Invasion Games Research Articles

Rethinking the classification of games and sports in physical education: a response to changes in sport and participation

ABSTRACT Background Through changing the way games are represented, classification systems have increased possibilities for teaching game forms beyond structured adult and singular official versions of popular sports. At the time of inception, the four-game form approach to classification (target, net/wall, striking/fielding, and invasion games) enabled modified, small sided conditioned games to be adapted to suit individual attributes, whilst reinforcing a core set of tactical and technical elements for transfer. With global shifts in patterns of sport participation, it is timely to review this dominant classification frame and the role it plays within physical education (PE). Purpose This paper proposes changes to classification boundaries around games and sports in PE to establish a classification system that is inclusive of a wider range of games and sports and growing forms of participation that we contend are important for PE. The paper also argues for a broader conceptualisation of tactics, with social, environmental and affective dimensions a focal point for a revised, contemporary classification framework. Methods The paper draws on Bernstein’s notions of classification and frame to explore the pedagogical utility of the dominant games and sport classification used in PE and ways in which it could be revised. Each author independently undertook a structured mapping exercise designed to facilitate exploration and potential classification of a wide range of contemporary activities potentially relevant for physical education. Results The paper proposes the addition of lap or circuit sports, route or journey sports, rush or action sports, stunts or tricking sports and rhythmic or aesthetic sports to broaden the learning and participation possibilities for young people and tune teachers into contemporary movement forms. The paper proposes sample questions that extend the tactical foci inherent in classification to encompass meaning, social, and ecological considerations for learning in PE.

A games-based assessment in ecological dynamics for measuring physical literacy

Ideas and concepts taken from ecological dynamics might provide an alternative perspective on physical literacy assessment. The aim of this paper was to pilot an assessment of physical literacy conceptualised in an ecological dynamics theoretical rationale. The assessment that was designed has a number of unique features: its scale of analysis is captured at an individual-environment interaction level during game play and it captures key affordances that a child is attuning to and how they are functionally playing the game. Data collection involved observing primary school children playing invasion games in physical education classes. Digital, video-based tagging (Dartfish Pro) of children's behaviours using the emergent game-based assessment tool was completed. Pilot data provided insights on the potential rich interpretations possible, such as readily differentiating between low and high physical literacy learners’ behaviours when playing small-sided games. Greater knowledge of the performance environment was observed in children with higher physical literacy, noted through a greater capacity to favourably regulate their relative positioning between competing and cooperating players, adopting more varied offensive functionality, and exhibiting greater attunement to key affordances. Better understanding children's knowledge of the environment during games play, provides practitioners novel insight into how physical literacy reveals itself through embedded actions. This appreciation can help inform practice more holistically, contributing to richer learning environments and task design.

Teaching Children's Motor Skills for Team Games Through Guided Discovery: How Constraints Enhance Learning.

In this paper we examine the role of instructional strategies as constraints within a discovery learning framework for the teaching of open skill team ball games to elementary school-aged children. The cohesive and adaptive integration of constraints (individual, environment, and task) by practitioners of movement and physical activity (instructor, teacher, coach) is proposed as the pathway to exploiting the effectiveness of guided discovery learning. The qualitative analysis of the practical instantiations of this framework by expert teachers is examined with respect to the learning of open skill team invasion games (e.g., basketball, soccer). The primary constraints to action in this learning-teaching developmental framework are coordinated so as to keep the self-organization of skill development (movement pattern and tactics) continually evolving, while preserving the child’s motivation and enjoyment for the expanding repertoire and performance capacity of his/her perceptual-motor skills. In this open skill and elementary school age-related context, generality and specificity are both necessary and complementary in the expression of task, skill and practice influences on motor learning and performance.

