Movement Education Introduction

Lesson 1: Introduction to Movement Education

• Aims to develop students' motor skills through physical movement.

What is Movement Education?

• A strand of teaching or education aiming to educate individuals to develop their motor skills through physical movement.
• Aims to improve motor skills.

History and Philosophy of Movement Education

• A critical event in the history of physical education was the implementation of national content standards.
• These standards are linked to movement education.
• Successful movement education programs depend on teachers embodying the movement education philosophy.

Creators of a New Idea: Movement Education in the 1800s to Early 1900s

• Early pioneers were influenced by the idea of the body as an expression of movement.
• Key individuals include Francois Delsarte, Liselott Diem, and Rudolf von Laban.

Delsarte

• One of the first people to articulate ideas of movement.
• A 19th-century Frenchman, influenced by Romanticism.
• Emphasized the expression of thought and emotion.
• Developed applied aesthetics.
• Saw movement as a union of time, space, and motion.
• Combined movements toward and away from the body's center.
• Believed expressive movement should relate to the emotion that inspired it.
• Introduced parallelism in movement.
• Defined nine laws of motion: altitude, force, motion, sequence, direction, form, velocity, reaction, and extension.

Liselott Diem

• Founded an internationally known college in Germany to train teachers in sport and physical education.
• Advocated a "natural approach" to teaching children movement.
• Encouraged children to freely explore movement.
• Used simple equipment (balls, wands, ropes, boxes, and benches) for diverse movement exploration.

Diem's Approach

• Focused on building movement skills and balance.
• Encouraged teachers to challenge children with questions.
• Guided children toward improving their movement quality.
• Focused on awareness and analysis of muscular force and movement in time and space for older children.

Rudolf von Laban

• Considered a pioneer of movement education.
• Developed a theory of movement focusing on effort.
• Distinguished between expressive movements and movements serving everyday purposes (functional movements).
• Expressive movement communicates ideas in dance and art.
• Emphasized four factors of movement: weight, space, time, and flow.

Development of a Curricular Approach: 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s

• Development of movement education grew in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Importance of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning.
• National standards supported the approach.

Movement Concepts

• Stanley and Logsdon identified four major movement concepts: body, space, effort, and relationships.
• Understanding these concepts helps teachers guide and interpret movement content.

Fitness Overshadows Movement Education

• The fitness boom in the 1970s influenced curriculum and shifted focus.
• Movement education's popularity declined.

Movement Education: At the Heart of Physical Education

• The framework for movement education is not new.
• It includes human movement, early presentations, and disagreements about terms.
• Movement education is relevant and fundamental for teaching physical education.

Primary Goals of this Text

• Provides a revised framework (MEF) that is easy to follow for physical educators, classroom educators and important for children.
• Focuses on movement concepts, categories, elements, and applications to educational games, gymnastics, and dance.
• Ties the MEF to current national standards.

Philosophy that Makes Movement Education Different

• Aims to foster both motor and cognitive development.
• Uses a framework for classifying movement that students can apply across content.
• Adaptable to students of different ages and developmental stages.
• Aims to create learning environments that support connections within and between learners and instructors.

Explore the fundamentals of Movement Education, focusing on its aims to develop motor skills through physical movement. Learn about its history, philosophy, and key figures who influenced the teaching of movement from the 1800s to early 1900s.