Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Flow of Movement

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Defining the Concept and Its Importance

Flow is a component of Effort Awareness within the basic movement concepts for children. Effort awareness accounts for one of the three movement concepts, the other two being spatial awareness, and relational awareness (Robert, 1999). Flow of movement can be defined as the control of a movement, with the intention of the movement being bound or free (Graham et al., 2013). For example, a movement can be characterized as free when the body is moving continuously where nothing occurs to hamper the flow, whereas bound movements are movements where the mover restrains the flow of the sequence (Donnelly, 2016).

Flow of movement is an important concept within the context of childhood movement experiences as it contributes to one’s ability to complete various movement sequences with ease and competence (The Three Factors of Movement, 2018). Without mastering flow of movement, children often have difficulty performing a succession of movements in a coordinated manner due to the inability to transition between each movement. In such cases, children become limited and their movements often “lack quality” due to their inability to control their movements (Robert, 1999; Hankin, 1992).

Learning to transition between movements in a controlled manner is a necessity for active children. Without the ability to transition between movements with free or bound essence without interruption, fundamental movement skills are compromised (Robert, 1999). This means that children who lack flow of movement experience may trail behind their peers in sport specific movement acquisition since proficiency in movement of flow is the basis for more intricate movements and sets children apart when it comes to athletic abilities (Lubans et al., 2012).

Unfortunately, children who are aware that they are not able to perform certain skills well tend to feel discouraged and become unmotivated to participate in physical activities (Lee, 2019). This awareness can have long-lasting implications for a child’s enthusiasm and willingness to remain active across their lifetime. Overall, movement of flow is considered to be the foundation for an active lifestyle and thus should be stressed during the early years of childhood to strengthen the physical literacy and development of the active child (Wick et al., 2017).

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

Flow is the essence of movement and a vital factor contributing to the healthy development of a child (Donnelly et al., 2016). More specifically, early acquisition of flow of movement is what allows children to master new movement sequences, especially in a sport setting, and thus should be a focus point for early childhood instructors (Robert, 1999). Flow of movement facilitates the transition between movement sequences with continuity and control (Hankin, 1992). This relationship is mediated through the development of body awareness. Body awareness reflects a child’s ability to understand their body's position during the performance of a desired movement (Bredin, 2020). This clearly reflects the concept of flow of movement as it requires children to identify parts of the body, understand the shapes it can create, and balance and transfer weight from one part of the body to another (Bredin, 2020).

Research has explored what kind of movement qualities students in PE lessons use when playing games and the findings suggest that for dance games, students use a wider variety of movement qualities compared to sport and exercise games. There are no limitations to how the body can move in dance and it has therefore been proposed as a critical component of PE classes to promote the development of this foundational skill of movement of flow (Robert, 1999).

There are six components of body awareness that should be the focus of any movement of flow dance activity (Bredin, 2020). First, opportunities should be provided to develop body concept, which is the capability to identify specific parts of the body (Bredin, 2020). Often in dance, teachers will ask children to point their toes, which requires the child to both identify the language and pair it to their body, then make the correction. This is especially beneficial to young children in preschool who struggle with such activities (Bredin, 2020). Once a child begins to correctly identify their body parts, focus should turn to making shapes with the body. This refers to body schema which is when a child begins to gain an internal awareness of where the body parts are in relation to each other (Bredin, 2020). In dance, children learn how to create stretched, wide and twisted shapes with different body parts which enhances this development and enables them to acquire the third component of body awareness, laterality (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019). Laterality refers to an internal awareness that there are two sides to the body and these sides are different (Bredin, 2020). Dance instructors for example, often instruct children to lift their left arm and bend their right knee which is clear training for laterality. Soon after, children develop lateral preference, usually around age three. When a child engages in activities such as dance, which require the use of the right and left sides of the body, this allows the child to understand which side feels more natural to them (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019). This is a crucial component of body awareness given that, midline crossing relies on the development of lateral preference. Midline crossing is the capability to cross the midline of the body with the arms and/or legs, an important capability for successfully executing every day and sport-related motor tasks (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019). Therefore, if a child has not established a lateral preference in the hand or foot, lateral preference may serve as a rate limiter to the emergence of midline crossing. More shockingly, a child is exhibiting midline difficulties if they cannot demonstrate midline crossing with the limbs by the age of seven (Bredin, 2020).

When a child participates in early development of flow of movement, they are better able to understand which type of flow is necessary for a particular movement to properly execute the skill (Donnelly et al., 2016). By having a good understanding and ability to perform and execute these components of body awareness enables children to acquire skills more quickly (“Multi-Sport NCCP”, n.d.). In other words, having a strong flow of movement background, can aid in develop more intricate movements tailored to individual sports more easily (“Multi-Sport NCCP”, n.d.). On the other hand, children who lack flow of movement often struggle with movement acquisition and appear less coordinated in sport settings than their peers (Versfeld, n.d.). Clearly, without movement of flow, development is impaired, and it becomes more difficult to execute basic sequences that are the foundation of all other movements, especially those required in sports (Lubans et al., 2012).

