CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.3 Discussion
A. The acquirement of knowledge of fundamental movement skills
According to the results of this project, this project was showed a success of children’s acquirement of knowledge of fundamental movement skills. In my observation, children learned the nomenclature of FMS by using fundamental movement 3 part cards, and physical exercise. They heard the name of FMS and saw them how to manipulate, and used their lambs to work out. I believed this was the main reason why children’s knowledge of FMS improved a lot from pre-test to post-test.
The knowledge of ball also had increased many percentages, especially “cloth ball” from 0% to 92.6%, these results must relate to the experiences accumulation because this project designed was to provide children to learn not only through three part cards but also other relative activity, such as ball sewing, balls’ mystery bag, color ball sorting, sports story-telling cards, ball object box, basketball pre-math, numerals and soccer counters (numeration 0-9), and the physical activity by using real balls.
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Like Montessori’s theory said that children have sensory impression and the absorbent mind (Montessori, 1967), which meant children like a sponge to absorb knowledge from the environment, especially they had explored by perceptual or sensory. During this absorbent mind, children were in the most sensitive periods (Montessori, 1967), children’s interests could help focused on developing a particular skill or knowledge from what they see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.
I thought this was the another reason why children’s the knowledge of FMS improved a lot because of their interest of play. In my observation, I found the children who likes to have physical gross motor activities were showed better FMS knowledge and skills in both of pre- test and post-test results. “Follow the child” as Montessori (1967) said that is the key factor to attract children’s learning motivation. I thought because “Let’s move” project was designed on the observation of what they need, they showed higher motivation to participate in physical activities. For example, in our classroom, we did not provide pre-math activity for child and few multi-person activity in any work, so that when I putted out the basketball pre- math and designed the variation activity for several children to work together was the reason why this work popular in the classroom.
For one more instance, I believed the Montessori’s theories of that children be exposed to beautiful things and beauty in nature and had the sensitive period in the 0 to 6, so I used the sensory impression (Montessori, 1967) in the material called “balls’ mystery bag,” which was a two-person game, and also popular in the classroom, especially for younger children, they were loving to work with this activity. Children enjoyed in this work was related to its point of interest (Rigg, 2013), the materials were beauty, reality, and had different balls with color, texture, size, and shapes.
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From my observation, I found this project was popular for children, but it still can be improved and modified several things. I thought each child should have real freedom to choose these works to do it and without permission from teachers to invite classmates to work together. I observed children developed their self-discipline, respect, communication,
patience, sportsmanship, and friendship from this Let’s Move Project. Children was not only doing physical activities together, but also learning several materials which I created with 2 to 4 persons or independent. In my original idea, I thought children could use the activities actively and freely to invite some children to work with him/her, which I thought the children were a real need. However, my lead teacher thought children should do the thing she
scheduled for them, so she limited children to choose only one material of the Let’s Move once per day. I thought this situation limited the children freedom for working. In the future, when I become a Montessori teacher, I will encourage children to choose a work what they really want to do in the classroom.
Besides, I thought the pre-math activities are important in math area, we ought to put some pre-math materials in the classroom. My pre-math material is interested to children, and they loved to work on it. But I thought it should modify a little bit because the older children, in my intern classroom, already learned mathematical works in advanced level or elementary level, their arithmetic is also advanced. I might add more dices in this work or add some numeral arithmetic cards for extensions in the future, so that this pre-math activity can suit for different levels children to adjust their learning levels. These revises are the
B. The acquirement of locomotor skills and object control skills
Table 4.2 showed that children’s locomotor skills and object control skills had significantly improved on both scores from pre-test to post-test. The main reason why
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children’s scores of FMS increasing was that experiences accumulated. Montessori (1964) believed “learning by doing” could help children to build up their ability and self-discipline (Montessori, 1964) as well. This project provided many physical exercises for children to practices so that children’s scores of locomotor skills and object control skills increasing.
