits.

Background: "Teaching games for understanding" (TGfU) is a tactical-game approach to teaching, in which participants are learning via the processes intrinsic to the games themselves. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a tactical-game model in promoting metacognitive behaviour in elementary-school students. Participants and settings: Seventy-one students aged 11-12 years were randomly assigned to an experimental group (13 boys and 16 girls) and a control group (19 boys and 23 girls). Research design: Teachers in the intervention classes applied the tactical-game approach (TGfU) in teaching volleyball. Within the control group, the technique-focus approach was applied. Data collection: Metacognitive behaviour was assessed pre and post-intervention via think-aloud protocols. Descriptive statistics showed that students from the experimental group made appreciable gains in metacognitive behaviour. Previous to the intervention programme 5.63% of students were categorized as high level in terms of metacognitive behaviour. After the intervention programme 22.53% were categorized at high level. Conclusions: The results imply that the tactical-game approach could improve metacognitive behaviour in physical education classes in elementary school.