Game Sense Approach

1. Game Sense Approach
By Miss Nguyen 18335574

2. What is the Game Sense Approach?
● The Game Sense (GS) approach is the Australian variation of Teaching
Games for Understanding (TGfU), that was developed by Rod Thorpe, the
Australian Sports Commission (ASC) and Australian coaches (Light, 2004). It
was developed in response to concerns with students’ ability to play and
understand games.
● This approach uses games as the main component of the session. Therefore,
rather than focusing on the technique practice, students are given the
opportunity to think strategically about the game and results in making better
decisions (Towns, 2002). This makes the lesson become more game-centred
rather than the traditional way of being technique-centred.
● The games involved are modified and sequenced from simple to complex to
final form to suit the targeted student’s abilities and knowledge.

3. What is the Game Sense Approach?
● Pill (2018) explains that the GS approach has three
fundamental parts:
- Knowing what to do in the context of play (decision-making)
- Knowing how to do it (movement knowledge), and
- The ability to execute the response successfully (movement
capability)
● A GS approach lesson will normally be game-based
learning. It will include questioning over instruction, dialogue
instead of monologue, have more equal and inclusive
relationships between the teacher and the students, and
enable opportunities for reflection, formulating, testing and
evaluation solutions (C, Curry, personal communication,
2019).
● Attached on the right-hand side, is a game sense model
(Towns, 2002). It explains explicitly the structure of a game
sense approach lesson.
(Towns, 2002)

4. Incorporation of Game Sense in a class by teachers
The GS approach is now being adapted in Australian PDHPE classes. A few examples
include:
● Austin, Hayne and Miller’s (2004) project, where they applied the Game Sense
approach in a Year 6 class. Their results showed that there was improvement in kicking
skill level and an increased number of students considered to have achieved mastery
or near mastery level of skill performance at the end of the GS intervention.
● Light’s (2006) research consisted of eight students from a Year 6 class. As a result of
the GS approach, there were improvements in interpersonal relationships. Students
voiced their opinion of the approach and said that it was a ‘natural’ way of learning.
● Chen and Light’s (2006) qualitative study of thirty Year 6 students involved in a GS
cricket unit. The results showcased improvements in social relations and interactions
and significant positive change in the attitude of the low-skilled ‘non-sporty’ students
towards sport.

5. Examples of utilising the Game Sense approach
● As this approach involves more questioning over instruction (C, Curry,
personal communication, 2019), teachers will give less direction and focus on
faciliating and guiding the students. The teacher will also give students
opportunities to reflect on their experiences and learning and recast it in a
new context/scenario.
● Enables social interactions. When the teachers ask students discussion and
reflection questions, students will be able to interact with their peers and then
share their responses with the teacher.

6. Rationale: Strengths of the Game Sense approach
The following dot points are strengths of the GS approach in PDHPE lessons.
● NSW Education Standards Authority [NESA] (2018) discusses how the
PDHPE content should focus on student’s personal and social skills, which is
developed through their participation in physical activities. The game sense
approach gives students the opportunities to develop the following skills:
communication, decision-making, problem-solving, critical and creative
thinking, and cooperation (Curry & Light, 2007; Light, 2006 & Towns, 2002).
● By adapting the game sense approach in my PE class, I was able to help
reduce the stress on skill and allow the students to focus on understanding
the game together.
● I took on the role of the teacher/facilitator and set the learning environment,
so that is suitable to the student’s abilities and needs.

7. Rationale: Strengths of the Game Sense approach
● The GS approach creates an informative and
inclusive teaching environment while developing
students’ skills and knowledge in PDHPE.
● Vygotsky (1978) highlights the fundamental role that
social interaction plays in learning. The Game Sense
approach enables opportunities for social
interactions between the teacher and the student or
between the student and their peers.
● It integrates physical, intellectual and social learning
(Curry & Light, 2007).
● Attached on the right-hand side, is a cycle which
showcases other strengths of incorporating the GS
approach into PDHPE lessons, which helps with
achieving the outcomes and content in the syllabus
(NESA, 2018).
Curry, C, personal communication, 2019)

8. References
Austin, B., Haynes, J., & Miller, J. (2004). Using a game sense approach for improving fundamental motor skills. Paper presented at the
Australian Association for Research in Education Conference, Melbourne, Victoria.
Board of Studies NSW. (2018). NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum: Personal Development Health and Physical Education [PDHPE]
K-6 Syllabus. Sydney, Australia: NSW Education Standards Authority. Retrieved from http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-
10/learning-areas/pdhpe/pdhpe-k-10-2018
Chen, S., & Light, R. (2006). I thought I’d hate cricket but I love it! Change: Transformations in Education, 9(1), 49-58.
Curry, C., & Light, R. (2007). Addressing the NSW quality teaching framework in physical education: Is Game Sense the answer. In
Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Conference on Teaching Sport and Physical Education for Understanding.
Light, R. (2004). Coaches’ experiences of game sense: opportunities and challenges. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 9(2), 115-132.
Light, R. (2006). Accessing the inner world of children: The use of student drawings in research on children’s experiences of Game Sense. In
Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Conference on Teaching Sport and Physical Education for Understanding (pp. 72-83). Retrieved from
http://www.proflearn.edsw.usyd.edu.au/proceedings_resources/index.shtml
Light, R. (2006). Game Sense: Innovation or just good coaching?. New Zealand Physical Educator, 39(1), 8.
Towns, J. (2002). About Game Sense. University of Wollongong.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.