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Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy

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Influence of a hybrid Sport EducationTeaching Games

for Understanding unit on one teacher and his students
a

Peter A. Hastie & Matthew D. Curtner-Smith

a

Auburn University , USA

University of Alabama , USA

Published online: 23 Jan 2007.

To cite this article: Peter A. Hastie & Matthew D. Curtner-Smith (2006) Influence of a hybrid Sport EducationTeaching
Games for Understanding unit on one teacher and his students, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 11:01, 1-27, DOI:
10.1080/17408980500466813
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17408980500466813

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Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy

Vol. 11, No. 1, February 2006, pp. 1 27

Influence of a hybrid Sport

EducationTeaching Games for
Understanding unit on one
teacher and his students
Peter A. Hastiea and Matthew D. Curtner-Smithb
a

Auburn University, USA; bUniversity of Alabama, USA

Background: Sport Education (SE) and Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) are two
curriculum models that were developed to help students participate in fair and equitable ways
and challenge their thinking beyond the replication of techniques and skills. Given that the
general aim of both models is to employ more democratic pedagogies and provide sporting
experiences which really allow students to learn how to play well, and considering both models
attempt to realize this goal in slightly different ways and have different foci, it would seem logical
that a coalition of the two might lead to some real pedagogical breakthroughs.
Purpose: To provide descriptive, detailed information about the researchers experiences and the
students reactions to a unit designed following the structure of SE (seasons, formal competition
and student roles), but with the skills and tactics taught using problem solving and guided
discovery approaches rather than a more command style.
Participants and setting: 29 sixth-grade students (11 boys and 18 girls) at a middle class primary
school in a metropolitan Australian capital meeting daily for 30 minutes over a 5-week period.
Intervention: A 22-lesson hybrid season of batting and fielding games formed the basic content of
instruction. The organizational structure of the unit was pure SE, however the main pedagogical
style employed was pure TGfU.
Research design: The design followed that of a teaching experiment having four foundational goals:
(i) to examine teaching, learning and subject matters as part of a complex system, (ii) to describe the
learning of subject matter as it occurs in the classroom, (iii) to identify from the teachers perspective
the issues, problems and challenges that arise during teaching, and (iv) to develop, refine or provide
illustrations of theory.
Data collection: Following each lesson, each student completed a critical incident reflective sheet.
Four tactics quizzes were given throughout the season. Each team designed its own batting and
fielding game using a game design form. At the completion of the season, each team
participated in a group interview that explored why they chose to incorporate certain rules or
equipment into their own games and how they would teach the tactics of their games.

Corresponding author. 2050 Memorial Coliseum, Auburn University, AL 36849-5323, USA.

Email: hastipe@auburn.edu

ISSN 1740-8989 (print); ISSN 1742-5786 (online)=06=01000127

# 2006 Association for Physical Education
DOI: 10.1080=17408980500466813

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2 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

Data analysis: Critical incidence data were sorted into thoughts and perceptions, and the frequency
of thoughts and perceptions within each category and subcategory were computed. Tactical quizzes
were analyzed to determine the number of students who provided an appropriate response to the
scenario. Interview text was reduced to a series of thoughts and perceptions, and these were then
coded and categorized using the same procedure employed during the analysis of the critical
incident data
Findings: The students responded well to the myriad of problems they were asked to solve and by the
units conclusion, were able to understand, appreciate, and execute a number of rudimentary
batting, bowling/pitching, and fielding tactics and strategies and some which were fairly
sophisticated. They also understood the overarching principles, rules and structures of batting/
fielding games, appreciated their importance, and were able to transfer them from one game to
another. Particularly impressive in this respect, was their ability to include risk/reward strategies
and avoid problematic skills in the games that they invented.
Conclusions: It is important to emphasize that combining the two models did not weaken most of the
structural advantages research has suggested SE has over more traditional curricula. However,
combining SE and TGfU placed more emphasis on the teacher to drive and give momentum to
the proceedings and, therefore, teaching was more labour-intensive. In particular, we concluded
that to be successful when delivering a hybrid SE-TGfU unit, a teacher would have to possess
superior content and pedagogical content knowledge.

Keywords: Child-designed games; Critical incident; Elementary physical education; Games

for Understanding; Sport education

During the past 20 years, there has been a concerted effort to present models of games
instruction that involve students participating in fair and equitable ways and challenge
their thinking beyond the replication of techniques and skills. A review of the literature on games experiences within physical education reveals a litany of critique.
These criticisms can be grouped under the following headings: (a) lack of content
mastery; (b) discriminatory and abusive practices; and (c) irrelevant content (see
Hastie, 2003a). Perhaps the best synopsis of games teaching was provided by Ennis
(1996), who declared that more than apologies are necessary.
To address these concerns, two curriculum models have been developed that focus
specifically on game play. In an effort to provide an authentic sport experience for children, Siedentop (1994) developed Sport Education (SE), a model aimed at producing
competent, literate and enthusiastic sportspeople. To this end, competent sportspeople
have sufficient skill and tactical knowledge to participate successfully in a game.
Literate sportspeople understand and value the rules and traditions of sport and
can distinguish between good and poor sporting practices. Finally enthusiastic sportspeople enhance, protect and preserve the sporting culture through the manner in
which they participate.
These objectives are achieved by mirroring the positive aspects of real sport within
physical education units. As Siedentop (1994) notes, this involves organizing blocks of
work as lengthy seasons and students playing on the same team for the duration of that
season, thereby developing a sense of affiliation. Moreover, considerable efforts are
made to produce a festive atmosphere. In addition, students are required to
perform a number of roles other than player and games are usually played in

