A TGfU App to support teachers in implementing TGfU: A response to one of our Twitter followers call for ‘Suggestions and Opinions’

10/27/2015

A recent Tweet by one of our @TGfUInfo Twitter followers @bencolley7 was brought to our TGfU SIG executives’ attention and spurred this blog post to respond to his call for ‘suggestions and opinions’ regarding his proposed Piktochart: "changing the way we teach’’.

Colley, a 3rd year pre-service teacher at the University of Queensland, Australia, raises concerns regarding the current support for Secondary PE teachers in their implementation of TGfU. He proposes the creation of a TGfU App, to provide PE teachers with assistance in planning and implementing TGfU and calls for ‘suggestions and opinions’ regarding his Piktochart, providing a summary of his proposal.

Colley proposes that this App is a ‘potential stepping stone in revolutionizing the way we as HPE teachers conduct our practice’ and makes some bold claims for its potential:

Provide teachers with assistance on how to implement TGFU
Provide lesson ideas available for specific sports
Provide information on how to deliver TGfU to students to ensure they are able to comprehend.
Provide a platform for secondary teachers

In response to Colley’s proposal, the TGfU SIG executive have provided some suggestions and opinions in order to provide further insight and direction for such a grand task. We also call upon our TGfU SIG community to respond to Colley’s proposal, providing him some suggestions an opinions for his way forward.

5 Comments

TGfU SIG Executive

This blog has been set up in response to the growing interesting in developing a global community for discussions on game-based approaches in Physical Education and Sport. The following pedagogical approaches have been identified with game-based approaches: Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), Play Practice, Game Sense, Tactical Games approach, Games Concept approach, Tactical Games Model, Tactical Decision Learning model, Ball Schulle and Invasion Games Competence model.

Ben Colley link

10/27/2015 01:25:16 am

Firstly, thank you for posting my idea.

Since the creation of this piktochart I have added a couple of new features in aim of boosting the feasibility of the product. These features include suggested rule changes (to elicit desired skill response), Questioning schematic (example questions) and a tab that will look to provide background knowledge on the concepts of TGFU and act as a personal development tool.

The rationale behind the creation of this app is due to studies, such as Siedentop and Tannehill and Webb and Pearson suggesting traditional authoritarian HPE pedagogy is doing more harm than good. Through analysing this literature it is apparent that the suggested 60% of time on task during HPE practical lessons are not been met. It is apparant that students are spending approximately 27-30% engaged in physical activity as according to a Jones and Bartlett study. As a consequence is it our fault students are misbehaving? They come to HPE to run around and be physically engaged and are we currently fulfilling this need? Through adopting a TGFU approach that encompasses learning through "doing" enables us to maximize the time students spend in activity. This pedagogical tool minimizes time spent in managerial mode and minimises time spent in transition, thus emphasising physical engagement. As a result TGFU is a fantastic proactive behavior management tool as through increasing student engagement, it is going to reduce adverse and petty misbehavior. This application will look to provide teachers with assistance on how to implement TGFU. This assistance will provide subsequent lesson ideas available for specific sports, as well as information on how to integrate it to students to ensure they are able to comprehend. Through personal surveys and interviews conducted with teachers they stressed their concern regarding the ability to effectively implement TGFU as the students were having difficulty understanding the concepts. This is due to its highly cognitive and strategical focus, which is absent in traditional drill based pedagogy. Finally, the soul purpose of this application, other than assisting teachers implement the ideals of TGFU, is to provide a platform for secondary teachers to follow. Currently TGFU applications only provide assistance to primary leveled teachers and fails to encompass more structured sports such as touch football. In senior school there is an obvious increase in emphasis on skill and technique in these niche sports, however assistance in integrating TGFU into these sports can only benefit the students. It seems silly to waste the potential of TGFU as it possesses massive ability to revolutionise sport and change the current stereotypes associated with modern day HPE. We want our students to enjoy HPE and to recieve a holistic experience, one they can cherish and foster in later years. Therefore I believe this application is the way forward and if modified correctly, could be a viable option for publication.

