PDHPE IS OUR JOURNEY

Mr Morris Class 4M (Stage 2)

SID: 17977034
 INTRODUCING THE GAME SENSE STRATEGY

The NSW Government recommends that Primary School aged children should aspire to spend at least 60 minutes of
moderate and vigorous activities in a single day (Healthy Kids, 2017). However, establishing routines, finding the time,
finding the activities and finding the motivation in children to reach this recommendation can be difficult.

At 4M we are introducing a new approach that will facilitate some of these hurdles by using a PDHPE strategy called Game
Sense(GS). The GS term was originally penned as a measurement of performance competency in the sports coaching field
in 1969 by Thorpe and West, however, since then the underlying principles and practices of the concept have evolved, and
is now being highly recommended as an alternate to the traditional teaching strategy of physical education (Pill, 2014).

If we strip away the layers of GS, the core theory of the approach is aimed at developing a clear and strategic way of
understanding game through emphasising the tactical skills, problem solving skills, decision making skills and technical
skills involved in games.
 SKILL IS MORE THAN JUST
(Breed & Spittle, 2011, p.
TECHNIQUE 4).

With an increased focus on the game, students are

encouraged to learn about how skill is achieved and how
Technical Skill
these skills can work together to provide a stronger
understanding of the game.
Tactical Skill
Skill
From a policy perspective, the GS approach supports The
NSW Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

Decision
=
(PDHPE) K-6 Syllabus which states that through games and
sports, student should be developing the competencies and
confidence in a broad range areas (Board of Studies NSW, Making Skills
2007). Furthermore, GS also ties in with PDHPE K-6 rational
whereby the approach fulfils aspects of all the key learning Problem
areas (Board of Studies NSW). Solving Skills
Breed & Spittle
(2011)
 THE APPLICATION OF GAME
The SENSE
Curriculu
m Model 2) Game
The Evidence

1) Game Reid and Harvey (2014) undertook a study about how the
Appreciation
introduction of a GS approach influences a coaches pedagogy.
Their review of the study indicated that GS pedagogy takes the
focus of the coachs input to what the players are learning and
how the players are constructing meaning from their
Learne 3) Tactical
awareness experiences. The review also highlighted three Key elements
6) Performance r that that were identified and are indicative of GS which were; 1)
learning is active, 2) learning is social, 3) learning process of
interpretation (Reid and Harvey). With consideration to these
three elements, the influences of learning GS suggests that
4) Making students find the GS approach engaging and motivating, as they
5) Skill appropriat
execution come to understand and appreciate the positive attributes and
e
personal development of the approach.
decisions
Bunker & Thorpe (as cited in Breed & Spittle, 2011)
 RATIONALE
I believe that GS is a very important teaching approach because the focus of GS is targeted directly at the
childrens needs. Introducing new games at school to students can be exciting for some but daunting to other
students. By using a game sense approach, takes away preconceived perceptions of ones skill level and focuses on
the problem solving and decision making processes of the game. Playing games and not thinking of simply
performing to win can seem a little unorthodox to some students, but after a few times experiencing games by
thinking more tactically, students will feel more confident and engaged in games. Another strong positive to come
out of GS is the influence of success and a desire to also play some community sport out of school hours. As we
now start to think about that recommendation of 60 minutes of moderate and vigorous exercise per day, we can
see different options and avenues opening up to children. Technology and Sedentary behaviours are now a
concerning factor in the lives of young people today, as the amount of hours start to stack up in front of screens.
 Rationale (Continued)
From a teachers perspective, I strongly believe that the GS approach will also provide a clear focus on
continuous development of the GS concept. Learning week to week new strategies and pedagogies will also
help improve student engagement and learning in a sustainable manner.

However, with all the great positive of GS, we also need to address the negatives. Developing and
implementing GS is not simple transition. The approach does require the school to invest a large amount of
time and resources to make the GS concept work and be successful. However, GS is a evolving concept and
with everything else in life, the more you practice something the better you get.

Overall the key message here is that GS puts the control of learning into the hands of students, and by
doing this allows children to develop positive cognitive strategies to learn about the import skills required to
play sport and games at a personally fulfilling, engaging, and motivational level.
 References

Board of Studies NSW (2007). Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6. Sydney, Australia: Board of Studies

Breed, R., & Spittle, M. (2011). Developing game sense through tactical learning. Port Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

Healthy Kids. (2017). Get active each day. Retrieved from https://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/home/kids-fact-sheets/get-active-each-day-kids.aspx

Pill, S. (2016). An appreciative inquiry exploring game sense teaching in physical education. Sport, Education and Society, 21(2), 279-297. doi:
10.1080/13573322.2014.912624

Reid, P., & Harvey, S. (2014). Were delivering game sense arent we? Sports Coaching Review, 3(1), 80-92. doi: 10.1080/21640629.2014.967519

Webb, P. I., Pearson, P. J., & Forrest, G. (2006). Teaching games for understanding (TGfU) in primary and secondary physical education. (2006 Report).
Wollongong, Australia: University of Wollongong, Faculty of Social Sciences.