Presentation given at the 2015 West Virginia DoE Kid Strong conference on Tactical Games Teaching and Physical Activity in Physical Education

1. TEACHING PHYSICAL
EDUCATION LESSONS THROUGH
THE TACTICAL GAMES MODEL
Dr. Stephen Harvey & David Robertson
West Virginia University, USA
Presentation at the WVDE Kid Strong Conference, Charleston, WV, USA, 16-
17th June, 2015

2. Workshop purposes
1. Identify the key features and pedagogical
principles associated with the Tactical Games
Model.
2. Assess the viability of the Tactical Games
Model for teaching games in providing
opportunities for elementary and secondary
physical education pupils to achieve stated
Physical Activity recommendations.

3. Physical Activity Recommendations
for Physical Education Lessons
• Investigate whether
pupils in a Game-
Centered unit of
soccer would reach
the 50% MVPA
criterion (IOM, 2013)

4. WVDE Policy 2510

5. WVDE Policy 2510

6. How to monitor physical activity?

7. Accelerometers

8. System for Observing Fitness
Instruction Time
(McKenzie, 2012)

9. Tactical Games Model

10. Game Form (representation/exaggeration)
Tactical awareness (What to do?)
Skill execution (How to do it?)
Tactical Games Model
(Mitchell, Oslin & Griffin, 2006)

11. Pedagogical Principles of Tactical
Games
Principle Explanation Relevance
Sampling With exposure to similar tactical problems
within (and sometimes between) games
forms, students can learn to transfer
strategies and techniques
Pupils need to
experience a wide
variety of games and
game forms
Tactical
Complexity
Considered within and between game forms.
Teachers need to manipulate task constraints
to the level of the learners
Need a ‘spiral
curriculum’ where the
level of game
complexity develops
over time
Modification
Representation
Modified games should contain the same
tactical structure (i.e. goals and primary rules)
as the adult game; they should represent the
real thing
Teachers must retain
the ‘primary rules’ so
game is not something
else
Modification
Exaggeration
Rules and tasks can be changed to overstate
or emphasize required information-movement
relationships (making the objective implicitly
obvious)
Teachers manipulate
constraints to develop
pupils’ understanding
and/or game sense

12. Tactical Complexity Example
Tactical Problems
of Scoring
Off-the-ball movements On-the-ball skills
Maintaining
possession of the
ball
Support the ball carrier
Fake and replace
Triple threat
Passing/Catching
Pivot, jab step, drop step, dribble,
ball fake, juke, offensive rebound
Attacking the
basket
Post play Jump Shot, set shot
Lay up, power lay up
Follow the shot
Creating space to
attack
Clear out
Pick Away
Fast break
V-cut
L-Cut
Skip pass
Baseball pass
Using space to
attack
Set a screen
Pick and roll
Give and go
Give and go

13. Tactical Complexity Example
Tactical
Problems of
Scoring
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Maintaining
possession of
the ball
Triple threat
Ball fake, juke,
Appropriate
Passes
Support the
ball carrier
Attacking the
basket
Shooting (3-8ft)
Dribbling
Give and go Lay up Offensive plays
against zone
Creating
space to
attack
Dribble to
reposition
Screen on ball Pick off the ball Fast break
Clear out
Using space
to attack
Outlet pass Pick and roll
Transition

14. Task Design
• Informing Task – 3 vs. 3 Bball game to 1 basket
• Extension Task – Pump fake and drive to basket
• (Refinement Task) – 1 vs. 1 practice
• Application Task - 3 vs. 3 game to 1 basket – score
3 points for drive to basket and jump shot/pass
then set shot

15. When designing games…consider
• Does it represent the real (parent) game?
• Are modifications simple enough for everyone to
understand? (oftentimes games with many rule
changes are difficult to follow)
• Does the game offer participants enough
opportunities to try out solutions to the tactical
problem? Can they start to do what you wanted
more often?

16. Phase 1: Activity 3
Off-the-ball movement and support using hands
Task
The game starts in the central square
with an attacking player in possession
Attacking players try to pass the ball
among themselves without defending
players intercepting the ball
Players must combine to pass the ball
between them five times to score one
point
The defending pupil guards/marks the
attacking pupil
On scoring a point, they give possession
in the central square back to the
opposing team as shown in the diagram
Organisation
15 x 15 metre area
6 players per game
Creativity in
Physical Education
= Attacker
= Defender
Teaching Points
“Changing direction quickly”
“Shout when you want the ball”
“Point where you want the ball”
Game Related Task

17. Benchmarks or non-negotiables??
(Gurvitch et al., 2008)
• Teacher uses tactical problems as the
organizing center for the learning tasks,
• Teacher begins each lesson with a game form
to assess students knowledge,
• Teacher uses deductive questions to get
students to solve tactical problems,
• Teacher uses high rates of guides and
feedback during situated learning tasks

18. Game 1 – Informing Task
• 3 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 4 small-
sided end zone game
• Throw ball to team-mate
in the end zone
• Players can stand in the
end zone for 3 seconds

19. Skill Practice or Extension Task
• ‘Piggy in the middle’
• 2 vs. 1 with one ‘coach’
• Get 5 passes to get a
point
• Then rotate roles
Coach

20. Game 2 – Application Task
• 3 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 4 small-sided end
zone game
• Throw ball to team-mate in the end
zone
• Players can stand in the end zone
for 3 seconds
• Have to have 3 passes before a
score
• Have to get a pass back from player
in the end zone

21. Review of data…
• SOFIT
– Student physical activity
• Sedentary
• MVPA
• VPA
– Lesson Context
• Accelerometers
– Did you meet 50% MVPA?
– What was the level of VPA?

22. Some strategies for encouraging
physical activity
• Keep the time in game play higher than in skill
practice
• Don’t stop the whole group
• If you do have to stop the whole group, keep
task presentations or interjections between
30s and 1 minute (carry a stopwatch!)
• If players are waiting (coaching) have them
walk, run in place or do jump jacks
• More???

23. Questions?