4. EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES AND METHODS

In order for the teaching-learning process to be effective beyond the knowledge of the educational process, it is necessary to know the strategies, methods, ways of organizing and forms of education. Let’s briefly review them now.

4.1. EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES

“Education is a conscious and planned activity, in which both the teacher and the student set goals, anticipate the desired outcomes of the teaching-learning process and plan and organize their activities in order to achieve and achieve them 14 .” In this process, that is, in education, our goal is to create positive changes in the personality of the learner as a result of the teaching-learning process. In order to achieve this goal, we can introduce methods, tools and organizational methods, and the combination of these is called strategy. Thus, the educational strategy, when we define the various procedures, the educational methods, to achieve the specific goal, we choose the organizational methods used and the educational tools.

Literature often refers to the same content, sometimes as a method, or as a strategy. Iván Falus talks about educational strategies, while Sándor Nagy about his teaching and learning strategies and Zoltán Báthory about learning strategies. In the strategy, we not only have several names, but also different divisions. Most often, strategies are grouped according to different educational goals. It took a long time to think that only the strategy of conditioning was the only possible way to teach movement and to develop skills. “In all cases where we want to develop a skill (operation) in general, the practice of conditioning is what we need to apply 15 .” “Applying and practicing knowledge is simply the essence of this learning method 16 .” The strategy for conditioning is Pavlovi’s so-called conditional. This is the process of creating conditional reflexes, also known as reflex learning. Due to the sequential association of two stimuli, after a certain period of time, a connection is established between the appropriate areas of the two stimulus effects.

Reflex learning is the most basic form of learning. One of the most important conditions for conditioning is the multiple, spatial-temporal contact of the two stimuli. “In motion learning, action, action, and action lines are learned 17 .” The aim of the movement learning is to automate the technique of movement, to develop the ability to move. The smallest unit of learning is the movement that is physiologically nothing but a conditional reflex. “The definite association of reflexes is the physiological basis of the development of mobility, its pedagogical, (methodological) basis, and the practice 18 .” We can deduce from this line of thought what led to the long-term conditioning strategy being considered unanimous in the teaching of motion actions (Biró M., 2006 a,b).

Classical conditioning is not the only kind of connection. We are confronted with problems every day of learning. In most cases, the process of learning begins with problem solving, and it is often interrupted by a problem. In the process of instrumental conditioning, we can talk about such a problem situation. Learning a new movement or a complex action line is a typical motor problem. By practicing random movements, we learn the movements in the midst of successful and unsuccessful attempts. Man’s movement problems are not solved suddenly, but in the midst of mistakes, random changes, a series of attempts.

With classic and instrumental conditioning, not only motor reactions can be transformed, but experiments prove that even emotions can be conditioned. This type of avoidance conditioning is also common in sport. Let’s illustrate a simple example. When the pupil is exposed to a negative stimulus (drops from the substance and scares; arrives in the water instead of the head jump, causing pain, etc.), he then responds with a movement reaction bypassing all similar stimuli (half go up or do not want to jump) (Biró M., 2006 b).

Thorndike rethinking Skinner’s experiments and reducing the amount of unnecessary movements (the cat’s time of cage dropped, after a certain execution he learned to open the cage). The difference between Thorndike and Skinner’s experiments was that Thorndike’s cat saw the target (fish out of the cage) while Skinner’s experimental animals only got through the food, so they needed more exercise to reach the goal. These experiments have shown that it is also possible to learn complicated tasks if the task is broken down into smaller components and the students are rewarded for successful solutions to smaller units. We apply this principle to human learning and, of course, to learning to move. Skinner’s Linear Programming is a breakdown of the small units of the curriculum, ensuring the active activity of the students and strengthening their correct answers. This can be considered the beginning of the programmed educational movement. The principle was improved and further developed by many psychologists and educators (Biró, 2006 a,b).

It is necessary to mention Köhler’s (1917) (cit. Nádori et al., 1986) experiments on insight learning, which cannot be separated from the “trial fortune” or “trial-error” learning. The caged monkey, the food that was placed away from him, was only able to reach the device. After trying to see the stick the monkey “saw” that he could only reach the food with a stick. Recognized the target device relationship and the possibility of using the device. In terms of motor learning and solving individual educational situations, we attach great importance to insight.

