Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Based on the latest research from the field, Motor Learning and Development explains how motor development affects motor learning and provides a framework for establishing programs that facilitate skill acquisition for all learners. This first-of-its-kind undergraduate text serves as a primary resource for integrating this broad range of material within a single course. Motor Learning and Development examines the development of movement skill in humans from infancy to older adulthood and how differing motor, cognitive, and social abilities affect when, why, and how an individual learns motor skills.

Motor Learning and Development begins by providing a foundational understanding of the concepts in motor learning and motor development. Readers will discover the fundamental motor skills developed during childhood as well as the individual functional and structural constraints present in childhood and adolescence. Next, readers explore physical activity and movement in relationship to young, middle, and older adulthood (including the effects of significant life changes such as leaving home, entering the workforce, getting married, and having children) and the social and psychological changes associated with retirement and aging. A unique conclusion brings the text's concepts together to illustrate how to design developmentally appropriate programs for all types of learners.

Building on the theoretical knowledge of previous chapters, readers will also learn how to prepare, develop, and implement developmentally appropriate movement programs. The text examines concepts such as these:

-Structuring the learning environment to positively influence the physical, instructional, and affective factors in motor learning

-Setting goals and introducing motor skills through the use of demonstrations, verbalizations, attention directing, and physical guidance

-Designing and structuring effective practice sessions

-Types of feedback and their functions as well as effective feedback scheduling

Learning features in each chapter include an opening scenario, activity and lab suggestions, chapter summaries, and glossary terms. In addition, sidebars provide opportunities for readers to increase their understanding. Research Notes present accessible summaries of notable research in both fields, and Try This sections detail a simple task for students to perform during class or study. In addition, What Do You Think? questions promote critical thinking and encourage research-to-practice understanding of the material.

When used as a course text, Motor Learning and Development includes a test package and image bank to assist instructors in combining these two large content areas into a single course. The image bank includes most of the figures, tables, and photos from the book as well as a blank PowerPoint template. Instructors can easily build their own tests and quizzes using multiple-choice, true-or-false, and short-answer questions found within the test package. These resources are available online and are free to course adopters.

Motor Learning and Development provides an excellent framework for understanding both fields of study as well as the ways in which motor learning and motor development affect one another. By providing a thorough understanding of the factors that drive the development of motor skills throughout the life span, Motor Learning and Development assists future and current movement educators in teaching movement skills to learners at any age and skill level.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Pamela S. Haibach, PhD , is associate professor in the department of kinesiology, sport studies, and physical education at the College at Brockport, State University of New York. She is also coordinator of the kinesiology major and the study abroad programs for four majors in the kinesiology, sport studies, and physical education department at the College at Brockport.

Her teaching and research, including descriptive and intervention studies, focuses on performance, learning, postural control, and balance. Her research has spanned from children to older adults, including developing individuals, individuals with disabilities, and other special populations. Haibach earned her doctorate in kinesiology (2005) with an emphasis in motor behavior from Pennsylvania State University under the advisement of Dr. Karl M. Newell.

Haibach is president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education's (NASPE) Motor Development and Learning Academy and a member of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA); American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); International Society of Motor Control (ISMC); and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA). Active in her community, Haibach serves as a board member for the Brockport Child Development Center, co-chair of the Parent Teacher Association at the Brockport Central School District (Barclay), and co-advisor for the College at Brockport Lions Club, which fundraises for CampAbilities, an on-campus sport camp for children and adolescents with visual impairments.

In her free time, Haibach enjoys fitness-related activities, ballroom dancing, boating, cross-country skiing, and water sports. She and her husband, Jeff, and two children, Tristan and Makayla, reside in Brockport, New York. As both a researcher and a mother, she enjoys experiencing the growth and development of her two young children.

Greg Reid, PhD , is a professor in the department of kinesiology and physical education at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. A former elementary school physical education teacher and long-time youth coach in ice hockey and baseball, Reid obtained his graduate education in adapted physical activity, motor learning, and special education. As a teacher and researcher, Reid maintains a strong focus on theory-to-practice applications. Reid has taught motor development since 1986 and has conducted research since 1978 in the areas of performance, learning, and development spanning from children to older adults and including the study of individuals with and without disabilities.

In addition to his teaching and research, Reid supervises the practicum experiences of undergraduates teaching individuals with disabilities. He is also a former undergraduate program director and chair of the department of kinesiology and physical education at McGill University.

Reid is a member of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA); American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); and the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). In 1997 he received the G. Lawrence Rarick Research Award from AAHPERD's National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. He was elected an international member of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education in 1999.

Reid and his wife, Carol, reside in Ste-Adele, Quebec. They have two grown sons, Drew and Tyler. In his free time he enjoys hiking, bicycling, cross-country and downhill skiing, and reading novels. He is also currently enjoying the motor development and learning accomplishments of his grandson, Jacob Liam Reid.

Douglas H. Collier, PhD , is associate professor in the department of kinesiology, sport studies, and physical education as well as the co-coordinator of the teacher certification major at the College at Brockport, State University of New York. Collier was a delegate to the Jasper talks (1985), a significant policy workshop that became the catalyst to Collier's career-long interest in motor development. For the past three decades, his research agenda has examined, with an emphasis on theory to practice, various facets of motor development that pertain to the education of typically developing children and those with identifiable disabilities. Collier has presented his research at multiple national and international conferences concerned with the study of motor development and pedagogy.

Over the course of his 18-year career in higher education, Collier has served in multiple leadership positions at local, state, and national levels. Currently he is a member of the North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (NAFAPA); American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA).

Collier holds a doctorate in human performance from Indiana University (1993), where he studied under the advisement of Drs. Dale Ulrich, Beverly Ulrich, and Esther Thelen. In his free time, Collier enjoys racket sports, photography, and canoeing. He and his wife, Christine, reside in Brockport, New York. They have two grown daughters, Robin and Shannon.