On an open – closed continuum you would consider open skills which are directly influenced by the environment, affected by team mates, opponents and the playing surface in which they are performing, they are skills that require adaptation when they are performed and lots of decisions to be made .An example would be defending in netball, this skill requires consideration of a whole range of factors before you stretch up your arms to try and block the pass. They are usually externally paced. However closed skills have no outside physical influences acting upon them, they are habitatual and follows a demonstration. They are the same each time they are performed. An example of this is in netball when the shooter is shooting the same skill is used each time. They are usually self – paced.
On a pacing continuum you would have to take in to account self paced skills which are instigated by the performer, they control the timing of the performance using the sufficient time needed, an example is a trampolinist he or she performs their routine in their own time when they are ready. And also externally paced skill, where the performer has no control over it is usually their opponent or an official. An example would be a receiver of a serve in badminton because they have no control over the shuttle.
Muscular involvement continuum
Gross Fine
Involves large muscle involves intricate movements
Movements where there using small muscle groups,
Is little concern for usually involves accuracy
Precision. And emphasizes.
Finally the organisation continuum depends on continuous skills which have no obvious point to when they start or finish it just flows from element to element and discrete skills which have a clear beginning and finish, it’s obvious when the skill is being performed and it can be taken out of the sport as a whole practise on its own. Also serial skills are those which are put together using a number of discrete or continuous skills. These skills that make up a routine or a sequence such as a trampolinist routine.
Skills aren’t always physical things they can be internal too for instance Intellectual skills formally known as cognitive skills involve the mental/ intellectual ability of the performer – example working out the tactics to use against an opponent who is very good at the net in a game of badminton. There are also perceptual skills which involve the detection and interpretation of information for example – who to pass to, where the pass has to go and how powerful to throw the ball in netball.
When participating in sport one is sometimes alone, sometimes one performs alongside others and sometimes one performs with others. When one is alone it is an individual skill, you perform by yourself separately from the other competitors who will then perform after you. But when you are alongside others it is known as an interactive skill because you perform with them and you have direct involvement in the sport. And coactive skills are when you are competing against fellow athletes but you don’t interact with one another.
Netball is an obvious interactive skill because you interact with your fellow team members and it is also a coactive skill because you are competing against your opponents but you don’t interact with them.
On the other hand trampolining is an individual skill because you do your routine on the trampoline, the judges give you a score and then you leave the arena so the next competitor can perform their routine.
Another example of coactive skills is badminton because you are playing against your opponent and you don’t interact with them.
There are also motor skills; a skill that involves movement and muscular control and perceptual skills involve the cognitive and motor aspect of skills. They are the most common forms of skills in P.E.
Having clearly identified between individual, coactive and interactive skills and after reviewing the classification of skills I have discovered that they are also relevant to teaching and coaching methods. When considering the requirements of the skill, you need to decide whether it is appropriate to present it as a whole or if it can be simplified into more manageable parts. Skills that are appropriate to be split into parts and which can be easily divided are referred to as ‘low organised skills’. Those that are difficult to be divided up are ‘highly organised skills’. Highly organised skills tend to be continuous skills as it is difficult to divide them up. Whereas ‘low organised skills tend to be serial skills as they are a compound of discrete parts. Another thing would be the environment open and closed skills, whether or not the environment would affect the student learning or the teacher/coach teaching. An example would be a coach teaching a player the technique of shooting you would have to consider the various aspects.
Date: 16/11/07
Word count: 1026