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A hybrid games model 3

conditioned and small-sided form with modified rules. Importantly, as the season
progresses, the teacher gradually gives greater responsibility to students by using less
direct teacher-centered styles of teaching and more indirect student-centered styles.
The second curriculum model, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), arose
from dissatisfaction with a focus on technique at the expense of understanding tactics
and strategies (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982). In the TGfU model, skill execution and performance are not neglected, but are developed after understanding of the games
tactics and strategies is gained. Indeed, the central aim of the model is to place the
spotlight on the player knowing, rather than simply doing.
The TGfU approach has a number of conceptual similarities with SE. First, as
recognized by Siedentop (2002), the model is consistent with a plethora of
contemporary theoretical and instructional approaches and movements including
outcomes-based education, cooperative learning, peer tutoring and authentic assessment. Second, it was also developed following concerns that traditional, more direct,
teacher-centered models of games instruction simply did not interest or inspire
students. Third, the approach is aimed at providing developmentally appropriate
games experiences for students. Fourth, it involves students participating in smallsided games with modified rules, equipment and playing area configurations. Fifth,
it necessitates teachers employing Mosston and Ashworths (2001, p. 9) more indirect
styles of teaching from the productive cluster for much of the time with the goal of
shifting decision-making and responsibility from themselves to their students.
Although SE and TGfU share a great deal in terms of objectives and pedagogy, there
are also two important differences between the models worth noting. First, while SE has
an outward-focus on helping to forge a more worthy and humane culture (Siedentop,
2002, p. 411) and, thus, transforming the sporting culture for the better, TGfU has an
inward focus on player competency and satisfaction and, therefore, works within the
sporting culture as it is. Second, SE has drawn its pedagogy from examinations of good
quality sporting experiences and the managerial strategies recommended by teacher effectiveness researchers (Siedentop, 2002). In contrast, TGfUs pedagogy seems to have
evolved from a combination of students wishes to play the game, teacher educators
knowledge of Mosston and Ashworths (2001) spectrum theory, and political pressure
to produce better (i.e., more successful) elite players (e.g., Major, 1996).
Given that the general aim of both models, then, is to employ more democratic pedagogies and provide sporting experiences which really allow students to learn how to
play well, and considering both models attempt to realize this goal in slightly different
ways and have different foci, it would seem logical that a coalition of the two might
lead to some real pedagogical breakthroughs.
At least two scholars with interest in these models have considered them worthy of a
hybrid (Almond, 1997; Curtner-Smith, 2004). To this point, however, there has been no
published research that has attempted to investigate the effects of marrying the
two approaches of SE and TGfU. While MacPhail et al. (2003) report of a case where
SE and TGfU were taught in a sequence, they did not discuss their potential unification.
The purpose of the research reported in this paper, therefore, was to examine the
influence of a hybrid SE TGfU unit on one class of elementary students and their

4 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

teacher. Following Rovegno et al.s (2001) work on the teaching and learning
of tactics, the main goal of our research was to provide a detailed description of the
teachers experiences and the students reactions to a unit based on what we
termed the macro-pedagogy of SE (i.e., the structure and organization) and
the micro-pedagogy of TGfU (i.e., teaching behaviors and styles).

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Method
Research design
The design of this study followed that of a teaching experiment. According to Rovegno
et al. (2001, p. 347), when employing this design, researchers develop or work with a
teacher to develop a curriculum and study their teaching and the childrens responses
to the curriculum. Specifically, teaching experiments have four foundational goals:
(a) to examine teaching, learning and subject matter as part of a complex system; (b) to
describe the learning of subject matter as it occurs in the classroom; (c) to identify, from
the teachers perspective, the issues, problems and challenges that arise during teaching;
and (d) to develop, refine or provide illustrations of theory (Rovegno et al., 2001).
Participants and setting
The participants in this study were 29 sixth-grade students at a middle-class primary
school in a metropolitan Australian capital. The students (11 boys and 18 girls) were
either 11 or 12 years old, with all except one being Caucasian. None of the students
had experience of SE or TGfU prior to the study. Classes met daily for 30 minutes
over a five-week period. The students were not required to dress for physical
education, although the schools no hat, no play policy was followed.
The first author was the primary teacher of the hybrid SE-TGfU unit, and had
significant experience in the teacher-as-researcher role with regard to Sport
Education interventions (see, for example, Hastie, 1996, 1998, 2000). The main
advantage of this position was that in an effort to see if an intervention of this
nature might work, instruction under the leadership of an expert would seem desirable in assessing its real potential in the fullest sense.
The first author also had complete autonomy in designing the program. From a legal
stance, he was a registered teacher in the state, and had the permission and encouragement of the schools administration as well the students classroom teacher, who attended
all lessons. Permission was also gained from the students to use their data for the analysis.
The SE TGfU unit
The teacher designed a 22-lesson season on batting/fielding games (see Table 1).
Much of the content and many of the concepts included were drawn from a unit previously designed by Curtner-Smith (2004).
In congruence with the suggestions of Dyson et al. (2004), the structure of the unit
was pure SE, in that students were placed on six teams that participated in pre-season

A hybrid games model 5

Table 1. Season plan
Lesson
1

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3 5

Key content
Introduction and outline
of the unit
Beginning
batting/fielding skills
Introduction of team
roles and
responsibilities
Beginning skill practice
Five-a-side softball rules
and practice matches

6 8

Five-a-side softball
competition

Continuous cricket
Beginning skills practice

10

Continuous cricket
Beginning skills practice

11 12

Five-a-side continuous
cricket practice
matches
Five-a-side continuous
cricket competition

13 15

16

Game design I.
Planning on paper

17

Game design II
Trailing in action

18

19 21

Game design III

Teaching the class
Class votes on favorite
game
Final game competition

22

Awards day

TGfU principles

SE processes

Three-a-side batting games

Hit to space
Run with, or throw the ball?

Concept of persisting
teams, roles and
competition format

Four-a-side batting games

Hit far or short?
Throw ahead of the runner

Announcement of teams
development of team
identity (name, color
etc.)
Internal scrimmages
within teams

Five-a-side softball
Batting order?
Fielding positions?
Application of key principles
developed through days 1 5
Single batter games
To hit or not?
To run or not?
Backing up throws
Two batter games
Which end to bowl from?
Where to throw?
When to run?
Five-a-side continuous cricket
Batting order?
Fielding positions?
Application of key principles
developed through days 9 11
Synthesis of tactical
understanding in games
making
Synthesis of tactical
understanding in games
making
Synthesis of tactical
understanding in games
making
Application of tactical
understanding to a novel task

League matches for

season points. Duty
team responsibilities
Whole class instruction
and scrimmages

Whole class instruction

and scrimmages

Practice matches and

practice officiating
League matches for
season points. Duty
team responsibilities
Team problem-solving
tasks
Team problem-solving
tasks
Present your teams game
to the class

League matches for

season points
Duty team
responsibilities
Culminating event

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6 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

game play, competitive leagues and a post-season tournament leading to a culminating event. Moreover, students took on as many as two roles other than player during
the course of the unit. These included equipment manager, publicity officer,
statistician, captain, umpire and scorekeeper. Specific SE processes employed
throughout the unit are outlined in the third column of Table 1.
The main pedagogical style employed, however, was pure TGfU, in that while the
students participated in small-sided games, the teacher guided them toward understanding tactics and strategies by briefly stopping the action and asking questions and/or
exaggerating the need to employ certain tactics and strategies by imposing conditions,
rule changes, and equipment modifications on the game. When there was a need for
students to learn new sport-related skills, they were only taught in isolation if they could
not be mastered within game play. The tactical focus of each lesson is shown in column
2 of Table 1.
During the final stages of the season, students were asked to design their own smallsided and modified games based on the knowledge they had acquired earlier in the
unit. When introducing this game design task, the teacher stressed that a good
game was one that was fair, worked and was fun for both teams (see Rovegno &
Bandhauers 1994 expanded definition of a good game). The students were asked
to employ a play-discuss-play approach to game design and encouraged to experiment
with a variety of equipment, rules and field configurations. When they were happy
with their game they completed a game design form. This included sections
in which they recorded the games name, a diagram of the playing area, a list of equipment needed to play, a list of rules, the scoring system and strategies and tactics that
should be employed by both fielding and batting teams. One class day was then allocated for each team to present its game to the other teams, complete with a small
scrimmage. At the conclusion of that lesson, all students voted individually as to
which game they liked the most and would enjoy playing for the final minicompetition. Voting followed a five-item forced differential response format (see
Figure 1).
Data collection
Rovegno et al. (2001) noted that teaching experiments should include a description of how
the unit of work being studied was designed, analysis of events that occurred in the

