Comparison of more and less effective teaching behaviors in secondary physical education

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher and pupil behaviors and to compare more and less effective teachers in a gymnastic setting. The subjects were nine physical education teachers and their regular class. During four consecutive 25 minute lessons a novel gymnastic skill had to be taught. Videotaped lessons were analyzed for teacher and pupil behaviors in three time categories: active learning time, instruction, and management. Teacher effectiveness was measured in terms of gains in pupil learning on the gymnastic skill from pre to post test. Results indicated that the most effective teachers scored significantly higher for active learning time and significantly lower for instruction time. During activity the most effective teachers spent significantly more time in observing. No major differences were found for leachers' location and movement patterns, and for teacher feedback statements. Several significant differences were found for the instructional variables, all indicating that the most effective teachers spent significantly less time and attention in providing information to the pupils. This study confirms that effective teaching is characterized by a lot of practice time and limited instruction and management, or that physical education is 'learning by doing'. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.