Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Forward Roll

Defining the Concept and Its Importance

The forward roll (e.g., the somersault) is defined as the movement of weight around the central axis of the human body in a forward motion (Graham and Parker, 2013). The forward roll is an important movement for children to practice because it is foundational for motor skills they acquire in later life (Gallahue & Donnelly, 2007). The forward roll is a fundamental movement skill that relies on mechanical degrees of freedom (DOF). In the human muscular system, degrees of freedom are the minimum number of independent movements the body must perform to achieve a movement. As the human biological system develops, it acquires more sophisticated degrees of freedom through learning new movements (Houlum & Bertori, 2011). The forward roll is a common movement in many sports for young kids, including gymnastics (Gallahue & Donnelly, 2007).

In Robertson’s “Component” approach, three developmental characteristics have been identified when executing a proper forward roll, which include coordination between (1) the hand and arm, (2) the head and neck, and (3) the hip and leg. As a child matures, their ability to coordinate the forward roll improves because mechanical degrees of freedom increase with age. Babies are able to roll over to one side or the other by the time they are six months old (Ianelli, 2020), but the forward roll takes longer to develop. The forward roll is expected on a rudimentary level by the time a child is 5 years old (Williams, 1980).

In practice, the forward roll has several primary components (Graham & Parker, 2013):

1. At the beginning o the roll, the arms and hands are evenly spaced and the weight of the child’s body is evenly distributed over them.
2. As the child begins to roll, the weight is redistributed to their upper back, and their head slides through the space made by their arms
3. Once the shoulders touch the ground, they take on the load.
4. Child should keep their body tucked and coiled during the whole movement
5. Movement ends with feet flat on the floor
6. Feet are parallel upon landing, spread apart, and they are not crossed

The forward roll can be used in a variety of physical activity environments, and it is often a child’s first “inverted-skill” activity, which means it is an early experience turning upside down.

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are a type of physical activities that must be practiced for the optimal development of basic motor skills. FMS are important because they are foundational to the development of more complex motor skills as children mature. The Forward Roll is one of the FMS. Furthermore, the Forward Roll is a Stability Movement Skill, which carries important implications for the development of manipulative and locomotor skills as children mature (Donnelly and Gallahue, 2007). This shows two things about the movement. (1) The movement is adaptable to a variety of settings and physical spaces (e.g., grassy fields, gymnastics mat, or the floor), and (2) the forward roll can be anxiety-provoking for many children, that they may be scared to try it. To account for this challenge, it is recommended that the Forward Roll be practiced in a safe, sport-appropriate environment (Donnelly and Gallahue, 2007).

Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations

With respect to contemporary issues, most children in Canada are falling short of the recommendations for physical activity, including the forward roll. According to the 2020 ParticipACTION Report Card, “less than 1 in 5 children and youth in Canada meet national guidelines for physical activity, sedentary and sleep behaviours” (ParticipACTION, 2020, p. 21). This shortcoming in physical activity levels is significant because children are missing out on important benefits of physical activity including lower risk of obesity, as well as increased bone and muscle strength, cognitive development, and brain health (ParticipACTION, 2020). This has led to a host of developmental difficulties. To account for this modern challenge in 2020, Gallahue & Donnelly (2007) suggest that physical educators follow a carefully-designed developmental progression that takes children's individual differences and skill levels into consideration. Furthermore, at the beginning of the learning process, it is frequently advised that children begin on a mat for safety purposes. This is to account for the reduced control of their degrees of freedom.

Over the past few decades, learning disabilities (LDs) have been on the rise in children, and this is a modern issue (Hallahan, 1992). The challenge for modern educators is to correctly diagnose and accommodate LDs (Lyon, Fletcher, and Barnes, 2003). Costa et al. (2019) have adapted teaching the forward roll to children with learning difficulties and disabilities. They examined the effectiveness of learning cues on children (9-11 years old) with and without learning difficulties and found that the children with learning disabilities benefitted from instructional cues at different points in the movement. In this evaluation, levels of performance were divided into a) the initial stage, b) the elementary stage, and c) the mature stage. These standards were applied to the “observation  of  body  segments  throughout  the  skill  performance” (p. 96) and faults were recorded to ensure forward rolling was meeting performance expectations. This evidence demonstrates that a progressive, accommodating developmental progression is useful for teaching the forward roll.