In the case of educational strategies, the aforementioned are the most well-known ones, but of course we also meet a new approach to the division of strategies in the literature of sport pedagogy. Rétsági and Hamar (2004) take as the basis for the division of educational strategies that the teaching-learning (solving of its methodological problem) is from where the participants come, from the teacher or the student. Thus, this division differentiates between strategies of teacher and student dominance.

Rétsági and Hamar (2004)

While in teaching strategies, teacher-student interactions are focused on teacher activity, teaching, and learning strategies are approached from the learner’s point of view. In teaching strategies, deductive or direct education and inductive or indirect education are distinguished. Of course, these principles also apply to the coach-athlete relationship.

Direct education is a strategy that, for a particular purpose, helps to teach skills. Aim, quick and effective skills training. This strategy is excellent for the training of some basic sports techniques and for the improvement of certain forms of movement. The basic principle of education is that the learner learns most effectively “the basic knowledge and skills if we break down the clear goals into the elements, and lead the students through the process of acquiring with definite but not autocratic guidance 19.” The strategy is characterized by deductive curriculum processing. The motion training proceeds from the general point towards the processing of the parts. While the learner performs the whole movement, the teacher improves the individual movements and partial movements. In the direct education strategy, the focus is on teacher activity, which consists of the following steps: goal; recalling prior knowledge; transfer of knowledge; guided practice; checking understanding (regular feedback); additional training if necessary; practice in other more complex situations. Teacher explanation, demonstration, strong teacher leadership and individual student practice play an important role in this strategy. The direct education strategy is coupled with structured learning. While direct education approaches the teacher, a structured learning strategy approaches teacher-student interactions from the learner. Mostly it promotes the teaching of skills, but it can also be used to refine various forms of movement and practice - to practice the series of exercises. The goal is quick and effective skills learning. The principle of structured learning is that learning takes place through continuous teacher guidance. Despite the fact that the strategy is “approaching the learner”, teacher activity is also important. The student, under the guidance of a teacher. The strategy is so flexible that it adapts to the pupil’s age characteristics, abilities. Student activity: interpretation of the task; developing an internal image based on the teacher’s instructions, presentation, and prior experiences; primary practice, comparison of the inner image with the exercise task; exercise, activation of muscle sensation; practice, under identical and changing conditions, recording; accepting evaluation as internal. Different forms of structured learning, based on lightened conditions, have been implemented independently; task solving from simple to complex; after learning the main motive of the movement, solving the whole movement task. There may be forms of strategy, part-time learning, whole-learning, whole-part learning.

Indirect or open education strategies are not linked to a single goal, but serve different educational goals. The goal is to develop self-reliance, creativity, cooperation, problem solving skills. The basic principle of the educational strategy is that the teacher sets the target for the learner, but does not define the path to the solution. There are several ways to achieve the goal that the learner has to find for himself, so that he / she can reach the solution through independent, self-directed exercise. This strategy encourages the learner to work independently for creative work. The teacher’s activity is characterized by: the teacher marks the task; sets the goal; motivation; give advice; indirect control improves motion. Open learning is complemented by open learning that approaches teacher-student interactions from the learner. Pupils have a significant role to play in managing their own learning and selecting activities. It distinguishes two types of literature from open learning. In the first case, learning is open from the starting point, and the learner does not receive information about the task. In the second case, when you open the way to the goal, the student is already given information about the task. Activity of the learner: the interpretation of the task based on preliminary experience; finding the right solutions; practicing and fixing the right solution; self-evaluation; reception; becoming internal.

