Fundamental Movement Skills Screening Test.

Rationale

The Stay in Touch Screening Test as part of the Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) program for early childhood students was undertaken by two participants, Sam (pseudonym) and Gabby (pseudonym). Both of the students were in the pre-primary class at Bridgegrove Primary School (pseudonym), and were aged 5 and 6 respectively. The test results for the students showed that Sam completed the test with ratings in the high and very high categories; the only area where he did not perform in this category was the bounce and catch skill, which anecdotally
Table 1: Sams screening test results. Skill Balance on one leg Bounce and Catch Hop for Distance Result 53 (L) 33 (R) 18 17* 179 (L) 87 (R)92 FMS Rating High Medium Very high

50m Run 12.48 High *Ball was bounced off foot and not retrieved within the 20 second time limit.

can be justified (Table 1). Gabb ys ratings in the test show her fundamental movement skills to be at a medium or high level, except for the hop activity, where she was rated as low (Table 2). Studies have shown that students will poor motor skills and co-ordination are often less active than those with high levels
Table 2: Gabbys Results from the Screening Test. Skill Balance on one leg Bounce and Catch Hop for Distance 50m Run Result 40 (R) 33 (L) 7 21 115 (R) 63 (L)52 13.10 FMS Rating Medium Very High Low Medium

of skill, and often less social in play (Hands & Martin., 2003). Due to the importance of motor and movement skills in a childs life, and Gabbys weakness in one of the Fundamental Movement Skills, the follow-up

lesson for these two students was selected focusing on the skill of hopping. Although Sam showed that he could perform this activity, Gabbys weakness in the area suggested that additional time and instruction would be required for this skill, as improvement in motor and fundamental movement skills are best improved through practice in a supportive, challenging and engaging

environment where the student is encouraged, instructed appropriately and supported (Hands., 2012).

Figure 1: Gabbys assessment of her hop and photo of her skill.

The skill of hopping is considered a Fundamental Movement Skill as it is required for many sporting skills, such as basketball layups, hopscotch games and dance skills (Fundamental Movement Skills Kit., 2001). The follow up lesson, related to improving the skills of hopping aimed to provide students with correct hopping technique and practice with the skill, whilst being engaging and fun for the students. When learning a skill as a child, it is easier to learn the correct way with the correct skill initially, as this takes approximately 9-10 hours of practice to master a new skill, whereas it can take in excess of 3 months to break a formed habit and correct it (Hands., 2012). Gabbys hopping results, in conjunction with observation of the lack of technique in the hop, indicated that perhaps Gabby has never had adequate instruction on how to hop. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as previously mentioned, learning correctly the first time can be easier than changing bad habits, and it has been seen that earlier intervention is more effective in developing motor and movement skills (Hands & Martin., 2003). For this reason the follow-up lesson initially focused on where arms and legs were positioned for a hop, and what was the most effective method to give the longest hop. The lesson the aimed to provide the students with the opportunity to practice their hopping skills, in an informal and engaging way, through playing hopscotch games and challenging hopping games. Practice of hopping through playing games was selected for the majority of the lesson, as mastery of hopping skills (and other FMS) are ideally taught through game-play and other structured activities (Hardy et.al., 2009). Engagement in these games was created through the use of colourful and nonconventional equipment, such as pick-up sticks as markers on the ground, teddy bears as each childs marker on the course and the ipad app Skitch for assessment. When assessing the students in this lesson the assessment was primarily self-assessment by the students (Figures 1 and 2), as this method has
Figure 2: Sams self-assessment of his hop and a photo of his skill.

been reported by teachers to be effective when teaching students FMS (Hands & Martin., 2003).

The aim of the lesson was for students to identify skills required for a hop and to perform one correctly. The annotated photograph allowed this to be assessed, as students were required to list what made a good hop and the photograph captured their own technique.
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References Fundamental Movement Skills Kit. (2001). Western Australia: Steps Professional Development. Hands, P. (2012). How fundamental are fundamental movement skills? Active and Healthy Magazine, 19(1), 14-17. Hands, P., & Martin, M. (2003). Implementing a fundamental movement skill program in an early childhood setting: The childrens perspectives. Australian Journal of Early Childhood. 28(4), 47-52. Hardy, L., King, L., Farrell, L., Macniven, R., & Howlett, S. (2009). Fundamental movement skills among Australian preschool children. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2009.05.010