Teaching Sport Concepts and Skills: A Tactical Games Approach

About Judith L. OslinLinda L. GriffinStephen A. Mitchell

Steve Mitchell PhD is associate dean in the College of Education Health and Human Services and a professor of physical education at Kent State University in Ohio. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees from Loughborough University (England) where Teaching Games for Understanding was developed. He earned a doctorate in teaching and curriculum at Syracuse University. An avid soccer player and licensed coach he has employed a tactical approach in teaching and coaching at the elementary middle school high school and college levels since 1982. Mitchell is a member of SHAPE America and the Ohio Association for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance.Judy Oslin PhD is a professor emeritus at Kent State University. She received her undergraduate and master's degrees from Kent State and earned a doctorate in sport pedagogy at Ohio State University. Oslin has more than 35 years of experience as a physical educator and teacher educator. She has used the tactical approach with elementary middle school high school and university students. Oslin has also presented numerous papers and workshops focusing on implementation of the tactical approach and the Game Performance Assessment Instrument at the international national regional state and local levels. Having retired in 2007 she now enjoys playing games (particularly golf and pickleball) traveling hiking camping and staying fit by walking and weight training.Linda Griffin PhD is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She earned her bachelors degree from Black Hills State University her masters degree from Ithaca College and her doctorate from Ohio State University. She has more than 35 years of experience as a physical educator and teacher educator. Her research and scholarly interest for over 20 years have focused on the teaching and learning of sport-related games through a games-centered approach grounded in constructivist learning. Throughout the United States and abroad Linda has presented numerous papers and workshops focused on the tactical approach. Griffin served on the planning committee for the first Teaching Games for Understanding Conference in New Hampshire in 2001. She is a member of SHAPE America National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and American Educational Research Association (AERA). Griffin has also served as chair for the Curriculum and Instruction Academy president of the Research Consortium and a reviewer for various professional journals including the Journal of Teaching in PE and Research Quarterly.