When teaching the forward roll, physical educators should be aware of nine developmental difficulties:

1) the head forcibly touches the mattress; 2) failure to properly bend the body ; 3) inability to push with the  arms;  4)  pushes  with  one  arm;  5)  failure to remain  in a bent  position;  6)  inability  to perform consecutive rolls; 7) feels dizzy; 8) failure to perform the roll in a straight line; and 9) loss of sufficient momentum to complete a circuit (Costa et. al, 2019).

Another developmental difficulty that arises in the context of teaching FMS to children is the Degrees of Freedom (DOF) issue. The DOF issue describes a situation where the number of movement options must be reduced, because the immature biological system cannot process so many of them at once. This overwhelm of the system results in the restricted movement observed when someone learns a new task. In the context of physical education, participants freeze degrees of freedom while they are still processing motor skills, including the forward roll. However, with repeated practice, the child releases the degrees of freedom resulting in fluidity and greater coordination. (Vereijken et. al, 2010). This principle applies to many FMS, including the forward roll (Williams, 1980).

The DOF is a common reason for many developmental difficulties in the forward roll  This is the result of the biological system freezing DOF to make the movement easier. However, with time and practice, the child is able to release DOF as the neural pathways become more consolidated, and the movements are easier to process. The stiff, jerky movements observed during initial phases of rolling are replaced with a more coordinated, fluid movement. (Williams, 1980). This is true for many other motor skills, including walking (Adolph et al., 2012).

One of the most important instructional elements to increase forward roll performance is feedback. In motor learning, feedback is provided in two forms: internal feedback (IF), which comes from within the learner, and augmented feedback (AF), which is applied by an instructor. Instructors provide AF in the form of externalized verbal cues, to help the child through the movement. With AF coaches, trainers, or examiners provide learners with knowledge of results (KR) or knowledge of performance (KP). For physical educators working with beginners, AF is typically higher-priority than IF, because the learner (particularly if they are a child) has not yet acquired the necessary degrees of freedom to rely on their own intuitions about the movement, so AF is required to support their movement concept externally.

Practical Applications

Game 1: Crazy Frog’s on lily pads

The purpose of this activity is to introduce and practice the forward roll in a safe and controlled environment while incorporating imaginative play to help students overcome the 9 developmental difficulties associated with the forward roll.

Target age: 4-6 years old

Equipment & set up: gymnastic floor mats, gymnastics wedges (optional) and crazy frog music (optional). The floor mats represent lily pads. Set up the “lily pads” around the gym in a circle with 10-15 feet between each mat, would be best to do this activity in a gymnasium.

Instructions:

On the teacher’s signal the students being to jump counter-clockwise around the gym floor like frogs. In a squatting position with their hands on the floor in front of their feet. When a student arrives at an unoccupied mat, they will perform a forward roll with the teacher saying the following cues: “frog, peek-a-boo, push”.  Once the teacher has said the cues enough times and the students understand how the activity works, the teacher can play the crazy frog music stopping it at times. To create a game of musical chairs but the children have to do a forward roll when the music stops instead of sit on a chair.

Frog: students go into the frog position, squatting with their hands in front of their feet and touching the ground.

Peek-a-boo: students in frog position will then lift their bums into the air and look between their legs to see behind them.

Push: students continue looking behind them and remain in the frog position then push with their feet and hands to roll on to their upper back to complete a forward roll.

After completing the forward roll on the “lily pad” the students jump to the next mat and perform another forward roll.

Modifications:

Gymnastic wedges can be placed on each “lily pad” to aid students with their forward rolls. By starting at the high end of the gymnastic wedge, the student can bend at their hips and place their shoulders on the top of the wedge then push with their feet to start their roll. The slope of the gymnastic wedge will help students gain momentum and roll down a bit more naturally. Also, to increase difficulty, teachers can place a strip of tape on the mat to help students roll in a straight line.