Montessori thought that the movement and physical activity not only is the functional incarnation of the creative energy children possess but also is an essential factor for
intellectual growth (Bergeron, 2000). Physical activity provides was the special point in this project and it was the most crucial point of interest for children, which is the key point why children’s scores of FMS all improved, I believed.
In addition, this study’s main purpose was to compare the differences between pre-test and post-test of locomotor skills and object control skills, so it did not compare the children’s gender and age differences in this report. Maybe continuous researches could explore these differences.
After 3 months of project implementation, I deeply trusted Montessori's theory “follow the child" and "provide the freedom for them (Montessori, 1972) ". I observed the children's behaviors became independent and respectful when they worked with the materials of Let's Move, and many children gradually became self-discipline in the classroom. In the Let's Move project, children were not only learning the fundamental movements but also attempt to do work with classmates. I saw the younger children could cooperate with older children, also observed older children could teach and assist younger children actively. They learned from each other from these two to four persons' works, and from the group physical extension activities. I believe most children not only get knowledge of the fundamental movements but also know how to operate the more fluent skills of fundamental movements. They also learned
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the sport materials’ names, included 8 kinds of balls, and realized how to use this material with fluent movements when they played.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion
This Let’s Move project, which used Montessori teaching philosophy and principles, is really successful and this project provides children to develop their fundamental movement skills and related sports knowledge. Follow children's interests can help increase children's learning motivation. I’m thankful my lead teacher gives me some suggestions for this project.
I think I will continue to modify the materials of this project, someday, I believe this project can still benefit on children’s development.
5.2 Suggestion
However, this study didn’t have a control group, so it did not easy to prove children’s improvement of FMS was influenced by Let’s Move project. Children’s FMS development might not influence by the Let’s Move project; it might influence physical maturity. I would like to suggest future research to include a control group to identify how much influence would benefit children FMS.
5.3 Limitations and Future Directions
This Let’s Move project only had small participants to show the enhancements of FMS.
Even the result was significant, but it could not be an inference to a general situation. Further research could include more sample size and more strict research design, I thought could make a better teaching project and confirm the effect of the FMS project to preschoolers.
Moreover, I did not design the cultural material in this project, to consider more cultural special elements, and to combine within this kind of project, it might be interesting.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
Three-part Cards – Fundamental Movement Skills
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36
37
38
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APPENDIX II
Three-part Cards – Balls
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41
42
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APPENDIX III
Physical Exercises
Basketball Soft Baseball
Soccer Cloth Ball Hula Hoop
Air Rod
Plastic Balls
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Basketball
Picture 1: Children practiced bouncing a basketball staying at same place.
Picture 2: Children practiced bouncing a basketball with walking and shooting.
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Soft Baseball
Picture 3: Children practiced striking a soft baseball.
Picture 4: Children practiced striking a hard baseball.
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Soccer
Picture 5: Children practiced kicking a soccer ball at same place.
Picture 6: Children practiced kicking a soccer ball with running.
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Cloth Ball
Picture 7: Children practiced throwing with cloth balls.
Picture 8: Children practiced rolling with cloth balls.
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Hula Hoop
Picture 9: Children practiced shaking a hula hoop.
Picture 10: Children practiced shaking a hula hoop with walking
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Picture 11: Children practiced jumping with hula hoop and rabbit’s game.
Picture 12: Children practiced running with hula hoop and shark’s game.
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Air Rod
Picture 13: Children practiced jumping and galloping with an air rod.
Picture 14: Children practiced throwing and catching with an air rod.
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Plastic Balls
Picture 15: Children practiced throwing with plastic balls.
Picture 16: Children practiced rolling with plastic balls.
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APPENDIX IV
Eight Extensions of 4 Areas
Ball Sewing Balls’ Mystery Bag
Color Ball Sorting Sports Story-Telling Cards
Ball Object Box
Fundamental Movement 3 Part Cards Basketball Pre-math
Numerals and Soccer Counters (NUMERATION 0-9)
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Ball Sewing
Materials
A needle and the needle holder.
