This article was downloaded by: [University of Edinburgh]On: 09 August 2012, At: 01:56Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

European Journal of Physical EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cpes19

Using Computer Technology to Compare StudentTeaching BehavioursJohn Sproule, Gary Kinchin, Martin Yelling, Terry McMorris & Michael McNeill

Version of record first published: 03 Aug 2006

To cite this article: John Sproule, Gary Kinchin, Martin Yelling, Terry McMorris & Michael McNeill (2002): Using ComputerTechnology to Compare Student Teaching Behaviours, European Journal of Physical Education, 7:2, 123-135

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1740898020070205

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form toanyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contentswill be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses shouldbe independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims,proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly inconnection with or arising out of the use of this material.

European Journal of Physical Education, 2002, 7, 123-135

Using Computer Technology to CompareStudent Teaching Behaviours

John Sproule, Gary Kinchin, Martin Yelling, Terry McMorrisand Michael McNeill1

There are issues concerning the effectiveness of different types of lnital Teacher Trainingin Physical Education in England, thus there is a need to study the relative effectivenessof 4-year undergraduate and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes.The purpose of this study was to compare student physical education teachers duringschool experience relative to a set of teaching behaviours. The participants were 10first-year undergraduates, 10 fourth-year undergraduates and 10 PGCE student teachersfrom the same university in England. Each participant was videotaped teaching onelesson which met the requirements of the English National Curriculum in PE at KeyStage 3 (pupils aged 11-14 yrs). Teaching behaviours were analysed by a team ofresearchers using a modified configuration of the Behavioral Evaluation Strategies andTaxonomy (BEST) software (Sharpe and Koperwas, 1999). Analysis of variance (ANOVA)showed no differences in the observed teaching behaviours between the fourth-yearundergraduates and the PGCE group. However, the first-year undergraduates displayedsignificantly higher levels of behavioural management than both the fourth-year andthe PGCE group. Also, the first-year undergraduates were found to have lower levels ofpositive skill feedback, but this was not statistically significant The results of this studysuggest that there were no differences between the effectiveness of teaching producedby the fourth-year undergraduate and the PGCE student teachers.

INTRODUCTION

Since the inception of Physical Education (PE) degree courses in the UnitedKingdom during the 1960's, there has been a continuing process of evaluation,review and course change to meet the demands and needs of the PE profession.Recently, England has witnessed a move to decrease the number of 4-yearundergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) courses and increase the numberof Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses. The PGCE-PEprogramme is an alternative to the traditional 4-year undergraduate

1 John Sproule is at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, Gary Kinchin is atSottthampton University, England, Martin Yelling is at Loughborough University, England,Terry McMorris is at University College Chichester, England and Michael McNeill is atHanyang Technological University, Singapore.

1 2 3 •

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

programme in PE ITT, and involves the completion of a 1-year PGCE coursein PE after completing a relevant undergraduate degree in Sports Studies orSports Science. Approximately 50% of PE teachers enter the PE professionthrough the PGCE route in England, with the remainder following thefour-year concurrent model of ITT. Evans and Penney (1993,1994) criticallyexamined "on the job training" (typically associated with one year PGCE-PE courses in England) and argued that it is necessary to strengthen thetheoretical base of ITT, suggesting that the PGCE route may be having anadverse affect on the teaching of PE in secondary schools. Davidson (1995)suggested that the PGCE route is incapable of providing adequate teachertraining for a specialist subject of a practical nature, such as PE. Davidson'sconcerns f ocussed on both PGCE student teachers' restricted exposure withinpractical areas of the National Curriculum and the inadequacies of the PGCEroute for training in the welfare and safety of children in PE. This view ofthe PGCE-PE route was supported by Morgan (1997), who suggested thatnot enough time was given to gymnastics and dance. One of the basic issuesappears to be whether the traditional four-year undergraduate programmeor the one-year PGCE programme produce better prepared and moreeffective teachers of PE.

