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NCHPAD - Building Healthy Inclusive Communities

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Thinking about Group Dynamics


There are various techniques we can use to try to keep children happy and engaged in their activities. One of the best ways to learn about these is to watch how experienced coaches and physical educators work with a group of children. The following are some examples of strategies that can be helpful with a group of children of mixed abilities.
  • Use non-competitive goals.
    Introducing competition into games / activities can be one way of motivating children to focus on a task. However, competition often involves crude comparison or ranking between children. Some children may find that they are never winners. Over time, these children will "learn" that they are not good at sport / physical activity.



    The solution lies in providing all children with a challenge in the way of a target or goal. These goals do not have to involve competition against their peers. As children become familiar with these types of goals, they can be involved in setting the goals.
    • Set goals or targets in relation to learning new things:
      "Today we're all going to learn about different ways to strike a ball with a stick."
      "We're all going to practice 3 different sports over this term."
    • Think about goals which will develop creativity, as opposed to focusing exclusively on skilled performance:
      "Can you all come up with as many different ways to send the ball to your partner?"
      "Can you think of different ways of moving around this room?"
    • Set goals (or facilitate the class to set goals) which target changes in fitness or learning they can make over a period of time:
      "We will practice at least five different sports activities over this term."
      "We will all improve our skills in X activity."
      "The combined score for the group / class will be higher than last week."
      "I will improve my fitness score between now and the summer [from a suitable fitness test]."

  • Relate attribution theory to pupils' PE / sports performance.
    It can be a difficult situation for all if one pupil is visibly struggling to complete an activity. Attribution theory can give a useful framework for this situation.
    If a player is not succeeding in a task, we can think?
    - is the problem with the pupil?
    - is the problem with the strategy used?
    [For "strategy," think of the movement form, environment, equipment, rules, and instructions.] Sometimes a pupil will think that his or her lack of ability is the problem. We can encourage them to think more about external factors that might be the problem, and how these could be altered.

    For example, if a child is not managing a soccer drill, we can say;
    "You seem to be having difficulty with this drill. I think we chose the wrong-size ball* to use."
    (*This could be any factor from the adaptations listed above.)

    Over time, progress this way of thinking to;
    "You seem to be having difficulty with this drill. How do you think we can change it to make it work better?"

  • Use the optimal groupings for each activity
    Use whatever groupings work best for the activity you are working on, and use different groupings through the session as needed.
    • Full class in one group
      There are activities that a full class can do together in one large group. These can include the warm-up, the cool-down, a relaxation session, or watching a demonstration.
    • Small groups
      In team games or drills, small team / group sizes give players more chances to be involved in the play. Consider the difference of time-on-task in 4-per-side soccer compared to 11-per-side soccer. Pupils spend more time-on-task this way.
    • Groups of similar ability
      When practicing or developing a new skill, there may be players who will acquire the skill more slowly than their peers. In this situation, consider grouping players of a similar ability together.

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