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Introduction: Recently Baggs and Chemero (2018. "Radical Embodiment in Two Directions." "Synthese," 1-16. doi:10.1007/s11229-018-02020-9) advocated for the possible 'productive synthesis' between the enactive and the ecological approaches in order to understand and to explain how an agent behaves and interacts with the environment. This paper argues that data production methods from 'enactive anthropology' and 'ecological dynamics' show complementarities and differences that can inform research and pedagogical applications. Purpose: From the analysis of two studies of pedagogical interventions, we explore the potential of intertwining enactive anthropology and ecological dynamics approaches in Physical Education. Methods: We summarise two previously published studies, which address skill learning through the intertwining of phenomenological and behavioural outcomes. The first investigates the interactions between students engaged in orienteering during PE lessons, the second focuses on learning climbing skills during an individual lesson. We utilise the data to highlight the advantages and limitations of intertwining enactive anthropology and ecological dynamics approaches. Findings: We suggest caution in using principles of both approaches together, due to key epistemological and ontological differences, which may impact data outcomes and preferred methodologies. The approaches differ in conceptualising the nature of individual-environment coupling but may be complementary in investigating the complexity of this coupling. Conclusion: We assert the scientific potential of intertwining enactive anthropology and the ecological dynamics approaches and the need to consider this productive synthesis to propose practical implications for PE teachers. The outlines of a pedagogy 3E (exploration, experiential and empathetic) from intertwining these two approaches are traced.

To cope in various aquatic environments (i.e. swimming pools, lakes, rivers, oceans), learners require a wide repertoire of self-regulatory behaviours such as awareness of obstacles and water properties, floating and moving from point to point with different strokes, decision making, emotional control and breathing efficiently. By experiencing different learning situations in stable indoor pool environments, it is assumed that children strengthen aquatic competencies that should be transferable to functioning in open water environments, where prevalence of drowning is high. However, this fundamental assumption may be misleading. Here, we propose the application of a clear, related methodology and theoretical framework that could be useful to help physical education curriculum specialists (re)shape and (re)design appropriate aquatic learning situations to facilitate better transfer of learning. We discuss the need for more representativeness in a learning environment, proposing how the many different task and environmental constraints on aquatic actions may bound the emergence of functional, self-regulatory behaviours in learners. Ideas in ecological dynamics suggest that physical educators should design learning environments that offer a rich landscape of opportunities for action for learners. As illustration, three practice interventions are described for developing functional and transferrable skills in indoor aquatic environments. It is important that aquatic educators focus not just upon 'learning to swim', but particularly on relevant transferable skills and self-regulatory behaviours deemed necessary for functioning in dynamic, outdoor aquatic environments.

Purpose: Enriching learners' motor repertoires in a complex pluri-articular task, such as climbing, could help learners' adaptation to various sets of task constraints. Promoting exploration with variable practice conditions is one solution recurrently proposed. However, recent studies have shown that a too elevated exploration-exploitation ratio during practice could impair learning. A proposed solution is to give learners some control over their practice schedule, which appeared to better respect the individual learning dynamic in comparison to the usual experimenter-imposed practice schedule. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether giving learners the possibility of controlling when to confront to new climbing routes would result in greater flexibility in their motor repertoire compared to giving them an imposed schedule of climbing routes or a constant practice condition. Method: Participants were assigned to either a constant practice group (CPG), an imposed-variability group (IVG) or a self-controlled variability group (SVG) to carry out a climbing task. To assess participants' behavioral flexibility, a scanning procedure was conceived by manipulating the route design and the instructions. Results: Participants showed an initial lack of flexibility as they strongly relied on a single coordination pattern. At posttest and retention, the three groups more frequently used a new hand coordination pattern and more often showed coordination patterns associated with high climbing fluency. Results suggest that the individualized rate of exploration in the self-controlled practice condition may have helped the learners improve their flexibility, whereas forcing exploration did not seem more beneficial than constant practice in this complex pluri-articular task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Motor outputs are governed by dynamics organized around stable states and spontaneous transitions: we seek to investigate the swimmers' motor behavior flexibility as a function of speed and aquatic environment manipulations. Method: Eight elite male swimmers partook an eight-level incremental test (4% increment from 76% to 104% of their mean speed on 200 m front crawl) in a quasi-static aquatic environment (pool). Swimmers then partook another incremental test at similar effort in a dynamic aquatic environment (swimming flume) up to maximal speed. Stroke rate (SR), index of coordination (IdC) and intersegmental coupling of the upper limbs were computed from the inertial sensors located on the upper limbs and the sacrum. Results: With speed increase, SR values presented a steeper linear increase in the pool than in the flume. IdC values increased also in the pool but remained stable in the flume. Individual SR and IdC vs. speed increase displayed second-order polynomial dynamics, indicative of adaptive flexibility with a range of extremum values more restricted in the flume. Finally, a reduction of the in-phase coordination pattern was noted with flume speed increase. Conclusions: Action possibilities were strongly constrained in the flume at the highest speeds as the fluid flow led to discontinuity in the propulsive actions of the upper limbs and lack of in-phase inter-segmental coordination. This highlights that the behavioral flexibility was restricted in the flume in comparison to the pool, in which the exploitation of opportunities for action involved a larger number of degrees of freedom in the movement.