Figure 1. Game evaluation form

A hybrid games model 7

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classroom, and systematic reflection. As a beginning point, the first author kept a reflective
log and notes about his practice throughout the season. As well as including these elements
in the present study, in line with the thinking of Holt et al. (2002), we also sought to provide
a more complete and richer description of the effects of the SETGfU unit by including
the voices of students. Therefore, we employed the following data collection techniques:
Critical incidents. The critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954) was used to investigate those features of the curriculum that the students viewed as significant or important during the course of the unit. Following each lesson, the students completed a
critical incident reflective sheet. Instructions for completing the sheet were similar to
those provided by OSullivan and Tsangaridou (1992). Students were asked to write
about One thing that happened during your lesson today that you found important.
It may have been important because it made you excited, made you bored, made
you worried, or because it was something you learned that was really new. When
you have described what happened, try to explain why it was important.
While the critical incidents technique has been used in a number of studies in physical education research, particularly those examining pre-service (e.g., OBryant et al.,
2000) and practicing (e.g., Parker, 1995) teachers, as far as we were aware the
technique had not been used previously to gather data from younger children.
Tactical quizzes. Students were given a total of four tactical quizzes throughout the
unit. They completed two of these during the softball mini-season and two during the
cricket mini-season. During each quiz, students were asked to solve a tactical problem
to which there was one obviously correct answer. Within three of the quizzes the
problem involved selecting correct fielding strategies, while within the fourth it involved
selecting correct batting and pitching/bowling strategies. In each quiz, students were
presented with a written scenario and asked to solve it by drawing diagrams and/or providing a written answer. During the fielding quizzes, therefore, students were asked to
come up with the best course of action that could be taken by a fielding team.
Game design forms. Copies of all game design forms were made so that they could be
analyzed by the researchers at the completion of the unit.
Team interviews. Immediately following the completion of the season, each team was
interviewed by the first author, with the intention of discovering students motivation
for and rationale behind the particular games they had invented and how well they
really understood these games. To this end, within a focus group format
(Fontana & Frey, 1994), each team was asked the same two lead questions although
the protocol for these group interviews allowed for multiple prompts and follow-up
questions. These lead questions were (a) Tell me all about the rules of your game
and the equipment you chose to use and (b) You have just been appointed as
coaches for the other sixth-grade class and the game you are coaching is the one
that you made up. I want you to tell me what you would do in practice to get them
to play it well and win. All six interviews were audio-taped.

8 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

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Data analysis
Initially, critical incident analysis involved sorting data into thoughts and perceptions.
Based on the work of Bell et al. (1985), a thought or perception was defined as a
statement that was conceptually consistent with a single topic or idea. Next, using
the analytic induction technique (Goetz & LeCompte, 1984), thoughts and perceptions were coded and placed in a series of emerging categories and subcategories.
As this process continued through four levels, some data were moved from one
category to another based on goodness of fit, category and subcategory labels were
refined or changed, and several categories were collapsed while others were subdivided. Once this process was complete, the frequency of thoughts and perceptions
within each category and subcategory were computed.
Each tactical quiz was analyzed separately. The enumerative analysis (Goetz &
LeCompte, 1984) employed involved determining the number of students who
managed to provide the correct solution to the tactical problem presented in the
scenario. In addition, exemplars representing the types of written answers provided
to each quiz were selected for illustrative purposes.
Game designed forms were analyzed inductively using typological analysis (Goetz &
LeCompte, 1984) and constant comparison (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). This involved
placing data (written text and diagrams) into several categories. These were the type
and amount of equipment needed to play the game, the shape and dimensions of
the playing area, method(s) of scoring, skills, strategies and innovations. This latter
category included any game component that had not been examined in the unit
prior to the game invention phase and, thus, was an example of students own thinking.
We then identified commonalities across and unique components within the six games.
All six team interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data were then analyzed by
analytic induction. During several readings, each interview text was reduced to a
series of thoughts and perceptions, this time representing teams rather than individual
students. Thoughts and perceptions were then sorted into those concerned with the
process of game invention and those explaining how another team of students
might be taught to play their game well and win. The thoughts and perceptions
within each of the two themes were then coded and categorized using the same
procedure employed during the analysis of the critical incident data.
Results
Critical incidents
Four hundred and ninety-one thoughts and perceptions about the SE-TGfU unit
were coded from the critical incident reflective sheets. The frequency of these
thoughts and perceptions are shown in Table 2 within eight major categories and
45 subcategories. The vast majority of students general comments indicated that
they enjoyed the unit hugely. Indeed, students frequently noted that lessons were
great fun, good and liked. These sentiments were expressed throughout the
season despite some concerns about the environment, particularly that it was way

Table 2. Frequency of students thoughts and perceptions

Category

8/9

10

11

12

13

14

15/16

17

18

19

20

Total

General comments about

Enjoyed
OK/alright
Tiring
Boring
General comments
subtotal

lessons
6
0
0
0
6

1
0
0
0
1

3
0
0
0
3

5
0
0
0
5

5
0
0
0
5

0
0
0
0
0

2
0
0
0
2

1
0
0
0
1

3
0
1
0
4

4
1
0
0
5

4
0
1
0
5

7
2
0
0
9

4
0
0
1
5

0
0
0
0
0

3
0
0
1
4

1
0
0
1
2

3
1
0
0
4

2
0
0
0
2

54
4
2
3
63

6
0
0
6

0
0
1
1

0
0
0
0

1
0
0
1

2
0
0
2

1
0
0
1

0
0
0
0

2
0
0
2

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

2
0
0
2

0
1
0
1

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

1
0
0
1

1
0
0
1

0
0
0
0

16
1
1
18

0
0
0

1
1
2

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
3
3

3
1
4

0
5
5

4
1
5

0
4
4

0
2
2

0
1
1

1
1
2

0
1
1

0
0
0

0
0
0

9
21
30

4
0
0
0
4

2
6
1
0
9

2
0
1
1
4

0
0
0
0
0

5
0
0
0
5

6
0
0
0
6

2
0
0
0
2

1
0
0
0
1

0
0
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
1

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

0
1
0
0
1

0
0
0
0
0

3
2
1
0
6

42
9
3
1
55

Environmental concerns
Heat
Wind
Insects
Environmental
concerns subtotal

0
0
0
0

Opportunites to participate
Plenty
0
Lack of
1
Opportunities to
1
participate
subtotal
Team-related
Teamwork
Affiliation
Selection
Let team down
Team-related
subtotal

