Books on the Body-Mind Connection

I am really pleased to say that the next blog entry has been written by Dr Jennifer Leigh, an expertise on yoga and somatic education.  I asked Jennifer to recommend five books on a genuinely fascinating topic - and one that is of great relevance to both sport and education - the body mind connection.

When I was asked to recommend five books on mind-body connection I have to say that my brain froze.  I looked at the (shelves and shelves of) books that I own on aspects of this and was completely flummoxed.  I could recommend lots of them.  Others I wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.  My main concern though, was who I would be recommending them for.So I have decided to recommend one book from five sections of my bookshelves (bar the really freaky ones) with a little bit of an introduction as to why it may be relevant to the mind-body discourse. 

The idea of a mind-body connection is not exactly universally accepted.  The ascendancy of the mind over the body and its importance in the development of Western philosophy and later medicine, psychology and sport can be traced back to the days of Plato, the Orphic and Socrates: “the body is an endless source of trouble...only the mind can reach existence”.  For example, Descartes’ dualism was firmly anti-organic, built on earlier notions of the physical world, and described in the words of Alan Watts as, “the domain of corruption and evil”.  The division or schism between mind and body can thus be seen to have affected Western society from its earliest days, with the body being seen as inferior to the mind. 

In contrast, in yoga philosophy and practice a mind-body connection is an assumption.  The purely physical aspect of yoga, asana, has been emphasised in recent years, sometimes to the exclusion of all else, turning yoga practice into an exercise form.  Yoga could be a valuable practice for any sports person.  But which book on yoga to recommend? 

I have chosen Dynamic Yoga by Godfrey Devereux (1998).  Devereux’s approach to yoga is physical, strong and active.  His explanations of the poses are clear, and if you can get over the extremely revealing shorts he wears, the photos are helpful.  The book is comprehensive, covering the poses you would encounter in most Hatha, Ashtanga or Iyengar yoga classes.

Eastern philosophy has a different starting point and language when talking of the mind and body, illustrating “the irrelevance of Western theories to non-Western contexts”.  The traditional Eastern view of the body and mind is that they are inseparable aspects of the same human existence.  A book that explores the martial mind-body connection is Peter and Laura Ralston’s Zen-Body Being (2006).  It is a bit of a how-to manual with exercises designed to help the reader experience a greater sense of their body-being.

The importance of the body-mind (or embodied mind) as opposed to a body/mind split in the philosophy of psychotherapy can be traced back through Freud and his discovery of the power of the unconscious over the conscious and his work on the power-relationship between therapist and client.  Linda Hartley’s Somatic Psychology (2004) traces the history of psychology and its sorry relationship with the body, which has tended to either ignore it (in the context of cognitive or social psychology), or treat it as exclusively functional (in biological and neuro-psychologies). 

In a discussion of Eastern philosophies and their resemblance to Western psychotherapy, Alan Watts states that both are concerned “with bringing about changes of consciousness”.  Western psychotherapy has as a primary concern with the study of the mind or psyche as a clinical entitity, whereas “Eastern cultures have not categorized mind and matter, soul and body, in the same way”.  By increasing awareness of the body-mind and its movements, it is possible to increase awareness of that boundary of and relationship with the world (and all others in it).  Alan Fogel’s The Psychophysiology of Self-Awareness (2009) explores how the physiology of the body and psychology interact within a therapeutic situation.  He illustrates this with the use of psychology, neuro-biology and the Rosen Method, a form of somatic bodywork. 

My final book is a collection of writings on the principles and techniques of somatics in Don Hanlon Johnson’s Body, Breath and Gesture (1995).  The book forms a history of the field, including how it has fragmented into the disparate approaches and techniques that are found today.  Johnson focuses on Western somatic body awareness disciplines, many of which were developed after the turn of the last century.  Some of the practices outlined may fall into that ‘hippy’ section, however I find it to be a book that gives a very clear sense of the broadness of the somatic field and the scope of work and practice that people are engaging in to increase their sense of a mind-body connection.

__________________________________________

Jennifer Leigh is an accredited Somatic Movement Therapist, a Qualified School Teacher and an experienced Yoga Instructor.  Her doctoral research was a study on children’s perceptions of embodiment. She is currently working as a Research Associate at the University of Kent on a study looking at Costs and Outcomes of Skilled Support for Individuals with Complex Needs and an evaluation of ‘Imagining Autism’, a drama intervention for primary school children with autism.  She also has a killer pair of legs.

You have read this article aims / coaching / disability sport; sport; inclusion; School Games / education / education sport / exercise / learning / philosophy / physical activity / physical education / somatic education / sport. / sports coaching / yoga with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2012/02/books-on-body-mind-connection.html. Thanks!

The Arts of Storytelling and Learning

I recently came across an interview with the US radio and TV host Ira Glass.  He was talking about the art of storytelling, and his basic message was this:



hard work, grit and stick-to-it-ness are needed if you are going to create great work.

