Phone: 828-227-2287
Email: mcpherson@email.wcu.edu 
Office Address: Moore 311

Education:

• Ph.D., Louisiana State University, 1987
• M.Ed., Georgia Southern University, 1978
• B.S., Georgia Southern University, 1977

Recent Publications & Presentations

• McPherson, S. L., & Kernodle, M. W. (2007). Mapping two new points on the tennis expertise continuum: Tactical skills of adult advanced beginners and entry-level professionals during competition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 25, 945 – 959.
• McPherson, S. L. (2008). Tactics: Using knowledge to enhance performance. In D. Farrow, J.Baker, & C. MacMahon (Eds.), Developing Elite Sports Performers: Lessons from Theory and Practice (pp. 155-171). London: Routledge.
• McPherson, S. L., & MacMahon, C. (in press). How baseball players prepare to bat: Tactical knowledge as a mediator of expert performance in baseball. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.
• McPherson, S. L., Jagger, K. L., & Schrodt, L. A. (2006). The effect of one viewing of an instructional video using a correct or learning model on knowledge and skill of adults learning to lift objects properly. [Abstract]. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 28 (Suppl.), S131.
• Schrodt, L., McPherson, S., Palmer, C., Watson, D., Boles, K., Harris, J., Ohmann, G., & Wood,J. (2007). What can brief gait and balance physical performance measures tell us about more demanding task performance in community-dwelling older adults? [Abstract]. Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, 30(3), 150.
• Watson, T., McPherson, S., & Starr, K. (in press). The association of nutritional status, gender, and age with cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle in establishing normative data: A preliminary report. The Journal of Manual &Manipulative Therapy.

Research Interests:

• Examining the interplay of “knowing and doing” across the lifespan in rehabilitation and sport contexts. I am currently developing theory and instructional strategies designed to enhance performance and learning of functional and sport skills. I use verbal reports as data to examine long-term memory constructs utilized by individuals during task performances.  
• Examining the impact of service-learning programs in rehabilitation science on organizers’ and participants’ knowledge and skills. These service-learning projects are typically designed to enhance safety and injury prevention of individuals when performing motor skills.  

Biography:

Dr. McPherson joined the Department of Physical Therapy in fall 1999 as associate professor in motor behavior. Prior to this appointment, she was director of the graduate program in Health and Human Performance at WCU (1992-1999). She also was former director of the Motor Behavior Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, from 1988 to 1992. Currently, she teaches Motor Behavior (PT 661) and Scientific Inquiry courses (PT 641, PT 642, PT 643, PT 644) in the Physical Therapy Department and collaborates with faculty and MPT students on research and service learning projects. Sue has received several awards for her line of research including the Alumni Association Outstanding Dissertation Award (1987) in the College of Education of LSU.  Also, in 2005 she was invited by the Research Consortium of the American Alliance of Health and Physical Education (AAHPERD) to deliver the “Scholar Lecture” summarizing her work.  Further, she has delivered several national and international presentations and has written several data based chapters and research articles. She is also a manuscript reviewer for several research journals in motor behavior. Her research endeavors include new theory regarding long-term memory constructs and methods for capturing children’s and adults’ thoughts and behaviors in actual and simulated performance contexts. She along with Karen French, University of South Carolina, were recently recognized as pioneers for their work utilizing verbal reports as data for examining expertise in motor domains. In addition, Dr. McPherson has played an active role in several national societies such as serving as chair of the Motor Development and Learning Academy for AAHPERD and has served on several committees for the North American Society of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA). Finally, she has made numerous national presentations with several faculty and students in the Department of Physical Therapy at the Combined Sections Meeting for the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. McPherson resides in Asheville, NC, and her hobbies include golf, tennis, and scuba diving.