16
0
0
0
16

(continued)

A hybrid games model 9

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Lesson

Lesson

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Category
Affective
Being with friends
Choosing partners/
groups
Getting along with
others
Not getting along
with others
Fair play
Encourages pupils
who dont
like sport
Affective subtotal
Skill-related
Enjoy skills
Learning skills
Performing skills
Skill-related
subtotal
Game-related
Enjoyed in general
General success
Specific success
Employing tactics/
adapting to rules
General failure

8/9

10

11

12

13

14

15/16

17

18

19

20

Total

0
0

1
0

0
1

0
0

0
0

1
0

0
0

0
0

3
0

0
0

3
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

8
1

17

2
2

1
0

0
0

0
0

1
0

1
0

1
0

1
0

0
0

2
0

0
0

1
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

0
0

2
0

12
2

44

4
0
0
4

0
7
2
9

0
2
3
5

0
2
0
2

2
0
1
3

0
8
1
9

1
0
5
6

1
0
0
1

3
1
0
4

2
2
1
5

3
2
0
5

2
2
0
4

3
2
1
6

0
0
0
0

1
0
0
1

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
1
1
2

22
29
15
66

9
0
0
0

4
0
0
0

2
0
0
2

4
0
0
2

9
0
0
1

4
0
0
1

4
1
0
0

3
2
1
0

5
0
0
0

0
0
1
4

5
0
0
0

2
0
3
0

0
0
3
0

0
0
0
0

3
0
1
0

4
1
2
2

2
0
0
0

2
0
3
0

62
4
14
12

10 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

Table 2. Continued

Other
Exercise/fitness
Roles
Didnt learn
anything new
Being alert
Injury
Gender
Other subtotal
Total

0
0
0
1

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
1
1
0

0
3
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

1
0
1
0

1
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
2
3
0

1
6
2
0

0
5
4
0

0
5
2
0

3
22
13
1

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

3
0
0

1
2
0

0
0
0

0
1
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

1
1
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
2

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

5
4
2

17

0
10

0
4

0
4

0
9

0
13

0
5

0
8

0
9

0
5

0
7

0
5

0
7

0
7

1
17

1
17

0
20

0
15

2
18

4
180

2
0
0

1
0
4

0
3
1

1
0
0

0
0
0

1
0
2

0
5
0

0
6
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
2
1

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0

5
16
8

0
0
1
3

0
0
0
5

0
0
0
4

0
0
1
2

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
3

0
0
0
5

0
0
0
6

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

2
0
1
6

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

0
1
0
1

0
0
0
0

2
1
3
35

44

34

30

22

24

29

29

23

25

24

26

27

28

18

25

26

26

31

491

Note: pupils wrote one critical incident for lessons 8 and 9 and lessons 15 and 16 since content in these lessons was virtually identical.

A hybrid games model

11

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Specific failure
Winning
Losing
Enjoyed because
small-sided
Wanted to play
real game
Space
Rules
Teacher
participation
Game invention
(ve)
Game invention
(2ve)
Good game
invented
Poor game invented
Game-related
subtotal

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12 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

too hot. Undoubtedly, one factor that promoted student enjoyment was the structure
of the season that allowed them numerous turns to participate and, therefore, get to
hit the ball heaps. On the downside, students were quick to complain when their
opportunities to participate were limited, especially when they didnt get more
than one bat, didnt get a good bat or spent too much time standing around.
As would be expected from a unit that drew heavily from the principles of SE, there
were also a lot of team-related comments made by students. Encouragingly, there were
numerous references to teamwork, especially being organized, working together
and cooperating. Additionally, and particularly in lesson 3, students suggested that
they felt an affiliation with their teams by, for example, referring to our [team] name
or our [team] colour. Conversely, a few students were not happy with team selection,
claiming that it was not fair, and one student noted that he had let the team down.
Not surprisingly, students also wrote positively about getting to be with [their]
friends or getting to play with friends. Interestingly, following lesson 1, two students
also suggested that the structure of the unit was encouraging for kids who dont like
sport much. Moreover, lessons, they said, had been cool because there was no
fighting. Even more encouraging were the 12 statements about fair play, a cornerstone of SE. Comments on this subject usually reported that teams had played
fairly, which made the experience fun. On the downside, there were 17 comments
that indicated that students did not always get along with each other. For example,
following lesson 19, there were several claims that opposing teams had cheated,
and one student noted that he didnt like it how everyone argued.
It is also worth highlighting the fact that students deemed the roles they took on other
than player to be worthy of discussion. Following lesson 3, students noted that they got
to be the publicist person and the tactician, while another stated I liked it when we got
to choose our own jobs. Moreover, following lessons 7 and 8, a number of students
remarked on how much they had enjoyed being the umpire and scoring.
Throughout the season students produced 66 skill-related comments. These
expressed the pleasure they had experienced when doing skills or merely relayed
the fact that they had learned or performed skills. For example, students thought
running for the dome was cool, they liked batting, learned to throw long distances, throw properly and did good hits.
Significantly, students also made 180 game-related comments. Sixty-six of these
indicated that they had enjoyed playing games. Students noted that they liked it
when [they] got to play a game at the end that it was fun playing against classmates,
and that they had fun playing the game. Conversely, they were unhappy when the
field was too small. There were also a handful of comments describing general and
specific successes and failures. Students, for example, explained that they had
learned more about the game, liked todays game because we got lots of run,
were not very good and tripped over the hoop.
On the upside, there were relatively few comments about winning (13 of this total of
180) and losing (one only), considering the competitive environment SE creates.
Most of these comments came towards the end of the unit as the stakes grew
higher and the culminating competition loomed larger. Moreover, most of these

