Below are a few examples of research that we have studied over the past year. We list pertinent concerns from some of these research papers and then point out why the physical education curriculums have failed to meet these concerns. Afterwhich, we describe how Sport Aerobics fulfills all the criteria and meets the needs of the growing concern for youth sport skill development, their fitness levels, positive experiences when learning, and how they acquire and retain the desire to play sports.
Curriculum Strategies
Statement: Must have control of objects before using tactics (Turner & Martiner, 1992). Physical Ed: Is introducing implements too soon. Students lack physical ability. Sport Aerobics: Teaches students to use their total bodies without implements to produce and reduce force.

Statement: Simple skills before complex (Thorpe & Bunker ,1986). Physical Ed: Not preparing students in progressive development. Sport Aerobics: Allows teachers to use a method that can selectively control simple to complex movements.

Statement: Skill was not improved unless taught directly (McPherson, 1991; Rink,1993;Silverman 1991). Physical Ed: Not isolating difficulties in certain skill movements. Sport Aerobics: Segments each sports skill and refines motor patterns of each skill.

Statement: Increased motivation should lead to increased involvement and increased learning process (Parling & Snyder ,1992). Physical Ed: Lacking innovative, exciting environment for learning. Sport Aerobics: Uses music, imagination and setting variations to stimulate participation and interest.

Statement: Skill level differences causes adjustments to teammates and opponents (Johnson ,1991). Physical Ed: Creates a competitive environment, less skilled are less accepted andparticipate less, loss of self-confidence. Sport Aerobics: Allows self-pacing, acceptance and participation for all levels of ability.

Statement: Skills will transfer to game if taught to transfer gradually ( French & Rink,1991; Harrison, 1995). Physical Ed: Creates game situation in expectation of appropriate skill practice and development. Sport Aerobics: Method combines skill practice, development and game environment simultaneously.

Statement: Closer environment is to context of game, the more likely transfer (Rink & French, 1992; Rink, 1993). Physical Ed: Is limited at times to create sports environment or activity due to lack of facilities, equipment and time. Sport Aerobics: Creates game-like situations to simulate context of sports.

Statement: Creation of instructional environments that increase the number of correct practice trials increased achievement for motor skills (Harrison & Dryer, 1990; Rigard,1991; Graham, 1987; Rink & French, 1991). Physical Ed: Classes are large and have limited time that minimizes appropriate skill trials for each student. Sport Aerobics: Method allows repetitive skill trials for motor learning and muscle memory development for every student simultaneously.

Statement: Feedback that is specific, congruent to tasks and corrective so learners know how to perform movements correctly on subsequent trials (Lee, 1993; Schmid , 1987; Nagill, 1989). Physical Ed: Teachers feedback method is time consuming and uses poor time management. Sport Aerobics: Method allows efficient feedback that focuses on task performance without sacrificing time or directing negative attention to other students.

Statement: Competitive, individualized oriented activities limits learning of fundamental motor skills. Pre-school teachers role in activity, type of interaction equally facilitated development of motor skills and self-confident in development of motor skills created more cooperative social interaction for boys (Garcia, 1994). Physical Ed: Curriculums are dominantly non-cooperative, game oriented activities. Sport Aerobics: Enables teacher interaction, participation and group oriented activities that foster positive experiences.

Statement: Doyles creating order - Students need to seriously engage in learning activities, momentum lacking, positive experience enjoyment more than skillfulness (Konin, 1970). Physical Ed: Lacking creative learning activities that build upon each others enjoyment. Sport Aerobics: Utilizes various movements and variations that meet national standards CESS- Challenge, Enjoyment, Self-Expression, Socialization.

Statement:Critical factors of enjoyment is curriculum - specific activity(Figley, 1985), need to design skill related ability to produce health relative activities (McKenzie, Alcaraz, & Sallis, 1994). Physical Ed: Curriculums not satisfying National Standards for fitness, or the prevention of health risks through exercise and developing skills for lifetime activities. Sport Aerobics: Method incorporates fitness skills to achieve National Standards.

Statement:Simpler task increases success, low skilled need appropriate focus task - one change enhances recall schema (French, Rink, Rikard, Mays, Lynn & Werner, 1991). Physical Ed: Needs to consider low skilled and appropriate focus tasks. Sport Aerobics: Uses building block concept to develop progression of skills.

Statement: Teachers need to be managerially and instructionally effective - teachers instruction of specific movement tasks = students skill responses (Graham, 1987; Siedentop & Doutis, 1994). Physical Ed: Teachers finding it difficult to manage and instruct effectively, so small and large classes stay on task. Better monitoring and positive teacher interaction needed. Sport Aerobics: Method promotes class management and instructional effectiveness by utilizing mass participation, single task focus and effective monitoring of activity.

Statement: Development of skill and positive experiments with sport major contribution to liking sports - students enjoy curriculum if skilled practices (Tjeerdsma, Rink & Graham, 1996). Physical Ed: Need more positive experiences in practice activities by minimizing sense of failure or incompetence - implements introduced too soon. Sport Aerobics: Eliminates sense of failure by focusing on body movements without implements to build confidence.

Statement: Critical cues promote motor skill development and effective instruction(Oslin, Stroot & Siedentop, 1997; French, Werner, Taylor, Hussey & Jones, 1996). Physical Ed: Not addressing verbal instruction effectiveness - not planned and organized. Sport Aerobics:Planned and organized with each segment - instructions, cues to movements and skills, verbal feedback structured.