Introduction: The constraints-led approach (CLA) and more generally a complex systems perspective on motor learning emphasizes the role of perceptual-motor exploration during learning in order to ensure the acquisition of a highly individualized, adapted and adaptable movement pattern. Recent studies have shown that human beings have a strong tendency to exploit already stable patterns rather than looking for new potentially more efficient patterns. In order to shape the amount of exploration, we implemented two learning designs based on a CLA where constraints were used to limit the boundaries of the perceptual-motor workspace of the learners. We sought to highlight how practitioners can play with the perceptual motor workspace boundaries in order to (i) promote the use of exploratory behaviours and (ii) guide the learner towards task-relevant functional areas. Method: For the experiment, twenty-four beginners in breaststroke swimming were allocated to three groups of learning: a "control group" receiving only the goal of the learning, an "analogy group" receiving the goal of learning accompanied by an analogy about 'how to perform', a "pacer group" receiving information on the goal of learning and the use of a metronome to continuously push them to 'perform better'. Based on their assigned group, each learner then followed a learning protocol of 16 sessions with a 10*25 m swimming distance per session with the goal of increasing the stroke length for a fixed swimming speed. Both performance (i.e. stroke length) and motor behaviour (i.e. arm-leg coordination) were collected for each session. The arm-leg coordination patterns were computed by the continuous relative phase between knee and elbow angles. Thereafter, a cluster analysis was performed on the coordination in order to get a qualitative label for every cycle performed during the entire process of learning. Based on the use of cluster analysis, an exploration/exploitation ratio was calculated and the increase in performance was determined based on the increase in stroke length. Results and Discussion: With reference to the exploration/exploitation ratio, our results showed that additional temporary constraints-led learners to increase both the nature of their exploration and also the quantity of their exploration. In the meantime, the three groups showed an equivalent final performance enhancement. The aim of manipulating the constraints was not only to push the learner out of his comfort zone, but also to provide relevant information about 'where' to explore during learning. For this purpose, the use of analogy appeared as the most relevant constraint to encourage the emergence of efficient behaviour. Interestingly the impact of the analogy was modified by adding the metronome, showing an interaction effect of both constraints. The group using the metronome exhibited different behaviours as compared to the analogy group and showed an increase in exploration during learning compared to the control group. However, although the metronome constantly pushed the learner to improve performance, it did not actually lead to a better improvement of performance when compared to the analogy group. The simple assumption that the constraints forced the learner to explore therefore does not seem a mandatory condition to promote an exploratory learning. Rather, the qualitative nature of the constraint seems the most relevant characteristic that can be manipulated to promote an exploratory learning by "guiding" the learner within the perceptual motor workspace.

The aim of this study was to investigate the hold-by-hold climbing fluency dynamics by using an instrumented holds system that measured the contact time on each hold. Forty-four competitive climbers have been analysed in a regional lead climbing competition during a route composed of 41 instrumented holds on 11 m high artificial climbing wall and with a grade of difficulty 6b on the French scale (IRCRA reported scale: 13). After removing 10 climbers who fell before the top of the route, the 34 remaining climbers who completed the route were clustered according to their total contact time on each hold. The hierarchical cluster analysis distinguished four profiles of climbing fluency dynamics, on the basis of six 'crux' points, showing that the fastest climbers at the crux points were those with the shortest climbing time. This new instrumented-holds system appeared very innovative as it provides an instantaneous feedback to coaches regarding inter-limbs fluency and subsequent motor organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]