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13

comments also suggested that winning and losing were not of vital importance. Students noted that they enjoyed today because we won or made statements such as
today we flogged the Tigers, it was fun. However, they also explained, it was fun
but we lost . . . but that does not matter and even though we lost by 15 I still had fun.
Another positive outcome from the unit was the fact that there was only one plea to
play the real game. While only one comment specifically acknowledged that a game
had been enjoyable because when we played, we only played in groups of three, the
fact that students noted that they enjoyed game playing so frequently suggested that
most were very happy to participate in small-sided and modified games.
Game-related comments also suggested that the pedagogical principles borrowed
from the TGfU approach had influenced the students. The 12 comments about
tactics or adapting to rule changes perhaps provided the strongest evidence of this.
For example, following lesson 3, one student explained, the thing I learned to do
was not hit so hard. Similarly, following lesson 5, a student reported that he had
learned about loaded bases while, after lesson 7, another explained I learned to
move in front of the runner. Additionally, following lesson 11, students noted that
it is easier to run short distances than long and that they liked the game where
you had either less and more room to run and the bowler had more and less to bowl.
Other evidence suggesting that the TGfU approach had influenced students for the
better came from the comments about game invention in the latter stages of the unit.
As illustrated below, positive comments on this topic mostly involved students claiming that the process had been enjoyable:
I thought it was fun making up a game as a team. (Lesson 15/16)
It was a good experience designing a gameit made us think. (Lesson 15/16)
I like how we created a game; we tried all different types. (Lesson 15/16)

Negative comments, on the other hand, merely suggested that the process had been
difficult but had prompted considerable thought:
It was hard making up a game by ourselves. (Lesson 15/16)
It was hard to design our own game like choosing stuff for it. (Lesson 15/16)
It was a very tricky thing of all the things to do . . . but it was a good challenge. (Lesson 15/16)

In addition, many students claimed that they had invented a good game and, as illustrated below, some explained why their game was successful:
I like our game because you get heaps of points in it. (Lesson 15/16)
I like our game because we had five bases and lots of ways to score. (Lesson 15/16)

In contrast, few students experienced dissatisfaction with the game that their teams
had invented and those who did made only mildly critical comments:
I did not really like the game . . . it was too hard. (Lesson 17)
It was too hard to score. (Lesson 20)

14 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

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Tactical quizzes
In the main, the students were able to provide the appropriate strategies for the
scenarios presented to them in the tactical quizzes. Sequentially, the percentages
of students providing the correct solution to each quiz were 70%, 82%, 85% and
87%. This finding suggests that students tactical ability improved during the
course of the unit. Further, as illustrated below, solutions to the early quizzes
tended to be relatively simple while solutions to later quizzes seemed to be comparatively complex:
Because if they decided to run again you could get them out. (Quiz 2)
Because its the closest base. (Quiz 2)
If the batter slogged it, why wouldnt you run, especially if it went behind the wickets? (Quiz 4)
When your bowlers throwing to the other persons end or if the wicket-keeper misses the
ball and it goes a long way. (Quiz 4)

Game design
Analysis of the games that students designed revealed three consistent features. These
were inclusion, the incorporation of risk/reward strategies for both batting and fielding teams and the avoidance of problematic skills.
Inclusion. In five of the six games designed by the students, players were permitted
to choose the method by which they would bat. In all five cases, the motivation
behind this choice was to increase the opportunity for players of differing skill
levels to have success. For example, within the Butterflies game, batters could
hit from a tee or a self-toss with a softball bat or short-handled paddle. Similarly,
the Lightning Bolts rules permitted players to use cricket bats or paddles, while
within the Wallabies game, students could choose to kick the ball from the
ground or punt it from their hands. To further increase the chance of those
players with weaker batting skills making a successful hit, the Wallabies also
chose to widen the area in which a hit was considered fair. Finally, the rules of
the Kiwis game allowed a player running to the scoring base to stop halfway at
a safety base in the event of a weak hit. The aim of this safety base, the Kiwis
explained, was to allow weaker players to make a contribution to their teams
cause.
Risk/reward strategies. Five of the six games also included rule-dictated strategic
options for both batting and fielding teams. Teams choosing the more difficult
options risked catastrophe but had the opportunity to gain more points. Teams
playing it safe and choosing the less difficult options scored fewer points if successful and suffered less dire consequences if not. In the Tigers game, for example,
batters scored points by running to bases and back to the hitting area. Some
scoring bases were nearer to the hitting area than others. Those further from the
hitting area were more difficult to get to and, thus, were worth more points.

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A hybrid games model

15

Likewise, the Butterflies included a bonus base in their game that was worth two
points instead of the usual one. The trade-off was that a batter was not allowed to
stop at the bonus base and that getting to it involved running much further.
Players, therefore, had to decide whether the greater risk of getting out was
worth the extra point.
Several teams also included a range of strategic options from which fielding teams
could choose. Again, those that were more risky yielded the greatest rewards if carried
out successfully. In the Butterflies game, for example, a catch on the full was
rewarded with three points, while a catch after one bounce was worth only one
point. If a player made an unsuccessful attempt to catch on the full, the opportunity
to gain one point from catching off the bounce was gone.
The Wallabies game also included full and one-bounce catching. In their case,
however, catches made off the bounce had to be completed with one hand. Additionally, the ball used by the Wallabies was large and highly inflated. The Wallabies
explained that they had chosen to use this type of ball since, combined with their
catching rules, it encouraged fielders to move closer to the batter. The rewards for
moving closer to the batter, then, were that there was a greater possibility of
making a catch on the full and that the ball could be moved to the bases relatively
quickly. In addition, in the event that the ball was played over the fielding team, it
was still possible to turn, chase it down and catch it with one hand.
Avoidance of problematic skills. The third feature of the student-designed games was
that they avoided the use of difficult skills. For example, pitching or bowling was
always underarm because the students had such poor control when using overarm
actions. Additionally, and as alluded to in the section on inclusion, in some games
pitching was avoided altogether.
The students also tended to choose equipment and field configurations that
compensated for their lack of skill and increased their chances of doing well in
the game. For example, since most of the students had great difficulty picking
up and throwing at speed and with accuracy, as alluded to in the section on
risk/reward strategies, games which involved base-running were made easier by
using a ball that was relatively easy to throw and catch and/or by elongating
the field so that the distances between the hitting zone and the bases were relatively long.

