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Until recently, interest in critical thinking was predominately focused on traditional classroom settings (Larkin et al, 1980; Owen & Sweller, 1985), with little attention paid to the possibility of fostering it in Physical Education settings. For many people, the idea of combining thinking skills with a practical subject like PE may seem incongruous, yet growing research shows that physical education may be ideally suited to foster student critical thinking ( Schwager & Labate, 1993; Cleland & Pearse, 1995) . The different practical areas of the subject offer rich environments to promote it in students of all ages. Literature regarding critical thinking in PE and sport settings has been scarce but the potential for exploring this is largely untapped (McBride, 1991). It prompts important questions as:

• What does critical thinking “look like” in PE and sport?
• How can children learn to employ critical thinking strategies in their PE lessons?
• What skills do they need to possess and how do they enjoy lessons in which critical thinking plays a significant part?
• Is there a model in existence to help teachers and coaches include critical thinking in teaching or coaching sessions?
  

It is clear from the literature, that critical thinking has two components and to support it requires knowledge of both aspects. Firstly, it is thinking that utilises a set of cognitive skills including problem-recognition, analysis, weighing evidence, evaluation and making judgements (Lipman, 1992; Halpern, 1996; Ruggiero, 1998). Its second component comprises attitudes, habits of mind and characterological traits to use the cognitive skills just described commonly and referred to as “dispositions” (Beyer, 1987; Facione et al., 1995; Perkins et al., 1993). Critical thinking in PE seeks to create enjoyment in movement, both by encouraging children to discover and explore their environment or problems encountered by stimulating their cognitive involvement (NASPE, 1995). With reference to PE and sport, the term itself has been defined as “reflective thinking that is used to make reasonable and defensible decisions about movement tasks or challenges” (McBride, 1991, p.115).

PE through its different domains provides many opportunities to promote critical thinking. In the cognitive domain, identifying the body as an appropriate vehicle to facilitate critical thought is recognised by a number of writers. Buschner (1990) shared this view when he wrote, “in physical education, thinking, feeling, and moving are co-equal partners” (p.59). A study by Ennis (1991) found that teachers actively encouraged the integration of cognitive thinking with movement content in elementary students. Using a curriculum model devised earlier by Logsdon (1984), students responded to questions concerning their movements and the fundamental principles of body, space, effort and relationship. Cleland (1994) found that the ability to generate different movement patterns was significantly improved in young children when they used critical thinking strategies.

Receiving information from the environment, analysing it in a series of organised steps and progressing it to a considered outcome, is the very essence of critical thinking in Physical Education in the psychomotor domain . Students as critical thinkers must be able to make reasoned decisions about the nature of movement challenges which are defensible by them. Critical thinking in relation to Physical Education can be seen as an orchestrated process wherein the learner is encouraged to generate and test hypotheses, try alternative solutions and continually think and rethink (McBride, 1991).

Few other subject areas combine cognitive challenges with movement tasks in the affective domain to the same degree as physical education. There is now a growing body of literature concerned with the dispositions or attitudes that foster critical thinking in the different PE environments. The affective domain offers much scope to develop critical thinking as students must be disposed towards the process in the first instance. Findings from studies in the American school system bear this out (McBride & Knight, 1993; Blitzer, 1995; Cleland & Pearse, 1995). These dispositions (willingness to take risks, co-operating, being open-minded, etc) support and drive the critical thinking process (Beyer, 1987).

An excellent model to represent critical thinking practically has been produced by McBride (1991) and views the critical thinking process in four steps: cognitive organising, cognitive action, cognitive outcomes and psychomotor outcomes. A brief explanation of each component would be relevant here.

The following brief vignette illustrates critical thinking in the context of one practical activity area in PE.

Beyer, B. (1987) Practical strategies for the teaching of thinking. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Blitzer, L. (1995) It's a gym class….what's there to think about? Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, August, pp.44-48.

Buschner, C. (1990) Can we help children move and think critically? In W.J. Stinson (ed), Moving and learning for the young child. Reston, VA: AAHPERD Publishing Company.

Cleland, F.E. (1994) Young children's divergent movement ability: Study II. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 13(3), pp.228-41.

Cleland, F. & Pearse, C. (1995) Critical thinking in elementary Physical Education: reflections in a yearlong study. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, August, pp.31-8.

Ennis, R.H. (1991) Discrete thinking skills in two teachers' physical education classes. Elementary School Journal, 91, pp.473-87 .

Facione, P.A. et al., (1995) The disposition toward critical thinking. The Journal of General Education, 44(1), pp.1-25.

Halpern, D. (1996) Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .

Larkin, J. et al. (1980) Expert and novice performance in solving physics problems. Science , 208, pp.1335-1342.

Lipman, M. (1992) Thinking in Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Logsdon, B.K., Barrett, K, Ammons, M., Broer, M., Halverson, L., McGee, R. & Robertson, M.(1984) Physical Education for Children. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger.

McBride, R. (1991) Critical thinking –an overview with implications for Physical Education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 11, pp.112-125.

McBride, R. & Knight, S. (1993) Identifying teacher behaviors during critical thinking tasks. Clearing House, 66, pp. 374-78.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education (1995). Moving into the future: National standards for physical education. Reston, VA: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Owen, E., & Sweller, J. (1985) What do students learn while solving mathematics problems? Journal of Educational Psychology, 112, pp.547-584.

Perkins, D.N., Jay, E. & Tishman, S. (1993) Beyond abilities: A dispositional theory of thinking. The Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39, pp.1-21.

Ruggiero, V.R. (1998) The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought. New York: Longman.

Schwager, S., & Labate, C. (1993) Teaching for critical thinking in Physical Education, Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 64(5), pp.24-26.

1. Is critical thinking applicable to the domains of PE and sport or is it yet another trend that will disappear in the future?

2. What are the implications for teaching? What, if any instructional changes are needed to imbed critical thinking in PE lessons?

3. Do factors like age of students or their knowledge and/or skill levels in a particular activity area affect the promotion of critical thinking in PE?

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