Motor Development
What are the individual structural and functional constraints that influence your subject′s ability to perform locomotor, ballistic, and manipulative skills? In order to answer this question, first you are to assess at least one locomotor, one ballistic, and one manipulative skill using the component analysis that we used in learning experiences 7, 8, 9. By doing that, you will have an idea of his/her ability to perform these motor skills (movement process). You should also measure movement products (e.g., how far, how fast). For the locomotor skill in particular, you are to get some idea of cardiovascular endurance. Then on to the question: what are the individual constraints that influence his/her ability to perform these skills? In order to answer that question, you might examine perceptual-motor abilities, health-related fitness factors (aerobic and anaerobic capacity, flexibility, muscular strength, and body composition), attitudes toward physical activity, attentional focus, perceived ability, motivation to perform…anything that may be a structural or functional constraint. You might measure body composition; you might construct a series of interview questions. What are the task constraints that influence your subject′s ability to perform locomotor, ballistic, and manipulative skills?What were the task constraints? How did they influence performance? After addressing these two questions, consider how you might modify the task to make it more AND less difficult to perform. For example, what was the size, weight, and shape of the ball used in the catching task? How did that influence your subject′s performance? How would changing the nature of the ball improve or reduce your subject′s performance (process and product)? What are the environmental constraints that influenced your subject′s ability to perform locomotor, ballistic, and manipulative skills? What were the environmental constraints? How did they influence performance? For example, what are your subject′s perceptions of the gender appropriateness of activities such as kicking? How might that influence your subject′s performance (process and product) – now and in the future? What other sociocultural and psychosocial constraints may influence future individual/functional constraints (both now and in the future)? Project 5 to 10 years into the future; how might the individual (structural AND functional), task, and environmental constraints have changed over time? How would those changes affect your subject′s ability to perform locomotor, ballistic, and manipulative skills? How would they affect your subject′s health-related fitness (cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility, and body composition)? How would they effect your subject′s motivation for and participation in physical activity? Depending on the age of your subject, select some hypothetical future. It should be 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 years from now. You select. Apply what you know about changes in motor development across time. In so doing, hypothesize about your subject years from now. Cite sections in your textbook what would support your projections.