Game Sense is an approach to physical education that modifies skills and game play to allow all students to participate at their level of ability. It focuses on discovery learning and modifying the environment rather than the player. The goal is to create an inclusive PE environment where all students can build skills and confidence through active participation regardless of their starting abilities. Implementing Game Sense helps students develop movement skills and solutions as well as interpersonal skills like respect, while making outcomes like participation easier for all.

1. What is Game Sense?
Game Sense is described by Pill as the decreasing or increasing of skill in
a game to allow all players to efficiently participate in a game (2018,
p33). As teachers, we are often tasked with catering to students of
different abilities and attitudes towards sport, adapting this into lessons
that we can implement in conjunction to the standards imposed by the
NSW PDHPE syllabus. Light speaks about the issues teachers face in
regards to implementing a successful unit of PE for students, stating that
“Physical education teachers have to deal with far more individual
variation in skill, attitude and motivation in a typical class than coaches
need to in a sport team at any level” (2012, p38).

2. What is Game Sense?
Pill and Hewitt explain that “the game sense approach highlights the
complementarity of tactical and technical components of skilled
performance at all levels of game development. (2017, p10)”. Therefore,
we are tasked with modifying PE lessons in a way where all students can
learn, practice and participate in a manner that complies with key
outcomes within the NSW PDHPE syllabus, satisfying the requirements
for the Physical Education portion of their stage education.

3. What is Game Sense?
Game sense isn’t just one kind of modification. It doesn’t even require
the teacher to make or ask for modifications. Pill and Hewitt enforce this
belief by explaining that “the game sense approach does not rule in or
out any particular instructional strategy but suggests a focus on an
inquiry-guided discovery style and a game-based practice environment
(2017, p11)” If a student doesn’t feel as though they can succeed in a
specific environment, the environment can be changed to fit their needs
within the boundaries of the sport they are playing.

4. Why are we promoting Game Sense Mr Chambers?
Game sense in my opinion is crucial to student development in PE. In
teaching this class, the development of any units of work will be based
on a model where all students are included within the exercise. Perhaps
we have representative level athletes in the year and they are opposing
a child who doesn’t have the same skill level but tries as hard as anyone
in the class. Is it fair that their eagerness and willingness to participate
don’t get the same rewards as students who happen to be gifted?

5. How does this approach get implemented?
In the development of the unit, all students in the class are appraised in
the first PE lesson in that unit. From there, we will devise a plan unique
to each child in the class to be actively able to participate. If there is a
child with an impairment (for example a vision impaired student or a
student in a wheelchair) the unit of work will be devised in such a way
where the game will be as safe as possible (played on a soft surface such
as grass for a visual impairment or all games played on a surface where
a wheelchair can move freely such as a concreted or hard surface area).
It also means that if students require different equipment to participate
fully, they can use it. All students are allowed to use the modified
equipment.

6. What is the result?
The following outcomes are made easier due to our implementation of a
Game Sense approach not just in stage 3 but in all levels, being PD3-11
“selects, manipulates and modifies movement skills and concepts to
effectively create and perform movement sequences”, PD3-5 “proposes,
applies and assesses solutions to movement challenges” and most
importantly “selects and uses interpersonal skills to interact respectfully
with others to promote inclusion and build connections” (NESA 2018,
p68).The result of implementing a Game Sense approach is that we
provide an all-inclusive PE environment that builds the confidence of
students, while developing skills and understanding of the sport. We all
want the best for our children and want them to be active and involved
in their PE unit.

7. References
Light, R. (2012). Game sense. Pedagogy for Performance, Participation
and Enjoyment. Routledge.
NESA. (2018). PDHPE k-10 syllabus. Retrieved from
https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/2f65
7694-dc52-48ba-a440-9256e92c00e3/pdhpe-k-10-syllabus-2018-
pdf.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=
Pill, S. (2018). The game sense approach: developing thinking players.
Runner: The Journal of the Health and Physical Education Council
of the Alberta Teachers Association. 49(1), 32-39.
Pill, S., Hewitt, M. (2017). Tennis coaching: applying the game sense
approach. Strategies 30(2), 10-16.