A needle threader.
A set of wool lines with different colors.
A set of basketball shape’s paper with different colors.
A set of soccer shape’s paper with different colors.
A scissor and holder.
A poke and a small poke mat.
A small blanket.
Subjects
Children 3 years to older years.
Presentation
1. Invite the child to work with the Ball Sewing.
2. Go to the shelf to get materials and assemble materials needed on a tray, find a place at a table. Let the child sit next to your subdominant side (hand).
3. Slowly point to the parts of the ball sewing materials, naming each: needle, needle holder, needle threader, wool lines, scissor, poke, poke mat.
4. Place the poke mat on the desk and put the paper with ball’s shape on the mat.
5. Use the poke to punch the black dots on the paper.
6. Take out one wool line and use a needle threader to thread the wool line into the needle’s hole, and then tie the wool line.
7. Use this needle to thread the hole from backside of the paper without lines. Let the wool line to cover the front side of paper with black line, and then the needle thread into the next hole to the back side of the paper.
8. When the wool line only leaves about 5 centimeters, firstly to tie the line, and then to use a scissor to cut off the wool line.
9. Take one new wool line to thread into the needle hole again, and then repeat the
movement from the 6 to 8 again and again. Until the wool line cover all black lines or go over all of dots of the paper. (Depends on how old these children are and then give them different level in this work.)
10. Put the materials into the blanket.
11. Clean up the table and the work’s place.
12. Return all materials to their proper place on a shelf.
Language
1. Introduce the materials: needle, needle holder, needle threader, wool lines, scissor, poke, poke mat.
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2. Basketball and soccer.
3. Punch, thread, tie, cut.
Control of Error
1. Seeing the black dots on the paper.
2. Seeing the black line on the paper.
3. Seeing wool lines cross or not upper the black lines.
Point of Interest
1. Use poke punch holes into the paper.
2. Putting the wool line into the pin's hole.
3. The sewing with the wool line on the paper.
3. Cutting the wool line by using a scissor.
Goal 1. Order
2. Coordination 3. Concentration 4. Independence Variation
1. Different ball’s shapes.
2. Smaller needle and thinner lines.
Picture 17: The practical life materials of ball sewing.
Picture 18: A child followed the black dot to pin pouch holes on the paper.
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Balls’ Mystery Bag
Materials
Two sets of 8 balls’ object: each bag has 1 baseball, 1 basketball, 1 soccer, 1 football, 1 badminton, 1 tennis, 1 table tennis, 1 cloth ball.
Subjects: Children 3 years to older years.
Prerequisite: None Presentation
1. Invite the child to work with the Balls’ Mystery Bag
2. Put a rug or mats on the ground and go to the shelf to get materials to get the materials and assemble materials and needed on a mat. Seat the child next to your subdominant side (hand).
3. Introduce each balls’ name.
4. “I will use my hand to touch then tell the ball’s name.” Pick up one ball inside the bag and guess the name of the ball.
5. “Could you find the same one in your mystery bag without visualization?”
6. Place out of the ball to check the ball’s name and the shape is right or wrong.
7. Take out all of the balls and put all balls back into the bags and return all materials to their proper place on a shelf.
8. Encourage the child to do independently or to work with other classmates who knew how to work.
Language
1. Names of the balls: baseball, basketball, soccer, football, badminton, tennis, table tennis, cloth ball.
2. Colors of the balls: yellow, blue, orange, white, red, green, black, white.
3. Shapes of the balls: soft, hard, big, small.
Control of Error
1. The same shape or the same name as the balls.
Point of Interest
1. The different color, texture, size, and shapes of balls.
Goal
Direct Aims:
1. Development of concentration, order, coordination, and impendence.
2. Development of visual and tactile perception of shape, texture, size, and name of balls’
figure.