Team interviews: game design

Table 3 shows the students thoughts and perceptions about the process of game
invention. The table indicates that three of the six teams had a good deal to say
about this process while three did not. The table also indicates that teams had
four broad goals when designing their games. These were creating a better
game, a different or unusual game, compared with those that they usually
played, creating a more challenging or harder game and, as explained by one

16 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

Table 3. Students thoughts and perceptions on game invention/design during team interviews
Teams

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Categories
General goals
Create a better game
Create a different game
Create a challenging game
Incorporate favorite elements
from other games
Specific purposes
Promote high scoring
Promote enjoyment
Promote sporting behaviour
Promote fitness
Promote decision-making
Fairness/opportunity to succeed
Inclusion in general
Equipment choices
Rules
Pitch dimensions
Other
Rule explanation

Lightning
Bolts

Butterflies

B
B

Wallabies

Kiwis

B
B
B

Bugs

Tigers

B
B

B
B

B
B
B

B
B
B

B
B

member of the Lightning Bolts, incorporating elements they had enjoyed in other
games:
We thought about the games we played and what we liked and tried to put it all together.
(Lightning Bolts member)

Members of three teams also noted that they had had a number of different specific
purposes when designing their games. Both the Lightning Bolts and the Bugs
enjoyed high scoring games and explained that they wanted to add more points
and encourage . . . [teams] to get more points within their games. The Bugs and
the Wallabies also explained that producing an enjoyable or funner game was one
of their main priorities. In addition, the Wallabies indicated that the promotion of
sporting behavior and wellness was important to them by making it officially illegal
to yell at the ref and designing a game in which the object was to get puffed
because it makes you more fit. In congruence with the TGfU approach employed
in the unit, the Bugs were also interested in promoting decision-making. As one
member of this team explained, their game
encourages you to go out to the further one [i.e., base] and get more points, so you have
to make a quick fast decision on the spot. (Bugs member)

A hybrid games model

17

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Five of the six teams also expressed concerns about fairness and, as they had done on
their game design forms, noted that a key objective was to provide opportunities for all
students to succeed. To this end, different members of the Lightning Bolts recalled that
they had tried to make their game more inclusive in general and explained
how they had partially achieved this goal by allowing players to choose the equipment
they used:
We tried to make our game as fair as it can be. (Lightning Bolts member)
Why did you use different bats? (First author)
Some people were really crappy with the cricket bat, and some were really bad with the
paddles, so [we] gave them a choice. So they could actually have a chance to hit better. . . .
[This] gave everyone a chance. (Lightning Bolts member)

In addition, the Wallabies emphasized how their pitch dimensions permitted more
students to succeed:
We made it so the two front ones [i.e., bases] were wider than the back ones cause that
was a bouncy ball it was hard to kick so we wanted to have more area so they didnt foul
too much. (Wallabies member)

Finally, members of five teams explained how the rules of their games promoted
inclusion:
What about the one-bounce catch [rule]? (First author)
Some people cant catch on the full, so if they try and it bounces they still have a chance.
(Lightning Bolts member)
What about the one-hand catch [rule]? (First author)
Ben did that a lot cause he could not always catch it, but that helped. It bounces back
off our chest because its so bouncy but the one-handed catch you can still get it.
(Kiwis member)

Team interviews: coaching to win

Table 4 shows students thoughts and perceptions about how to play their games well
and what they would teach another team to do in order to help them win. The table
indicates that some teams were much more forthcoming on this topic than when
asked to discuss game design.
When describing how they would teach others to play their games, members from
all teams but the Butterflies began by stressing the need to explain and demonstrate
the rules:
If you hit a foul, you have to go back. (Lightning Bolts member)
They have to know all the rules and how to get out and . . . they have know the rules about
how to get around the bases. (Wallabies member)

Four of the teams were adamant that, secondly, they would teach the skills needed to
play their games. This involved showing them hitting, fielding, catching, and . . .
techniques of batting, as well as how to run, throw far and not get tagged
running. The Lightning Bolts and the Bugs then suggested that students
should play practice or small-sided games while the Wallabies and Tigers emphasized playing the full game. In addition, members from several teams noted the

18 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

Table 4. Students thoughts and perceptions on how to play their games well/win during team
interviews
Teams

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Categories
Rules and dimensions
Explain/demonstrate rules
Explain/show pitch
configuration
Instructional procedures
Demonstrate/teach/practice/
perform skills
Play small-sided/modified
games
Play full game
Provide performance feedback
Provide motivational feedback
Fielding strategies/tactics
Movement of base fielders
Throwing to correct base/end
Setting/adapting the field
Throwing/running with the
ball
Backing up
Tagging runners
Moving in
Batting strategies/tactics
Hit over fielders
Hit into spaces
Hit away from good fielders
Hit to unexpected areas
Hit away from base/end
running towards
Hit long
Keep the ball down
Keep the ball in the air
Account for wind
Running decisions
Other
Encourage sportsmanship
Teamwork
Improve fitness

Lightning
Bolts

Butterflies

Wallabies

Kiwis

Bugs

Tigers

B
B

B
B

B
B
B
B
B
B
B

B
B

B
B

B
B
B

B
B
B

B
B

B
B
B
B
B
B

B
B

B
B

B
B
B
B
B

B
B

B
B

B
B

B
B
B

need to go around when [students] are practicing and tell them their mistakes but be
encouraging. This approach, of course, reflected the traditional skill-to-game and
direct teaching style approach that the students were used to rather than the TGfU
and indirect teaching style approach that had been employed during the unit.

A hybrid games model

19

Within this framework, members of all the teams also recognized the importance
of sound strategic and tactical play. As illustrated below, the most often
mentioned fielding strategy was the need to set or adapt the field for a particular
batter:

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If some people kick in the same direction all the time, get there. Like Chris, he always
boots it to the right, so we moved Luke over there. (Wallabies member)
We had two out far and some in close in case they tipped it. It depended upon the kicker.
(Bugs member)

As well as adapting the field based on the strengths and weaknesses of and tactics
employed by batters, some teams stressed the importance of getting certain players
in positions that matched their skills:
Get all the good catchers out the back and all the good chuckers up the front so they
could get to the base and hit the wickets. (Wallabies member)
Youd put Scott out there because he is a good catcher. (Lightning Bolts member)

As illustrated by the quotations below, the next most often mentioned fielding strategy/tactic was throwing to the correct base or end:
How did you decide where to throw? (First author)
You throw to the closest base or if they are nearly going home you throw to the wickets.
(Kiwis member)
What are some of the things that you did to win all your games? (First author)
. . . Throw to the person nearest the closest base. (Butterflies member)
Give me a specific example of that. (First author)
It depends upon where the runner is . . . If he is on second you would throw it to
third or the wickets. It depends upon how close you are. If he is just at first base,
youd go to second, but if he was not that close, youd go to that base. (Butterflies
member)

As well as getting the ball to the correct base or end, four of the teams also explained
that successful fielders were able to make good decisions about whether to throw or
run with the ball to a base or end:
If its a long way awaythrow to another person rather than running with it, because the
ball normally goes faster throwing than a person thats actually running. (Lightning Bolts
member)

Other fielding strategies/tactics mentioned less often during the interviews included
making sure that base fielders realized that they didnt have to stay on base all the
time, covering other fielders, chasing the runner to tag them and getting everyone
to run towards the hitting area.
The batting strategy most often suggested by the students was to hit it where no
people are. Other suggestions for batters included hit it as hard as you can so it
goes over the fielders head, hit . . . away from good fielders, kick it really far,
kick it low to the ground so that its hard to catch, keep the ball in the air because
when it bounces and comes way up from the ground . . . its harder to field and
when the winds blowing, kick it straight, because it could blow foul. In addition,

