Movement Education Framework: The Space Concept

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Avegel D. Alcazaren Robylin D. Bermil

Reporter Course facilitator

The space concept focuses on where the body moves. It has six categories: location,
direction, level, pathway, plane, and extension.

Location
Generally, the location (or area) of where the movement occurs is described as either self-
space or general space. Self-space-also called personal space or, Laban's coined term, the
kine- sphere-is defined by the three planes and refers to the personal bubble that surrounds
and moves with the performer. In contrast, general space is all of the area available for
movement such as the gymnasium, the boundaries of a court or field, or the dance floor. Self-
space is located within the general space.

Direction
Common directional movement elements include forward, or moving toward the direction
one is facing, and backward (S4), or moving in the direction the back of the body is facing.
Sliding to the right or left, as in stepping to the side to receive a volleyball serve, are also
general space examples of sideways (S5) movements of the whole body. Moving toward the
ceiling or sky is up (S6) and moving toward the floor or ground is down (S7). Finally, one
can move in a clockwise (58) or counterclockwise (S9) circle as a member of a group
participating in parachute activities within the general space.

Level
Levels are a description of how high or low the movement occurs. Near the floor or below the
knees is typical of a low movement (S10), whereas a high movement (S12) takes the
performer into the air or includes movements above the shoulders. Medium-level movements
(S11) are those that are generally between the low and high levels or at the height of the
trunk. Doing a bear walk is a low- level movement, doing a defensive slide across the floor is
a medium-level movement, and jumping high into the air or stretching high are examples of
high-level movements.

Pathway and Extension

Pathway is typically an invisible pattern or trac- ing of the movement of the body through
space that can occur in either the air or water or on a solid surface (e.g., a floor).

The following are basic pathway elements.

• A straight (S13) pathway means to move in a direct line. For example, a 50-meter sprint
occurs in a straight pathway if the runners or swimmers are in lanes on a track (solid surface)
or in a pool (in the water). An arrow flies through the air in a straight line toward the target.
A curved (S14) pathway moves in an arch or semicircle. An arrow can also fly through the
air in a curved pathway if it is shot upward and must arc down toward the target. A cross
country runner often follows a curvy path- way on the ground if the pathway has been set up
on a golf course.
A zigzag (S15) pathway moves in a crisscross manner. A zigzag path is sometimes used as
part of an offense plan for an American football receiver running on the football
field. Dodging, as in a tag type of activity, also uses zigzag pathways.

Plane
The name of the plane (e.g., sagittal) and the term plane have different meanings. While
sagittal describes the actual area of the space, plane is a geometry term meaning a flat or level
surface. This flat surface is what is used to divide the area of the self-space. Some visualize
the plane as a rectangular piece of glass that slices through the body, separating it into two
sections. Others view it like a hard square of cheese sandwiched between two slices of bread,
separating the two pieces of bread. The three plane names (sagittal, frontal, and transverse)
are used to help people communicate about areas of self-space. The idea of planes is also
helpful in describing more specifically where or how a person is moving within self-space,
such as joint movements (flexion).

There are three planes of movement:

• Sagittal
• Frontal (also known as coronal)
• Transverse (also known as horizontal)

Sagittal plane - a vertical plane that divides the body into left and right sides. Flexion and
extension types of movement occur in this plane, eg kicking a football, chest pass in netball,
walking, jumping, squatting.
Frontal plane - passes from side to side and divides the body into the front and back.
Abduction and adduction movements occur in this plane, eg jumping jack exercises, raising
and lowering arms and legs sideways, cartwheel.
Transverse plane - passes through the middle of the body and divides the body horizontally
in an upper and lower half. Rotation types of movement occur in this plane, eg hip rotation in
a golf swing, twisting in a discus throw, pivoting in netball, spinning in skating.

