Nonlinear Pedagogy: Implications for Verbal Instruction, Feedback and Practice in TGfU

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Nonlinear Pedagogy Implications for Verbal
Instruction, Feedback and Practice in TGfU

• Ian Renshaw Keith Davids

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Introduction

• Representative design of practice tasks
• Why learning could be facilitated by a more
  hands-off approach
• The skill Interjection (Bunker Thorpe, 1982
  Thorpe, 2004)
• Augmented verbal information as a temporary
  informational constraint (instructional
  constraint)
• Feedback processes
• Discovery learning
• Manipulating constraints
• Summary

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Representative Tasks

• Practice design that is representative of
  competition demands will lead to transfer of
  skills between practice and performance
  environments (Brunswick, 1956).
• A strength of the TGfU approach is that it
  enables learners to practise in a managed
  environment with all key information sources
  present.

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Practice that lacks representative design can
lead to development of less functional movements.
Bowling machines Changes in timing and
co-ordination Limits attunement to key
information sources (e.g. the hand and the arm
(Muller et al, 2007)).
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A more hands-off approach to learning

• Individuals are unique and need to learn via
  exploration to find the best solutions for them.
• A learner-centred approach
• Natural learning is typically implicit (Beek,
  2000)
• Promote independent learning through individuals
  discovery and exploitation of constraints.
• Pedagogy needs to facilitate this process

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The Skill Interjection (Bunker Thorpe, 1982
Thorpe, 2004)

• Role of the Teacher
• Instruct? Drill? Show?
• or Stimulate Facilitate?
• Key questions
• Are the key information sources present?
• Are individuals able to explore and find their
  own optimal solution?

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Verbal Instruction is a Temporary Informational
Constraint

• Directs the learners search
• Can act positively or negatively

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Feedback Its all in the big toe

• Must help individual in the search for optimal
  solutions
• Develop awareness

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Discovery Learning

• Every time I had the ball at my feet as a boy I
  tried to invent new dribbles, new moves," he
  said. "I always looked to have my own identity in
  football, that was my dream (Ronaldo)."

EXPLORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Manipulating Constraints

• Teachers can manipulate task constraints to
  create learning environments that facilitate
  development of intrinsic feedback mechanisms with
  less recourse to verbal input.

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Summary

• Representative practice task design that reduces
  amount of verbal input from the teacher
• Make sure the practice task design is
  representative of games
• All key information sources available so learners
  can become attuned to them
• Use questions to develop awareness.

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Natural Learning (Wright, 2004)

• TV has taken the game to far flung corners of the
  country India, where previously it was hardly
  played at all.
• The players now emerging from these regions have
  learned the game by watching and copying, which
  in some ways is more preferable to being taught
  how to play by coaches.
• As a result, the likes of Sehwag or Dhoni can
  come out of nowhere with methods based on
  instinct and improvisation, and without the fear
  of failure that can be instilled by over
  coaching.
• i.renshaw_at_qut.edu.au