Current Course Title & Author:

Motor Development; Dr. Leah Holland Fiorentino, Adelphi University

Topic Focus of Activity:

Identifying the developmental stage of children's motor skill performance

Student Learning Objectives:

1. The student will be able to identify different developmental stages of skill performance in the pre-school environment
2. The student will be able to justify the selection of student performance episodes selected to illustrate the different developmental stages.
3.

National Standard Connections:

.NASPE/NCATE

Description of Idea:

After the lectures on developmental stages and the selected locomotor skills, students are assigned the following task.

Visit the assigned pre-school and videotape three (3) different pre-school children performing the following motor skills:

a. running
b. skipping
c. hopping
d. throwing
e. striking

You can sign out a departmental digital video camera or use your own equipment, but remember that the cameras must be able to connect to the MAC computers so you can use the iMovie software.  Once at the pre-school, be sure to have the pre-school children perform each motor skill for at least one (1) minute so as to provide multiple video segment episodes that will span at least 15 seconds after editing your footage. Once you return home, review the video tape once through to see "what you really captured" on tape.  On the second run through with your footage, identify the developmental stages of the pre-school children relative to  each motor skill.

You are now going to create a project to share with the class that demonstrates your current knowledge of developmental stages of each motor skill and your ability to analyze the movement patterns of pre-school children relative to the content covered in class lectures. Connect your video camera to the MAC computer and launch the iMovie software.  Follow the directions from the technology instruction manual. Organize the clips so all similar motor skills are linked together (i.e. all hopping episodes together, all skipping episodes together); set a title slide to start off each new motor skill.  Provide a voice over that identifies the developmental stage for each child on each skill – and why you would identify the performance at that level. Save the project and submit it on-time.

All student projects are shared in a small group discussion format in a subsequent class period, where all projects are displayed via an LCD projector integrated with small group discussions of the motor skill/developmental stages identified by each individual student.

Assessment Technique:

Students are assessed on the quality of the submitted DV file with attention given to appropriate identification of the developmental stages of motor skill performance and the appropriate voice over rationale for that identification.

Approximate time required:

Student time out of class includes, approximately 30 of video capture at the assigned pre-school site; 30 minute initial review of footage; 45 minute second review of footage and identification of the developmental skill levels of the pre-school children's motor skill performance; 30 minutes of iMovie creation.  In-class time for project review is determined by class size, each file is 3 minutes long and small group discussion should last 5 minutes per project.  Plan for a final summary of projects before dismissing class.