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Whole-Part-Whole Teaching Method

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Whole-Part-Whole Teaching Method

Important to the development of any basketball skill or strategy is an understanding of the "feel" or rhythm of the activity. In order to improve the game, the player should clearly understand how the activity flows from one segment to the next when executed correctly. As coach, it's crucial that you begin instruction with what is known as the "whole-part-whole" teaching philosophy. A beginner basketball player must understand the concept of the entire (whole) movement before instruction moves to the individual parts. The theory is that without "whole" knowledge of the activity, the individual components are worthless. This is true for both individual skills as well as team strategies.

When learning, it is important to understand the end result that you are aiming for. Once that "whole" part is presented, the task can be broken down into smaller "parts" to practice. This is as important for learning how to shoot, pass, or dribble as it is for developing team defense or for executing an offense.

Shooting cannot be "fragmented" because the shooter will lose rhythm and power. It must be a smooth, continuous motion. Dribble moves will not be effective unless the "parts" of the move are precisely timed and sequential.

Similarly, an offense must be timed precisely to free players at the most opportune moments. A team's defensive rotation must occur instantaneously, otherwise the offense will be free for an open shot.

When the player or team recognizes the ultimate objective, each minute detail can then be practiced separately. Once each part is learned, the task then becomes one of blending these parts back together and learning the transitions.

This brings us back to and reinforces the whole-part-whole teaching philosophy mentioned earlier. The whole action cannot truly be understood and performed without an understanding of and proficiency in the individual parts.

The use of the whole-part-whole method is a most effective teaching tool for achieving maximum understanding and performance in any basketball skill, technique, or strategy.

   

Comments

1/25/2012 1:35:31 AM
naomie chifuka said:

thanx 4 such a nice tip,it will alwayz help me in teachng of skills everyday of my life.i ve gained some knowledge.




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