Motor Performance Study, Michigan State University: Scientific, Educational and Societal Events that Influenced Its Design and Conduct

ABSTRACT

The Michigan State University (MSU) Motor Performance Study (MPS) was initiated in 1967 and was known across the United States for its unique blend of teaching, service, and research. Dr. Vern Seefeldt began the study as a means to begin research with children on-campus. The instructional portion of the program ended in 1999; data collection continued until 2004. The purpose of the MPS was to examine longitudinal relationships among physical growth, biological maturity, and motor skill acquisition in youth. Four distinct eras of research contributed to the design of the MSU MPS: a) The genetics and maturation period; b) The classification period, involving identification of the motor domain and factor structures of movement skills; c) The perceptual-motor era; and d) The physical fitness era. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe how each of the four research areas specifically contributed to the design and conduct of the MSU MPS.

KEYWORDS:

• Motor competence
• fundamental motor skills
• children
• adolescents

Acknowledgments

We thank all participants and their families for their long-standing participation and support. We also thank all the undergraduate and graduate students who spent countless hours participating in the assessments and/or the motor skills instruction. We especially thank Larissa True for her efforts in formatting this document.

Disclosure

The authors certify that has manuscript has not been published elsewhere and that it has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere. The authors do not have any financial conflicts of interest related to the research reported in the manuscript.