PDFE #2

Context of Setting:
For this PDFE, I observed a swimming practice at the YMCA. The owner of Bella Roma has two kids in elementary school who attend regular swimming practices, so I thought it would be a neat experience to go watch them practice. Their practices are every evening during the week at 5:30. I do not think that the kids are required to attend every practice during the week to be part of the team, but they are expected to come at least twice a week.

One Dimension System:
Loco-motor movements were the main actions made when swimming. The whole body is used in order to travel from one side of the pool to another. There was no object manipulation in their swimming practice, so there were no movements associated with manipulation. There were a few stability exercises when the kids were practicing to dive, but other than that, no balancing or stability movements were observed. While swimming, the kids were using their whole body to propel themselves through the water, so all gross muscle groups were used. However, I would say that the large muscles in the arms in legs were doing the majority of the work. There were also some fine motor movement skills that the kids were practicing while swimming. During the breast stroke, there was some fine motor manipulation of their hands to help them get further with each stroke. During diving, the smaller muscles in their feet were used to balance on their toes before diving into the pool. Swimming would be considered a continuous task because there is no definite beginning or end to the motions. I would say that swimming requires more of an emphasis on motor skills rather than cognitive skills. However, since the children are at such a young age, they may be thinking about their technique more so than an experienced swimmer would. The swimming practice was held in an indoor pool, so the environment predictability is closed. There is a defined distance from one edge of the pool to the other with no sudden changes in their surrounding taking place.

Two Dimension Systems:
1. Carrying a tray of food across a restaurant: Body Transport, Object Manipulation, Environment Variation (with all the people moving through the restaurant), No Context Variation.
2. Belly Dancing – Body Transport (Body is moving while dancing), Object Manipulation (most dancers have something in their hand while they dance as a prop) , No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.
3. Typing on a Computer: Body Stationary, Object Manipulation, No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.
4. Singing in the Shower: Body Stationary, No Object Manipulation, No Environment Variation, No Context Variation.