Perspectives in initial teacher training

Zeichner (1983) identified four basic perspectives or approaches to ITT;personalistic, traditional/craft, critical inquiry and behaviouristic. Tinning(1988) described the personalistic perspective as resting on the foundationsof a phenomenological epistemology and perceptual and developmentalpsychologies. Thus, teaching competence is equated with psychologicalmaturity and teacher training is considered a process of becoming, ratherthan the mastery of a set of competencies. Beyer (1984, p.38) portrayed thetraditional/craft perspective as one in which learning to be a teacher involvesmodelling cooperative teachers, with student teachers tending "to acceptexisting classroom situations as given, essentially unalterable". Zeichner's(1983) critical inquiry perspective suggested that the actions of studentteachers (and teachers) are seen to carry ideological meanings that relate toparticular views of the social world in general and the world of schooling inparticular. Critical and reflective discourses about teaching are important.For example, teaching and curriculum issues are seen as problematic, ratherthan given. This is a perspective that recognises "the dialetic between meansand ends and the social, historical, and political contexts in which issuesthemselves are embedded" (Tinning, 19"88, p.84). The fourth paradigm, thebehaviourist perspective, is founded in the positivistic epistemology ofbehavioural psychology. There is a focus on developing specific, observableteaching skills which are known to be related to pupil learning. Importantly,"the criteria by which success is to be measured are made explicit andperformance at a pre-spedfied level of mastery is assumed to be the mostvalid measure of teacher competence" (Zeichner, 1983, p.4). Thus, applied

124

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European journal of Physical Education

behaviour analysis (Cooper, Heron and Heward, 1987; Kantor, 1969;Skinner, 1989) supports the view that desired behaviours can successfully betrained. Indeed, behaviourists have devoted considerable time to unearthingwhich behaviours are and are not 'effective' in terms of learning and toestablishing that teacher behaviours can be changed for the better (Metzler,1989; Silverman, 1991). For example, previous research on PE teaching hasidentified Academic Learning Time-PE (ALT-PE) as an effective teachingvariable for use in ITT. ALT-PE is the amount of time a pupils spends inrelevant motor skill and learning tasks (Metzler, 1983). In order to interveneconstructively, it may be important to quantify the behaviours that are beingexhibited at different stages in the process of becoming a qualified teacher.

Piotrowski and Capel (1996) suggested that the purpose of an ITTprogramme in PE might be stated broadly as the preparation of teacherswho can assist in the development of a physically educated population. Ifteachers are effectively to achieve this it is vital that their training providesappropriate preparation for this task. In order to direct and influenceconstructively the ITT process, it may be important to quantify the behavioursthat are being exhibited at different stages in the process of becoming aqualified teacher. In the present paper the behaviouristic model is used toinvestigate teaching behaviours because it seems to be more compatiblewith the goals of the National Curriculum (Department for Education andEmployment/Qualifications and Curriculum Authority pfEE/QCA], 1999)and criteria driven 'Standards' for the award of qualified teacher status(Teacher Training Agency (TTA), 2001). The National Curriculum in Englandsets out a dear, full and statutory entitlement to learning for all pupils. Itdetermines the content of what will be taught, sets attainment targets forlearning, and determines how performance will be assessed and reported.The 'Standards' are the criteria against which those seeking Qualified TeacherStatus (QTS) must be judged, and those who assess student teachers for QTSmust satisfy themselves that all the 'Standards' have been met. Therefore,the purpose of this study was to compare student teachers during schoolexperience relative to a set of teaching behaviours. The participants werethree groups of student teachers from the same university: 10 first year and10 fourth year student teachers in a traditional 4-year undergraduate ITTprogramme and 10 student teachers in a PGCE-PE programme. The first yeargroup were included both to compare with the other two groups and also asthe initial data collection for the development of a longitudinal study of thedevelopment of their teaching behaviours.