Not a radical idea, I know.  Especially in the era of 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.  But Glass introduces another element that I've never seen mentioned in the literature of expert performance, and that is TASTE.




Here is what he says:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit."

This sense of frustration will be familiar to anyone who has ever tried to learn something.  Especially something complex.




For example, in the last few years I have tried to learn a number of difficult things including golf, sketching, and Italian. Each of these activities had their own challenges.  My main difficulties with Italian were linked my my apparent inability to hear the differences between many of the sounds and 'phonemes' that made up the language.  In my head I was speaking like a character in a Fellini film, whilst to my teachers I sounded like Phil Mitchell in a pizzeria.  With sketching, I had to learn to overcome my tendency to impose my preconceived ideas rather than what I was observing.  Chairs have four legs; faces have two eyes; those are the facts, whichever way they are facing.


And don't even get me started on golf!


Yet, as expertise theory (and common sense) would predict, the more I did these activities, the better I got, more or less.  And the pace of my improvement seemed ti be strongly associated with the quality of support and feedback I received from my teachers and coachers.


Ira Glass' discussion of storytelling is relevant to those interested in learning and expertise because it hints at a principle behind both practice and feedback: taste, or (if you prefer) AESTHETICS.  In other words, movement towards competence or even expertise in these areas is only possible because the learner and the teacher have their senses of aesthetic judgement - some attempts are better than others; some actions are desirable, not just because of the outcome, but because of an intrinsic value; generally speaking, grace, and fluidity and poise are preferable to their opposites.


Aesthetics are STANDARDS.


It seems to me that taste acts as a powerful motivator for both learners and teachers.  Both are inspired by a sense of the way a skill or technique is supposed to be, and - from time to time - their senses coincide!  If we wish to get better at our chosen activity - if we want to bridge the gap between ability and ambition - we need to be clear that we need to do the work.  There are no short cuts.

It is the responsibility of teachers and coaches to make this clear to the learner from the beginning.  Nothing of value is learned easily.


Glass again:

Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

So practice and feedback are vital elements in the development of expertise.  But both of these, I suggest, assume a sense of taste or aesthetics.  Practice, if it is for any purpose, must have some ambition.  And feedback is always with reference to a standard of performance or imitation.


Knowing helps explain our frustrations as we learn AND teach, and it helps explain why practice and feedback are so important in the first place.


To finish off, he is a recording of Ira Glass himself talking about storytelling, accompanied by some beautiful typography.


I'd love to hear your thoughts on the issues raised in this entry.  Criticisms, too!

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

You have read this article education / education sport / Evolution / learning / philosophy / physical activity / physical education / player development / sports / sports coaching / talent development / truth education with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2012/02/the-arts-of-storytelling-and-learning.html. Thanks!

Coaches' Cross-Training: 10 steps to becoming a better coach (and human being)

According to Wikipedia ...

Cross-training (also known as circuit training) refers to an athlete training in sports other than the one that athlete competes in with a goal of improving overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of each training method, while at the same time attempting to neglect the shortcomings of that method by combining it with other methods that address its weaknesses.

Why should athletes have all the fun?


Research suggests that coaches tend to rely on a relatively narrow range of professional development practices. It also shows that these practices rarely lead to significant improvement in performance.


So, perhaps we need to try something new ...


Learn something new. By far the best way to understand your students is to become a student yourself. It doesn't really matter what you learn, although the less 'relevant' the better. Experience being a beginner, and all that it entails.


Read. There is a huge amount of information available today, and some of it is not completely crazy! The internet, in particular, gives mostly free access to endless books, articles, blogs and newspapers. Quick tip: if you are searching for something wholesome and challenging to read, don't use Google; turn, instead, to its geeky, bookish half-brother Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com). Your life will never be the same again.





Take time considering your own body. Apart from the obvious benefits of practices like Yoga or Tai Chi, or other 'somatic' methods, these practices encourage attention on the internal experience of the body.  And the body, after all, is the thing all sports people have in common.


Watch others coach. By all means, watch those who do your sport. When you do that, you pick up tips and ideas from those who have followed - more or less - the same training programme as you. But if you are looking for radically new ideas that force you to rethink your whole philosophy of coaching, you really need to connect with those from completely different backgrounds. For a start, how about one of the following: a golf professional; a PE teacher; a martial arts instructor.


Go to conferences. Sport conferences are a mixed bag. Some are great; others are poor. The best events have inspirational keynotes from leaders in the field, stimulating workshops and seminars, and good food. But even the most desperate affair has one compelling reason to attend: other coaches to talk to. Oh, and the bar.




Keep a journal. In this modern world, it is possible to keep a journal online, and there are some excellent IT programs to help you structure your thoughts, and even remind you to write in the first place. Personally, I prefer old-fashioned paper (Moleskine, to be precise). Either way, there is little doubt that keeping a regular journal helps record and clarify thoughts in way that simple reflection sometimes cannot. As the great philosopher Karl Popper once said, "My pen is cleverer than I am!"