20 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

students noted that they had success by hitting away from the base or end to which
they were running and by hitting to unexpected areas:
I always kicked to the left just near the foul because you had to run against the clock and
you could make more bases. (Kiwis member)

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On your first go you could pretend you are a really bad kicker and they would come in
next time and so you could kick it over their heads. (Bugs member)
Would a small hit ever be useful? (First author)
If they thought you were a good hitter and they had all moved out. (Kiwis member)

In addition to suggesting specific hitting strategies and tactics, four of the teams also
recognized the importance of making good running decisions so that players could
get to base without getting out. The Lightning Bolts, for example, noted that deciding whether or not to attempt to run to the next base depends on the accuracy and
throwing of the fielder. Similarly, the Tigers followed the general tactical rule that
if you hit small, run close or if you hit far, run far.
Finally, it is worth highlighting that the members of the Wallabies believed that part
of playing their game well involved showing good sportsmanship. Moreover,
members of the Butterflies noted that superior teamwork had contributed significantly to their success in competition, while the Bugs stressed that, to be successful,
teams should get . . . fit, because there is a lot of running.
Discussion
In congruence with Rovegno et als. (2001) definition of a teaching experiment, this study
examined teaching, learning and subject matter as part of a complex system. The
complex system, in this case, was created by an attempt to combine SE and
TGfU and the subject matter was batting/fielding games. The discussion that follows
is based on Rovegno et als. (2001) final three foundational goals for teaching
experiments.
Learning the subject matter
The results of the study suggested that the students made significant gains during the
SE TGfU unit. First, they became more competent. They responded well to the
myriad of problems they were asked to solve during small-sided game play, quizzes
and game invention sessions and, by the units conclusion, were able to understand,
appreciate and execute a number of rudimentary batting, bowling/pitching and fielding tactics and strategies, and some which were fairly sophisticated. These findings,
then, strongly contradict Asquiths (1989) claim that primary schoolchildren were
incapable of appreciating or learning tactical concepts. Moreover, there was some
evidence to suggest that students also improved their performance of technical skills.
Only one previous study has examined skill and tactical development during SE.
Within an ultimate Frisbee unit in which more direct teaching styles were employed,
Hastie (1998) also found that students technical skills improved as they sought to
master the tactical and strategic dimensions of game play. More research focusing

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A hybrid games model

21

specifically on the processes by which students achieve these gains would obviously
be helpful.
Second, the students demonstrated improved literacy. They understood the overarching principles, rules and structures of batting/fielding games, appreciated their
importance, and were able to transfer them from one game to another. Particularly
impressive in this respect was their ability to include risk/reward strategies
and avoid problematic skills in the games that they invented. Moreover, they appreciated and had some understanding of the roles they took on other than player and
appeared to have some idea of the basic pedagogical practices needed to teach games.
Third, the students became increasingly enthusiastic. They enjoyed the unit, were
excited and looked forward to each class. They emphasized and demonstrated teamwork, cooperation and affiliation, and reveled in the opportunity to practice and play
with their friends. Importantly, they also made valiant attempts to include all
members of the class, did not place an undue emphasis on winning and, for the
most part, recognized the importance of playing fairly and in a sporting manner.
Most tellingly, they attempted to produce, what for them, were new forms of
batting/fielding games, rather than reworking games with which they were already
familiar.
Issues, problems and challenges
Four major issues, problems and challenges were identified during the course of the
unit. In congruence with the findings of Rink (1996), the first of these was that despite
their aforementioned gains in technical competency, lack of skill, particularly in pitching/bowling, served to limit students ability to demonstrate tactical understanding
which they undoubtedly had. Heeding Kirk and MacPhails (2002) reminder that tactical and technical dimensions of game play should be viewed as interdependent
rather than oppositional, in retrospect we believe that more attention to this key
enabling skill would have been beneficial.
The second issue was the limited amount of time available for instruction. Although
this unit was lengthy when compared to traditional multi-activity units, it was still difficult to attend to all the instructional and managerial tasks associated with both SE
and TGfU. Based on previous research (Hastie, 2000), we realized how important
establishing a rigorous managerial task system was if the students were to have a successful season. In the early lessons, therefore, the first author put most of his energy
into teaching beginning class protocols, team roles and responsibilities, and how to
conduct independent team practices. Within a 30-minute lesson, of course, this
meant that TGfU-style instruction tended to get squeezed out.
Once the unit was well underway, the first author continued to find the 30-minute
lesson restrictive. In short, it put great pressure on the instructional task system. Using
Mosston and Ashworths (2001) productive teaching styles was time-consuming.
Students needed time to answer questions, respond to rule changes, adapt to equipment and playing area modifications and design games. In addition, the teacher
needed time to move from team to team. Longer lessons or units and more experience

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22 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

with this type of hybrid unit, we think, are the most logical solutions to this problem.
To achieve the former, however, requires for a significant re-thinking of the way in
which physical education is presented in primary schools. While in the UK, units
such as this in Key Stage 2 are able to occupy up to 18 hours of teaching (although
the recommended length is 8 12 hours), in countries without a national curriculum
(e.g., the USA), there seems to be focus on curriculum breadth versus substantive
engagement in one area. Hopefully, then, this paper will again spark deep discussion
with regard to purposes of physical education.
The third challenge concerned subject matter mastery. At times, the inductive/
reactive nature of TGfU severely tested the first authors capacity to think on his
feet and ask the next question or make the most appropriate modifications to game
equipment, rules, and field configurations. In short, we agreed with Werner et al.
(1996), who noted that teaching this way requires great skill. Given that the first
author was a very experienced teacher well versed in batting/fielding games, in congruence with Rovegno (1998) and McNeill et al. (2004), we concluded that to be successful when delivering a hybrid SE TGfU unit, a teacher would have to possess
superior content and pedagogical content knowledge.
This conclusion, of course, also has implication for physical education teacher
education (PETE). Given that previous research has shown that pre-service teachers
struggle mightily to comprehend and execute TGFU (Randall, 2003; McNeil et al.,
2004) and, to a lesser extent, SE (Curtner-Smith & Sofo, 2004), it seems logical to
ask them to practice and master each model in isolation before attempting to
combine them. Obviously, research aimed at supporting or refuting this hypothesis
is needed.
In the introduction of this article we noted some of the similarities and differences
between SE and TGfU. Our fourth challenge, however, was to overcome a difference
between the two models we had not anticipated. Game forms in SE units are preplanned, fixed, and formalized. This is part of what makes the sport in SE authentic.
On the other hand, TGfU involves constantly tinkering with games in order to push
and prod students towards greater understanding. The first authors solution to this
problem was to follow the TGfU doctrine during practice sessions but take a modified
approach during competitive phases of the season whereby, instead of conditioning
games for each team, he did so for the whole class.
Development, refinement and illustrations of theory
According to Dyson et al. (2004), the main theoretical perspective used to justify the
employment of student-centered curricular models like SE and TGfU has been constructivism. Citing the work of Perkins (1999), these authors reminded sport pedagogues that, within a constructivist approach, students must be active learners, in that
they perform tasks which involve solving problems and making decisions; social learners, in that they formulate knowledge by interacting with their peers; and creative learners, in that they discover and understand knowledge by experimenting with the
subject matter. More recently, a number of researchers (e.g., Kirk & Macdonald,

