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The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable basketball common content knowledge (CCK) instrument for preservice teachers (PSTs; BB-CCK-T) in secondary physical education contexts in the United States. The research team used four steps to develop the BB-CCK-T. In the first step, two content experts determined the scope and weight of the items using a table of specifications. Second, the experts developed the test questions and answers based on the table of specifications. Third, physical education in-service teachers reviewed the test and checked the content validity. Fourth, a group of PSTs took the test for pilot testing. After content validity and face validity were established, the BB-CCK-T was administered to 76 physical education PSTs to examine the validity and reliability of the instrument using the Rasch analysis. The results of unidimensionality indicated that all items were within the range of -0.4 to 0.4. Both infit (0.7 to 1.3) and outfit (0.6 to 1.5) MNSQ were in the criterion range of 0.5 to 1.5. The result of the item separation index was 4.01 (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94), and the person separation index was 1.89 (Cronbach's alpha = 0.78). The wright map confirmed that the items on the BB-CCK-T contain wide levels of question difficulties with little gaps. These results verified that BB-CCK-T is an instrument with robust psychometric properties. Continuous efforts of exploring how we can best teach CCK in our limited curricular space as teacher education programs are vital from both practical and research perspectives.

Common content knowledge (CCK) is fundamental for quality instruction and critical to be acquired among physical education preservice teachers (PSTs). The purpose of this study was to develop a soccer CCK test for PSTs and to examine the validity and reliability of the test using Rasch measurement modeling. Two content experts developed a test in a multiple-choice question format, which was content validated by five in-service teachers and field-tested by 10 PSTs. Once content and face validities were confirmed, the test was given to 129 PSTs. The results confirmed that all the test items measured soccer CCK as a unidimensional construct, and the levels of the test items align with PSTs' knowledge levels (mean square residuals -- infit = 0.8 to 1.1; outfit = 0.8 to 1.3). The item separation index was 2.05 (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81), and the person separation index was 1.99 (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80), which assured that the test includes items with a wide range in difficulty levels to meet the variability of respondents' knowledge levels. To conclude, the soccer CCK test is a valid and reliable instrument, and the test can be used to contribute to the field in practice and research. Those include, for instance, assessing PSTs' learning gains of soccer content classes, improving the effectiveness of PSTs and in-service content education, and measuring the effects of differing soccer CCK on student learning in secondary physical education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Play Practice instruction on the badminton content knowledge and skill of a cohort of Chinese physical education majors. Method: Seventy-two second-year students participated in semester-long courses following either the principles of Play Practice or skill-focused instruction. A control/comparison group experimental design with pre- and postmeasures was used in this study. Separate analyses of variance with repeated measures (Time × Group) were conducted to examine the effects of Play Practice and skill-focused instruction for each of four dependent variables: (a) forehand clear, (b) tactical understanding, (c) game performance, and (d) specialized content knowledge. Results: Students from both conditions made significant improvements in all four variables across the semester. However, students in the Play Practice condition showed significantly greater gains in tactical understanding, game performance, and specialized content knowledge. In particular, while 75% of students who experienced Play Practice reached the 3.0 benchmark score for adequate specialized content knowledge, only 8% of students in skill-focused instruction reached this standard.

The purpose of this study was to create a valid and reliable volleyball common content knowledge (VB-CCK) test in secondary physical education contexts in the United States. Two physical education teacher educators served as content experts and developed test items for the VB-CCK test. We then established content validity with a group of in-service teachers and determined face validity with preservice teachers. The Rasch model was used in data analysis. The standardized residual contrasts for the items loaded in the range of -0.4 to 0.4, confirming the test was unidimensional and measured VB-CCK. Both infit mean-square residuals and outfit mean-square residuals were within the criterion range of 0.5 to 1.5 (infit = 0.8 to 1.1; outfit = 0.8 to 1.5), which showed the range of the question difficulties matched the respondents' knowledge levels. The item separation index was 3.46 (reliability = 0.92; an excellent level) and the person separation index was 1.55 (reliability = 0.71; an acceptable level). The results provided evidence of the range of question difficulties and respondents' knowledge levels. The Wright Map added additional evidence that the 40 questions were well distributed from easy to difficult levels and could discriminate different knowledge levels of preservice teachers' VB-CCK. The study was successful in developing a valid and reliable instrument for PETE programs to assess secondary VB-CCK of their preservice teachers. We propose future CCK studies for both elementary content and secondary content.