Learn to spot bullshit. Sport, like almost every other of life, is bombarded by bullshit: from special training gizmos, from physio-neuro-psycho-bollocks, to gurus. There are some great books discussing the dangers of bullshit, such as Ben Goldacre's Bad Science, and Michael Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things, and countless websites [search "skepticism"]. Next time someone claims that a little crystal in a magical wristband improves balance or coordination or 'energy', hit them with one fo the books.



Read business books. Business books have two great virtues. First, they talk about many of the topics that occupy sports coaches. Obviously, some of them talk specifically about coaching, and it is a fascinating exercise to compare the assumptions and practices of sports and business coaches. But there are also books about communication skills, leadership, change, values and vision; all topics of interest to sporty folk. Second, most business books seem to be aimed at a Primary School reading age. They tend to be short, to the point and accessible. Different people seem to have different tastes in these books. My favourites include The One Minute Manager, Influence, and FIsh!

Use social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Google+, and their kin have become enormously popular in recent years, with hundreds of millions of people around the world signing up. Whether or not a 'FB friend' is a real friend or not is an interesting question for late-night discussion (on FB!). But it is difficult to argue that social media offer sports coaches a remarkable access to information and insights from professional colleagues from every corner of the globe.


Learn to drink proper, Italian espresso. This is nothing to do with coaching. It is just one of those things every civilised person needs to learn!

So, what do you think? What would you add to the list? What practices have you found particularly helpful?

Please share your insights.

You have read this article alternative medicine / books / brain gym / bullshit / coaching / disability sport; sport; inclusion; School Games / education / education sport / exercise / learning / sports / sports coaching with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2012/02/coaches-cross-training-10-steps-to.html. Thanks!

Young Adults and Sport: motives and barriers

I am delighted to tell you that today's is a Guest Post.

It is the first of a series of guest posts, focusing on sports participation, written by some exciting young researchers and academics.

Here, Matthew Reeves talks about the participation of young adults.

“The afternoon of human life must also have a significance of its own and cannot be merely a pitiful appendage to life's morning.  The significance of the morning undoubtedly lies in the development of the individual...” (Carl Jung)

I’d like to start by thanking Richard for inviting me to write a guest blog – something I haven’t been asked to do, nor tried to do, previously.  We’ll see how I get on!

I’m going discuss ideas around the motivations and barriers that teenagers and young adults face with regard to their participation in sport.  Jung’s statement, above, may appear to focus upon the ‘older’ person however, there is one key thing to remember:  the drop out from sport and physical activity is highest amongst adolescents, thus bringing “the afternoon of human life” further forward than we may like to think (at least from a sporting/physically active perspective). 

Before discussing what barriers young adults face it seems reasonable to discuss why young people want to initially take part in sport and physical activity.  The motives young adults and adults have to participate in sport may well be different from those of younger participants.  Sports psychology research has concentrated on explaining motives for participation and adherence, looking at variables such as gender, age and culture.  The contexts for previous research have tended to be specific sports codes, with the sample population typically being youth, adolescents and/or elite level sports people.  However, there are some researchers who have suggested that research on the motivation of adult engagement in sport and physical activity has dramatically increased as the benefits of moderate, regular physical activity have become better recognised.  Such research has tended to approach the matter from a health perspective, especially investigating peoples’ health related behaviour.  Such approaches have created a sizeable gap within our knowledge of adult motivations to participate in sport and phsyical activity.  For the sake of brevity, I wont go in to detail on the studies included in the writing of this piece, I have simply summarised the key findings. 

There are multiple motives as to why adults take part in sport.  The following are the broad motivating factors that adults (18 or 50) or older adults (50+) have cited as reasons why they take part in sport:

• Physical Fitness and Health
• Social Motives / Enjoyment / Relaxation / Appearance
• Personal Challenge
• Mastery Orientation / Weight Loss
• Sense of Achievement / Competition
• Medical Sanction
• More Energy

The categories above have been listed in sequential order as to the number of times they have been found within the research literature.  However, it is important to note that many of the categories overlapped and had a direct interplay with each other.

Unsurprisingly, the picture of demotivation is as complex as its more positive counterpoint.  The reasons offered by one particular study for dropping out and discontinuing participation in sport are equally as varied and include:

·      It was no longer fun
·      No longer interested in the activity
·      I didn’t like the coach
·      I want to participate in other activities

Critically, research has suggested that the majority of reasons for discontinuation are negative and are likely to have a significant impact on future participation decisions.  It is estimated a significant proportion of children drop out of sport each year.  Whilst some drop out of one sport and continue participating in an alternative, others discontinue participation completely.  The literature suggests that adolescence is a period where discontinuation from sport and physical activity is at its peak.  One particular study sampled youth sport participants and found that while over a quarter of children were participating in sport at 10 years of age, this dropped significantly to just over 3% at age 18 years of age.  Females, in particular, indicate that negative physical and emotional experiences in sport led to their decision to discontinue participation. This parallels other research findings, suggesting females drop out of sport because it is too competitive and because they do not see themselves as competent.  Similarly, males suggested that the competitive nature of participation led to their withdrawal (i.e. when they were unsuccessful).  

