A practical proposal of teaching games for understanding in sailing initiation

Abstract

Despite several publications that theoretically explain Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU), teachers do not have information about how to implement it in the class. Furthermore, its application is much more complex in non-traditional sports-games, as sailing, which could potentially be taught through TGfU due to the importance of the tactic component. The aim of the present work was to present a practical proposal upon the implementation of TGfU in sailing. In order to design the lessons, teachers should take into consideration the alignment of: a) context characteristics; b) teaching contextualization of each content under tactical principles; c) technical and tactical contents; d) number of sailors; e) practice area for each task; and f) modifications made to achieve the goal of each lesson. Beyond that, each lesson should be divided in five stages: «race form», «teaching for understanding», «drills for skill development», «return to race form», and «review and closure». The last phase prior to the carrying out of the lessons should focus on teachers' practical training in sailing. With the application of this approach, we hope that learners will improve at a cognitive level, in terms of autonomy and motivation.