Motor Learning and Development

Haibach et al. (kinesiology, sport studies, and physical education, College at Brockport, State U. of New York, and McGill U., Canada) explain how motor development and motor learning interact and affect each other. They describe the factors that affect the development of motor skills across the life span to help undergraduate students and professionals in physical education and related fields learn how to teach movement skills to learners at any age or skill level. They discuss the development of movement skills from infancy to older adulthood and how having different motor, cognitive, and social abilities influences how, when, and why an individual learns motor skills. Discussion of the theoretical foundation for motor development and motor learning and how to design developmentally appropriate movement programs is included. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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.