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23

1998; Kirk & Almond, 1999; Kirk & Kinchin, 2003) have focused on one component
of constructivism known as situated learning theory. Based on Lave and Wengers
(1991) notion of legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice,
they have argued that, within physical education, students should take part in
authentic activities which are similar to those they will encounter outside of school.
Moreover, they have highlighted the influence of the cultural and social context on
what and how students learn. Based on the results of our teaching experiment, we
believe that the hybrid SE TGfU unit was successful because it promoted active,
social and creative learning and allowed students to participate in relevant and authentic sport forms which they could see were related to those occurring in the wider
community.
Moreover, we believe that the combination of SE and TGfU made our unit stronger. While we agree with Dyson et al. (2004) that both models encourage a constructivist approach, we see some relative strengths and weaknesses when the pure forms of
the two models are employed by themselves. As noted in the introduction, for us, SE is
an outward-focused model and, therefore, much more likely to promote social and
situated learning than the inward-focused TGfU. Conversely, TGfU is a much stronger model in terms of promoting the use of indirect teaching styles and, hence, active
and creative learning.
Rink (2001) argued that it was important to find out what factors motivated
children in physical education classes. Based on our studys results, we agree with a
number of other researchers (e.g., Werner et al., 1996; Allison et al., 2000;
Strean & Holt, 2000; Holt et al., 2002) that participating in game play is one of
these factors. Locating game play within an SE framework, however, made it that
much more legitimate. While other curricular models may not excite postmodern
children and youth (Tinning & Fitzclarence, 1992), in line with Alexander, Taggart
and Thorpe (1996), we believe that the hybrid SE-TGfU unit was culturally relevant.
Combining SE and TGfU meant that modifications had to be made to both models
so that they were compatible with each other. First, the subject matter of the unit was
a category of games (batting/fielding games) rather than a single game, as is usually
the case in SE units. In line with other advocates of TGfU (see Bunker & Thorpe,
1982; Holt et al., 2002; Dyson et al., 2004), this was because we wanted to focus
on the transfer of tactical and strategic principles from one game to another.
A second, and in our view highly successful, adaptation was to ask students to
design and vote for the game that was played in the final competitive phase of the
season. As observed previously by others (Almond, 1983; Howarth, 1989; Rovegno
& Bandhauer, 1994; Curtner-Smith, 1996), this process allowed students to create
games that were meaningful to them while promoting their active engagement with
and exploration of concepts of game play. In future, we believe that the Sports
Board, elected from the teams in a class, could be given added responsibility in
terms of settling on the final set of rules, conditions and regulations that govern
this culminating competition.
Combining the two models also appeared to change the way in which the first
author conceptualized and employed the TGfU approach. Others have suggested

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24 P. A. Hastie and M. D. Curtner-Smith

that teachers follow a linear and rigid set of steps when teaching for understanding.
For example, Bunker and Thorpe (1982) and Holt et al. (2002) suggested that
teachers focus on game appreciation, tactical awareness, decision-making, skill
execution and performance, in that order. At various stages, these authors also advocated the use of four pedagogical principles (Thorpe et al., 1984). These were
sampling of different types of games from one of the several classification systems available (e.g., Werner & Almond, 1990): modifying games so that they represent adult
forms but can be played by children; modifying games so that tactical problems are
exaggerated; and taking note of the tactical complexity of different types of games.
More simply, Griffin et al. (1997) advocated a three-step approach in which teachers
require students to participate in modified games that focus on a tactical problem, ask
students questions that guide them toward tactical awareness, and provide tasks
which lead students to execute skills in order to solve tactical problems. While the
first author used most of these strategies, steps and principles, his pedagogy was
much more fluid and opportunistic than any of these models suggest, and did not
follow any particular order. Moreover, as alluded to previously, and like Howarth
(1989), he found it particularly useful to focus on using Mosston and Ashworths
(2001) productive cluster of styles whenever appropriate and possible. As implied
by Kirk and MacPhail (2002) and Butler (1996), research which examines and
describes exactly what accomplished instructors do when teaching for understanding,
both in the pure form and when combined with SE, in terms of structure, organization
and time frames, would be useful.
At this juncture, it is important to emphasize that combining the two models did
not weaken most of the structural advantages research has suggested SE has over
more traditional curricula. While experimenting with a hybrid curriculum of her
own, Ennis (1999, p. 44) noted that these included creating a sense of community, dispersing ownership and autonomy, and promoting positive social
relations. Similarly, drawing from the work of Seashore-Louis and Smith (1990)
and Macdonald (1999), Alexander and Luckman (2001) suggested that SE
appealed to teachers because it was empowering and led to improved relationships
with students. Hastie (2003b), on the other hand, pointed out that SE incorporated students social agendas without disrupting instruction. In addition,
Curtner-Smith and Sofo (2004) found that SE was favored by pre-service teachers
partly because it was compatible with their occupational socialization. Taking
advantage of SEs broad structural and cultural appeal, then, and combining it
with other student-centered models like TGfU, might be one relatively painless
way of changing the micro-pedagogies employed by practicing and pre-service
teachers.
On the downside, and as alluded to previously, the commonly touted advantage of
SE that the teacher is off center-stage (Alexander et al., 1996, p. 24) and no longer
the ringmaster, was partially negated during the course of the hybrid unit. While
TGfU does not place teachers center-stage (Alexander et al., 1996, p. 39) like traditional models of games teaching, it certainly puts them closer to the action than
SE. Consequently, combining SE and TGfU placed more emphasis on the teacher

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to drive and give momentum to the proceedings and, therefore, teaching was more
labor-intensive.
Finally, both Holt et al. (2002) and Dyson et al. (2004) pointed out that, to date,
TGfU and TGfU research has focused almost exclusively on psychomotor and cognitive learning. Both sets of authors called for the model to be extended and noted
that it has the potential to be more holistic and contribute to the realization of affective goals as well. We agree and believe that combining TGfU with SE forces a natural
shift toward considering cultural and social outcomes. As illustrated by CurtnerSmith (2004), we also see the potential for expanding the concept of understanding
within a hybrid SE-TGfU unit so that students critically examine components of
sport which are concerned with literacy and enthusiasm.
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