MOVEMENT EDUCATION

Overview & History

Prepared by:
Noralie B. Morales

What is Movement
Education?
A strand of teaching or
education which aims to
educate individuals to
develop their motor skills
through physical movement.

What is Movement
Education?
It aims to help individuals
improve their motor skills.

Creators of a New Idea:

Movement Education in
the 1800s to Early 1900s
The early pioneers of
movement education were
influenced by the idea of the
body being an expression of
movement.

Three of the most historically

influential individuals:
Francois Delsarte
Liselott Diem
Rudolf von Laban

Francois Delsarte

Francois Delsarte
Frenchman
Developed what he
termed applied
aesthetics & focused his
work in the arts.
Contributed critical ideas
of connections among
the mind, body, and
spirit.

Francois Delsarte
Also saw movement as a
union of time, space, and
motion.
Believed that expressive
movement should relate to
the emotion that inspired
that movement.

Francois Delsarte
Introduced the idea of
parallelism in movement
the simultaneous motion of
two body parts in the same
direction and in succession.

Francois Delsarte
9 Laws of Motion:
Altitude
Force
Motion
Sequence
Direction
Form
Velocity
Reaction
Extension

Liselott Diem

Liselott Diem
She and her husband
founded an internationally
known college in Germany,
Deutsche Sporthochschule
Kln,
Kln to train teachers in
sport and physical
education.

Liselott Diem
The colllege taught a
natural approach to
teaching children to move
effectively in all kinds of
situations.
situations

Liselott Diem
The teachers role was to
provide an environment that
would encourage children to
explore movement freely in
their own way.

Liselott Diem
Teachers equipment:
- Balls
- Ropes
- Benches
- Wands
- Boxes
* Allow children to develop
a wide variety of
movement responses
individually, with partners,
or within small groups.

Liselott Diem
Teachers were encouraged to
challenge children by asking
questions such as
Who can do this? and
How can this be done
differently?

Rudolf von Laban

Rudolf von Laban

Considered by most as the true
pioneer of movement
education.

Rudolf von Laban

Critical contribution:
Theory of Movement
- Focusing specifically on the
concept of effort.

Rudolf von Laban

He believed that the body was
an instrument of expression.
expression

Rudolf von Laban

Made a distinction between:
Expressive movement and
Functional Movement

Rudolf von Laban

Expressive Movement:
Communicates ideas in dance
or other forms of artistic
expression.

Rudolf von Laban

Made a distinction between:
Expressive movement and
Functional Movement

Rudolf von Laban

Functional Movement:
Movements that serve as a
purpose in everyday life.
* Such as sports and
games.

Rudolf von Laban

Identified 4 factors of
movement:
Weight
Space
Time
Flow
* Became the
bedrock of
movement
education.

Development of a Curricular
Approach: 1960s, 1970s, and
1980s
The intent of those working
at this time was to provide a
framework that teachers
could use to apply these
movement concepts broadly
in the 3 learning domains.

Development of a Curricular
Approach: 1960s, 1970s, and
1980s
Growth of movement
education; brought to the
forefront of elementary
physical education.

Fitness Overshadows
Movement Education
The fitness boom of the
1970s resulted in a base of
research that contributed a
solid scientific basis to the
study of movement.

Fitness Overshadows
Movement Education
As other curriculum models
were introduced that were
easier to understand and
appealed to the fitness and
activity focus of the time,
movement education faded
from popularity.

The Revival of
Movement Education
In the late 1990s and early
2000s, the development of
national content standards
for physical education
brought back the essence of
movement education.

The Revival of
Movement Education
Emphasizing that children
should know basic
movement concepts and be
able to perform basic
movement patterns.

Movement is the
cornerstone of physical
education.