Adolescents and young adults also describe transitions within education (and from education to employment) as having a negative impact on participation in sport.  However, self-motivation, self-efficacy and self-concept are described as factors between those who maintain participation during such transitions and those who drop out and discontinue.  For example, the young women in surveyed in an American study who ‘never participate’ suggested the transition to secondary school and beyond negatively impacted their participation as they had less time, less energyand their social groups had changed.  Mention was also made that participants felt more self-conscious during this time which also lead to their discontinuation in sport.  Conversely, while the young women who ‘always participate’ experienced similar transitional challenges, they acknowledged that their self-motivation and commitment to sport enabled them to successfully negotiate these key periods of development.

A national study categorised the barriers to preventing adults from taking more exercise into five main types:  

physical

emotional

motivational

time; and

availability.

Although time barriers appear to be important for both men and women, women are more likely to report emotional barriers to exercise (e.g. ‘I’m not the sporty type’).  This is likely to be related to perceptions of competence where individuals avoid participation in activities because of self-presentational concerns.  I feel this is a good time to direct you to the final blog entry I have been asked to write regarding the development of fundamental movement skills during childhood and adolescence – it will close some of the potential gaps developing at this point.

Predicting adult involvement in physical activity is an area which has received cursory research interest over the last 40 years or so.  The dearth of literature associated with this area, an inconsistency of approach and theoretical foundation has left findings somewhat inconsistent and conflicting.  Research, to date, has also tended to focus upon factors associated with participation in ‘team sports’, thus leaving individual participation in sport largely under researched.

The final point to make is that some of the research literature suggests physical activity habits developed in childhood and adolescence may be associated with physical activity levels in adulthood.  These findings are somewhat conflicting and further investigation into this phenomenon is required.  From the individuals’ perspective, understanding the reasons underlying continuation and discontinuation in sport and physical activity is critical and encompasses factors, such as skill competence and psychobehavioural factors, as well as social factors, such as motivational climate.

Well – that finishes my first attempt!  I hope you have found it useful, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions; I will of course check comments posted on the blog.  The reference list contains all research referred to throughout and other pieces which underpin the blog itself.

Further Reading

Bailey, R., Collins, D., Ford, P., MacNamara, A., Toms, M., and Pearce, G. (2010). Participant Development in Sport: An Academic Review. Leeds: Sports Coach UK.

Biddle, S. J., and Bailey, C. I. (1985). Motives for Participation and Attitudes Toward Physical Activity of Adult Participants in Fitness Programs. Perceptual and Motor Skills , 61, 831 - 834.

Biddle, S., Coalter, F., O'Donovan, T., MacBeth, J., Nevill, M., and Whitehead, S. (2005). Increasing Demand for Sport and Physical Activity by Girls. Edinburgh: Sport Scotland.

Butcher, J., Linder, K. J., and Johns, D. P. (2002). Withdrawl from Competitive Youth Sport: A Retrospective Ten-year Study. Journal of Sport Behaviour , 25(2), 145 - 163.

Davey, J., Fitzpatrick, M., Garland, R., and Kilgour, M. (2009). Adult Participation Motives: Emperical Evidence from a Workplace Exercise Programme. European Sport Management Quarterly , 9 (2), 141 - 162.

Malina, R. M. (2001). Physical Activity and Fitness: Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood. American Journal of Human Biology , 13, 162 - 172.

Seefeldt, V., Malina, R. M., and Clark, M. A. (2002). Factors Affecting Levels of Physical Activity in Adults. Sports Medicine , 32 (3), 143 - 168.

Matthew Reeves is a Researcher and Teaching Support Officer in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University.  His research interests are sports development and physical education policy and coach education and development.  Matthew has worked on a variety of international, national, regional and local projects.

www.linkedin.com/pub/matthew-j-reeves/28/493/163

Twitter:  @MRSportEdu

You have read this article aims / children / disability sport; sport; inclusion; School Games / education sport / Football / learning / Matthew Reeves / obesity / Richard Bailey / sports / sports coaching with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2012/01/young-adults-and-sport-motives-and.html. Thanks!

Participant Development in Sport

LTAD?


Core skills and capabilities?


Early Specialisation?


Talent Development?


Critical Periods in Development?




There is increasing demand on coaches and teachers to keep informed of relevant research evidence, and to adapt their work accordingly.  Evidence-based practice is accepted as the default position for those claiming to be professionals in sport.


The trouble is ... Well, there are a few troubles.  For example:

• Some of the research literature is highly complex, and uses arcane jargon;
• Some of the literature seems to contradict itself; and
• There is awful lot of it out there.

Dave Collins, myself and a small group of subject experts from physiology, psychology and sociology carried out a comprehensive review of the literature on participant development in sport on behalf of sportscoachUK in 2010.

Click on the image to get a free copy.

The report turned out a lot more 'comprehensive' than we'd imagined at the start, and it is certainly the most thorough review carried on playing, developing and improving in sport.