We often encounter the game as a strategy of education in the literature, but many people mention it as a playful method. It has already been mentioned that this concept of strategy and method results from its use as a false synonym. The game as an educational strategy plays an important role in teaching the movements. The game is one of the most effective tools of education. In addition to physiological effects, it develops pedagogical, moral, and spiritual qualities that are indispensable for everyday integration into society. Intellectual, moral, willful qualities are evolving during gaming, community and individual education are also realized. During the game, not only the aims of education, education, but also the curriculum objectives can be achieved. We attribute a significant role to the game as an educational strategy in the process of motion learning, especially in the process of knowledge processing, application, and recording. The basic activity of the toddler, in itself, ensures motivation, eliminates the monotonous, mechanical nature of repetitions. Pupils are inspired by the joy of the game for more and more player activity. This strategy can be successfully applied not only to the education of young children, but all ages, even adults, have their own age-adapted games. The game creates and maintains increased activation that produces high efficiency and effective learning. During the game, we can indirectly take the pupil to perform the task, sometimes even without noticing the purposefully hidden task in the game. On the one hand, the toy is fed by inherited stimuli and motives for solving the problem (Bíró, 2008, 2009; Bíró et al. 2010).

An effective strategy for teaching sports movements is also a problem solving strategy. The advantage is that the learners themselves discover the solutions themselves. It provides opportunities for students to develop their optimum abilities. In this strategy, it is advisable to create a problem situation whose unknown elements trigger interest and the need to solve the problem. These problem situations (“can throw the ball out into the gate so that…”) encourage the learner to take action, which leads to solving the problem. In order to successfully solve the problem situation, students must have experience that helps in solving the problem.

Physical education and sports education professionals utilize a number of educational strategies, some of which are presented. The content of the education and its peculiarities significantly influence the application and choice of educational strategies. As the educational strategy is made up of many aspects - procedures, educational methods, organizational modes, educational tools (used for specific purposes), let’s briefly review them.

4.2. EDUCATIONAL METHODS

Sándor Nagy defines the concept of the method as follows: “Educational methods are the special procedures of the teacher to help the achievement of the teaching goal, in the lesson and in the afternoon activity: of course, the students’ work methods for the realization of the teaching goal actively participate 20.” Sándor Nagy mentions the methods as a joint activity for the purpose of the teacher and the learner, thus distinguishing between teacher and student methods. In the teaching of movements, the concept of the method, its interpretation and the peculiarities of motor education change somewhat. In the teaching of movements, on the educational method, we mean the joint working procedures of the teacher and the student, which serve to solve the tasks of education (Makszin, 2002).

The grouping of educational methods is also possible in many ways, as is the case with the teaching of movement actions, and in this book we present the grouping of Rétsági and Hamar (2004):

  1. typical methodological procedures
  • verbal methodological procedures (explanation, instruction, command, other procedures)
  • visual methodological procedures (direct presentation and indirect demonstration)
  • Practical Methodological Procedures (Assistance - Insurance, Practice - Practice)
  • complex methodological procedures (verbal, visual, and practical: bug fixes)
  1. specific methodological procedures applied in motor action instruction
  • imitation and the like
  • Leading exercises, compulsive situations
  • playful action learning
  1. methods of conducting gymnastic exercises
  • combinations of typical methodological procedures (classic, consolidated, continuous)
  • verbal methodological procedures (explanation, instruction, command)
  • visual methodological procedures (direct demonstration)
  • other (practice, error correction, etc.)

In the following, the teaching methods are presented based on their role in each stage of the learning process.

In the teaching of sports movements, as in the case of motor education, the first phase of movement learning begins with a coarse coordination phase of knowledge transfer and processing. Pupils get to know new moves, get to know sports-specific concepts and professional language. At this stage of education, the most important methods are the different ways of motivating and transmitting information (explanation, discussion, illustration, imitation, use of audiovisual tools).

Motivation is one of the most important functions in the educational process. We can explain how we can motivate, motivate a child to move, learn new exercises, or even practice them, in many ways. Such is the need for motion; the need for self-confidence; the love of rivalry, racing; the level of demand for own performance; the attraction of the game, the sport; the need to learn a movement; keeping the acquired ‘position’ in a classroom, community (sociometric situation).

Once we have created a learning spirit, we can provide knowledge, both verbally and visually. The effectiveness of oral explanation plays a significant role in the durability and understanding of motion learning. However, in the first phase of learning, visual information about movement is indispensable and even based on visual information. Due to the individual characteristics of the sport, other forms of information transfer also develop. Proper, broad-spectrum communication - verbal, visual, manual, kinetic - plays an important role in education.

