3.4.3. Skill Context

Another decision for practitioners in relation to type of practice relates to the extent to which skills are practiced in the context of games or in isolation. Practicing individual FMS in a station-based structure [33,75] provides children and adolescents with the opportunity to perform numerous practice attempts across a wide range of FMS. Such an approach can prove both engaging and enjoyable as long as a suitable range of activities and variations are provided [85]. In contrast, contextualised skill practices see learners perform multiple FMS in a game context [72,77] applied to achieve a higher-order objective. Such games can be simplified or have elements exaggerated in order to provide an appropriate challenge for learners.

There is a concern that isolated technical exercises may show limited opportunities for transfer to game forms, especially from an ecological dynamics theoretical perspective, where the movement a child demonstrates arises from the specific constraints of the situation [86,106]. In addition, practice in the context of game forms is thought to provide young learners with greater opportunities to demonstrate creativity, problem solving and, decision making [72]. However, for many skills, there are common principles of effective and safe movement which may be best appreciated initially in isolation. Furthermore, the flow of information which guides movement is not just in the external world (e.g., location of target for a throw, intervening obstacles) but also internal to the body in the form of kinaesthetic information from muscles and joints (e.g., absence of knee valgus when landing). Exploring movements in isolation, alongside the implementation of established elements of game-based approaches [107], may facilitate the learner to tune into this kinaesthetic information flow.

Research comparing technical exercises against games skills have reported mixed results. For example, Jarani et al. (2016) reported that 8-year-old Albanian children showed superior improvements in a range of motor skills tests if they performed exercises as individuals (e.g., gait exercises to improve running speed) rather than as small groups (e.g., tag games to improve running speed) [108]. In contrast, Miller et al. (2015) reported that 10-year-old Australian children showed significant improvements in throwing and catching following a games-based intervention compared with lessons featuring a higher proportion of isolated technical training [59]. Thus, as with learner autonomy, it appears that the question facing instructors is not whether isolated or contextualised activities are most effective but rather how and when each type of practice should be applied in order to maximise learning. Indeed, many interventions incorporate both isolated and contextualised activities [24,109,110]. An implication for researchers is to report the degree to which isolated and contextualised skill practices are present within their sessions (e.g., [59]).

This section reviewed three key dimensions of the type of practice and instruction: the nature of guidance, learner autonomy, and the skill context. Each dimension represents a spectrum of activity and instructional design that a teacher or coach can select from depending upon their aims and the needs of the learners. For researchers, additional clarity and consistency is required in the reporting of each dimension of practice type.