It also includes HUGE list of references.

It offers a critical analysis of such hot topics as LTAD, early specialisation, and talent development.  It also gives an examination of the assumptions that underlie most sports development programmes.

The review was written as a reference document for sportscoachUK, and so the tone is at times quite technical.  So, we also wrote an Executive Summary, which is available by clicking the next image:

The Review team was:

Richard Bailey, PhD, RBES Ltd

Dave Collins, PhD, University of Central Lancashire

Paul Ford, PhD, University of East London (Now BOA)

Áine MacNamara, PhD, University of Limerick (now UCLAN)

Martin Toms, PhD, University of Birmingham 

Gemma Pearce, MSc, University of Birmingham 

We hope this resource proves useful, and makes some contribution to the quality of sporting experiences of all.

You have read this article education / education sport / exercise / gender / learning / Olympic Games / olympics / PE / personal skills / physical activity / physical education / player development / sport / sports / sports coaching / women with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2012/01/participant-development-in-sport.html. Thanks!

Bodies and Minds: even more on philosophy and sport

Philosophers are nothing if not an argumentative bunch, and many different arguments have been offered against Dualism.  One school of philosophy that is particularly relevant in this regard is phenomenology.  This approach is unusual because as opposed to almost every other school of philosophy, it is mainly concerned with describing, rather than the explaining, the things we experience.  Hubert Dreyfus captures the spirit of the phenomenological stance when he wrote:

“In explaining our actions we must always sooner or later fall back on our everyday practices and simply say 'this is what we do' or 'that's what it is to be a human being'.  Thus, in the last analysis, all intelligibility and all intelligent behaviour must be traced back to our sense of what we are.” (cited in Wrathall, 2000, p. 94)

According to Dreyfus, the biggest problem with dualism is that its account of action just does not relate to what it is really like to move.

So, phenomenologists reject the Cartesian splitting of the mind and body in favour of an integrated view that emphasises the notion of embodiment, or the central importance of human experience as lived through a body.  In other words, while dualism generally regarded the mind as the driver and degraded the body to a mere machine or vehicle, phenomenology countered that the body was the bridge to the world:  “Our senses are the portals that lead from inner to outer space.  Robbed of them, we become an island unto ourselves, lacking the ability to interact with the world” (Hunter and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 8).

At the heart of phenomenology is the view that to be in the world is to have a body or be a body.  It is only through being a body that I am what and who I am.  And it is only though my body that I can experience and learn about the things that make up my world.

This might seem a rather abstract idea, but some writers have suggested that a lot of what goes on when people actually play sport does not seem to fit the dualist idea of a mind working a mechanical body, no matter how fit and efficient.  The psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, who we have just met above, suggested that there were certain experiences that were common to many sports players in which thought and action seem inseparable.  He used the word ‘flow’ to refer to experiences in which a person feels on top of the world, in total command of the situation and feeling that his/her limits are being pushed to the limits.  He quotes the words of an elite skater:

“Everything else goes away. It almost happens in slow motion, even though you're doing things at the correct time with the music and everything.  Nothing else matters; it is just such an eerie, eerie feeling. The audience fades away, except for the brief moment when they were clapping so loudly - actually that was just a part of us. It was all a part of our experience; it never took us out of our focus”. (Jackson and Csikszentmihalyi, 1999, p. 73)

Numerous sports players have spoken about these types of experiences: of ‘being in the zone’; of ‘going with the flow’; and of ‘playing out of my mind’.  Together, they point to an experience in which the body and the mind are inseparable.

“Basketball is a complex dance. To excel, you need to act with a clear mind and be totally focused on what everyone on the floor is doing. Some athletes describe this quality of mind as a "cocoon of concentration." But that implies shutting out the world when what you really need to do is become more acutely aware of what's happening right now, this very moment.” (Great basketball coach Phil Jackson; 1995, p. 116)

So, what do you think?

Is this just an illusion or a trick of the mind?

Or is it just the consequence of highly trained athletes just thinking that they are not thinking?

You have read this article cognition / education / education sport / learning / philosophy / sport. / sports / sports coaching with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2011/12/bodies-and-minds-even-more-on.html. Thanks!

Where Am I? a little more about philosophy and sport

Imagine that you are approached by scientists  to go on a secret mission to disarm a nuclear devise.  The mission is very risky to your brain, but not your body.  So the clever/ mad scientists have figured out a way of sending your body on the mission whilst leaving your brain behind in the laboratory.  You are a heroic sort of person, and agree to go on the mission.  Your brain is surgically removed from your body and placed in a vat, although the brain and body are still linked together via implants, transmitters and antennae.  Before you go to disarm the bomb your body sits down and stares at your brain in the vat.

Where are you?

Are you the brain in the vat?

Or the body in the chair?

Or wherever you think you are?

This story is the start of a thought experiment (an imaginative devise to test philosophical ideas) from Daniel Dennett (1978).  The full story becomes more complex as various twists and turns are introduced.  The whole time, Dennett is trying to work out where he really is.