Extensions
The extensions category describes the range or size of the movements in space relative to the
body: small (near the body; S19) or large (far from the body; S20). Stretching an arm away
from the body is a large (far) extension, whereas using the hand near or on the hip is a small,
or near, extension. Extensions are often discussed when teaching racket sports and activities.

Movement Education Framework: The Effort Concept

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 Jay Alba BPED 2 Robylin D. Bermil
Reporter Course facilitator

The Effort Concept- The effort concept describes the quality of movement. It has four
categories: time, force, flow and focus.

Time- The time category addresses how fast the movement is, or its rate.
 Fast
 Slow
 Acceleration

Force- The force category addresses how much tension there is in the movement.
 Hard
 Soft

Flow- The flow category addresses how continuous or fluid the movement is.
 Bound
 Free

Focus- focus as the category term in the effort concept.

 Direct
 Indirect

Movement Education Framework: The Relationships

Concept

The focus of the relationships concept- should be on the types of connections that can occur
when moving.

The following five categories of the relationships concept:

People- is the first relationships category and describes a variety of ways students can be
organized to relate (or not relate) to one another.
 Solo
 Alone in a mass
 Partners even groups and uneven groups
 Individual to group/Group to group

The following are common geometric shapes that are used to quickly assemble people in
helpful arrangements:
 Triangle
 Circle
 Square
 Scatter
 Spokes of wheel
 X

Position- A variety of positional relationships are often in opposite pairs.

 Above/below
 Over/under
 Inverted
 Mount/dismount
 In front of/behind
 Beside and alongside
 Through
 Surround
 Around
 Support/Supported
 Lift and lifted
 Meet
 Near to and far from

Timing- The category of timing in the relationships concept has three subcategories:
simultaneous, alternate, and successive.

 Mirroring
 Matching
 Contrasting
 Unison
 Take turns
 Movement Sequence
 Canon
 Question/answer
 Act/react
 Lead/follow

Goal- The goal of the movement is the next category in the relationships movement concept
and describes how people connect to one another.
 Cooperative
 Collaborative
 Competitive

Environment- In this final category, the environment can be either static or dynamic.

 Static
 Dynamic
The Big Picture: Movement Education Tree
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 Baby Grace Arellano Robylin D. Bermil
Reporter Course facilitator

- The roots of complex movement and how they are organized into four movement concepts:
 Body
 Space
 Effort
 Relationships

-These concepts serve as a basis for movement language and content that can be applied
in primary grades or later in middle and high school. The core of the tree represents the
core content areas of movement, which are:
 educational games
 educational dance
 educational gymnastics

-These three areas are combined in various ways to provide more specialized and
complex movement challenges in each of the three core content areas.

-Educational games focus on manipulative skills that help children become skillful game
players. These skills are combined with nonlocomotor skills and locomotor skills as well
as many other movement elements within the space, effort, and relationships concepts.
Games used in this content area include activities such as standing in self-space and
throwing to a spot on a wall or playing One Step with partners.

-Educational gymnastics focuses on allowing individual children to be successful by

encouraging them to feel movements, learn how their bodies move, and develop variety
in their movement. There are no stunts that all children need to perform; rather, they are
offered choices and options to explore as they are ready. An example activity at the
elementary school level might involve having children choose a balanced shape and try
to hold that shape for at least three seconds.
Overall, the MEF organization allows movement education content to be structured and
communicated in a way that students can best understand and utilize. The young children
can readily acquire a movement foundation, so movement concepts should first be
introduced in early childhood. Continued refinement and broader experiences should
follow preschool into elementary school so that children become more skilled and move
to higher developmental stages.

- Educational Dance
The key to educational dance is movement expression.
 What type of mood or feeling is created when children perform a dance?

As implied in figure 2.3, all types of dance forms can be used in the educational dance
area. For example, children can apply elements from each of the movement concepts
when working on folk or square dances. Applying creative movement is a wonderful way
to enhance problem solving. Once learned, movement elements become
part of each core content area.