Pantomime, Didactics, and Motor Action Taxonomies
Pantomime and Mime: Definition and Educational Value
Pantomime is a performance in which actors express actions through gestures, movements, and attitudes of the body, without using words. The distinction between the two forms is crucial:
- Mime: Purely emotional expression.
- Pantomime: The expression of specific ideas.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pantomime
Advantages (V)
- Uses a universal language.
- Is a means to convey instruction.
- Develops imagination and creativity.
- Excellent for developing communication and teaching with the deaf community.
Disadvantages (DES)
- Not all issues can be represented.
- Requires significant imagination to develop performances.
The Role of the Teacher in Expressive Movement Education
The teacher will have a catalytic role in student learning, remaining aware of the learning process and the variables that may influence it. Effective teaching requires the instructor to meet several criteria:
- Establish the competencies students need to pass.
- Possess the ability to structure lessons effectively.
- Be able to use teaching and methodological procedures that facilitate the assimilation of learning.
While the professor is the authority in the class, they should also favor the autonomy of each student. They must meet two primary requirements:
- Achieving significant learning.
- Encouraging the student.
Practical Teaching Methods for Pantomime
Several methods can be employed in practical teaching:
- The “Proof” Method: Used when proposed tasks require visual information from the teacher or pupil.
- “Mutual Learning”: Introducing a partner in the role of observer.
- “Problem Solving”: Used when thematic content refers to open motor tasks that stimulate students in decision-making mechanisms.
Key tools to achieve expressive goals include: the student’s own body, expression, communication, and the use of “guided discovery.”
Didactics and the Necessity of Teaching Movement
Didactics is defined as “the scientific study of the organization of learning situations experienced by a learner.” The teacher is responsible for the planning of learning situations to achieve desired objectives. In the context of Physical Education (EF), the teacher focuses on movement (mov) instruction.
Taxonomic Frameworks in Motor Action
Taxonomy is the science that studies the laws of classification of simple elements arranged in motor action. Taxonomy helps classify objects for educational purposes (Pieron, 1988).
Bloom’s Taxonomy Principles
- The teaching principle
- The psychological principle
- The logical principle
- The main objective principle
Specific Taxonomies of Movement
Benilde Vázquez (1989) proposed a taxonomy based on biomechanics, neurophysiology, theories of motor learning, and the psychomotor domain.
Taxonomy Based on Neurophysiology
This framework analyzes human movement based on neurophysiological characteristics and the level of organization. Guilford (1958) and Konorski (1969) established a criterion of evolutionary rate in the appearance of movement.
Nonverbal communication behaviors are often categorized into three areas:
- Mime
- Gestures
- Expressive Communication (E C)
Taxonomy Built Using Motor Learning Theories
Key contributors include Simpson (1966-67), A. Jewett (1974), Alvarez Manila (1971), and Sánchez Bañuelos (1984). Notably, this framework makes no specific reference to expressive movement.
The Psychomotor Domain Taxonomy
Developed by A. Harrow (1972) and Jacqueline Gangey (1986), this taxonomy establishes a hierarchy of human movements, ranging from the simplest (reflex) to the most complex (creative movement), which is distinctly human.
The taxonomy of A. Harrow runs parallel to Bloom’s, using the criterion of increasing complexity as the basis for movement management. Like Kibler’s approach, it takes into account the basic evolutionary approach essential to all educational activities. This expressive and interpretive movement presupposes a mastery of movement.