METHODParticipants

Participants were 30 white student physical education teachers from thesame university, 10 selected from each of three cohort groups: 1UG - first

125

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education •

year undergraduates in a 4-year ITT programme (mean age 18.9, SD 0.2years); 4UG - fourth year undergraduates in a 4-year ITT programme (meanage 21.4, SD 0.4 years); and PGCE - student teachers in a PGCE programme(mean age 22.1, SD 0.2 years). Of the participants in each group, 5 weremale and 5 were female. All were randomly selected from their cohort, andprovided informed consent to take part in the study. Prior to this study allhad experience of being videotaped while teaching children during micro-teaching experiences within the university environment.

Procedure

Data were collected in 18 secondary schools located in and around smalltowns in Bedfordshire and Norfolk, England. Twelve of the schools werestate comprehensive and 6 were selective private schools. The schools couldall be classed as suburban or rural. Each participant was observed/filmedteaching a single lesson, rendering a total of 30 lessons from which datawere gleaned. The class session used for data collection was one of manytaught by each participant. Eighteen of the observed/filmed lessons weretaught in co-educational settings, and twelve lessons were taught in single-gender situations, with similar numbers of co-educational and single sexclasses between the three groups of student teachers.

The participants were videotaped teaching one PE lesson during theirassessed school experience (termed 'teaching practice' at some universitiesand colleges). All the lessons videotaped were at Key Stage 3 (age range 11to 14 years, mean age 13.7, SD 0.2 years) of the (National Curriculum for PE(NCPE) (DfEE/QCA, 1999) and were videotaped during the final threeweeks of the school experience. Thus, for the 1UG this was during weeks4 to 6 of their first six weeks of school experience. The 4UG were videoedduring the last 3 weeks of their final 12-week school experience, havingpreviously had school experience in year one (6 weeks), year two (6 weeks)and year three (8 weeks). The PGCE student teachers were videoed duringthe final three weeks of their second school experience, that is weeks 24 to26 of their total 26 week school experience during their one-year PGCE.Lessons observed were randomly drawn from a variety of NCPE areas ofactivity and they occurred both outside, on playing fields, and indoors, ingymnasia. Thus, within all three groups observed there were lessons taughtin athletics, games and gymnastics, which were roughly evenly distributed.Each lesson was either the third, fourth or fifth lesson within units of worklasting for six weeks. Therefore, each 1UG student teacher was teaching theclass for at least the third occasion, with the 4UG and PGCE student teachersall having taught their class in PE for at least eight weeks previously.Resources available were ample and appropriate for the lessons observed.This procedure was similar for all cohorts of student teachers. The underlyingphilosophy of programmes followed by both 4-year undergraduate and

126

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education •

PGCE student teachers at this university is that the 'Standards' required ofstudent teachers are not seen as purely instrumental, but within a frameworkof knowledge based fields: subject knowledge, process/applicationknowledge, and contextual knowledge. Both the 4-year undergraduate andPGCE programmes of study were designed to meet the needs of the PEprofession in preparing student teachers to teach the NCPE.

The camcorder was mounted on a tripod and positioned so as not tointerfere with the lesson plan, and the camera focussed on the studentteacher throughout the lesson. The video recording began when at least one ofthe pupils had arrived in the lesson area and continued until the pupils weredismissed by the student teacher. The student teachers wore a microphonethroughout the lesson.