Statement: Variations of skills / sport skills need to be practiced daily and throughout unit plan in order to learn effectively (Magill, 1990). Physical Ed: Variations of skills is difficult to practice each day which is necessary for muscle memory reinforcement - time and numerous activity plan needed. Sport Aerobics: Can practice numerous skills, numerous times in one workout session and throughout unit plan using minimal time.

Statement: Flow experience - necessary for sport movement is easier to achieve when students are in control of the activity - includes set of movement concepts (creative human, freedom playing sport, improvising, composing, creative movement) (Fraleigh, 1990; Chalip & Csikszentmihay,1984). Physical Ed: Students not experiencing flow of movement because of lack of control of activity - need process concept of movement, creative human movement freedom of playing sports, compositing, improvisions. Sport Aerobics: Using flow as bases for movement - simple or complex movements, continuity of movement for one skill to the next, one sport to the next achiev ing balance, coordination, agility, strength which all combined creates flow which controls activity.

Children? Behavioral / Learning /Teaching Differences
Statement: Teachers focused on attention and behavior deficit of girls. Coaches criticism indicated image of girls incompetent, inferior ?atch like a girl? Negative treatment by coaches, lack of peer support, male teachers in active role, females passive role, children placed in skill hierarchy by coaches (Lanoers & Fine,1996). Physical Ed: Isolates and differentiates gender abilities and stereotypes. Sport Aerobics: Allows equal participation without centering attention to stereotypical behavior.

Statement:Co-education may facilitate achievement in boys but may dampen or has little effectiveness on girls (Ellis & Blumfield, 1985) - Boys in Co-educational classes became more confident than boys in same sex classes ( Ellis & Blumfield, 1985). Physical Ed: Activities at times need coed or segregated activities but difficult to organize. Sport Aerobics: Is attractive to both males and females interactively and separately.

Statement: Males more competitive and win oriented, women more goal oriented (Gill, 1992). Physical Ed: Not sensitive to females orientations to learning - need task oriented learning activities. Sport Aerobics: Activity designed to achieve skills in a positive, cooperative, self-assessing manner.

Statement: Girls need more social interaction and cooperation with others, concern for their actions, continuity of relationships. Boys very proud and demonstrative of abilities, chose teachers as partners, early aged boys influenced by peers and teachers, boys rough and aggressive, intimidating, scaring girls, misbehaving to gain teacher attention(Garcia, 1994). Physical Ed: Lacking methods to encourage leadership, non aggressive behavior, teachers as positive role models. Sport Aerobics: Method minimizes aggressive behavior, allows students to lead activities, enables teachers to participate while maintaining goals and objectives.

Statement: Interaction for boys beneficial for skill practice but not for girls. Diminished self-confidence in movement abilities and possible future. Less teacher attention and less experience with manipulative skills.(Garcia, 1994) Physical Ed: Coed interaction does not foster girls skill development. Sport Aerobics: Fosters both male and female skill development since method focuses on individual development.

Statement: Females perceptions of leisure correspond more to intrinsic motivation, males tend to perceive physical ability and sport skill higher compared to women (Duda, 1988). Physical Ed: Activities tend to foster winners and losers. Winners are motivated and losers are discouraged. Sport Aerobics: Develops intrinsic motivation, personal improvement not win or lose.

Statement: Girls self-confidence depended on activity usefulness, gender appropriateness, past sport experience (Sherman 1981, 1982; Lirgg 1993;Duda 1992; Duda & Allison, 1990). Physical Ed: Lacking practical activities for practical application. Sport Aerobics: Method practical for lifetime activities both male and female using sports and music.

Statement: Middle school students prefer same sex classes, High School preferred co-ed which effect moral and social development (Lirgg, 1993). Physical Ed: Lack transitional methods from middle school to high school. Sport Aerobics: Has proven results from preschool through high school and college through elite programs for both males and females.

Statement: Women good at expressive activities and skills requiring grace and rhythm, utilizing dance and gymnastics (Wright, 1995). Physical Ed: Limited to live dancing for music and rhythm, since step and aerobics experience and unattractive to males and females without rhythm. Sport Aerobics: Method utilizes music for movement and sport education.

Statement: Boys highly active and skilled respected girls highly active and skilled (Ennis, 1996). Physical Ed: Places comparisons on abilities from both males and females in a competitive environment. Sport Aerobics: Enables males and females to perform within their own ability without peer pressure.

Statement: Girls not electing to take Physical Education because too competitive (Browne, 1992; Hastie, 1996). Physical Ed: Has been criticized to be too social-cultural driven - sports competition to be the center theme to learning. Sport Aerobics: Theme is to learn while enjoying the activity without reinforcing competitive attitudes.

Statement: Girls use manipulatives, boys retrieve facts from memory (Carr & Essup, 1997). Physical Ed: Tends to be traditional and one dimensional when delivering information -verbal and/or demonstrational. Sport Aerobics:Enables demonstration, verbal and participation of students simultaneously with controlled class management.

Statement: Reasons Why/Why not girls select P.E. - classes need to be fun, feel competent, improve skills, need encouragement from parent and Friends (Browne, 1992) Physical Ed: Skill method doesn? exist to be satisfying the desires of girls. Sport Aerobics:Combines fun, fitness, skills, competence concerns in one method. Parents and friends can participate which causes less pressure towards failure.

Statement: Factors affecting all attitudes-curriculum most positive and negative determinants (Grant, 1992). Physical Ed: Is not creating positive attitudes. Positive contributions- capturing imagination, class environment, special content. Negative contributions-teachers behavior, lack of opportunity to decide playing games without purpose or challenge. Sport Aerobics: Builds upon nurturing attitudes with developing confidence, cooperative behavior, self-challenges, teacher active participation.