Rationale:

This game is designed to enhance the forward roll by fixating on improving the three developmental characteristics. By using gymnastic wedges and mats the children feel safe to perform forward rolls. Also, the repetition of rolling over and over will help children overcome the 9 developmental difficulties.

Game 2: Rolling potatoes obstacle course

The purpose of this activity is to enhance development of the forward roll and fundamental motor skills through facilitation of the three developmental characteristics that improve the mechanical degrees of freedom.

Target age: 4-6 years old

Equipment & set up: hula hoops, gymnastic mats, gymnastic wedges, tape, soft roll up ladder and chairs. Set the objects listed along with any extras you may have in a circle around the gym to create an obstacle course. This activity would be best performed in a gymnasium.

Instructions:

Create an obstacle course where the children can practice their forward roll. Set up the equipment in a circle then have the children go through the obstacle course. The teacher can choose how they would like the students to get to each obstacle, they could crawl, hoop or frog jump from each obstacle to the next (working on their motor skills).

Set hula hoops down on the gymnastic mats then use the tape to mark a spot on the mat just past the hula hoop that the students can do a forward roll on. If the students are hoping they can hoop into the hula hoop, hoop out and land on the marked spot then perform a forward roll. The next obstacle could be a chair that the students have to crawl under. Then hoop to the next obstacle which could be a gymnastic wedge that they have to roll down.

By bending at the hips and placing their shoulders on the high side of the wedge then pushing with their feet to roll down the wedge. If some students are more advanced they can try a backwards roll, bending backwards and placing their shoulders on the high side of the wedge then proceeding to kick their feet over their heads to roll backwards down the wedge. The next obstacle could be a soft ladder laid out on a mat. The children can jump into one of the squares then roll into the next square then jump into the next square, alternating till they have reached the end.

Modifications:

The whole obstacle course can be changed around to better suit the children’s abilities making the course more difficult or easier by switching out equipment or asking the students to perform other activities (such as one-legged hopping or asking the children to push with one hand and one leg when they forward roll). The obstacle course can also be made using any equipment available to the teacher.

Rationale:

This game is designed to enhance the physical strength and fundamental motor skills of children. By alternating between the forward roll and other fundamental movement skills, children are working on their balance, overcoming dizziness, and strengthening their core. By adding in the jumping in between obstacles, children are keeping their heart rate high and expending energy.

Summary

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References

Adolph, K. E., Cole, W. G., Komati, M., Garciaguirre, J. S., Badaly, D., Lingeman, J. M., ... & Sotsky, R. B. (2012). How do you learn to walk? Thousands of steps and dozens of falls per day. Psychological science, 23(11), 1387-1394.

Costa, R. Z. F., Marques, I., da Silva, L. C., & Medina-Papst, J. (2019). The positive effect of the use of cues for learning forward rolls in children with learning difficulties. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 13(4), 94-103.

Gallahue, D. L., & Donnelly, F. C. (2007). Developmental physical education for all children. Human Kinetics.

Graham, G., & Parker, M. (2013). Children moving. McGraw-Hill.

Houglum, P. A., & Bertoti, D. B. (2011). Brunnstrom's clinical kinesiology. FA Davis.

Lyon, G. R., Fletcher, J. M., & Barnes, M. C. (2003). Learning disabilities.

Masser, L. S. (1993). Critical cues help first-grade students’ achievement in handstands and forward rolls. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 12(3), 301-312.

ParticipACTION. (2020). Family Influence: THE 2020 PARTICIPACTION REPORT CARD ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.participaction.com/en-ca/resources/children-and-youth-report-card

Hallahan, D. P. (1992). Some thoughts on why the prevalence of learning disabilities has increased. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25(8), 523-528.

Iannelli, V. (2020). Parents Should Watch for Developmental Milestones and Delays. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.verywellfamily.com/developmental-milestones-4020408

Vereijken, B., Emmerik, R. E. V., Whiting, H. T. A., & Newell, K. M. (1992). Free (z) ing degrees of freedom in skill acquisition. Journal of motor behavior, 24(1), 133-142.

Williams, K. (1980). Developmental characteristics of a forward roll. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 51(4), 703-713.