1. Game Sense Teaching
THIS POWERPOINT WILL GIVE AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT GAME
SENSE TEACHING IS AND WHY WE ARE USING IT IN OUR
CLASSROOM.
MEAGHAN RYDER, 17791902.
2. WHY WAS GAME SENSE INTRODUCED?
• BUNKER AND THORPE CLAIMED THAT ‘TRADITIONAL METHODS’ OF TEACHING
PHYSICAL EDUCATION ‘HAVE FAILED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CONTEXTUAL
NATURE OF GAMES’ (QUAY & STOLZ, 15). THEY SAID THAT “WHEN THE GAME AS
CONTEXT IS MISSING, QUESTIONS OF WHAT TO DO WITH A TECHNIQUE AND WHEN TO
APPLY IT EMERGE FOR STUDENTS, ALONG WITH THE BROADER QUESTION OF WHY ONE
NEEDS TO LEARN THE TECHNIQUE IN THE FIRST PLACE” (QUAY & STOLZ, 15).
• TO COUNTER THIS METHOD, “THEY ENVISAGED A MODEL FOR TEACHING IN PHYSICAL
EDUCATION THAT STARTS WITH A GAME AND ITS RULES WHICH SET THE SCENE FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT OF TACTICAL AWARENESS AND DECISION MAKING” WHICH “PRECEDE
THE RESPONSE FACTORS OF SKILL EXECUTION AND PERFORMANCE” (QUAY & STOLZ,
15).
3. WHAT IS GAME SENSE TEACHING?
• “AT ITS MOST BASIC LEVEL TAKING A GAME SENSE APPROACH INVOLVES
DESIGNING A GAME OR SEQUENCE OF GAMES TO ACHIEVE PARTICULAR
OUTCOMES, ASKING QUESTIONS TO STIMULATE THINKING AND REFLECTION,
AND ENSURING THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROUP DISCUSSION,
COLLABORATION AND THE FORMULATION OF IDEAS/SOLUTIONS THAT ARE
TESTED AND EVALUATED” (LIGHT, 2013, P.48).
4. FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS
• THERE ARE TWELVE FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS, AND THEY ARE:
• STATIC BALANCE • SKIP
• SPRINT RUN • OVERARM THROW
• VERTICAL JUMP • LEAP
• CATCH • KICK
• HOP • TWO-HANDED STRIKE
• SIDE GALLOP • DODGE
5. A GAME SENSE TEACHING APPROACH CAN
COMPRISE OF:
• SMALL-SIDED AND DESIGNER GAMES
• MODIFICATION OF GAMES FOR REPRESENTATION OF ‘FULL RULES’ GAME FORM
• MODIFICATION OF GAMES, PLAY PRACTICES AND DESIGNER GAMES TO EMPHASIS PARTICULAR
TACTICAL OR MOTOR SKILL LEARNING
• GUIDED DISCOVERY AND INQUIRY LEARNING FOCUSED THROUGH CONVERGENT AND DIVERGENT
QUESTIONING INITIATED BY THE TEACHER
• ‘GAME FIRST’ RATHER THAN ‘PRACTICE FIRST’ LESSON PLANNING
• INVASION, STRIKING/FIELDING, NET/COURT AND TARGET GAME CATEGORIES GROUPING GAMES
WITH SIMILAR PRINCIPLES OF PLAY AND TACTICAL PROBLEMS, ENABLING TEACHING FOR TRANSFER
OF GAME CONCEPTS BETWEEN GAMES WITHIN A GAME CATEGORY OR THE SAMPLING OF GAMES
WITHIN THE GAME CATEGORIES.
(PILL, 2016, P.282)
6. STRENGTHS AS A TEACHING APPROACH
• USING A GAME SENSE APPROACH ALLOWS ALL STUDENTS TO BE INCLUDED AT
ALL TIMES. IT IS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A DRILL AND PRACTISE
APPROACH FOR EXAMPLE AS STUDENTS ARE WORKING INDIVIDUALLY AND NOT
INVOLVED AT ALL TIMES.
• GAMES SENSE IS STUDENT CENTRED. STUDENTS GET A SAY, AND CAN MODIFY
THE GAMES AND RULES TO MAKE A CHANGE TO THEIR GAME.
• CATERING TO ALL SKILL ABILITIES. GAMES CAN ALSO ME MODIFIED BY THE
TEACHER TO ENSURE THAT THE GAME CATERS TO ALL STUDENT’S ABILITIES.
7. LINKS TO PDHPE SYLLABUS
• FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS: THE SYLLABUS RATIONALE DISCUSSES THAT
CHILDREN DO NOT NATURALLY DEVELOP FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT, BUT SAYS
THAT THESE SKILLS ARE DEVELOPED THROUGH PLAY AND SPORTS. USING A
GAME SENSE TEACHING APPROACH WILL GIVE STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
DEVELOP THEIR FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS THROUGH THEIR PHYSICAL
ACTIVITIES.
• DEVELOPMENT OF POSITIVE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: THE SYLLABUS
SAYS THAT POSITIVE INTERACTIONS WITH FAMILY, PEER GROUPS AND TEAMS IS
ESSENTIAL TO MEETING THE NEEDS FOR BELONGING AND SECURITY. USING A
GAME SENSE APPROACH ALLOWS STUDENTS TO INTERACT WITH THEIR PEER
GROUP OR TEAM IN DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND PROMOTES POSITIVE
COOPERATION AND GROUP/TEAM WORK.
8. REFERENCES
Board of Studies NSW. (2007). Personal development, health and
physical education K-6 syllabus.
Light, R. (2013). Game sense: Pedagogy for performance,
participation and enjoyment. New York: Routledge.
Pill, S. (2016). An appreciative inquiry exploring game sense
teaching in physical education. Sport, Education and
Society, 21(2), 279-297. DOI:
10.1080/13573322.2014.912624.
Quay, J. & Stolz, S. (2014). Game as context in physical
education. In R, Light, J. Quay, S. Harvey & A. Mooney’s
Contemporary developments in games teaching (pp. 15-
28). Canada: Routledge.
