Game Performance Improvements in Sport Education and Tactical Games Models

The Tactical Games Model (TGM) is summarized as a physical education model where the emphasis is on developing the underlying core components of games and sports to develop the tactical and per-formance skills of participants, known as game performance (Metzler, 2011). The Sport Education Model (SEM) is a physical education model structured and sequenced in a league-based format to provide students with a realistic feeling of being part of a sports team and to gain an un-derstanding of all aspects of competitive organized sport. Evidence to support the SEM successfully developing game performance skills is lim-ited and inconsistent (Farias et al., 2015). The purpose of the study was to investigate the game performance of pre-service physical education teachers in two different instructional models, SEM and TGM, from pre-test to post-test. Forty-six male (n = 32) and female (n = 14) par-ticipants took part in either a SEM or TGM Team Handball Unit. Each unit consisted of 10 lessons planned and implemented by the instructor. The game performance components Adjust, Support, and Passing were examined by the researchers using the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (Oslin et al., 1998) through four-minute observations in a small-sided game situation at pre-test and post-test. No significant (p > .05) interaction was found between SEM and TGM instructional models over time for game performance variables. No significant (p > .05) difference was found in game performance between SEM and TGM instructional models. A statistically significant (p < .05) main effect was found for time, such that game performance scores increased from pre-test to post-test for both SEM and TGM instructional mod-els. Based on the findings of the current study, both SEM and TGM instructional models may increase game performance when instructed with fidelity. The results could be explained through understanding the connection the SEM and Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and/or team cohesion. The results have practical implications for physical educators, and directions for future research are discussed.