One of the possible (verbal) ways of communicating information, conversation, which may be professional, is aimed at getting to know the pupil’s emotions, is reason exploratory, stimulating and encouraging. Professional discussions have an important role in training athletes. Because learners often need the stimulating, encouraging, encouraging, fearful activity of the coach at the beginning of the learning process, which is possible during such conversations to get to know the pupil’s emotions.

Means of providing visual information, indirect and direct demonstration. Because most of the information coming to the brain is in the eye, a small percentage of it comes on the ear and other sensory organs, so the illustration plays a more prominent role in the transmission of information. In addition to adapting to age, you should always demonstrate a technically well-executed movement and draw attention to leading movements. The importance of visual information transmission is enhanced by the ability of students to receive visual stimuli more easily, and in the beginning (at a younger age and at the beginning of exercise) to imitate the movement described. As most sports start from the age of five or six, the explanation and the demonstration must adapt to age-specific characteristics. Imitation plays a significant role in this stage of motion learning.

The transfer (processing, evaluation) of knowledge can also be complemented by the presentation and analysis of video recordings, computer-aided, slow motion digital materials. The use of audiovisual tools can be used successfully, as learners can learn more than using only auditory or visual tools. Video recordings, computer-based motion analysis programs, modern recording techniques are indispensable elements of today’s modern sports sport, to determine the physical characteristics of the sport, to raise the quality of high-level sports, to improve athlete’s technique, and for detailed motion analysis. These technologies also provide basic support for competitive analysis and effective quick feedback, but are mostly used by trainers and only occasionally in primary education. In the first phase of motor education, following the understanding of the task, the idea of movement, the formation of the inner image and the first attempts, the primary practice follow. The main didactic task and method of primary practice is the correction of the error; help, practice, and formative assessment (Rétsági and Hamar, 2004; Rétsági, 2004).

On the one hand, the complex method of practicing has a processing role, as it helps to create the right motion picture (applying practice), but also plays an important role in consolidating the fine coordination and recording. Effective tools for movement teaching are preparatory and instructive exercises. Preparatory exercises are responsible for the preparation of parts of the movement, while the conducting exercises are the implementation of the movement and its individual elements under light conditions. Both preparatory and instructive exercises help to understand the structure of movement and facilitate the first stage of motor instruction.

The error correction method is used to detect and correct motion errors. On the one hand, they have verbal and, on the other hand, visual components. It often occurs with the explanation, before or after it. The professional competence of coaches and teachers is often measured in the quality of error correction (Rétsági, 2004).

We have already mentioned the use of audiovisual tools in the ways of transmitting information. We would also emphasize their role in the feedback process, evaluation and error correction. Movement analysis, if the athlete is actively involved, contributes significantly to the correction of technical errors, says Nádori (1991). It has been observed that technical errors often appear between video footage and the idea of motion (Nádori, 1991).

The method of help is especially important when teaching beginners and teaching new movements. At an advanced level, practicing, the other form of assistance, insurance, comes to the fore. Of course, both legal and pedagogical and didactic aspects should be taken into account when assisting.

The second phase of the motor teaching - learning process is the application phase, from the development of the fine coordination to the development of adaptability to changing conditions. The didactic tasks and methods of movement action teaching at this stage consist of practice, error correction, help, insurance, formative help and summative assessment. Practice is not an independent work of the athlete, as continuous coach feedback (which is considered one of the most critical coaching functions) plays an essential role. The nature and timing of feedback is important, as it increases the efficiency of learning. It is important that athletes should not only be encouraged to exercise, but to observe their own movements consciously. According to Hayes (2006), this is the most basic and important form of feedback. Our students should be gradually taught which movements, which cardinal details of the technique, should be monitored. In order for athletes to learn all this and to be able to control their own movements, individual feedback from the coach is essential. This is important, among other things, to provide space for the athletes’ individual movement experiences and exercise experiences during the exercise, as children often feel themselves to be the best suited to them. The coach is sometimes more patient with the silent control, which is not a passive activity, as the coach monitors the athlete’s practice and gives him a key instruction at the right time. There are many practices that lead to automated exercise. Of course, besides the practice, there are also important methods of error correction, insurance, summary evaluation. Both the methods and the movement experiences that have been acquired on the previous stages of motion learning - the previously mentioned - special sensations (water sensing, sensing, ball detection, etc.) can develop.