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) or dyspraxia is a disorder affecting one’s ability to obtain fine and gross motor skills due to the “impairment in the development of motor coordination” (Kirby & Sugden, 2007). Often children who have DCD tend to be developmentally behind on achieving motor milestones leading to difficulty executing daily physical activities, interference with academic achievements, as well as decreased performance when it comes to sports (Kirby & Sugden, 2007).  While DCD is often overlooked, more emphasis should be put on being more aware of those who show signs of difficulty performing coordinated movements (Kirby & Sugden, 2007). Based on the Kirby & Sugden (2007) research, it was found that children who experience motor coordination difficulties found it difficult to participate and learn new movements. Therefore, children with DCD are more inclined to avoid standard physical activity, and are found to have more health problems compared to those who do not have DCD and engage more in physical activity (Peters et al., 2004; Kirby & Sugden, 2007). Further, DCD has also been shown to negatively impact children’s daily lives outside of physical activities by causing a lack of self-esteem in how they perceive their appearance as well as feeling unaccepted in social situations, which can further lead to mental disorders ( Kirby & Sugden, 2007). Although DCD is said to decrease overtime leading to the teenage years, often this impairment to perform coordinated movements may return when under stress, therefore intervention is necessary to overcome the difficulty of performing coordinated movements (Kirby & Sugden, 2007, Peters et al., 2004).

Practical Applications

Purpose Statement:

The fundamental purpose of school physical education (PE) is to encourage movement through movement activity (Luke, 2000). However, as Luke notes, there is a lack of emphasis in the context of PE regarding movement of flow despite it being the very essence of movement (2000). Flow of movement is the least familiar element in the study and understanding of effort (Hankin, 1992), despite its ability to enhance a child’s abilities in sport and allow them to progress more competitively as they age. If a child can master movement of flow, they are often able to perform new successions of movements with ease and in a coordinated manner (Hankin, 1992). Specifically, this suggests that promoting movement of flow exercises in early education PE classes will lay a foundation of movement of flow that will allow children to build upon and acquire sport specific movement patterns far more easily and likely set them up to excel in their field (Robert, 1999). As such, this section focuses on providing two simple yet highly effective games that physical activity leaders can implement in their curriculum to promote this crucial component of physical literacy. This section also explores movement of flow options for children with mobility impairments, since all children, regardless of circumstance, are entitled to, and can benefit from the acquisition of movement of flow (Bredin, 2020; Stinson, 1988).

As stated, movement of flow can be promoted through focusing on the six components of body awareness. To this finding, the two presented games use dance to provide a pathway for articulating qualities of movement of flow while feeding children’s imagination to what their bodies can do. There are no limitations.

Target Age:

These two dance-based games are recommended for children aged 5-7. This age group is recommended for two reasons, primarily based on their developmental stage. First, this age group is able to identify all major parts of the body, meaning they will be able to interpret instruction during the dance with ease and focus their attention more on identifying minor body parts such as the wrists, heels, shin, ankles that they may still struggle with (Bredin, 2020). In other words, this age group will benefit greatly from these flow of movement games when it comes to perfecting their body schema. Second, this age group can consistently identify a left and a right side which will similarly aid them in following instructions. In the case, even if they misidentify a side, they will learn from their mistakes, practice, and improve their laterality (Bredin, 2020). Lastly, this age group learns best through exploration, observation, and creation, meaning that these dance games are perfectly suited for this group’s characteristics and will thus allow them to enjoy their experience and reap the most benefits (Stinson, 1988).

Both games are intentionally designed with loose structure to allow for exploration based upon the child’s own interpretation and imagination (Davis, 1995). In these games, children will develop and improve body awareness, move safely and in control through movement sequences in response to various stimuli with or without music. Since the children select, combine, and perform their own movements and movement sequences, confidence and fluidity are built which will translate to other situations like sports (Luke, 2000).

Apparatus/Equipment and Environmental Space:

For both games, apparatus is not required. The children should instead make their body and limbs the emphasis of the movement. This will allow them to focus on exploring the various, shapes their bodies can create using effort through free or bound movements (Hankin, 1992). The games should ideally be played in an open area with flat surfaces and minimal obstacles to allow for free and unobstructed movement where each child has their own space to move (Luke, 2000).