Behavioral Evaluation Strategies and Taxonomy

The Behavioral Evaluation Strategies and Taxonomies (BEST) software wasdesigned as a user-friendly system to facilitate the collection and analysis ofquantitative data in descriptive and analytic ways. It included the countingof multiple events as they occur and interact in various ways within naturalsettings (Sharpe and Koperwas, 1999). The CD-ROM software permits thecollection and immediate analysis of data gathered from observations of PEteaching either live with a lap-top computer or from video and audiorecording of lessons. The computer keyboard can be configured to permitthe recording of multiple and overlapping frequency behaviours (how many)and duration behaviours (how long) through depressing the appropriatekeys. Three experienced teacher trainers (with a range from 7 to 26 yearsschool and university teaching experience) familiarised themselves witha modification of the BEST (Sharpe and Koperwas, 1999) software datacollection observational category system for PE teacher behaviours known as'PETEACH' (Hawkins, Sharpe and Ray, 1994). The 'PETEACH' was designedfor PE student teacher evaluation purposes in actual practice teachingsettings within an ITT programme. It was designed for use in PE settings inwhich movement and active participation are desirable pupil behavioursand a variety of instructional behaviours are used by the student teachers.All of the selected target teacher behaviours observed in this investigation(see Figure 1) have received some support in the effective teaching literature(Walberg, 1986). This sequential data collection system is designed to record,group and file a time-based data record of discrete frequency (for example,number of teaching cues) or duration of quantitative events, such as teacherverbal instruction time (Sharpe and Koperwas, 1999). PETEACH was chosenbecause the behaviours it measures have been linked to teacher effectiveness(Walberg, 1986). For instance, the duration behaviour data, such as managementand verbal instruction, allow an evaluation of ways in which 'time' was usedby the teacher..

127-

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education •

Figure 1: Selected teacher target behaviours observed in this study

Question

Teaching Cues

Encouragement

Positive skillfeedback

Negative skillfeedback

Corrective skill

Demonstration

PhysicalGuidance

Interpersonal

Teacher off-task

SpecificObservation

GeneralObservation

VerbalInstruction

BehaviourManagement

Management

Content specific (e.g. checking on instructioni.e. what are they learning).

Focus on the technique/skill (i.e. teaching point -during practice by the pupils)

General. A verbal statement prior to a pupil's skill ororganisational attempt (to enhance the pupil'sperception of their ability to accomplish the subsequenttask)

The teacher makes a positive verbal statement orgesture following an individual's or group ofstudents' skill or organisational behaviours.

After the event (response to a pupil or group of pupilsperformance). A negative or critical verbal statement.

Provide specific corrective feedback after an individualor group skill attempt.

Providing visual examples of a task. Does not includeparticipation (e.g. bowling in game).

Physically guiding an individual or group of pupilsthrough a subject matter task or activity. Actualphysical contact must be made.

Talking to an individual or group of pupils aboutnon-subject matter and non-managerial tasks i.e. tofoster positive relationship^).

For example, talking about an unrelated issue withanother member of staff.

Watching, and proximal to, one pupil engaged in asubject matter task, for the purpose of providingfeedback related to performance.

Watching pupil groups engaged in any category ofpupil behaviour.

Verbally describing to the pupils how to do a skill, or isusing a verbal prompt to direct a pupil or groupengaged in attempting a skill or activity.

To an individual, group or class.

Engaged in carrying out a non-subject matterorganisational task (e.g. setting up equipment).

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

**

**

**

**

**

* Frequency ** Duration

128

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

Establishing observer agreement and data analysis

Observer training (> 20 hours) took the form of independent and collaborativeviewings of actual videotaped PE lessons, during which coding categoriesand definitions (PETEACH) of teacher behaviours were noted and discussedby three experienced PE teacher trainers. Subsequently, a videotaped real PElesson acted as a 'criterion standard' for the purposes of advancing observertraining and establishing levels of observer agreement. The videotape wasdivided into equal time segments of 5 minutes duration. Data collectionsoftware (BEST - PETEACH) was synchronised to the start time of each 5minute segment The three experienced PE teacher trainers then independentlyobserved and coded each segment of the lesson. They then met to compareresults on a percentage of agreement basis. This data recording andcomparison was repeated on a weekly basis (7 days apart) until observeragreement reached > 80% for both intra (93%) and inter (91%) observerreliability for all categories of observed behaviour. This ensured a degree ofconsistency in the recording of similar types of information, minimising forbias and changes in behaviour and interpretation of event occurrence acrossobservers. Also, agreement procedures were implemented to provide acheck for whether the behaviours and events to be observed were welldefined. Thus, inter and intra observer agreement, reliability and accuracywere determined by the use of recognised agreement tests and reliabilityprocedures (Bakeman and Gottman, 1986; Kazdin, 1982). Cohen's Kappa(Cooper et al, 1987) statistical formulae was used to confirm the percentageof agreement, as follows:

