game sense approach

1. +
The Game Sense Approach
What is it and what does it
mean for your child?

2. +
What is Game Sense?
The game sense approach is a theory students are put
into situations where they must use their problem
solving skills in order to recognise their barriers and
better their approaches.
This method is useful in a primary school situation as
it teaches students from an early age the way to assess
situations to better their own skills and to produce the
best result for themselves and their teams.

3. +
What is Game Sense?
The game sense approach is a modification of the ‘Teaching
Games for Understanding model’ (Light, 2005).
The modifications made to this model are about challenging
students to discover there own issues within skills and
game play to maximise their learning. Students are
encouraged to make sense of the chaos of the game in order
to adjust their own skillset accordingly.
To teach this method to students we allow them to learn
how to play the game itself but also they learn the where’s,
when’s and why’s of these skills and how to correctly apply
them in normal game play.

4. +
Why Game Sense?
The approach of game sense is to teach students
through the modification of the game and to change
their own methods in order to improve their own
game and skill level. (Brooker, Kirk, Braiuka &
Bransgrove, 2000)
Previously all teaching methods of games focused on
the refinery of motor skills and basic sporting skills
while now with the game sense approach the focus is
on adapting games step by step to develop the
students overall skills while also allow them to make
these adjustments and changes on their own.

5. +
Why Game Sense?
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
• Allows students to come to their
own conclusions about their
abilities.
• The process of slow
modifications lets students give
their own opinions on where
problems are.
• A far more student centered
method of learning, as a large
chunk of this method is self
assessed.
• Focuses on the reasons certain
steps are taken in teaching skills
and key learning outcomes
• Can be a slower process
depending on the beginning
skill level of different students
• Some students could be bored
with the process and not pay
attention to the why’s

6. +
Is it the right method for your
children?
The ‘game sense approach’ despite having its flaws does hold
the potential to be an impressively useful and appropriate
method for teaching PDHPE in primary school.
Due to it’s semi self-teaching benefits it allows your children to
really assess their own abilities and how they can better them in
regards to the key learning outcomes they need to accomplish in
class.
Yet, with this method it removes the spoon feeding practices of
teaching sport skills and allows students to find the issues
themselves and work as a class to progress forward and complete
the activity to a better understanding.

7. +
Syllabus Outcomes and
Indicators related to game sense
 COS3.1  Students learn to communicate between themselves and to the
teacher in order to develop their skills and give their opinion on issues with the
game.
 INS3.3  Interacts with other students in order to discuss the next
developmental step for the game to flow and for skills to develop.
 DMS3.2  Students can make decisions about their own learning and
developing the class’ methods to benefit all students.
 MOS3.4  Students refine and accelerate their movement skills in order to
better their game play and to benefit their own PDHPE knowledge.
 PSS3.5  Students learn to suggest and and apply changes in order to
facilitate their learining and the progression of their skill levels.
 GSS3.8  Students learn to apply movement skill and make their own
decisions about what needs to be adjusted in order to better their skills.

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References:
 Brooker, R., Kirk, D., Braiuka, S., & Bransgrove, A. (2000).
Implementing a game sense approach to teaching junior high
school basketball in a naturalistic setting. European Physical
Education Review, 6(1), 7--26.
 Light, R. (2005). Making sense of chaos: Australian coaches talk
about game sense. Teaching Games For Understanding: Theory,
Research And Practice, 169--182.