Female Sports Participation, Gender Identity and the British 2010 Equality Act

ABSTRACT The inclusion of girls and women in sport at all levels depends on single sex categories for most sports from puberty onwards, because of the biological differences between the sexes. Most sport is, by definition, competitive; involving invasion games, teams, leagues, races, competitions and sometimes rankings, from foundation to excellence. Girls and women are underrepresented, particularly in traditional sport, as recognised by the UK Sports Councils and most governing bodies of sport. This paper uses feminist philosophy: Lister on androcentric citizenship, and Fraser on justice as balance, framing, recognition, representation and redistribution. It investigates the impact on the inclusion of girls and women, of eligibility policies adopting ‘self-identification of gender’ guidelines for the inclusion of transgender people in sport, at participation rather than elite levels. It explores fairness and equality as incorporated in law in the 2010 Equality Act in Britain, and contributes to ‘equality evidence’ available to the UK Sports Councils and GBS. These bodies are charged with developing fair and inclusive evidence-based eligibility criteria, in sports participation settings, for both girls and women, and transgender people.

Chess training for improving executive functions and invasion game tactical behavior of college student athletes: a preliminary investigation

ABSTRACT Background Within team sports, players’ ability to inhibit inappropriate behavioral responses and flexibly adapt to upcoming challenges relates significantly to their game performance. As such, there have been calls for cognitively fostering programs to form the basis of game teaching and coaching practice. However, only few studies have tested so far the effects of purposefully designed perceptual-cognitive interventions on players’ tactical performance. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a chess-based intervention designed to train invasion-game athletes’ executive functions (EFs) could positively impact their tactical game behaviors. Methods Twenty-six invasion-game athletes, 19 to 20 years old (M = 20.58, SD = 1.74) participated in the study and were randomly assigned to a chess group (ChG) (n = 13) and a control group (CG) (n = 13). The ChG participated in a 10-week chess training program designed to foster EFs, while the CG received no special treatment. Pre-and-post measures were completed using: (a) core EF tests and (b) the game performance assessment instrument. Results After the intervention, the ChG group showed improvement in working memory and selective attention (cool EFs; higher memory span, fewer errors on incongruent stimuli), as well as decision-making and flexibility in passing (tactical behaviors; more appropriate passes, variety in passes), whereas no such changes were recorded for the CG. Further, there were no differential changes in cognitive flexibility and affective decision making (cool and hot EFs), as well as support, originality and fluency in passing (tactical behaviors) for the two groups as a function of time. Conclusion By embracing the idea of situated cognition, the current study provides some initial evidence for the linkage between perceptual-cognitive training and team sport performance, suggesting that EFs – as fundamental cognitive processes – can be trained to work in conjunction with the cognitive components of game performance within sport settings. The results of this work are discussed in the context of cognitive and game teaching research, extending current knowledge and understanding of how lab-based and sport training methods can be effectively combined and delivered.

Transcultural Impact of Learning to Teach Sport Education on Preservice Teachers’ Perceived Teaching Competence, Autonomy, and Academic Motivation

Purpose: To compare the impact of the experience of learning to teach sport education on preservice teachers’ (from Spain, Chile, and Mexico) perceived professional competence, autonomy, and academic motivation and to explore participants’ perceptions of their country’s sociocultural and curricular aspects that may influence sport education implementation. Method: Framed by the “pedagogy of dialogue” and a “living the curriculum” approach, three consecutive miniseasons on alternative invasion games were enacted (n = 30 lessons). A quasi-experimental pre- and posttest mixed-methods design was followed, with a total of 163 preservice teachers. The quantitative data on preservice teachers’ teaching competence, autonomy, and academic motivation were collected through three validated questionnaires. Focus group interviews and field notes were used to gather qualitative information. Results: The main quantitative analysis exposed no relevant differences among the transcultural sample of preservice teachers related to the analyzed variables. Qualitative analysis showed the power of contextual factors to filter preservice teachers’ understanding of the model. Conclusions: The dialogical nature of the approach and the miniseason structure allowed the preservice teachers to achieve a better understanding of the pedagogy of sport education and to optimize their motivation to use it in the future. The rigidity of the national curriculum and the custodial nature of school reality, however, present strong barriers to this end.

