Presents a comprehensive guide for teachers and coaches that details the history, theory, research, and practice of the Teaching Games for Understanding model, and how to incorporate it in both elementary and secondary curriculum.

This new book brings together leading and innovative thinkers in the field of teaching and sport coaching pedagogy to provide a range of perspectives on teaching games and sport for understanding. Teaching Games and Sport for Understanding engages undergraduate and postgraduate students in physical education and sport coaching, practicing teachers, practicing sport coaches, teacher educators and coach developers. The contributions, taken together or individually, provide insight, learning and opportunities to foster game-based teaching and coaching ideas, and provide conceptual and methodological clarity where a sense of pedagogical confusion may exist. Each chapter raises issues that can resonate with the teacher and sport practitioner and researcher. In this way, the chapters can assist one to make sense of their own teaching or sport coaching, provide deeper insight into personal conceptualisations of the concept of game-based teaching and sport coaching or stimulate reflections on their own teaching or coaching or the contexts they are involved in. Teaching games and sport for understanding in various guises and pedagogical models has been proposed as leading practice for session design and instructional delivery of sport teaching in PE and sport coaching since the late 1960s. At its core, it is a paradigm shift from what can be described as a behaviourist model of highly directive instruction for player replication of teacher/coach explanation and demonstration to instructional models that broadly are aimed at the development of players self-autonomy as self-regulated learners –‘thinking players’. This innovative new volume both summarises current thinking, debates and practical considerations about the broad spectrumof what teaching games for understanding means as well as providing direction for further practical, pragmatic and research consideration of the concept and its precepts and, as such, is key reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of physical education and sport coaching as well as practicing teachers and sport coaches.

This new book brings together leading and innovative thinkers in the field of teaching and sport coaching pedagogy to provide a range of perspectives on teaching games and sport for understanding. Teaching Games and Sport for Understanding engages undergraduate and postgraduate students in physical education and sport coaching, practicing teachers, practicing sport coaches, teacher educators and coach developers. The contributions, taken together or individually, provide insight, learning and opportunities to foster game-based teaching and coaching ideas, and provide conceptual and methodological clarity where a sense of pedagogical confusion may exist. Each chapter raises issues that can resonate with the teacher and sport practitioner and researcher. In this way, the chapters can assist one to make sense of their own teaching or sport coaching, provide deeper insight into personal conceptualisations of the concept of game-based teaching and sport coaching or stimulate reflections on their own teaching or coaching or the contexts they are involved in. Teaching games and sport for understanding in various guises and pedagogical models has been proposed as leading practice for session design and instructional delivery of sport teaching in PE and sport coaching since the late 1960s. At its core, it is a paradigm shift from what can be described as a behaviourist model of highly directive instruction for player replication of teacher/coach explanation and demonstration to instructional models that broadly are aimed at the development of players self-autonomy as self-regulated learners -thinking players'. This innovative new volume both summarises current thinking, debates and practical considerations about the broad spectrumof what teaching games for understanding means as well as providing direction for further practical, pragmatic and research consideration of the concept and its precepts and, as such, is key reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students of physical education and sport coaching as well as practicing teachers and sport coaches.

Written as a resource for both pre-service and in-service educators, this theory-to-practice book focuses on the foundations and applications of constructivism applied to the teaching and learning of invasion sports and games.

Authors Ray Breed and Michael Spittle, long recognized as experts in the game sense model and teaching games for understanding approach, have created a complete resource for physical educators and coaches of games and team sports. Their new book, Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport, provides both the theoretical foundation and the practical application that teachers and coaches need to confidently teach their students and athletes the skills and game sense they need to successfully compete in games and sports. This text, inspired by the authors’ previous book, Developing Game Sense Through Tactical Learning, offers new material since the publication of that 2011 book, particularly in relation to curriculum, assessment, and physical literacy. “Our version of a game sense model has been modified over time and adjusted to meet the changing needs and requirements of learners and programs,” Breed says. “This book is an updated and improved variation of our original book, and it will assist teachers and coaches in integrating game sense into their sessions and curricula.” Through Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport, teachers and coaches will be able to do the following: Provide a logical sequence and step-by-step instructions for maximal learning, skill transfer, and game skill development Accelerate learning by linking technical, tactical, and strategic similarities in three thematic game categories (There are 19 invasion games, 13 striking and fielding games, and 14 net and wall games.) Save preparation and planning time by using the extensive planning and game implementation resources Set up games with ease and effectively relate game sense concepts by following the 90 illustrations and diagrams created for those purposes The text includes curriculum ideas and specific units for children ages 8 to 16. Unit plan chapters provide six sessions for each of the two skill levels (easy to moderate and moderate to difficult). The book also offers assessment tools and guidance for measuring learning as well as links to different curriculum frameworks. The appendixes supply teachers and coaches with useful tools, including score sheets, performance assessment and self-assessment tools, session plan outlines, and more. Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport takes into account regional differences in the game sense model and teaching games for understanding approach. Its organization will facilitate users’ ready application of the material. The text first provides an overview and theoretical framework of the concepts of skill, skill development, game sense, and assessment. It then goes on to explore the links between fundamental motor skills, game sense, and physical literacy. Later chapters offer thematic unit and lesson plans as well as assessment ideas. Practical resources, game ideas and descriptions, and assessment ideas are supplied, along with the practical application of game sense, teaching for skill transfer, structuring games, developing questioning techniques, and organizing sessions. Developing Game Sense in Physical Education and Sport will allow coaches and teachers to develop the tactical, technical, and strategic skills their athletes and students need in game contexts. Coaches and teachers will also be able to help learners develop personal, social, and relationship skills. As a result, learners will be able to more effectively participate in, and enjoy, team games.

For the last 25 years, a constraints-based framework has helped to inform the way that many sport scientists seek to understand performance, learning design and the development of expertise and talent in sport. The Constraints-Led Approach: Principles for Sports Coaching and Practice Design provides students and practitioners with the theoretical knowledge required to implement constraints-led approaches in their work. Seeking to bridge the divide between theory and practice, the book sets out an ‘environment design framework’, including practical tools and guidance for the application of the framework in coaching and skill acquisition settings. It includes chapters on constraints-led approaches in golf, athletics and hockey, and provides applied reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of motor learning, skill acquisition and developing sport expertise. Providing a thorough grounding in the theory behind constraints-led approaches to skill acquisition, and a foundational cornerstone in the Routledge Studies in Constraints-Based Methodologies in Sport series, this is a vital pedagogical resource for students and practising sports coaches, physical education teachers and sport scientists alike.