Purpose: To examine the relationships among demographic variables, common content knowledge (CCK), and specialized content knowledge (SCK) of Chinese physical education teachers in teaching soccer. Methods: One hundred twenty-nine physical education teachers' CCK was assessed using 27 multiple choice questions, and SCK was assessed using content maps using an SCK index score. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationships to demographic variables as predictors of CCK and SCK. A Spearman test assessed the associations between variables. Results: For CCK, 88.4% of the teachers scored at or above 60% correct in the test. The teacher's gender ([beta] = 0.22, t = -2.53, p < 0.05) and the number of soccer workshops attended ([beta] = 0.33, t = 2.96, p < 0.001) significantly predicted CCK. About 92.2% of the teachers had an SCK index score of <2.9. The number of soccer workshops attended ([beta] = 0.31, t = 2.74, p < 0.05) and teaching rank significantly predicted the SCK score. There was no relationship found between CCK and SCK. Conclusions: For these participants, their preservice education and their professional development did not serve them well in teaching CCK and SCK.

The purpose of this study was to create a valid and reliable volleyball common content knowledge (VB-CCK) test in secondary physical education contexts in the United States. Two physical education teacher educators served as content experts and developed test items for the VB-CCK test. We then established content validity with a group of in-service teachers and determined face validity with preservice teachers. The Rasch model was used in data analysis. The standardized residual contrasts for the items loaded in the range of -.4 to .4, confirming the test was unidimensional and measured VB-CCK. Both infit mean-square residuals and outfit mean-square residuals were within the criterion range of .5 to 1.5 (infit = .8 to 1.1; outfit = .8 to 1.5), which showed the range of the question difficulties matched the respondents' knowledge levels. The item separation index was 3.46 (reliability = .92; an excellent level) and the person separation index was 1.55 (reliability = .71; an acceptable level). The results provided evidence of the range of question difficulties and respondents' knowledge levels. The Wright Map added additional evidence that the 40 questions were well distributed from easy to difficult levels and could discriminate different knowledge levels of preservice teachers' VB-CCK. The study was successful in developing a valid and reliable instrument for PETE programs to assess secondary VB-CCK of their preservice teachers. We propose future CCK studies for both elementary content and secondary content., Common content knowledge (CCK) is one of the significant knowledge areas impacting teaching effectiveness (Kim et al., 2018; Ward & Ayvazo, 2016). CCK includes the knowledge needed to perform a [...]

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable common content knowledge (CCK) instrument for pre-service teachers who teach fundamental tennis in secondary schools. The instrument, called the tennis CCK test for pre-service teachers (CCK-Tennis), was administered to 117 undergraduate students who were enrolled in physical education (PE) teacher education programmes at three universities in the United States. Two tennis content experts developed the CCK-Tennis and five in-service teachers reviewed the test to establish content validity. A total of 10 pre-service teachers took the test for pilot testing. The data were analysed using Rasch statistics (Linacre, 2011; Rasch, 1980). The authors judged the unidimensionality of the CCK-Tennis using the unexplained variance in the first contrast (2.59) and the standardized residual contrast one plot (-0.4 to 0.4). These data provided evidence that the test is unidimensional and measures tennis CCK. The results of infit (0.8 to 1.2) and outfit (0.5 to 1.5) mean square residuals showed that the difficulty of the questions matches respondents' knowledge levels. The item (5.32, Cronbach's [alpha] = 0.97) and person (1.71, Cronbach's [alpha] = 0.72) separation index and the Wright map showed that there are low to high knowledge levels of the respondents who took the test. The results illustrate that the CCK-Tennis is a robust, valid, and reliable tool that people can use in teacher education. Having valid and reliable measures for CCK is an essential step to improve teachers' instructional effectiveness from the area of content knowledge.

Transnational research involves research in one country that benefits that country, and where the findings are compared to the extant studies in the larger field. It also involves the search for common effects and situational influences (i.e., country and culture-specific) toward a particular research topic. In this study we examine the transnational collaboration among 11 (5 female and 6 male) researchers located in five countries conducting research in seven countries for the past 18 years. Our purpose is to elucidate relationships among the team members. First, we use social network analysis to examine our publishing and presentation productivity. Second, we use a community of practice framework to understand our collaboration and scholarly relationships. Social network analysis showed that we are a strong decentralized social network with work shared across all members. Our community of practice analysis highlighted shared values, our shared impact, professional and personal rewards and challenges.

Purpose: Common and specialized content knowledge (CCK and SCK) and performance are requirements in the Society of Health and Physical Educators America initial physical education teacher education (PETE) standards, yet relationships among these requirements are unclear. The authors examined relationships among CCK, SCK, and performance. Method: A total of 127 students were recruited from basic instruction courses (non-PETE majors; n = 51) in which they were taught how to perform a sport and PETE major courses (PETE majors; n = 76) and a sport and SCK. Pre- and posttests on CCK, SCK, and performance were conducted in volleyball, basketball, badminton, and tennis. Results: No relationships among three measures were found. The non-PETE majors improved their scores in CCK and performance, whereas the PETE majors improved their scores in all three measures (CCK, p <0.001-0.002; SCK, p = 001-0.002; and performance, p < 0.001-0.006). Discussion/Conclusion: Teaching CCK, SCK, and performance is essential for the professional development of teachers as improving one does not appear to improve another. The study also demonstrates that CCK, SCK, and performance can be taught together within a course.