Muscular collision chess: a qualitative exploration of the role and development of cognition, understanding and knowledge in elite-level decision making

ABSTRACT Decision making (DM) is a crucial part of team invasion games. The role of context and how this drives both initial DM and primes in-action planning and execution, termed contextual priors, has been investigated. Findings suggest a significant role for cognition, which appears to run contrary to some of the suggestions made by an ecological dynamics approach. Wishing to clarify this situation for coaches and psychologists, this research explores the experience of nine top-tier key decision makers in rugby union, using an interview approach. Results showed a wide range of context-based information considered by players during the DM process. Furthermore, this information acted to prime subsequent attention and in-action thinking. Finally, this research sought to understand if, and therefore how, DM could be taught, developed and primed by players and coaches. Our data are supportive of a more cognitively focused approach to developing DM, although our data do not dismiss a role for direct perception in optimising performance. Implications for practice are discussed.

Effect of a hybrid teaching games for understanding/sport education unit on elementary students’ self-determined motivation in physical education

As an alternative to the direct instructional model, Metzler proposed a range of pedagogical models that include second generation models such as teaching games for understanding (TGfU) and sport education (SE). These pedagogical models have key design features that can promote high levels of autonomous motivation for both boys and girls. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to investigate the motivational outcomes of elementary boys and girls as they participated in an invasion game unit through two pedagogical models: a hybrid TGfU/SE unit or a direct instruction unit. Participants were 292 elementary school students (mean age = 10.41, standard deviation age = 0.49), who were taught through a hybrid TGfU/SE unit or a more traditional teacher-centred format within a pre-intervention/post-intervention quasi-experimental design. The hybrid unit was designed according to the characteristics of SE, while learning tasks were designed to integrate the pedagogical principles of TGfU. A 2 (pedagogical model) × 2 (test-time) × 2 (gender) multivariate analysis of variance was performed to detect between-groups and within-group differences. Significant differences in student motivation were observed for both boys and girls who participated in the hybrid TGfU/SE unit in both analyses across all motivational outcomes. Despite the existence of social stereotypes in terms of physical activity, teachers’ use of hybrid TGfU/SE units promotes an autonomy-supportive, inclusive, and equitable learning environment where all students, regardless of their gender and/or content focus of the unit and have opportunities to increase their engagement, enjoyment, and social interactions within physical education lessons.

Coaching Games for Understanding (CGfU) Module for Invasion Games in Football

The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of Coaching Games for Understanding Module (CGfU). The CGfU Module is a football module with four (4) specific principles which are : (i) applying small sided games in training, (ii) focus to strategy and tactical awareness, (iii) decision making awareness, and (iv) invasion games. The process of validity involved five expert panels. While the reliability assessment obtains from the questionnaires with 15 questions based on the activity in CGfU. Thirty football players involved in the pilot study which later will use in assessing the reliability of module. Research finding show that CGfU Module having a high validity. Expert panels analysis show the agreement of 94%. The reliability assessment using Alpha Cronbach for CGfU Module as follow (i) cognitive aspect r = .689, psychomotor aspect r = .769 and affective aspect r = .673 The overall reliability for CGfU Module is r = .643. This finding proof that CGfU Module obtained a high reliability. In conclusion, CGfU Module is suitable for football training (invasion games) for under 14 years old. With this module, hopefully it can be a reference point for coaches to train football players.

Observation Criteria for Physical Education Teachers to Identify Gifted Children through Invasion Games.