In this formula the P-Agreements was calculated using the following:

Number of Agreements + Number of Agreementson Occurrences on Non-occurrences

Total Number of Agreements + Total Number of Disagreements

Once observer training was completed and reliability established the threeobservers simultaneously completed analysis and coding of all 30 lessons.Simultaneous and collaborative coding (coding the same video at the sametime in the same room) was possible due to the flexibility of the BEST systemallowing the observers to pause both the videotape and the observation softwareand to replay the video for discussion until complete and unambiguousagreement (% agreement 100%) was reached.

Data analysisDescriptive statistics were calculated for all variables (mean ± SD). Statisticalanalysis was by one-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to find out if there wasa significant difference between the three group means for both frequencyand duration data. Where appropriate, post-hoc Tukey Tests determined apairwise comparison of the means. Effect size was measured by T|2.

129

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education •

limitations of the study

Limitations of the study are recognised, namely, that the sample size wassmall, participants were observed only teaching one lesson, and only a fewquantifiable teaching behaviours were focussed on. Also, it is unrealisticallyoptimistic to think that the videoing of lessons did not affect the behavioursof the pupils or student teachers, and this is acknowledged. This studyinvolved a comparison between student teachers on two courses at oneinstitution. It is possible that the results may be different if comparison wasmade between different institutions, courses and student teachers. Anotherpotential confounding variable in this study was the involvement of bothprivate and state schools. Future study designs should take this intoaccount. They should also control for the area of the NCPE the studentteachers are observed teaching i.e. one area of activity would be ideal.Finally, it is accepted that the systematic observation instrument, like allothers, describes only some aspects of the instruction that occurs during aPE lesson.

RESULTSThe student teachers in this study seemed to display several of thecharacteristics of effective teachers (Darst et al, 1989; Metzler, 1990; Mosstonand Ashworth, 1986) as shown in the mean frequencies of targeted teachingbehaviours (Table 1). For example, the use of questioning is evident and

Table 1: The mean frequency of targeted teaching behaviours for first year(1UG) and fourth year (4UG) undergraduate and PGCE student teachers ofphysical education

Teacher Behaviours

Question (content specific)

Teaching cue

Encouragement (general)

Positive skill feedback

Negative skill feedback

Corrective skill feedback

Demonstration

Physical guidance

Behavioural management

1UG (n=10)Mean (SEM)

18.5 (6.1)

5.5 (2.9)

14.9 (3.2)

38.5 (6.4)

1.4 (0.7)

12.7(4.4)

12.9 (3.5)

0.0

24.2 (4.4)*

4UG (n=10)Mean (SEM)

25.5 (8.8)

11.7 (45)

17.0 (2.9)

58.4 (6.6)

1.5(1.2)

20.0 (3.0)

18.5 (4.4)

0.0

9.7 (3.6)

PGCE (n=10)Mean (SEM)

23.6 (5.9)

12.8 (4.8)

17.5 (2.2)

51.0 (3.8)

0.8 (0.5)

18.2 (2.8)

18.9 (4.1)

0.0

8.0(25)

* Higher (F ^ = 6.14, p = 0.006; T|2 = 0.31)

130

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

divergent problem solving teaching approaches encourage the use ofquestioning as a teaching skill (Mosston and Ashworth, 1986). However,whether the student teachers were using the skills and tactics of effectivequestioning is beyond the scope of this present paper. There were nosignificant differences for any of the teaching behaviours between the 4UGand the PGCE groups. However, the 1UG group displayed significantlyhigher frequencies of behavioural management (p=0.006) than both the 4UGand the PGCE groups. Also, the 1UG group were found to be approachingsignificantly lower frequencies of positive skill feedback (F2 27=3.04; p=0.065;T)2 = 0.18). It is interesting to note that no individual student teacher in thisstudy engaged in physical guidance.

