SSEH5689 Physical Development, Movement and Health

Assignment Two Fundamental Movement Skills Assessment

Aithne Dell 20539099

Assignment Two Fundamental
Movement Skills Assessment

The Fundamental Movement Skills cover a range of areas which are considered to be the
foundational movements or precursors to many sporting and recreational activities, and allows
students to develop the skills to participate in a variety of outdoor and recreational activities
(Department of Education WA, 2013a). The development of a childs physical capabilities has
long be recognised as an integral and vital part of the educational process the opportunity to
improve physical performance is inextricably linked to the development of personal and
interpersonal competencies such as self-esteem, cooperation, decision making and
assertiveness. (Department of Education Community & Cultural Development, Tasmania,
1997, p.4). Furthermore, research suggests that students who are lacking in competency in one
or more of the fundamental movement skills are less likely to engage in the related sport, thus
limiting the options available to them when establishing an active lifestyle (Department of
Education Community & Cultural Development, Tasmania, 1997; Department of Education,
Victoria, 1996). A Stay in Step Screening Assessment has been formulated to identify specific
areas in which a child may need additional support. This screen test was conducted on a child,
Lucy. At the time the assessment was conducted, she was aged 7 years and 1 month and in
Year 1 class. From the assessment an area of need was identified and it was noticed during the
process that the child experienced a great deal of difficulty when asked to catch the bounced
ball. A follow up lesson was subsequently implemented to help Lucy to improve in this area.
The Testing Process
The Fundamental Movement Skills Stay in Step assessment is a screening test that provides
quantitative information about childrens gross motor coordination (Department of Education
WA, 2013b, p.148). The process assesses some of the most basic movement skills, in order to
identify any areas in which a student is lacking. Through identifying the areas in which students
are struggling, steps can be taken to address these areas of need as he [e]arly development of
SSEH5689 Physical Development, Movement and Health
Assignment Two Fundamental Movement Skills Assessment
Aithne Dell 20539099

[Fundamental Motor Skills] is a significant step towards ensuring a lifelong, healthy and safe
involvement in physical activity Research indicates that the improvement in self esteem and
confidence in movement that accompanies the acquisition of FMS has a flow-on effect to all
other areas of a childs education. (Department of Education Community & Cultural
Development, Tasmania, 1997, p.4).
The four skills which are examined throughout the test are bouncing and catching a ball,
hopping, balancing on one leg and a sprint run (Department of Education WA, 2013b, pp.149-
152). The results of each of these can then be compared to standardised data in order to rank
the childs skill level at that particular task. The child upon whom the assessment was being
conducted performed at a high or very high level for three of the four activities. In the fourth
outcome, the bounce and catch, Lucy appeared to struggle with the task, managing only 15
bounces within the allotted 20 second time frame. When compared against the rating
categories for girls of her age, this places her within the very low category, indicating that she
is experiencing significant difficulties in performing that task and would benefit from assistance
in that area.
Intervention Lesson Rationale
Lucy found it difficult to catch the ball once bounced. During the initial screening test, it was
observed that she was ineffective at watching the ball and predicting where her hands would
need to be in order to successfully catch it. This resulted in her failing to catch the ball on
several occasions during the 20 second time limit, and needs to retrieve the ball and
recommence bouncing. The initial section of the lesson focused explicitly on this therefore, with
time devoted to practicing stopping a rolling ball in order to allow her to work on developing
her ability to track a moving ball.
A second area that was identified in which Lucy experienced difficulty was with the placement
of her hands. Despite repeated prompting, she consistently held her hands high, trying to catch
the ball in front of her face. Additionally, having dropped the ball, she moved to hold her hands
far apart instead of close together, where they would be ready to catch the ball as it bounced
SSEH5689 Physical Development, Movement and Health
Assignment Two Fundamental Movement Skills Assessment
Aithne Dell 20539099