Purpose: Teacher knowledge of rules, techniques, and tactics is called common content knowledge. Such knowledge is essential for effective teaching of physical education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a test of soccer common content knowledge. Method: Rasch modeling was used to evaluate the validity and reliability of a test of soccer to a sample of 530 Chinese teacher education students. Results: Twenty-seven of 30 questions demonstrated good item-model fit. Moderately high internal consistency for personability and high internal consistency for item difficulty are reported. There were gaps between personability estimates and item-difficulty levels at the lower and higher ends of the map, indicating a lack of more easy and difficult questions. Conclusion: The analysis provides evidence to support the validity and reliability of this instrument as a test of soccer common content knowledge for Chinese preservice physical education teachers.

Purpose: Accurately measuring the content knowledge of teachers is critical to designing professional development to support their teaching. We examined the depth of specialized content knowledge (SCK), defined in terms of instructional tasks reported by teachers and factors that could affect their SCK. Method: Content maps were used to evaluate the SCK of 384 Chinese secondary physical education teachers. Teacher demographic variables such as age, gender, educational background, teaching, coaching, and playing histories, and engagement with professional development were also collected. SCK scores were analyzed descriptively. An ANOVA was conducted to investigate demographic variables that could influence SCK scores. Results: Descriptive data showed a majority of teachers (78.2%) had low SCK scores. The ANOVA analysis showed that teachers' ranking position, and years of teaching experience, significantly predicted the SCK score. The remainder of the variables failed to significantly predict the SCK score. A post hoc analysis showed that 1st grade rank teachers scored marginally better than those with a 3rd grade rank. Teachers' years of teaching experience negatively predicted their scores on the content map. Teachers who had more years of teaching experience scored lower on their SCK. Conclusion: A majority of teachers in this study had low SCK. These two statistically significant relationships found were weak but not meaningful. Our findings suggest that SCK, as a special kind of content knowledge, may not be easily obtained from experience.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Play Practice instruction on the badminton content knowledge and skill of a cohort of Chinese physical education majors. Method: Seventy-two second-year students participated in semester-long courses following either the principles of Play Practice or skill-focused instruction. A control/comparison group experimental design with pre- and postmeasures was used in this study. Separate analyses of variance with repeated measures (Time × Group) were conducted to examine the effects of Play Practice and skill-focused instruction for each of four dependent variables: (a) forehand clear, (b) tactical understanding, (c) game performance, and (d) specialized content knowledge. Results: Students from both conditions made significant improvements in all four variables across the semester. However, students in the Play Practice condition showed significantly greater gains in tactical understanding, game performance, and specialized content knowledge. In particular, while 75% of students who experienced Play Practice reached the 3.0 benchmark score for adequate specialized content knowledge, only 8% of students in skill-focused instruction reached this standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the relationships among demographic variables, common content knowledge (CCK), and specialized content knowledge (SCK) of Chinese physical education teachers in teaching soccer. Methods: One hundred twenty-nine physical education teachers' CCK was assessed using 27 multiple choice questions, and SCK was assessed using content maps using an SCK index score. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationships to demographic variables as predictors of CCK and SCK. A Spearman test assessed the associations between variables. Results: For CCK, 88.4% of the teachers scored at or above 60% correct in the test. The teacher's gender (β = 0.22, t = −2.53, p <.05) and the number of soccer workshops attended (β = 0.33, t = 2.96, p <.001) significantly predicted CCK. About 92.2% of the teachers had an SCK index score of <2.9. The number of soccer workshops attended (β = 0.31, t = 2.74, p <.05) and teaching rank significantly predicted the SCK score. There was no relationship found between CCK and SCK. Conclusions: For these participants, their preservice education and their professional development did not serve them well in teaching CCK and SCK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Common and specialized content knowledge (CCK and SCK) and performance are requirements in the Society of Health and Physical Educators America initial physical education teacher education (PETE) standards, yet relationships among these requirements are unclear. The authors examined relationships among CCK, SCK, and performance. Method: A total of 127 students were recruited from basic instruction courses (non-PETE majors; n = 51) in which they were taught how to perform a sport and PETE major courses (PETE majors; n = 76) and a sport and SCK. Pre- and posttests on CCK, SCK, and performance were conducted in volleyball, basketball, badminton, and tennis. Results: No relationships among three measures were found. The non-PETE majors improved their scores in CCK and performance, whereas the PETE majors improved their scores in all three measures (CCK, p <.001–.002; SCK, p = 001–.002; and performance, p <.001–.006). Discussion/Conclusion: Teaching CCK, SCK, and performance is essential for the professional development of teachers as improving one does not appear to improve another. The study also demonstrates that CCK, SCK, and performance can be taught together within a course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]