Whilst in other curriculum subjects, it exists observation criteria to detect gifted pupils, there is a paucity of information in Physical Education. For that reason, we aimed to reveal the observation criteria for identifying gifted pupils in Physical Education in an invasion game. Physical Education (PE) talent was evaluated combining results of questionnaire to experts, parents, and students. A validated nomination scale (NSIFT) and the Game Performance Evaluation Tool (GPET) were used. The research approach used in this study was transversal, descriptive, and inferential. The talent pool was composed of 18 gifted pupils aged 8–14 (Mage = 11.67, SD = 1.53). The results showed that the most discriminating criteria to identify PE talent were found to be precocity in both execution and decision-making in the acquisition of tactical principles and tactical-technical skills. Getting free was the skill that they best mastered. In conclusion, the importance of tactical principles and decision-making as observation criteria is emphasized. Future studies should focus on developing mentoring programs in Physical Education.

ANALISIS PERBANDINGAN MOTIVASI BELAJAR SISWA DAN INTENSITAS GERAK PADA MODEL PEMBELAJARAN TAKTIS DAN TEKNIS PADA PERMAINAN INVASI

This study aims to look at differences in motivation and physical intensity in junior high school students through tactical and technical learning models in invasion games. This study used an experimental method with a post-test control group design. Sample selection using cluster random sampling was chosen to determine the experimental group and the control group. Each class consists of 24 students. From each class 8 students were taken (4 men; 4 women) because of the limited availability of the Polar Global Positioning System (GPS) instrument. Student motivation is measured using a questionnaire. Data is processed using independent sample t-test. The results showed that there were differences in the motivation and intensity of student movements in the tactical and technical learning model groups. The intensity and motivation of students in the tactical learning model group is higher than the technical learning model. The implications of this study can be used as empirical data related to motivation and intensity of movement influenced by tactical learning models in invasion games. So that the achievement of physical fitness can be obtained by taking into account the intensity of student movement during the Physical Education learning objectively.

Selected Model of Instructions for Physical Education

This paper deals with the instruction models in Physical Education, Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and Sport Education Model as possible options in the instruction of Physical Education games. Each instruction has certain features and appropriate features can be combined to form Hybrid Teaching Games for Understanding - Sport Education Model. This hybrid model can be used as an option for teaching Physical Education in the invasion games, net and wall games, striking and fielding games and target games.

Effects of situational constraints on students’ game-play development over three consecutive Sport Education seasons of invasion games

ABSTRACTBackground: Sport Education has a dual interest in promoting active student engagement in games and improvements in their game-play. However, very few studies have concurrently examined how learners’ game-play development is influenced by cognitive, social, and situated constraints, especially over consecutive Sport Education seasons.Purpose: The purposes of this study were threefold: (i) to concurrently examine the evolution of students’ game-play participation and performance; (ii) to examine the transfer of game-play configurations across three seasons of invasion games; and (iii) to investigate how students’ game-play development was influenced by various situational constraints (e.g. nature of instruction, student engagement in instructional processes, and modifications imposed on the game forms).Participants and setting: The participants were 26 seventh-grade students (10 girls and 16 boys, mean age 12.3) from a middle school in northern Portugal. Students participated in three consecutive Sport Education seasons of basketball (19 × 45-minute lessons), handball (12 × 45-minute lessons), and football (16 × 45-minute lessons). Team membership remained the same throughout the three seasons. Two teams of five players (mean age 12.2), who played three-a-side games in every initial and final lesson of each season were sampled for game-play tracking across the three seasons.Methods: Digital video records were taken of 53 lessons. Pre-test to post-test quantitative measures were conducted on students’ game involvement (sum of total game actions) and performance (decision-making, skill-execution, and efficacy). Descriptive narratives of play were created to capture the effects of contextual circumstances on participants’ game-play behaviours and the evolution of their prototypical configurations of play. A field diary provided a chronological matrix of the principal instructional strategies and the instructional responsibility taken up by the teacher and students during the seasons. On-going student team interviews were conducted to gather learners’ perceptions of how situational constraints influenced their game-play development.Findings: The narratives of play showed a noticeable evolution in the quality of players’ game-play configurations over time. The progress in students’ ability to play invasion games was influenced by an interdependent relationship between the nature of the instructional processes used, the level of cognitive and social engagement of students with the subject matter, and specific constraints imposed on the game forms (level of defensive pressure, the dimension of the field).Conclusions: Although most research in Sport Education has shown a positive trend of student game-play development, this study revealed that the evolution of game involvement and performance is neither linear nor concurrent. Both game-play development and the transfer of tactical solutions and decision-making processes across games within the same category were critically and differentially influenced by various situational constraints.

