Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, Research, and Practice

Through Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, Research, and Practice, you can
- gain a comprehensive perspective of the teaching games for understanding (TGfU) model, seeing it in context of its influences and evolution;
- tap into the latest research and findings in the model, learning from worldwide experts in each of the topics covered;
- consider how students learn best, what should be taught, and why it should be taught using the TGfU model; and
- learn how to apply the TGfU approach at all educational levels.

Teaching games for understanding (TGfU) is a dynamic approach to sport education that has gained worldwide popularity over the past 25 years. Now, through Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, Research, and Practice, readers can discover the latest refinements and up-to-date research from the world's highest-regarded experts on the topic.

This book presents a comprehensive look at the TGfU model and provides multiple perspectives from 17 contributors in 6 countries. As such, it is a valuable resource for preservice and in-service teachers, teacher educators, and coaches around the world. It details the history, theory, research, and practice of the approach (also known as the tactical games model and the games sense model) and enables readers to better understand and apply TGfU.

Teaching Games for Understanding includes the following features:
- Opening scenarios or quotes to make the material relevant and draw the reader in
- Discussion questions for each chapter to facilitate understanding and provide teachers with a ready-made starting point for review of the material
- Chapter-ending summaries that present an overview of the material to help students test their understanding and recall the contents

Never before has a book presented such an all-encompassing analysis of the TGfU model. Every angle is covered. The book explores why and how to involve students in the construction of games, how to use the model in curriculums at the elementary and secondary levels and in teacher education programs, and how assessment factors in. It examines how to integrate the model with sport education, covers the social interactions and decision-making processes involved in the model, and details the implications of model-based instruction for research on teaching. It also presents real-life stories of teachers successfully implementing this approach. Finally, it takes a look at the future direction for TGfU, considering its continuing evolution.

Highly readable and widely applicable, Teaching Games for Understanding: Theory, Research, and Practice is a vital text in the field of sport education, affording readers a solid foundation for understanding and using TGfU.

Linda L. Griffin, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts. Her primary research interest for the past 12 years has been in TGfU. Griffin, who coauthored Teaching Sport Concepts and Skills: A Tactical Games Approach, has taught and coached for 14 years in K-12 settings. She has conducted numerous teacher development workshops on using the TGfU model.

A member of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, Griffin served on the planning committee for the first TGfU conference in 2001. She has served as chair for the Curriculum and Instruction Academy and is currently president-elect for the Research Consortium.

Joy Butler, EdD, is an associate professor at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. She directed the first TGfU World Conference and is chair of the TGfU international task force. She taught high school physical education in England for 10 years and has given numerous workshops on TGfU, as well as presenting at state, regional, national, and international conferences on the topic. She was the keynote speaker at the TGfU conference in Melbourne in 2003.