back up. Again this aspect of catching was explicitly focused on to ensure that she corrected her
hand placement and thus had a greater chance of experiencing success when bouncing and
catching a ball.
Finally, through the use of games in combination with the Physical Education programme,
students are given additional opportunities to practice their skills in a different context, and
perhaps too, an incentive to develop their abilities. As well as helping to develop specific
physical skills, using a variety of games can provide children with opportunities to work
together in a caring and co-operative way, to include all children, to develop both co-ordination
and problem solving skills and to help children to work together as a social unit (Primary
Curriculum Support Programme, 2007, p.47). By incorporating students in the development of
the games rules and strategies, students develop social and interpersonal skills as well as their
physical skills.
Reflection
After completing the Stay in Step Screening assessment, it is clear that conducting the testing is
a lengthy process which takes a lot of time and necessitates a great deal of one-on-one work.
As such, it is clearly a tool which is designed to be used only for those specific students about
whose movement skills there are concerns, as recommended by the Department of Education
WA (2013b).
Additionally, there is a high need for accuracy and consistency when testing. As [l]enient
scoring may result in a child who needs help not being identified, and harsh scoring may result
in competent children being identified as needing help (Department of Education WA, 2013b,
p.148), it is important to ensure that all protocols are adhered to and testing occurs in as much
a standardised way as possible. Furthermore, it is important to consider the potential issues
with assessments such this. It is a reflection of a students performance at one particular time
on one particular day, and as such, may not present an accurate assessment on a childs overall
capabilities (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013).
SSEH5689 Physical Development, Movement and Health
Assignment Two Fundamental Movement Skills Assessment
Aithne Dell 20539099

Throughout the teaching and the subsequent lesson, a clear need was identified and addressed.
As a result, it was clear to see a distinct improvement in skill level throughout the follow-up
lesson. At the conclusion of the activities during the lesson, just prior to playing the game,
Lucy was asked to repeat the test, bouncing and catching the ball as many times as she could
within a 20 second time-limit. While previously she only managed 15 bounces, on this attempt
she completed 19 bounces, and successfully caught the ball every time. The use of explicit
teaching to overcome specific issues that Lucy was experiencing with this skill clearly had an
impact and resulted in an improvement in skill level.

The Stay in Step Screen Assessment can be used to help identify issues that students may be
having with some of the most fundamental of movement skills. Having identified where the
problem lies, teachers can then draw upon a variety of methods to help overcome the
difficulties experienced by the child in a particular area, and help students to improve their skill
level. As the Fundamental Movement Skills form the basis of most recreational activities and
sports, early identification and prompt attention to issues can assist students in continuing to
engage in active and healthy lifestyles.


SSEH5689 Physical Development, Movement and Health
Assignment Two Fundamental Movement Skills Assessment
Aithne Dell 20539099

References
Department of Education Community & Cultural Development, Tasmania. (1997). Fundamental
Motor Skills. Available from http://resources.education.tas.gov.au/item/edres/2de3308f-7956-
cb08-4932-381bbc0cb345/1/FundamentalMotorSkills.pdf.
Department of Education, Victoria. (1996). Fundamental Motor Skills: A Manual for Classroom
Teachers. Available from
https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/fmsteachermanual09.p
df.
Department of Education WA (2013a). Fundamental Movement Skills: Book 1 Learning,
Teaching and Assessment. Available from
http://det.wa.edu.au/stepsresources/detcms/navigation/fundamental-movement-
skills/?oid=MultiPartArticle-id-13602092.
Department of Education WA (2013b). Fundamental Movement Skills: Book 2 The Tools for
Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Available from
http://det.wa.edu.au/stepsresources/detcms/navigation/fundamental-movement-
skills/?oid=MultiPartArticle-id-13602092.
Primary Curriculum Support Programme. (2007, September). Co-operative games in the
primary school. InTouch, pp.47-51. Retrieved from
http://www.ppds.ie/pcsparchive/intouch/PE/Co-
operative%20games%20in%20the%20Primary%20School.pdf.
Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology. Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson
Australia.