Methods of teaching simple
technical skills
A simple sports skill is one that
an individual can perform with very little practice, the ease of learning is
usully a result of the simplicity of the technical skill. Sometimes it is
because beginners have seen the skill performed many times by other people,
either in person or on television. It is generally considered that 80% of learning
takes place through what is seen. The coach should take care to label a skill
as simple only when beginners acquire it quickly and easily. When what appears
easy to you is hard for learners to master you should label that skill as
complex in the eyes of those learners. Sometimes what appears to be a simple
skill may be complicated by fear and nervousness and this is frequently seen
with beginners in the hurdles, steeplechase and pole vault events. If there is
any doubt whether a skill is simple or complex for the learners it should be
taught as a complex skill.
There are two methods commonly
used in teaching simple skill.
+The initation method
+The demonstration –practice –feedback
method
The imitation method
Simple iminatation is often the
best way for athletes to learn. It requires the athlete to focus on what is to
be iminated or copied, “ watch this....would you like to try that, or would you
like to see it again?.” It the imitation that the athlete makes of the movement
is accurate this should be confimed, “ yes, That’s it . now remember and
practice it.” When, minor corrections are required point them out in a clear
way.
The demontration –practice –feedback
method
This method is really a
development of the imitation method and involves the following four steps.
+provide a deminstration
+allow time for practice, observe
carefully
+Provide feedback which may be in
the form of re-doing the demonstration
+allow furhter practice and maintain
feedback
Methods of teaching complex
technical skills
Complex technical skills are
actions or movements that an individual cannot easily learn by the methods used
for simpler skills. There are a variety of teaching complex skills and all in
one way or another simplify the skill to make learning easier. To be an
effective coach you need to be able to evaluate the beginner athlete and simplify
the skill to their level and always remember.
“ what is asimple skill for one
person may be a complex skill for another”.
There are two commonly used
methods to teaching complex skills:
+shaping
+chaining
Let us take alook at how these
two methods make learning a complex skill easier.
Shaping a complex skill –making the
whole action simpler
Shaping is a word used to
describe the way people learn to do a wide variety of things. It is similar to
the way sculptoer begins with a shapeless lump of clay and gradually shapes it
into a figure. The form of a skill takes shape gradually in the same way.
Shaping can be described as
follows :
+ briefly explain and provide a
demonstrantion of the complete skill to be learned.
+ use simplified or incomplete
version of the whole skill that includes the most important actions and is
something the learners can be successful at
+ allow practice of the
simplified skill
+ gradually change the tasks so
that the whole skill is shaped into a reasonable example of the finished product
through practise.
+ encourage athletes who are
having problems to try it in other, Simpler ways.
GAMBAR
Hurdling is usually seen as a complex skill by learners because of the
technical ruler of the event and the fear and apprehension beginners have about
hitting the hurdles. The essential thing in hurdling is rhythmic sprinting. Shaping
the hurdling technical skill should encourage this rhythmic sprinting, remove
any fear factor and gradually introduce the technical elements.
Here is a possible sequence to
shape this skill :
Stage 1
Athletes sprint from a line over
3-6 sticks placed flat on the track and across a lane, the sticks should be
adjusted in several lanes so that each
athlete runs in a lane where they naturally have 3 strides between the sticks.
Stage2
The sticks are replaced by very
low obstacles that offer no resistance if hit
Stage 3
Hurdles set at the lowest height
and with no, or low, toppling weights
replace the low obstacles
Stage 4
Hurdle height is gradually
increased to competition height and the hurdles are gradually moved towards the
correct distance for the learner’s age group.
Chaining a complex skill –
breaking a skill into simpler parts
Another way to approach the teaching
of a complex technical skill is to have athletes chain it together. A complex
skill is made up of a number of simple, distinct pars. Each part may be thought
of as a link in a chain. The simple parts or links of the whole skill are a learnt
using the methods of teaching simple skills. For chaining to be effective the
pars should be put together as soon as possible to form the whole skill. In the
intermediate stage of learning the athlete may practice parts of the skill but
should always finish with the whole skill, putting the links back into the
chain.
Here is a sample chaining of a
technical skill – the shot. If the athlete views the technique of putting the
shot as complex it can be broken down in to the following parts :
Link 1 holding the shot correctly in the hand and against the neck
Link 2 the putting action from the shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers
Link 3 starting position at the rear of the circle
Link 4 the glide across the circle
Link 5 the power position
Link 6 delivery and release
Link 7 recovey
In chaining you can teach the
parts in sequence, as in forward chaining links 1 to 7, or backward chaining
links 7 to 1, chaining may also be used to teach the parts out of sequence to
emphasise certain actions or to give the learners the satisfaction of early
success. For these reasons the shot is frequently taught, links 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
Shaping vs. Chaining
Chaining is quite different from
shaping. Chaining each part is practised just as it is performed in the
finished, whole technique. In shaping the first attempts of the athlete may be
so rought that they hardly resemble the finished technical skill at all.
There are no rules to tell which
method of teaching technical skills is best for a particular situation. Coaches
find out through experience which method suits them and vecome moere able to
decide whether the skill is simple or complex for a particular individual. Generally,
it is best to teach a technicall skill as a simple, whole skill whenever the
individual is capable of learning this way. Whichecer method of teaching is used the coach has a very
powerful role to play in creating an effective, enjoyable and motivating
learning environment. If the coach effectively apllies the five basic skills of
coaching to this area of teaching and coaching techniques each athlete will
become able to act and decide with independence, be able to dermine their own
success and be more likely to achive their potential.