Game 1: “Interpret the Music”

Purpose: The purpose of this game is to familiarize children with the basic foundations of free and bound movement. The variety of music in intended to allow them to interpret the characteristics of the sound as either continuous and choppy and mimic that with their body movement. Doing so will further promote multiple components of body awareness, which, as aforementioned, is crucial to developing a strong foundation in movement of flow (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019). Specifically, this game will promote body schema. The children will be creating and storing an internal awareness of what free and bound movements feel like, and how to control their limbs in various speeds and positions. According to Robert (1999), effort awareness insinuates the recognition of how one’s body moves when producing a movement, as well as the development and understanding of that movement. Likewise, this game will develop laterality and lateral preference through the exploration and execution of various movement patterns that require one to balance and transfer weight from one side of the body to another. Finally, the creative component of this game will encourage midline crossing, a critical skill necessary for successful execution of sport related motor tasks (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019).

Instructions: In this game, it is the physical education instructor’s job to play music to inspire the children’s movement. As a note, the music should not include words, so the children are more inclined to focus on and interpret the feeling of the music rather than the words. Music that prompts free movement would have continuous sound and the children should be able to pick up on this and mimic this with their bodies. On the other hand, music that prompts bound movement would be choppy with the sound stopping and starting and the children would also mimic this with their movement patterns. The ability to listen to the music and feel their way through each note themselves will promote movement of flow development in a creative way (Davis, 1995). Moreover, the tone of the music is important in this game. Free movement is not always soft, and thus, this can be taught through a dark and mysterious song that still maintains that continuous component within (Hankin, 1992). In this way, the children will learn to move freely but in a more urgent and purposeful manner. In this game, the music is the inspiration, and the children explore their abilities and allow their imagination to fly.

Game 2: “Interpret the Statement”

Purpose: This game specifically aims to develop the first component of body awareness, body concept, to develop movement of flow (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019). As will be discussed, body concept, is promoted when the children are required to identify their body parts in response the teacher’s instructions. The repetitive nature of identifying common body parts will promote this component of body awareness and allow the children to move forward in other more abstract areas such as body schema. Body schema requires a child to gain an internal awareness of where the body parts are in relation to each other (Bredin, 2020). In this game, children learn how to create stretched, wide and twisted shapes with all parts of the body in response to a verbal prompt. Understanding how to control their limbs in different positions, either in bound or free motion while recreating an image in their head, will aid them in acquiring various movement patterns such as in a sport setting when a coach verbalizes a drill (Bredin, 2020; Lee, 2019).

Instructions: In this game, it is the physical education instructor’s job to provide a statement to inspire the children’s movement. These verbal statements should indicate whether the movements the children should perform are innately free or bound. A teacher may prompt free movement by instructing the children to imagine they are a leaf floating in the air, slowly falling from the sky (Hankin, 1992). The children would then respond to this prompt by creating delicate continuous flowing movements with their body. The teacher may then prompt them to build on these movements by saying “now imagine a gust of wind comes from the left” in which the children may start to move more quickly to one side then slow down again (Hankin, 1992). This statement promotes development in laterality. Similarly, the teacher should encourage variation of body part involvement in their statements (Davis, 1995). To do so an instructor may simply say “we are doing a great job moving with our arms in many directions” (Hankin, 1992). “Now let us try more legs, elbows, and nose! See if you can move your head in one direction and your arms in another.” This statement will promote development in body schema.

The possibility of misusing imagery should be noted as well (Hankin, 1992). If, for example, an instructor prompts her class to move across the floor like a cat, the children may very likely start shuffling across the floor on their hands and knees. In this case, the image of “cat” limits their imagination in which case the teacher should focus on the qualities of movement that a cat possesses (Hankin, 1992).

Modifications:

All children should be encouraged to partake in dance-based exploration of effort movements. With that in mind, children with mobility impairments should be encouraged to move any part of their body within their control (Stinson, 1988). Similarly, children with injuries who may be in leg or arm casts can partake in these games as well. Even if these children are limited to arm movements, the possibilities are endless (Stinson, 1988). In these circumstances, instructors should stress creativity. Stress should be places on sparking creativity and encouraging the children to think beyond their regular abilities. These games are arguably just as beneficial, if not more for children with mobility impairments or injuries as they challenge the child to take charge and be responsible for pioneering new ways to move that go beyond what they previously thought was possible (Stinson, 1988). All children have the right and need to move (Bredin, 2020). Move importantly, all children reap the benefits outlined above and will be rewarded in through their ability move in coordinated fashions through the experience and of effort dance.

Finally, in more extreme cases, these interpretation games are an effective way of combating developmental coordination disorder (DCD) or dyspraxia. This disorder, which debilitates one’s ability to obtain fine and gross motor skills, has been reduced using effort focused dance in relation to learning fundamental movement skills, such as balance, agility, coordination, and laterality. When children are competent in movement of flow, they are better equipped to learn and excel in other movement context, especially sport (Robert, 1999). Both these games are simple yet highly effective in engaging young children to explore their own abilities and create a strong foundation for future movement of all forms.

Summary

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References

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