Understanding Games for Teaching in Physical Education and Sports: Research Issues of the Next Generation with a Focus on Game-Based Approaches

In contrast to skill-oriented approaches, game-based approaches (GBAs) have proven effective and superior in terms of learning outcomes in teaching and coaching games and sports, supported by a substantial and growing body of research. It is therefore time to initiate the “next generation” of research in game-based instruction, especially since key questions about psychomotor development and the underlying cognitive and motivational processes remain unanswered. Notably, GBAs are increasingly analyzed for their potential to achieve non-subject-specific objectives, such as democracy education or inclusion. As a result, sport- and game-specific psychological objectives risk being overlooked.This Research Topic aims to publish papers and studies that analyze the psychomotor, cognitive, and motivational mechanisms through which GBAs contribute to learning and development in games and sports. It distinguishes the collection from prior work on the general educational value of games and play by centering on the cognitive pathways behind that value. This collection has two core aims: first, to synthesize and update evidence on the underlying cognitive and psychological mechanisms; and second, to examine key contextual factors in greater depth, including instructional designs, learning conditions, and time horizons. In summary, this Research Topic moves beyond whether game-based approaches work to examine for whom, under which conditions, and through which psychological mechanisms they enhance learning outcomes, providing a more nuanced foundation for the next generation of GBA research.Areas of interest include, but are not limited to the following:• Systematization of learning outcomes and their psychological/cognitive underpinnings• Analyses of learning conditions, instructional designs, implementation strategies, and implementation fidelity in different settings• Analyses of “acute” and “chronic” learning effects (change over time on different levels)• Role of motivation, decision-making, and cognitive load in game-based learning• Conceptualization of future research approaches to GBA• Analysis of new assessment approaches, including technology-aided methods, and learning indicators related to GBAsThis Research Topic welcomes RCT, longitudinal research, implementation studies, evaluation studies, mediation and moderation approaches, systematic reviews, umbrella reviews, meta analyses, among other article types. Topic editors: Stefan König, Steffen Greve, Francesco Sgrò, Gustavo De Conti Teixeira Costa Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82739/understanding-games-for-teaching-in-physical-education-and-sports-research-issues-of-the-next-generation-with-a-focus-on-game-based-approaches