Nonlinear pedagogy and its relevance for the new PE curriculum

Abstract

Increasingly, school teachers see the need to recognize the complex and dynamic interactions that occur between the individual, task and environmental constraints during learning. Nonlinear Pedagogy (NP), underpinned by Ecological Dynamics, provides a suitable pedagogical approach to encourage exploratory learning amongst children that is learner-centred and exploratory in nature. This approach is in contrast to a more traditional form of Linear Pedagogy (LP) that is teacher-centred and emphasises repetition in practices to promote movement form consistency in enhancing the acquisition of movement skills. Primarily, NP involves teachers identifying and manipulating constraints on learning to facilitate the emergence of goal-directed behaviours in children (Chow et al., 2016; Davids et al., 2008). Other key pedagogical principles relating to representativeness, awareness of focus of attention instructions, task simplification and the functional role of noise can help learners to develop 21st century competencies (Chow et al., 2016). Given growing concerns that physical inactivity could represent the biggest threat to global health in the 21st century, it is vital that children receive a high quality of education to develop their health and wellbeing.