Research Interests
Dr. David Fitzpatrick
Presentation Outline
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Introductory Comments
Academic Qualifications
Academic Work Experience
Personal Information
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Overview of Early Eclectic Studies
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Major Research Focus
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Questions/Comments
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Academic Qualifications:
Graduate/Undergraduate Degrees
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Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) University of Alberta
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Master of Education (M.Ed.) University of Manitoba
 Educational Administration
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Master of Education (M.Ed.) University of Manitoba
 Curriculum and Instruction
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Special Education Certificate - Manitoba Education
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) University of Manitoba
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Certificate in Education (Ed. Cert) University of Manitoba
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Bachelor of Physical Education (BPE) University of Manitoba
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
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Teacher, Winnipeg School Division (1973 -1990)
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Consultant, Manitoba Dept. of Education (1976 -1977)
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Instructor, Physical Activity and Sport Studies (1990 - 01)
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Associate Professor, Kinesiology (2001 - present)
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Coordinator, Physical Activity and Sport Studies (2001-02)
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Chair, Kinesiology and Applied Health (2002 - 2005)
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Interim Associate Dean, Social Science (2005)
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Acting Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts (2005 - 2006)
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Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts (July, 2006)
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Acting Dean, Faculty of Arts (Oct. 2006 - June 2007)
Recent External Grants
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2005 - Goodwin, Connelly, Hall, C. & Fitzpatrick,
(Collaborator), “The Other Adult in Inclusive Physical
Education Settings: Helping or Hindering?” Social
Sciences Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
($116,800) - In progress
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2004 - Watkinson & Fitzpatrick (Co-investigator),
“Children’s’ Affective Memories of Recess”,
University of Alberta, Humanities, Fine Arts and
Social Sciences Research Operating Grant.
($6,000.00) - In progress
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2003 - Goodwin, Fitzpatrick, (Co-investigator) & Hall,
“The Meaning of Special Olympics Participation to
the Families of Children with Mental Disabilities”,
Canadian Special Olympics ($10,000) – Published
(Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly - 2006)
Recent Internal Grants
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2006 - UW Travel Grant ($1000)
2006 - Canada Work Study Grant ($932)
2006 - UW Special Research Grant ($2000)
2005 - UW International Travel Grant ($2000)
2004 - UW Major Research Grant ($2500)
2004 - Canada Work Study Grant ($800)
2003 - UW Travel Grant ($1000)
2003 - Canada Work Study Grant ($712)
2002 - Canada Work Study Grant ($694)
2002 - UW Discretionary Grant ($600)
2002 - UW Travel Grant ($500)
2001 - UW International Travel Grant ($1500)
2001 - Canada Work Study Grant ($700)
Significant Creative Accomplishment
Motor Behaviour
Motor
Development
Manitoba Schools
Physical Fitness Survey
• Studied selected fitness, performance, and
anthropometric measures of 10,000 K-12
public school students in a geographic
random sample of 700 Manitoba schools
– Largest survey of it type worldwide
– Established Manitoba norms and percentiles
– Established Minimal Performance Standards
– Evidence of low fitness among Manitoba Students
– Member of research team of five who
designed, conducted, and analyzed results
Basic Movement Skills (BMS)
Assessment Instrument
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Developed BMS Observation Profile
Developed Group Screening Protocol
Developed Individual Test Protocol
Confirmed test validation
Established Inter-rater reliability
Efficacy of teacher administering profile
Remedial program development
Part of Early Identification Program (EIP)
• 25,000 observations on 8,000 students
Other Early Studies
• Daily Physical Education Project
– Pre - Post intervention with control
• Experimental school showed favourable gains
• Families Play to Grow
– Enhancing participation for children with disability
• Families were more active one year following program
• Active Living Alliance for Canadians With a
Disability (Research Sub-Committee)
– PE participation of Students with Disability
• High percentage of SWD have a negative PE Experience
Moving To Inclusion
Series of 10 disability
specific curriculum
resources distributed to
15,000 Canadian schools
and over 25 countries.
“Among the most
comprehensive and
practical adapted
physical education
resources developed”
(Dr. Julien Stein)
Survey of Selected Physical
Education and Health Teaching
Variables in Manitoba Schools
In cooperation with:
The Manitoba Physical Education Supervisors’ Association
The Manitoba Physical Education Teachers’ Association
Report of the Analysis
October 1999
David Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg
Recommended Minutes of PE per Cycle
% above150 +
% Below 150
Gr.1
29.9%
70.1%
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Gr. 2 29.9%
70.1%
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Gr.3
30.6%
69.4%
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Gr. 4 30.6%
69.4%
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Gr.5
35.4%
64.6%
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Gr. 6 35.4%
64.6%
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Gr.7
44.6%
55.4%
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Gr.8
44.6%
55.4%
150
140
130
120
110
Minutes
100
Mean
90
Minutes of PE
by Grade
80
70
Q7KPE Q71PE
Q72PE
Q73PE Q74PE
Q75PE Q76PE
Q77PE
Q78PE
Grade
Mean Minutes of PE per cycle by Grade
Positive and Negative Experiences
In Physical Education Class:
What Students Say
A Presentation to the:
Western Canadian Physical Education
Supervisors’ Conference
Winnipeg, Manitoba
February 9, 2000
David Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg
Physical Education Experiences
Descriptive Writing Exercise
1. Describe a positive or rewarding
incident from your school
physical education experience.