Kelly Ann Parry (TGfU SIG Director of Communications) link

11/26/2015 12:34:33 am

I think what you are proposing is fantastic, the resource page of the TGfU website is what is accessed the most. From my personal studies, which also look into supporting teachers to implement TGfU but from a Professional Development perspective, I have found that teachers have limited knowledge and pedagogical skills to be able to implement TGfU; so I would suggest that is where we need to start. I also found that the learning culture within the faculty greatly influenced the adoption of TGfU, this being a big hurdle for in service teachers. I think when designing an App like this you need to make sure it is consistent with the TGfU philosophy and model. You need to make sure you are honouring the principles of the approach. It is a mammoth task and I commend you for taking it on. We have a resource back as part of our TGfU website and are working on a PD initiative that will compliment such an initiative. I guess you need to be mindful of the grandeur of the project.

Ben Colley

11/27/2015 04:01:22 am

Hi Kelly,

Thank you for your response,
Since posting this I have created a few new additions that look to encompass the personal development aspect of game sense/TGFU approach.

This will include sample lessons/ videos of what may happen (what to look for) and how to troubleshoot potential problems.

I am also looking at incorporating a forum that people purchasing the app will be able to have access to. This will be a platform for fellow teachers to share their ideas and potentially problem solve them together. It will look to act as an ongoing support network that I will also monitor etc.

I have to date developed my resources for cricket and touch football and am looking to cover a few more of the mainstream sports.

To begin with I am looking to primarily focus on invasion s styled games (minus cricket, I included this as I work for a cricket agency and have accessible resources through that) as these seem to be the most popular (just a a beginning platform).

I am attempting to double the app as a personal development platform that will also have resources available for teachers to then look to implement as a means of promoting their practice.

Any suggestions will be fantastic and thank you for your input Kelly. Having an insight regarding your personal development studies has been fantastic in allowing me to look at this as a primary focus.

Thank you

Kelly Ann Parry

11/27/2015 04:24:38 am

I think using the app as a PD platform is a fantastic idea. I guess the things that immediately spring to my mind are:
1. What are you doing to ensure that the resources i.e. lesson plans/videos etc are a quality representation of game-based pedagogy.
2. What are you doing to show the learning/make the learning visible through these resources
3. Starting with the most tactically complex games is tricky - should we be looking at building complexity through the other games categories first before creating Invasion games resources.
4. A suggestion maybe to not look at specific sports but maybe to look at games categories. This will limit the amount of resources you will have to create. This may also highlight the transferable nature of the skills through the games categories.

Ben

12/15/2015 07:51:18 am

Hi Kelly,
Thank you again for your response.

1. In terms of ensuring the resources are quality I will be working closely with people who I know are personally proficient in the area i.e done phd studies/work in these area in educating others.

2. I will be using video recording processes in the personal develop section to emulate what the typical response should be and how if what your purpose is doesnt happen, how to scaffold accordingly etc
- I will also include a section that has lesson goals/objectives to ensure the lessons are being scaffolded and integrated as per intention
3. The only reason I have decided to tackle invasion styled games, which I agree are most complex due to the strategic nature is due however to the marketing aspect. If I limit it to basic activities I will struggle to market it at both teachers and coaches. Through making activities in sequence to the game sense and constraints philosophies for the specific sports i.e touch football it maximses marketing as it can be purchased by both teachers and coaches. It also minimises the burden of teachers who may/may not be familiar with that sport or the teaching style to facilitate a highly successful and accurate lesson through just following the app.
4. I highly agree with this point %100 and this will be vivid in the pd section which will highlight/ explain the transferable nature of the activites. However again I feel if I create games too general, it doesn't allow my app to be unique in terms of catering for specifity. I feel that if I don't cater specifically and make the activites black and white for the specific sports I am providing what has already been given and think that this wont achieve my desired ambition. I want to make it as seamless and as easy as possible to deliver constraints approach to students in the grades of 7-10 whereby sports are more structured and focus more specifically on invasion styled games.

There will be the addition of a modified games unit whereby these activities will be a random assortment of games which I think will be more of what you were suggesting in terms of stripped backed games such as endball etc that can be applied to a multitude of different sports. However I feel through supplying high quality resources for specific sports, rather than high quantity I can produce a higher level of product.

I would love your ongoing feedback and appreciate it greatly.

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

A TGfU App to support teachers in implementing TGfU: A response to one of our Twitter followers call for ‘Suggestions and Opinions’

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