Week 5 - Movement Concepts Designing a Movement Activity

Rudolf Laban

Austrian-Hungarian dance teacher, theorist and choreographer

Rudolf Laban Developed

Labanotation as a movement notation system and a system for categorizing human movement - Laban’s movement analysis

Where Are Movement Concepts Derived From

Laban’s work

Laban’s Movement Framework

provides a structured, unified way to teach elementary PE that develops skilled, confident, lifelong movers, instead of just keeping kids “busy”

Problems With Traditional “Activity Based” PE

• focuses on random games and activities

• exphasizes being “busy, happy and good” instead of learning

• poor skill development and little progression

• overuses games without teaching how to play well

• follows trends and fads instead of standards

What Are Movement Concepts

a language of movement

• adverbs that descrive how movement is performed

BRES System

body awareness

relathionship awareness

effort awareness

space awareness

Body Awareness

what the body is doing (or capable of doing)

awareness of the movements the human body can perform

Body Awareness Includes an Understanding of Which Parts Are

giving for recieiving force

bearing weight

gesturing

Body Parts

arms, legs, elbows, knees, head, shoulder

Functions

ways the body moves

• bend, curl, stretch, twist

Actions of Body Parts

what the body part does

• support weight, lead, apply/recieve force

Activities of the body

locomotor: run, jump, skip, hop

non locomotor: bend, twist, stretch, balance

manipulative: throw, kick, catch, strike

Shapes of the Body

pin, ball, wall, screw

• symmetrical or asymmetical

Relathionship Awareness

with whom/with what the body is moving (or is capable of moving)

Types of Relathionship Awareness

with others

with objects/equipment

with rules, boundaries

with the environment

With Others

above/below

around/between/through

apart/together

behind/in-front of

lead/follow

over/under

mirror/match/copy

With Objects

in front of/behind

alongside

on/off

above/below

over/under

through

in/out

With the Environment

music, wind, temperature, terrain

Effort Awareness

how the body is moving (or capable of moving)

Effort Awareness Relates to

quality of movement

Effort Qualities Include

time, weight, space, flow

• should be thought of as a continuum

Time

sudden (fast)

sustained (slow)

Weight

strong or light

space

direct and indirect

Flow

free or controlled continuous, interrupted)

Effort Awareness: Eight Efforts

press, wring, glide, float, punch, slash, dab, flick

Space Awareness

where the body is mvoing (or capable of moving)

Personal Space

space immediately surrounding one’s body on all sides

General Space

larger movement area

5 Aspects of Space Awareness

each can occurs in relation to personal and/or general space

• levels, pathways, planes, extensions, directions

Levels

low/deep

medium

high

Pathways

straight

curved

diagonal

zig zag

spiral

Planes

saggital, frontal, vertical, horizontal

Extensions

near and far

Directions

forward or bacward

right or left

diagonally

Approach Guided by Movement Concepts Helps Enhance Developmental Appropriateness

• allows us to increase task difficulty by manipulating concepts

• fosters a shared language and gives mover a framework for thinking about their own enviroment

• provides consistency

• allows for freedom of expression

Developing a Movement Activity

objectives → assessment → activites

Questions to Ask When Designing a Movement Activity

• what do I want participants to be able to accomplish or learn? (objective)

• what will it look like when they do? (success criteria; assessment/evaluation)

• what activities or learning opportunities will help them be successful in reaching this objective? (activities)

Why Does it Matter

begining with end in mind

• coherance

• intentionality - know learning will take place