2. Describe a negative or disappointing
incident from your school
physical education experience.
Major Research Path
The Lived Experience of Physical
Awkwardness: Views From
Various Perspectives
Dr. David Fitzpatrick
Physical Awkwardness or DCD
Physical awkwardness, also known as
Developmental Coordination Disorder
(DCD), is an unexplained impairment in
the development of motor coordination.
“Awkward” Research Questions
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What is it like to be physical awkward?
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How do students who are physically awkward
cope with their awkwardness?
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What is it like to teach PE to students who are
physically awkward?
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How do those who are physically awkward
view their bodies?
Heuristic Benefits
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Not all may fully appreciate what it is like
to experience awkwardness
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Others may benefit from personal insight
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Need for more tactful teaching/coaching
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Research has not identified a definitive
instructional intervention for DCD
Qualitative Methodology
Hermeneutic Phenomenology
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A qualitative research method, that seeks
to describe, explain, and understand the
meaning of human experiences.
The Lived Experience of
Physical Awkwardness:
Adults’ Retrospective Views
International Symposium on
Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA)
Vienna, Austria
July 3, 2001
David A. Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Describing Awkwardness
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“When other people say … they can't play, … it
means they can't play very well. If I say I can't
play, it really means, ‘I can't play’!”
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“There are people who are athletes, and people
who are non-athletes, and then there is me.”
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“Baseball … I couldn’t throw. I couldn’t catch. I
couldn’t bat. That doesn’t leave much.”
Invariant or Essential Themes
of Experiencing Awkwardness
“Failing and Falling”
“Hurt and Humiliation”
“Worrying and Wondering”
“Avoiding Awkwardness”
Telling Quotes
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“I was on the ground more than I was
standing.”
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“I had to take my turn at serving. I was
totally humiliated, being so unskilled.”
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“Why can’t I throw a ball like a regular
human being?”
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“I took three Sciences, three Maths, two
English and Russian History so there wasn't
room for PE.”
Avoiding Awkwardness:
A Subversive Activity
Adults’ Reflections of
Childhood Coping Strategies
Presentation to the:
NAFAPA 2002 Conference
Corvallis, Oregon
September 27, 2002
David Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg
Physical Education is Public
The child is in a position of being
acclaimed or humiliated by an authority
from whose decision there is no recourse
and in a group from which there is no
escape (Wood, 1983, p. 220).
Cognition and Avoidance
“I was a klutz, but I was a thinking
klutz, so I learned how to hide
most of it.”
Avoiding Awkwardness
Varied Involvement
Uninvolved
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Involved
Compliance/Trying hard
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Illness
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Supportive others
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Misrepresentation
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Selective participation
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Doing other things
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Pseudo participation
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Actively avoiding PE
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Hiding within activity
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Refused/Rebelled
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Humour
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Gave Up/Did not try
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Emotional Response
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Didn’t care/Accept it
Pseudo-Participation, Substitution,
Teacher Criticism
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“Just run around and as long as you
don't get the ball, you don't worry about
getting ‘swacked.’”
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“I did a school history compilation. I
missed a lot of PE.
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“No one ever taught me … I had no help
from my ‘teachers’.”
SCAPPS 2003 - Hamilton
The Experience of Teaching Students
Who are Physically Awkward
David A. Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg
October 18, 2003
Invariant Themes
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Recognizing Students who are Awkward
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Empathic Awareness
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Answering the Challenge
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Hopeful Expectations
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Frustrations
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Occasional Success
Strategies Employed
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Promoting success
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Peer Teaching
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Encouragement
Choice
Individual attention
Physical guidance
Modifications
Individual activities
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Groups/Partners
Volunteers
Pull out programs
Practice
Mass participation
Gradual competition
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Effective Instruction Guidelines
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Warm and Orderly Environment
Realistic, High, Achievable Outcomes
Promote Student Choice and Control
Structured Instruction
Demonstrate Expectations
Group Students and Use Stations
Ask and Encourage Questions
Maximize Practice and Success
Circulate and Monitor Progress
Provide Feedback (Vogel & Seefeldt 1988)
Experiencing Physical Awkwardness:
Conflicting Accounts of
Teachers and Students
International Symposium on
Adapted Physical Activity (ISAPA)
Verona, Italy
July 5, 2005
David A. Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg, Canada
Societal Disaffection with Unskillfulness:
Atypical Physical Performance
and the Imperfect Body
Presentation at the Biannual Symposium of the
North American Federation of Adapted
Physical Activity (NAFAPA)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
October 14, 2006
David A. Fitzpatrick
University of Winnipeg, Canada
Work Study in Progress
Naturalistic Observations
of Voluntary, Self-generated, Incidental
Physical Activity at Selected Sites
on the University of Winnipeg Campus
 Only 10% of the University of Winnipeg
Community opt to take stairs when an
elevator or and escalator is available.
The Beginning
With thanks
Questions/Comments?