Try reading the full account, either in his book ‘Brainstorms’, or on one of the many websites that reproduces it (such as: http://www.newbanner.com/SecHumSCM/WhereAmI.html).

Dennett’s experiment offers a particularly vivid example of one of the most persistent questions in philosophy: what does it mean to be human?  Are we primarily minds or bodies?  Where are we?

Why does this matter to those involved with sport pedagogy?  According to Margaret Talbot (2001, p. 40) it “is the only educational experience where the focus is on the body, physical activity and physical development”.  In other words, we who work in sport pedagogy need to think about our own understandings of the body because the body is the focus of our professional interest.  More importantly, as we will see shortly, we need to reflect on our assumptions about bodies because they will heavily influence the ways we approach the teaching and care of them.


So, where are you?

You have read this article bible / coaching / cognition / education / education sport / learning / philosophy / physical education / science with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2011/12/where-am-i-little-more-about-philosophy.html. Thanks!

This is your brain in the gym: physical education and cognitive outcomes

Sit mens sana in corpore sano

It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.

Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,

which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings,

which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,

does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes

the hardships and savage labours of Hercules better than

the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.

I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;

For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.

The Roman poet Juvenile (in his Satires 10.356-64) famously popularised the claim that a ‘‘healthy body leads to a healthy mind” around the end of the 1st Century AD. In doing so, he started the long tradition of associating development of the mind and development of the body.

Juvenile’s statement stands in stark contrast to many influential schools of thought over the last two thousand years. Generally speaking, the body has not been taken seriously in Western thought, and has been taken up only to be dismissed in comparison with the mind or the soul. Certain forms of Christianity taught that the body was depraved and the source of sin (Brown, 1988). While some classical writers, such as Plato and Aristotle, asserted a view to the effect that the development of the mind needs to be balanced by the development of the body (Hills, 1998), Western philosophy has tended to present the body as of only marginal significance to human beings, concerned primarily with moving and sustaining the mind. Philosophers from René Descartes to Immanuel Kant to the present day have characterised the human being as a mental subject in a physical, material body (Brevik, 2008): the mind is central; the body is merely functional. Gilbert Ryle (1949) famously depicted this view as ‘the ghost in the machine’, although a more graphical metaphor might be ‘the mind in the meat’. So, the importance of the body lies in its ability to move the mind from place to place. It needs to be fit and healthy because these are the conditions necessary for effective mobility.

Two main lines of attack have been launched during the last half Century against this viewpoint. The first originated from the continental school of philosophy called phenomenology. Thinkers like Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty raised objections to the traditional view by highlighting the role of the body in the human being interactions with the world. Heidegger (1963) challenged the mind-body / subject-object distinction of thinkers like Descartes by defining the human being as Dasein (being-in-the-world). As we make our way in the world, he argued, we do so neither as a subject mind, or as an objective body, but as a coherence of being-in-the-world. This approach was taken up and substantially extended by Merleau-Ponty (1962) who presented the body as an active agent in the world. For him it is the body-being-in-the-world that captures the human condition. The second source of criticism of the Cartesian human comes from modern cognitive science. Hubert Dreyfus (Dreyfus and Dreyfus, 1986) has spent decades critiquing the ‘Information Processing’ of learning that is still influential, in which the mind runs a series of motor programs, rather like a computer runs its programs, and the body simply follows the commands (Bailey and Pickard, in press). Recent work by thinkers like Andy Clark (1997) have taken Dreyfus’ ideas much further, both in terms of the radical nature of the hypotheses and by actually translating the theory into the practice of artificial intelligence.

Yet, despite the criticisms of the philosophers and the scientists, the Western mindset continues to place the body as a poor second to the mind. This is the context in which the Western model of education, which has increasingly come to dominate all corners of the world, has always been concerned first and foremost with the mind and its products (such as reason, thinking and knowledge). It seems reasonable, therefore, to suggest that the marginal position of the subject most closely concerned with matters of the body - physical education – reflects the marginal role of the body in wider discourse (Hardman and Marshall, 2000).

So, this is not merely an academic issue: school systems are profoundly affected by the beliefs and values about the relative importance of the mind and body; similarly, parents and students absorb these beliefs and values, which influence the ways they approach schooling, prioritise certain sorts of activities over others, and withdraw completely from those educational experiences judged to be of little value. Physical Education has its place, they seem to argued, but it should not interfere with the real business of schooling, which many believe to be academic achievement and examination results (Lau et al., 2004; Lindner, 2002).

This post outlines some of the research into the relationship between physical activity and cognitive development. If the phenomenologists are correct, there ought to be some sort of relationship between the development of the body and the development of the mind. If the traditional perspective is right (Ghost in the Machine; Mind in the Meat), there should be little or no relationship.

