Shaping the Game
Alex Sporticus At the heart of a games based approach to teaching is the challenge to the centrality of learning isolated and decontextualised techniques that will ‘allow’ the child to play. Instead of starting with the practice of the prerequisite techniques, the starting point is the game and play itself. It is through play that […]
Silent Coaching
Alex Sporticus Imagine this scene: The pupils are silent as they file into the exam hall. Their names are checked, valuables left at the side and they quietly walk past the rows of desks and chairs till they find their own. Nervous tension fills the the room. The exam papers are distributed, instructions issued and […]
On Teaching
Michael Ryan I think we often mistake teaching for being told what to do by someone. Is explicit instruction good teaching? If one can take a person from A to B, in a simple step-by-step manner, then they are usually considered a great teacher. Although, in my experience, this style tends to creates dependency […]
Asking Students Better Questions
Alex Sporticus RECTIFYING A WEEK OF INEFFECTIVE QUESTIONING The PE Teacher has four clear ‘verbal’ ways to shape the learning of their pupils within lessons; instruction, feedback, question and silence. A skilled PE teacher will use all four, all of the time. Making judgements on which one to use depending on needs of the pupil in […]
Coaching Feeling
Jenn Pilotti I was talking with a physical therapist a few weeks ago. He has worked with everything from professional athletes to seniors recovering from hip surgery. When I asked how he felt about working with athletes, he said, “athletes are easy. It’s general population clients that are difficult.” I have heard this […]
Affective Movement
Alex Sporticus The art of teaching, at its very core, is constant decision making and problem-solving in a dynamic environment to assist the individual or the collective to flourish. As a secondary school teacher of PE I believe I am faced with two key puzzles to solve. The first key puzzle is how can […]
Teaching Workshops
Jenn Pilotti I have always enjoyed in-person learning. While I am self motivated and have no problem learning on my own, there is something about the energy from other people and a person engaging you, challenging your perspective and making you think a little bit harder than you otherwise might that is rewarding. When […]
The Learning Adult
Jenn Pilotti I was on a beach in Costa Rica recently, jumping and spinning, when the teacher gathered us up to look at the break down of an aerial cartwheel. She showed us how the head moves down while you jump up with one leg behind you, replacing the stationary leg with the […]
Competency as an Exploratory Framework
Alex Sporticus The ‘fallacy of perfected steps‘ is to suppose that one thing must be perfectly, and not just partially, mastered before one can move on to the logically next thing. Ensuring children turn into adults who lead a healthy and active lifestyle is the Gordian Knot that PE teachers have a shared responsibility for […]
Feedback, Process, and Accomplishment
Jenn Pilotti As a coach or movement specialist, when do you give people feedback regarding their performance? Do you do it in the middle of the movement? Do you do it after? And after you have sussed out when what do you give feedback on? Do you give feedback on how the movement is […]
Movement in the Big Picture
Jenn Pilotti What does it means to be alive? Not just the experience of living, but the actual physiological process that accompanies being able to exist in a conscious way? In the book, “The Big Picture,” Sean Carroll breaks being alive down to three basic principles: compartmentalization (which is part of self organization), […]
Transitions – Effective vs. Efficient
Jenn Pilotti In the movement disciplines, it’s easy to get hung up on specific aspects of a skill. What does the finished product look like? How does the person begin? What does the posture look like at the end? It’s as though the middle part takes care of itself, assuming the rest of the pieces […]
Scanning and Noticing
Alex Sporticus “When you are a step removed from the fray, you see things that come as surprises – and its important to allow yourself to be surprised.” One stand out moment in my career to date is when I was looking at some promotional pictures an outside company had come in and […]
Teaching Games, Part 1
Alex Sporticus Between Monday 25th July and Wednesday 27th July 2016 I attended the Teaching Games for Understanding Conference in Cologne, Germany. The following series of posts will be a collection of the information shared by the presenters with some of my personal thoughts and questions. We are what we teach: TGfU as a complex ecological situation […]
The Training Hole
Miguel Viero The other day I got some feedback from someone who came to my group classes for a month. To give some context I have to say that this person comes from spending years going to a conventional big chain gym, working out with machines and doing group fitness classes. This person combined both […]
A New Framework for Personal Training
Jenn Pilotti A client that I see occasionally came in recently. “What would you like to work on?” I asked. “My shoulders,” she immediately responded. After a little more questioning, I discovered her shoulders felt tight and a little cranky. She’s quite active and had stepped up her intensity over the last few weeks. I […]
Roundtable #2 – Good Teachers
Feature Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash. WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MEMORABLE TEACHERS? How do you hope to affect those who seek to learn from you? First thing that came to my mind was yes some people leave their mark on us. Sometimes because they are great teachers, and sometimes […]
Chris Ruffolo Think Movement
Standing Spinal Wave
Movement Translation and Empathy
“Translation allows for otherwise separate entities to synapse and communicate.” I have been a teacher for thirteen years and a movement therapist for five. As I toggle through the two professions, an unlikely blend has taken place. I find myself teaching those that come to see me for pain. Instead of jogging laps, students lead spinal […]