SUNY CORTLAND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT LAB

Spring 2019 – Dr. Tepfer

Lab #5: Development of Balance

Name: Vinny Wilson Date: 10-29-19

Task A: Observation/Reflection
1. Reflecting on your experience so far with CHAMP, what do you think have been your
greatest challenges or difficulties have you faced? Consider all areas – environment,
task, learner, etc. What ideas/suggestions do you have to resolve the difficulties or
challenges that you wrote about?

I believe some of the greatest challenges is the beginning interactions with the kids.
Sometimes they’re very shy and don’t want to interact with us and that becomes
two-fold because I find myself being shy at first as well. However, as the older
students it’s easier for us to break out of our comfort zone whereas the kids aren’t
so keen to do so. Sometimes also the kids don’t feel confident in the movements we
may have to ask them to perform which becomes a challenge. As far as overcoming
these I believe it’s on us as the mentors to break the ice first and get the kids
involved. Then as far as the kid’s skill level it’s about us working with them to help
them complete the task even if their skill level as the learner isn’t up to par.

Task B: Development of balance

Instructions
1. Order the tasks on the record sheet in order of what you think is easiest to hardest.
2. Lead a group of three or four CHAMP students with a partner and complete the tasks
listed on the record sheet. (Each task is explained in the following section).
3. Record how long (in seconds) each performer can balance as directed. If the performer
reaches 120 s (2 min), stop and record that time.
4. Use a spotter, especially with anyone who seems unstable on a task. If a performer
reaches to hold the hand or arm of the spotter, or the spotter feels it is necessary to
stabilize the performer, the trial ends on contact.
5. If time permits, provide a surface that the performer can lightly touch with the fingertips
while performing the task and repeat the tasks. If time is limited, provide the opportunity
for light touch only on the tasks the performer seemed to have difficulty performing well.

Task C: Lab questions

1. What seemed to determine whether a task was easier or harder?

The main determinant of what made a task easier or harder was the amount of
muscles involved in the task. The more muscles that the kids had to control the less
time they were able to balance. Another way we determined which tasks were easier
and harder was through keeping eyes open or closed. When eyes were closed the
participants had significantly less balance. This makes sense as we talked about in
class the fact that when you lose one of your senses it becomes much harder to
balance no matter what age you are.
2. Did the results affirm the order of your tasks from easy to difficult?

The results for the most part confirmed my order of the tasks from easy to difficult
except for the last few. The kids found the stork stand task to be the hardest one and
not the front scale as I had hypothesized.

3. Did light touch make a difference in performance? Why do you think light touch allows
a performer to balance better?

Light touch helped the performers balance better. As we discussed in class the light
touch helps them gain a better sense of proprioception especially when one of their
senses were taken away such as sight.

4. How does the balance of your participants differ from other age groups (older/younger)?
Specify your comparison and be specific.

The participants were between 6-7 years old. Even though there’s only one year
difference between them the results were telling as the 6 year old’s times were
significantly lower than that of the 7 year olds we observed.
 Task Performer
1 2 3 4 5
4: Stork stand, eyes open 2s 2s 4s 7s 10s
5: Stork stand, eyes 1s 1s 2s 6s 8s

closed
1: Stand heel-to-toe, eyes 2m 1m 30s 2m 2m 2m

open
2: Stand heel-to-toe, eyes 1m 50s 1m 20s 2m 2m 2m

closed
6: Front scale 13s 10s 12s 19s 15s
3: V-sit 14s 13s 18s 21s 24s

Description of tasks:

 Stork stand, eyes open: Stand on your dominant leg. Place the sole of the other foot on the
inside of your supporting leg and your hands on your hips. On the signal, raise your heel
from the floor and maintain balance as long as possible without moving the ball of the foot
or touching the heel to the floor. If time permits, do three trials and count only the highest
score.
 Stork stand, eyes closed: Same as previous but with the eyes closed. Opening the eyes or
losing balance ends the trial.
 Stand heel-to-toe, eyes open: Stand on the floor. Place one foot in front of the other with the
heel of the forward foot touching the toe of the other foot. The timer starts when this
position is established and stops when either foot moves or comes off the floor. If time
permits, do three trials and count only the highest score.
 Stand heel-to-toe, eyes closed: Same as previous but with the eyes closed. Opening the eyes
or losing balance ends the trial.

 V-Sit: Sit on the floor. When ready, lift legs and reach hands towards feet.
 Front scale: Stand on the floor. When ready, shift your weight to the preferred foot, extend
the arms to the sides, bend forward at the waist, and lift the free leg, extending it behind
you. In the final position, the upper trunk and free leg should be parallel to the floor. Start
the timer when you attain this position. The trial ends when you step the free leg to the floor,
touch a hand to the floor, or move the supporting foot. If time permits, do three trials and
count only the highest score.