Physical Education and Cognitive Development

Studies of cognitive outcomes of Physical Education have mainly focused on the development of learning skills and academic performance associated with participation. Numerous authors have argued for transfer effects of Physical Education to other areas of the school curriculum, such as literacy and numeracy (Pirie, 1995), whilst others have suggested that physical activity stimulates the development of generic cognitive or learning skills (Barr and Lewin, 1994).

Empirical research into the cognitive outcomes of involvement in Physical Education, or more generally, physical activity, tend to fall into three categories:

1) studies of associations between Physical Education / physical activity and academic performance, such as in assessments;

2) studies of associations between physical activity and cognitive functioning;

3) studies of associations between Physical Education / physical activity and the improvement of other areas of the curriculum and basic skills, such as literacy, numeracy and thinking skills.

The classic study of the relationship between Physical Education and general school performance was carried out in France between 1951 and 1961 (Hervet, 1952). Researchers reduced ‘academic’ curriculum time by 26 per cent, replacing it with Physical Education, yet academic results did not worsen and there were fewer discipline problems, greater attentiveness and less absenteeism. Similarly, the Hindmarsh Project in Australia assessed the effects of a 14-week daily physical activity programme on a range of measures, including academic performance (Dwyer et al., 1983). Despite the loss of 45 to 60 minutes of classroom teaching time each day, there were no signs of an adverse effect on numeracy and literacy.

More recent studies have found small improvements for some children in academic performance when time for Physical Education is increased in their school day (Sallis et al., 1999; Shephard, 1996). A review of three large-scale studies found that academic performance is maintained and occasionally enhanced by an increase in a student’s levels of Physical Education, despite a reduction in the time for the study of academic material (Shephard, 1997). It has also been found that Physical Education and physical activity levels are higher in relatively high-performing than low-performing schools (Lindner, 2002). These findings should, however, be taken with some caution, as other studies found no relationship, or a trivial one, between participation in Physical Education and educational achievement (Melnick et al., 1988, 1992; Tremblay et al., 2000).

It might be the case that any improvement in academic performance following physical activity reflects changes in cognitive functioning, such as increases to blood flow in the brain, increased levels of arousal and stimulated brain development (Ratey and Hagerman, 2009). Cognitive function may also benefit indirectly from increased energy generation, as well as a break from sedentary, classroom-based work (Lindner, 1999). Whilst such changes have been associated with physical activity (Etnier et al., 1997), the subsequent link with school performance is equivocal, and further studies are required.

Some well-designed studies have found a positive relationship between increased physical activity and concentration (Caterino and Polak, 1999; Raviv and Low, 1990), and whilst most studies have tested the effects of short-term interventions, it has been suggested that effects are more likely to be sustained if physical activity is introduced over a long period of time (Etnier et al., 1997).

With regard to the third area of research, Physical Education / physical activity’s contributions to other areas of the curriculum, few robust studies have been undertaken to date. Much of the literature is taken with non-empirical papers that either extrapolate from parallels between movement and intellectual development in early childhood or promote movement-based practices as appealing alternatives to passive learning of concepts (Gildenhuys and Orsmond, 1996). Whilst it is plausible that physical activity helps generate empowering and relaxing contexts for learning (Daley, 1988), there is no satisfactory evidence to support the claim. For example, Keinänen et al. (2000) reviewed the small number of empirical studies of strategies using dance instruction to improve reading and non-verbal reasoning, but were unable to draw strong conclusions, because, despite generally positive findings, none ruled out alternative explanations for the effects. Likewise, Dismore and Bailey’s (2005) study of outdoor learning among Primary-aged students found improvements in a range of other curriculum areas, but the research was unable to discount confounding variables.

Some of the most enthusiastic support for the claim that there is a relationship between Physical Education / physical activity and cognitive benefits comes from small-scale studies, based on self-administered and self-evaluated designs (BBC News, 2001). Such studies ought not to be disregarded, but neither should they be used as the basis of bold assertions that increasing certain activities improves school performance. Of course, a causal relationship will always be difficult to establish, since to do so would require either withholding treatment from a group of children or somehow accounting for the wide range of confounding variables (Hills, 1998). Nevertheless, some studies have utilised large-scale, controlled experimental designs (Caterino and Polak, 1999; Raviv, 1990; Sallis et al., 1999; Shephard, 1996), and these might act as examples of workable approaches for future research.

One major omission from the existing literature is that which offers a coherent analytical framework for explaining possible effects associated with Physical Education / physical activity. Few studies have sought to explore the precise mechanisms that might cause cognitive benefits, or the ways in which different types of activity and different ways they are presented might initiate those mechanisms. These would seem to be good candidates for future research. The difficulty, as always, is that quality research is expensive and time-consuming. However, if policy makers and practitioners are going to really understand the relationship between Physical Education and cognition, such studies are vital.

Conclusions and cautions

Based on the available research evidence it seems safe to conclude that increased levels of Physical Education do not interfere with pupils’ achievement in other subjects (although the time available for these subjects is consequently reduced), and in some groups of students outcomes may be associated with improved academic performance. More clear positive evidence relates to relationships between physical activity and cognitive functioning, especially when sustained over a long period of time.

