ORELA Physical Education (NT506) cheat sheet

Motor development sequence: reflexes (birth) → rudimentary/voluntary movement (0–2 yr) → fundamental patterns (2–7 yr) → context-specific/sport skills (7–11 yr) → specialized/skill refinement (11+ yr); the sequence is stable but the rate varies by individual.

Fundamental movement skills divide into locomotor (run, hop, skip, jump, gallop, slide), non-locomotor/stability (bend, twist, turn, balance, land), and manipulative (throw, catch, kick, strike, dribble, volley).

Fitts and Posner stages of motor learning: cognitive (large errors, verbal cues, high attention) → associative (refinement, fewer errors, practice-focused) → autonomous (automatic, minimal attention, can dual-task).

Closed skills occur in a predictable environment with a fixed pace (free throw, golf drive); open skills occur in an unpredictable, externally paced environment (defending, returning a serve).

FITT-VP principle for aerobic conditioning: Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type, Volume, Progression.

Cardiorespiratory target intensity for youth and adults: moderate = 64–76% of estimated maximum heart rate; vigorous = 77–93%; estimated HRmax = 220 − age.

Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (6–20 scale): 12–13 corresponds roughly to moderate intensity and 14–17 to vigorous intensity; talk test is a practical field check.

Health-related fitness components: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition. Skill-related components: agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, speed.

Overload, specificity, reversibility, and progression govern training adaptation; the SAID principle states the body adapts specifically to imposed demands.

NASPE/Shape America national standards frame instruction around five outcomes: motor skills and movement patterns; concepts and strategies; physical activity and fitness; personal and social behavior; and valuing a physically active lifestyle.

Class management decisions: small-sided games and modified equipment increase participation time and success rate; maximizing active learning time (ALT-PE) and minimizing transition/management time is a core instructional goal.

Lesson design follows a gradual-release structure: instant activity/warm-up → anticipatory set → demonstration and cues → guided practice → independent practice/game application → closure and debrief.

Assessment types: formative (ongoing, informs instruction), summative (end of unit, certifies learning), authentic (game play/performance tasks), and criterion-referenced (compared to a standard, not to peers).

Fitness testing comparisons: criterion-referenced health standards (e.g., FitnessGram Healthy Fitness Zone) judge against a health benchmark; norm-referenced tests rank students against peers.

Inclusion and safety rules: modify space, equipment size/weight, rules, and time rather than excluding a student; use task analysis to break skills into teachable parts.

Legal and ethical duties: supervision, safe equipment and facilities, proper instruction and warning, and matching activities to developmental readiness; negligence requires duty, breach, causation, and injury.

Feedback types: knowledge of results (outcome) vs. knowledge of performance (technique); positive, specific, and corrective feedback improves learning more than general praise.

Biomechanical principles: stability increases with a wider base of support, a lower center of gravity, and the center of gravity projected within the base; balance is easier when the line of gravity falls inside the base.

Newton's third law applies to locomotion and striking: the body pushes backward/downward against the ground to move forward or upward; ground reaction force drives running and jumping.

Force–motion relationship: the greater the force applied, the greater the acceleration; force applied over a longer time (follow-through, longer lever) increases the resulting velocity.

Lever classes: first class (fulcrum between effort and load, e.g., head nod), second class (load between fulcrum and effort, e.g., calf raise), third class (effort between fulcrum and load, most common in the body, e.g., biceps curl).

Throwing mechanics: sequential proximal-to-distal coordination (hips → trunk → shoulder → elbow → wrist) and step with the opposite foot to transfer force and increase velocity.

Catching progressions: trap against the chest → scoop with hands under the object → hands-only catch with fingers spread and thumbs together (above waist) or pinkies together (below waist).

Kicking and striking: plant the non-kicking foot beside the ball, contact with the laces/instep, follow through toward the target; striking uses rotation of the trunk and hips and a level swing.

Movement concepts framework: body awareness (what the body does), space awareness (where it moves: personal/general space, levels, pathways, directions), effort (how: time, force, flow), and relationships (with objects/others).

Skill classification: gross vs. fine motor, discrete (single action, e.g., a jump) vs. serial (linked actions, e.g., a dance routine) vs. continuous (repetitive, e.g., running).