Effects of Ability Grouping on Students’ Game Performance and Physical Activity

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of ability grouping on game performance and physical activity levels of elementary school students during an invasion game. Method: Fort...

Smart sport equipment: reshaping the sports landscape

We are witnesses of “Industry 4.0”, the 4th industrial revolution. In just a few years, we became a highly analytical society where at any given time massive datasets are produced, collected and analysed. Cities and countries have the vision of becoming smart societies, optimising the performance and wellbeing of their citizens. One can easily track and log all daily activities. The biggest challenge, though, is the management of an overwhelming amount of data.
 Sports industry is no different. Sports is a reflection of the society. Athletes (of any level, from recreational all the way up to world-ranked), patients and practitioners (Physical Education teachers, coaches, analysts, physicians, therapists, etc.) are keen to track-down analytical parameters as well. Innovation and technology can help preventing and minimising sports injuries, enhancing sports technique or aid assessing the performance delivered.
 The industry of smart sport equipment is growing up at a very fast pace. The number of wearable devices worldwide is expected to increase from 325 million in 2016 to over 830 million in 2020. The smart wearables for sports and fitness generated US$3.5 billion in 2014 (Market Wired, 2016). The forecast is that smart garments sector will worth about US$34 billion by 2020 (Lamkin, 2016). The smart textiles and smart fabrics market is expected to reach US$9.3 billion by 2024 (Grand View Research, 2015).
 These products can cater a wide range of consumers. The ones who are looking forward to more or less fashionable sportswear, sports accessories, information technology & electronics consumers, etc. The common denominator among these consumers is being innovation-driven. There are commercially available smart wearables (or gear) to be used in all main sports, including aquatics, athletics, boating, cycling, gymnastics, invasion games, net sports, winter sports, and much more. Sports equipment and clothing can be instrumented with sensors, providing real-time analytical details on the subject’s behaviour and performance. Data can be logged and analysed later on. Alternatively, it can be transmitted real-time to portable terminals (smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or laptops) and displayed immediately.
 With this outlook as backdrop, there is an opportunity for sports sciences to play a key-role in the reshape of the sports landscape. Sports researchers can help on the design and validation of smart sport equipment, and be involved as end-users of these products. As end-users, sport researchers will not be spending so much time collecting and handling data. Rather, the job scope will shift more into analysis, interpretation and application of the findings. This will enable to provide swift real-time feedback to patients, athletes, coaches and others stakeholders in the sports fraternity. Data can be uploaded to a cloud and be available everywhere at any given time from any device. The design, and validation of new cutting-edge devices, of innovative solutions, are a great opportunity to bridge academia with industry. To carry out these projects is paramount to have interdisciplinary research teams with a wide array of skills, different expertise and backgrounds. The project will not end by the publication of a series of research papers. This should be followed-up by obtaining a patent. Also, it can help highly-trained graduates to join the workforce and even to foster the setup of start-ups.
 Several universities, mostly in Asia and Europe (notably the United Kingdom), are now offering courses in “Sports Technology” to undergraduate students. Some tertiary institutions, are offering also undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in this field. The curricula of such programmes touch topics such as innovation, design, and sports engineering with a strong emphasis in sport sciences. Sports technology is an exciting, cutting-edge and reasonable new field. Moreover, it is possible to set a pathway between academia (research and teaching) and industry (services). Ultimately, it is deemed to provide an added economical return to society, which one should not disregard.