These findings warrant cautious optimism. However, there is a danger. Physical Education has a long and ignoble history of aligning itself to various instrumental bandwagons – social inclusion, crime reduction, weight management, sports performance and so on. Positive outcomes in each of these areas should be acknowledged and celebrated, but they should NOT become justifications for the subject. Physical Education should stop requiring more of itself than other subjects. The justification for the subject is its intrinsic merit, not its contribution to other areas. Physical Education offers students distinctively valuable experiences, and these experiences are all the more worthwhile because they are the only formal opportunity for young people to learn in, through and about their bodies. As philosophers like Dreyfus and Merleau-Ponty have made clear, we are our bodies and our bodies are us. To conceive of an education system that negates this understand is perverse, and will not serve the needs and interests of learners.

References

Bailey, R., Armour, K., Kirk, D., Jess, M., Pickup, I., & Sandford, R. (2009) The educational benefits claimed for physical education and school sport: an academic review. Research Paper in Education, 24, 1, pp. 1-27.

Bailey, R.P. and Pickard, A. (in press) Body Learning: Examining The Processes of Skill Learning in Dance. Sport, Education and Society.

Barr, S. and Lewin, P. (1994) Learning movement: integrating kinesthetic sense with cognitive skills, Journal of Aesthetic Education, 28 (1), 83–94.

Brevik, G. (2008) Bodily Movement: the fundamental dimension. Sport, Ethic and Philosophy, 2, pp. 337-352.

Brown, P. (1988) The body and society: men, women, and sexual renunciation in early Christianity. New York: Columbia.

Clark, A. (1997) Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together Again. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Daley, D. (1988) Language development through physical education, British Journal of Physical Education, May, 123–132.

Dismore, H. and Bailey, R. (2005) ‘If only’: outdoor and adventurous activities and generalised academic development, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 5 (1), 56–68.

Dreyfus, H. and Dreyfus, S. (1986) Mind Over Machine. New York: Free Press.

Etnier, J., Salazar, W., Landers, D., Petruzzello, S., Han, M. and Nowell, P. (1997) The influence of physical fitness and exercise upon cognitive functioning: a meta-analysis, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 19, 249–277.

Gildenhuys, C. and Orsmond, C. (1996) Movement and second language acquisition: the potential and method, Sport, Education and Society, 1 (1), 103–115.

Hardman, K. and Marshall, J.J. (2000) Worldwide Survey of the State and Status of School Physical Education Final Report, Manchester: University of Manchester.

Heidegger, M. (1963) Being and Time (trans. J. Macquarrie and E. Robinson). San Francisco, CA: Harper.

Hervet R. (1952) Vanves, son Experience, ses Perspectives, Revue Institut Sports, 24, 4–6.

Hills A. (1998) Scholastic and intellectual development and sport. In K.-M. Chan and L. Micheli (Eds) Sports and Children (Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics).

Keinänen, M., Hetland, L. and Winner, E. (2000) Teaching cognitive skills through dance: evidence for near but not far transfer, Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34 (3/4), 295–306.

Lau, P., Yu, C., Lee, A., So, R. and Sung, R. (2004) The relationship among physical fitness, physical education, conduct and academic performance of Chinese primary school children, International Journal of Physical Education, 12, 17–26.

Lindner, K. (2002) The physical activity participation – academic performance relationship revisited, Pediatric Exercise Science, 14, 155–169.

Melnick, M., Vanfossen, B. and Sabo, D. (1988) Developmental effects of athletic participation among high school girls, Sociology of Sport Journal, 5, 22–36.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962) Phenomenology of Perception (trans. C. Smith). New York: Humanities Press.

Pirie, B. (1995) Meaning through movement: kinesthetic English, English Journal, December, 46–51.

Ratey, J.J. and Hagerman, E. (2009) Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. London: Quercus.

Ryle, G. (1949) The Concept of Mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Sallis, J., McKenzie, J., Kolody, B., Lewis, M., Marshall, S. and Rosengard, P. (1999) Effects of health-related physical education on academic achievement: Project SPARK. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 70,127–134.

Shephard, R. (1996) Habitual physical activity and academic performance, Nutrition Review, 54 (4), S32–S36.

Shephard, R. (1997) Curricular physical activity and academic performance, Pediatric Exercise Science, 9, 113–126.

Taras, H. (2005) Physical activity and student performance in school, Journal of School Health, 75 (6), 214–218.

Tremblay, M., Inman, J. and Willms, J. (2000). The relationship between physical activity, self-esteem, and academic achievement in 12-year-old children, Pediatric Exercise Science, 12, 312–324.

This post is based on a chapter of a book written for UNESCO, and supported by the International Council for Sport Science and Physical Education.

For more information on this and related topics, go to my website: www.richardbailey.net

You have read this article brain gym / cognition / education / education sport / learning / PE / physical education with the title learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://say-sport.blogspot.com/2009/07/this-is-your-brain-in-gym-physical.html. Thanks!