The method of monitoring and assessment, both in the acquisition of knowledge and in the development and consolidation of skills, plays an important role in every phase of movement learning. One of the most common methods of this is teacher observation. Inspection and assessment can not only come from the teacher. The athletes appreciate each other and, of course, themselves, based on the coaching points. This is how the need for and the way of observing themselves, the control and self-control, develops by self-observation. For the proper development of the personality, the effective training of the sport movement it is indispensable to have an assessment, which can be seen in every form (situation exploratory - diagnostic, shaping - helping, summary). During the regular assessment, based on the criteria given, the assessment procedures provided by the teacher or trainer will help us to evaluate others and ourselves, which is the assessment and self-evaluation of the students (athletes). (There are several research reports on student pulse measurement, which, besides differentiated education, can play an important role in the assessment of the performance of students in hourly teaching, Nagy et al., 2016a, Nagy et al. 2017a., b).

What is needed for optimal method selection? Falus (1996) mentions six criteria for the effective selection of methods, highlights of education and its principles, then the purpose, tasks, content and peculiarities of education. All these can be influenced and modified by age and individual characteristics, by the knowledge of the taught sport, by the specific sporting preconditions, by the trainer’s possibilities and by a number of other external (material) conditions. It also influences the choice of method, the level of athletes’ abilities, the material to be taught, and the degree of difficulty in sports technique.

It is worth mentioning the methods of Iván Falus, who says: “Pedagogy has long gone beyond the general perception of the effectiveness of methods. We cannot talk about effective or less effective methods. We need to reach out with the more modest, but more useful questioning, which goals, in which group of children, which method to learn, which method and the combination of methods is more effective 21.”

4.3. TYPES AND DIVISION OF WAYS OF ORGANIZING EDUCATION

Educational strategies and methods are also organically linked to organizational modes, which are not limited to the definition of individual forms of work (employment forms) but also to the related organizational procedures. Methodological factors related to organization play a key role in successful and effective movement action training. In organizing and selecting forms of employment, smooth shifts, transitions from one form of work to another, relocations, distribution and accumulation of drugs must be ensured. In physical education or sports, the organizational tasks consist of three main tasks. The first is the placement of students, the second is the educational tools, while the third is the choice of forms of employment (Rétsági, 2004; Bíró, 2007).

We distinguish three main forms of employment, the class of employment, or a joint occupation; the team has a form of employment and a cirkuit or a circular form, also known as an obsession. The forms are distinguished by the nature of the educational material (the same or different) and the proportion of students’ employment (together, individually, by group). In the case of the same educational material, when everyone does the same task, we can distinguish between: class, group, and individual classroom work, when different educational materials are processed, then team, group, and individual team work. Recruiting is a form of employment that is recommended in literature for practicing and developing skills (Rátkai, 1994; Bátori, 1991).

CONCLUSION

We use strategies, methods, ways of organizing and forms for the efficiency of the teaching-learning process. Educational strategy, when we define different procedures, educational methods to achieve a specific goal, we choose the organizational methods used and the educational tools. The methods are the joint activity of the teacher and the learner. We distinguish between teacher and student methods. The concept of the method, its interpretation and the peculiarities of motor education change somewhat in the teaching of motor actions. We are referring to the teaching of movement, the educational method, joint work processes of the teacher and the student, which serve to solve the tasks of education. In order to select the methods efficiently, it is essential to know the laws, principles of education, the purpose of the education, the tasks, the content and peculiarities of education. All these can be influenced and modified by age and individual characteristics, by the knowledge of the taught sport, by the specific sporting preconditions, by the trainer’s possibilities and by a number of other external (material) conditions. It also influences the choice of method, the level of athletes’ abilities, the material to be taught, and the degree of difficulty in sports techniques.

CHECKING ISSUES 1. What are the basic teaching and learning strategies and methods? 2. What does a teaching strategy mean? 3. What are the most commonly used teaching methods in the first and second phases of motor education? 4. What does the choice of teaching methods depend on?


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