Characterizing different team sports using network analysis

Team sports are complex dynamic systems based on the frequent interaction of various players. Recently, social network analysis has been introduced to the study of sports dynamics in order to quantify the involvement of individual players in the interplay and to characterize the organizational processes used by teams. Nonetheless, only a limited set of team sports has been assessed to date, and the focus of most studies has been on the application of small sets of network metrics to a single sport. Our study aims at comparing the network patterns of different team sports in order to contribute to the understanding of their underlying nature. It considers three invasion games, namely professional matches from basketball, football and handball. By applying relevant centrality measures and minimum spanning trees a first comparison between the nature of interplay in various team sports is offered as well as a deeper understanding of the role of different tactical positions in each sport. The point guard in basketball, defensive midfielder in football and center in handball are identified as the most central tactical positions. Direct interplay is most balanced in football followed by basketball and handball. A visualization of the basic structure of interplay for each sport is achieved through minimum spanning trees.

Back to School Netball Style: An Emerging Highly Inclusive Game for Physical Education or Sport

This article describes netball, a fresh invasion game option to involve students of all ability levels. It is an inclusive and engaging team sport played globally that has the ability to keep students active and engaged in physical education.

Student game-play performance in invasion games following three consecutive hybrid Sport Education seasons

This study was the first to examine game performance according to the tactical structures of invasion games throughout three consecutive model-based units. Twenty-six seventh grade students participated in three Sport Education seasons (basketball, handball, and football) taught through the tactical framework Invasion Games Competence model. Team membership remained the same throughout the three seasons and pre- and post-test game-play of three-a-side games involving the same opponent teams was assessed. Measures included overall game performance and four tactical structures indices: creating scoring opportunities (CSO); setting up an attack (SUA); prevent CSO; and prevent SUA. A 3 (group) × 2 (time) repeated measures analysis of variance tested differences between sports in the five performance measures. Correlations between the four tactical structures and game performance were tested and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive weight of the four tactical structures indices on game performance. While there were significant improvements in game performance of handball and football, but not in basketball, the breaking down of performance into tactical structures indices showed improvements in all seasons. The correlations increased across time between tactical structures indices and game performance and the predictive model of game performance extended to include the four tactical structures. Performance improvements were associated with contextual features of extended team membership and consequent attunement of game-play interpersonal dynamics, nature of peer-teaching mediation, and game forms design. Future research should examine the effects on game performance development of student augmented participation in problem-solving processes and asymmetric opposition game forms.

Permainan Invasi dan Permainan Netting untuk Meningkatkan Keterampilan Gerak Dasar Fundamental Siswa SD Negeri Se Kecamatan Mojoroto Kota Kediri

The purpose of this research is to know how the game of invasion and the game netting against the motion the fundamental basis of students. This research use pretest posttest wants a design with control group design, population is a whole elementary school students land Mojoroto Kediri subdistrict. Sample as many as 88 students taken in cluster random sampling consisting of 51 boy and 37 girl who are between the ages of 9-12 years. Research of Nurhasan instrument 2008 consisting of 4 item tests speed, agility, balance and accuracy. The results of the research is a invasion game nor the netting game give influence on the fundamental basis of motion skills students but still do not give significant effects to enhance the fundamental basis of motion.

Quantum machine learning with glow for episodic tasks and decision games

We consider a general class of models, where a reinforcement learning (RL) agent learns from cyclic interactions with an external environment via classical signals. Perceptual inputs are encoded as quantum states, which are subsequently transformed by a quantum channel representing the agent's memory, while the outcomes of measurements performed at the channel's output determine the agent's actions. The learning takes place via stepwise modifications of the channel properties. They are described by an update rule that is inspired by the projective simulation (PS) model and equipped with a glow mechanism that allows for a backpropagation of policy changes, analogous to the eligibility traces in RL and edge glow in PS. In this way, the model combines features of PS with the ability for generalization, offered by its physical embodiment as a quantum system. We apply the agent to various setups of an invasion game and a grid world, which serve as elementary model tasks allowing a direct comparison with a basic classical PS agent.