Explanation of Game Sense teaching

1. GAME SENSE

2. PDHPE Teaching Approaches
• There are two known teaching approaches when it comes to PE:
1. The Traditional Approach
2. Game Sense Approach (aka Teaching Games for Understanding)

3. Traditional Skills-Based Approach
The skills-based approach is the most common method used by
coaches and teachers. It mainly focuses on building students’ skills
before they play a game. This is done through a set of drills and
highly-structured practice sessions that develop students’
movement patterns (Pill, 2014a). Games are only played when the
teacher or coach believes that students have performed adeptly in
these practice and drill sessions. This approach is very teacher-
oriented as lessons are based on directive instruction, while the
thinking is mostly done by the teacher for their students who
reproduce the knowledge (Pill, 2011).

4. Games Sense Approach
Games teaching differs from the traditional approach as it places the
students at the centre of the learning. Unlike the traditional approach,
lessons jump straight into games. It involves taking a larger game and
modifying it to smaller tasks. Proponents of this approach believe that
students learn best in the context of the game, and drills are only useful if
they solve a specific problem (Pill, 2014b). There is also an element of
questioning to encourage debate, dialogue and reflection amongst
students, transforming the teacher’s role from coach to facilitator (Reid &
Harvey, 2014). It enables marginalised students to be more involved as
there is less focus on technique and more on tactical and strategic
thinking (Pill, 2014a; Pill, 2011). It adheres to the Games and Sports
section of the outcomes for the NSW syllabus as students develop their
games skills, such as spatial awareness, as well as develop a range of
abilities by playing the game, such as team work and strategising (BOSTES,
2007).

5. Games Sense Pedagogy
• Games are modified in regards to the playing area, equipment, and
number of players. However, they need to represent the tactical
intricacies of the larger game.
• Use questions to guide players’ understanding of target concepts, guide
discovery and promote inquiry learning.
• Provide opportunities for students to engage in dialogue, interaction,
and testing of possible solutions.
• Set challenges to promote an atmosphere of learning and problem
solving.
• Modify tasks to emphasise particular tactics and skills associated with
the game.

6. Why Should We Use Game Sense?

7. Develops Skills
• Games sense moves beyond just building the fundamental movement
skills (FMS) and encourages students to engage in higher order thinking.
The FMS are the building blocks of movement and the basic abilities
needed to play any game (DET, 2000). These include running, jumping,
hopping, galloping, catching, throwing, leaping, skipping, kicking,
striking, and dodging (DET, 2000). In games sense activities, students
build on these skills through game play, but are also encouraged to think
critically about their participation. Teachers use questions to enable
students to reflect on the games, think about the strategies they used,
and solve problems in the context of the game. Students can then test
their ideas for solutions and develop their ideas. This highlights the
active learning taking place amongst students and gives control back to
them by allowing them to modify games to solve problems and expand
their skills.

8. Promotes Cooperation
• Games are modified into reduced versions of larger games. By
organising students into smaller groups, it ensures that everyone
has the opportunity to be involved and participate, especially
those students that tend to get lost in the larger games, which are
often dominated by more athletic students. By including an
element of dialogue and discussion, it removes some focus from
technique and places it onto the strategic side of the game, so
those kids that might not be confident in sport can still contribute
by sharing their ideas and solving problems. It also encourages
teamwork and cooperation amongst students as they work
together to form strategies and find solutions.

9. References
• Board of Studies, NSW. (c2007). Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K‐6
Syllabus.Sydney: Board of Studies.
• Light, R., & Robert, J. (2010). The impact of Game Sense pedagogy on Australian rugby
coaches' practice: A question of pedagogy. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 15(2), 103-
115.
• NSW Department of Education and Training. (2000). Get Skilled: Get Active. Moorebank: NSW
Department of Education and Training.
• O’Leary, N. (2016). Learning informally to use the ‘full version’ of teaching games for
understanding. European Physical Education Review, 22(1), 3-22.
• Pill, S. (2011). Teacher engagement with teaching games for understanding - game sense in
physical education. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 11(2), 115-123.
• Pill, S. (2014a). Play With Purpose: Developing Netball Game Sense: Teaching Movement and
Tactical Skills. Hindmarsh: The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and
Recreation ACHPER.
• Pill, S. (2014b). Informing Game Sense pedagogy with constraints led theory for coaching in
Australian football. Sports Coaching Review, 1-17.
• Reid, P., & Harvey, S. (2014). We're delivering Game Sense … aren't we? Sports Coaching
Review, 3(1), 80-92.