Lesson One with an Asthmatic Student, a Healing Ankle and a Club Player

Risks.

• Ka-ho: 20 minutes of continuous full-court play with no graduated warm-up is close to the worst start for exercise-induced asthma, especially outdoors in cold, dry February air. The inhaler must be with him, not in a bag at the side, and he needs to know he can stop.
• Sze: repeated jumping, landing and cutting on a healing ankle in an ungraded game risks re-injury; mild swelling after activity means the ankle is not yet fully load-tolerant.
• The class: 20 minutes of full-court 3-on-3 in a 35-minute lesson leaves little time for warm-up or teaching, and weaker students get few touches.

Redesign.

1. 8–10 minutes of progressive warm-up, building intensity gradually - this reduces exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and prepares the ankle.
2. Half-court 3-on-3 in bouts of about 2 minutes with rolling substitutions and a rest interval, which keeps everyone active without prolonged high ventilation.
3. Ka-ho: inhaler before the lesson and available, keep him indoors, and stop him if he coughs or wheezes; know his action plan.
4. Sze: brace or tape, no full jumping or blocking, modified rules, and progress load across the unit.
5. Use the outdoor court only for low-intensity skill stations, keeping the asthmatic student indoors.

Problems with the draft.

• Validity: the 20 m shuttle run measures cardiorespiratory fitness, not what was taught in a basketball unit. Students could improve their fitness and still not pass a ball.
• Equity: grading 40% of a term mark on one fitness test penalises Ka-ho for a medical condition he did not choose. That is a fairness problem, not a motivational one.
• Reliability: a single trial is affected by effort, motivation, heat and familiarity; one score is a weak estimate.
• Reference standards: norm-referenced fitness scores compare students with each other, so a hard-working student in a strong class can score lower than a less hard-working student in a weak class.

A defensible model: criterion-referenced rubrics on game play - decision-making, skill execution, support and tactics - using a game performance assessment instrument, plus personal improvement from a baseline, and a small fitness or effort component with an alternative for students with medical conditions. Assessment should be continuous and formative across the six lessons, with the summative grade drawn from several observations rather than one test. Fitness testing can remain as a personal-reference record, reported separately from the grade.

Model: Teaching Games for Understanding, with STEP modifications. TGfU starts from a modified game and draws out tactical problems, which suits a mixed-ability class because the game can be shaped to include everyone; STEP (Space, Task, Equipment, People) is the practical tool.

For Ming: do not simply give him more of the same. Constrain the task so he must think - for example, three passes before shooting, shooting only with the non-dominant hand, or playing as a coach-referee for one rotation, which develops leadership and lets him analyse the game. He can also be a demonstrator, but avoid making him the permanent expert.

For the less confident students:

• Space: smaller court area, closer targets.
• Task: 2-on-1 or 3-on-2, catching before shooting, no dribbling restrictions removed so they can succeed.
• Equipment: larger, lighter or softer balls and lower hoops where available.
• People: mixed-ability teams with a rule that everyone must touch the ball before a shot.

Use cooperative rather than competitive scoring in early lessons - for example, count consecutive passes - so the weaker students are included rather than avoided by teammates. Return to the full game by lesson six so the modified games are a route to the game, not a substitute for it.