Answer

Instructional Plan for Swimming Skills development

Learning how to swim is one of the most valuable skills in life. Teaching children how to swim creates opportunity for them to advance their fitness and recreation. Children naturally like learning how to play and move (Paine, 2014). Developing their motor skills promotes their health and safety since it allows them develop their self-esteem, grow their confidence and fulfill other demands required in later life. This instructional plan is focused on teaching a child aged eight how to swim. The outcome of the teaching process is likely to be successful since children are considered competent movers (Liu, Hoffmann, & Hamilton, 2017). As a result, when they are provided with good instruction and modeling, it is highly likely that they can enhance their skills when it comes to controlling and coordinating their body movements. With enough time to practice, it is evident that children learners will be more competent in demonstrating their motor skills which can be applied in different situations. The child learner chosen for this plan does not have any experience in swimming. However, he has seen some experienced swimmers take part in the activity. The learner has a strong desire to learn how to swim. The instruction will be administered on a one-on-one basis whereby the learner will follow the practical instructions administered by the educator. The instructions will be spread out through a period for one week whereby different styles of swimming will be taught. Each swimming lesson will be accomplished within a period of two hours.

Learning Experience Diagnosis

                The child learner chosen for this learning process has unique personal characteristics. For instance, the learner is enthusiastic about learning how to swim. Being passionate about mastering the new concept is an important consideration since it makes it easier to deliver instruction for motor skill development (Alsop, 2014). The learner is also patient. The huge measure of patience is depicted in the fact that the learner is willing to master the new skill despite the length of time needed to be a proficient swimmer. Despite the fact that the learner is still young, his communication skills are up to standard. He is able to express himself and show what he wants to learn while outlining his areas of weakness. Moreover, he knows how to respect differences by communicating the fact that the learning styles implemented by different people vary.

                This plan seeks to deliver instruction focused on promoting the learner’s swimming skills. The skill will be taught within an open environment context, mainly composed on a swimming pool. The fact that the learner will have to actually perform the delivered instructions practically provides an indication that the skill can only be taught in an environment where there is a pool of water. For a successful learning outcome, this instructional plan will focus on unique aspects. For instance, the plan will focus on using motivational strategies during teaching. Notably, motivation is an important strategy which comes in handy in promoting learning among children (Chandler et al., 2016). Also, the plan will focus on enhancing the control and coordination capabilities of the learner since they are important aspects necessary for the development of swimming skill. Williams et al. (2017) argues that with good modeling, children can learn how to become skillful, especially when they are provided with enough time to put their skills into practice. Moreover, the plan will also focus on safety measures to avoid accidents likely to occur during instruction delivery. For instance, the learner will be advised to practice only in the presence of the instructor to avoid cases of drowning.

Design and Delivery of the Instructional Plan

                When it comes to motor skills acquisition, children are required to develop basic skills which enables them to be effective and efficient movers. Therefore, the plan will focus on guiding the learner to master how to be an effective and efficient mover focused on promoting the health and fitness of the child learner. Additionally, the plan will also guide the learner to practice safe swimming techniques to promote physical fitness and prevent instances of drowning. Learning how to enhance motor skills development is also an important consideration since it guides the learner to master how to swim. The major activities which will be included in the plan are skills acquisition, health and fitness development, and safety awareness creation. Each of these practices has a goal. The goal of the motor skills acquisition practice is to enhance the coordination skills of the learner to make him master how to swim. The goal of the health and fitness practice is to promote understanding of the learner regarding good health habits arising from engaging in the swimming activity. The goal of creating awareness is focused on educating the learner about how he can uphold safety when swimming.

                Measuring the progress of the learner is an important consideration since it provides insight into the learner’s ability to master new concepts taught. The learner will be evaluated individually to establish his abilities after the one week session is complete. The learner will be required to swim alone without the instructor’s guide to establish the progress made for the coordination and control skills. Through observation, a progress report will be accomplished and recommendations made if the learner should attend more classes for the subsequent week or not.  Wang et al. (2014) implies that offering an individual level of attention during evaluation and monitoring the progress of the child is an important consideration since it makes it possible for the instructor to motivate the learner to perform even better. Moreover, this is also a way of ensuring that the child feels proud for what they have accomplished after the swimming lesson. Progress reports will be used to provide feedback after the evaluation of the learner is conducted. The progress report will include coordination and control skills which are important for mastering how to swim. If the learner scores highly in the two, then he is considered an effective swimmer.

Modifications

                The fundamental goal of the instructional plan is to ensure that the learner enhances his control and coordination skills, which are directly linked to proper swimming abilities. If the learners score less than 70% for the two skills, it is clear that he should take more swimming classes to become a proficient swimmer. In such cases, modifications will be made to the current instructional plan to enhance the outcome to the teaching process. One of the modifications to be implemented includes the use of motivational teaching strategies when administering instructions to the learner about swimming. For instance, the teacher will actively take part in the swimming lessons by joining the learner in the pool. This is a way of motivating the learner to master the skills of coordination and movement by creating a fun and fulfilling environment which fosters learning. Moreover, the plan will also be modified by including more time for studies. For instance, each swimming session will have an extra 30 minutes from the previously existing two hours to allow the learner to ask questions about areas which may be considered a challenge. Asking questions created an opportunity for clarifications to be made which further enhances the chances for a better learning outcome.

Conclusion

                Conclusively, an instructional plan established to educate a child learner about swimming is focused on enhancing the child’s control and coordination skills. Arguably, such skills are directly implemented when swimming, hence can be used to establish the ability of the learner to be an effective swimmer. Motor skills acquisition, safety awareness, and health and fitness are important strands of motor skills development which are effective in childhood learning. When educating a child on how to swim, instructions should be administered in a motivational way since it increases the potential for a desirable learning outcome. The progress of the child learner can be measured individually through observing the child swim without the instructor’s help. Subsequently, the findings are drafted in a progress report which provides insight into the need for the learner to go through more swimming lessons based on mastery of the skills of control and coordination.