The mean percentage of time spent in targeted teaching behaviours is shownin Table 2. There were no significant differences found between the three groupsin the percentage of time spent in specific observation, general observationand verbal instruction. However, the 1UG group spent significantly moretime engaged in management (p=0.027) than both the 4UG and the PGCEgroups, by 37% and 41% respectively.

When management time is combined with verbal instruction time andthen subtracted from total lesson time, an indication of the percentage ofthe lesson time made available for pupil learning time is achieved. Whencompared to the 4UG and the PGCE groups, the 1UG group had the lowestmean percentage time available for pupil learning, 45.8%, 49.5% and 53.7%respectively, although these differences were not significant Some correlationalevidence exists of the positive relationship between increased time forALT-PE and pupil learning (Metzler, 1989). Based on this it would appearthat all three of the student teacher groups could have been more effectivein their teaching. However, caution is suggested when interpreting duration(and frequency) data. A reductionist perspective should not simply beadopted on effective teacher/learning indicators, as previously highlightedby Dodds and Placek (1991).

Table 2: The mean percentage of time spent in targeted teaching behavioursfor first year (1UG) and fourth year (4UG) undergraduate and PGCE studentteachers of Physical Education

Teacher Behaviours

Specific observation

General observation

Verbal instruction

Management

1UG (n=10)Mean (SEM)

16.5 (5.5)

28.5 (3.8) '

25.7 (1.9)

28.5 (2.9)*

4UG (n=10)Mean (SEM)

14.8 (3.9)

33.6 (3.7)

29.7 (2.1)

20.8 (1.9)

PGCE (n=10)Mean (SEM)

15J (3.6)

35.3 (3.6)

26.1 (1.4)

20.2 (1.9)

* Higher (F 2 ^ = 4.15, p = 0.027; T|2 = 0.24)

131

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

DISCUSSIONNo statistically significant differences in the teaching behaviours studiedin this investigation were found between a group of fourth-year studentteachers (4UG) in a traditional ITT undergraduate programme and a groupof student teachers in a one-year PGCE programme. The results of thisstudy suggest that there were no differences between the effectiveness ofteaching produced by the fourth-year undergraduate and the PGCE studentteachers. This would seem to support that the two different courses (4UGversus PGCE) lead to a similar product. One might speculate that althoughthe four-year undergraduate course is a longer process of i l l , PGCEstudents may enter ITT with a greater maturity plus other sports-relatedand life experiences. However, it is important to note that this present studyhas been quantitative. The BEST software also has an integral qualitativedimension, which enables the user to record narrative and written descriptionsof teaching events and episodes. Thus, capturing some of the contextualaspects of the lesson simultaneously with the quantitative is recommended asthe focus of future study using the BEST system. The observed behavioursexhibited by the first-year undergraduate group (1UG) are consistent withthose of novice teachers, who are more pre-occupied with managerial tasksand explanations than with student learning per se (Doyle, 1986; Schempp,Sparkes and Templin, 1993; Tan, Schempp and Schwager, 1995). Whilst thefrequencies of the majority of the observed teaching behaviours showedan increase between 1UG and 4UG, the combined mean percentages forverbal instruction and management for the sample of student teachers atthe beginning and the sample at the end of their school experience were verysimilar (Table 2). For all three groups approximately half the lesson wasdevoted to the management of children or equipment or to speaking toinactive children, as a whole class. The focus on class management plus thetendency to address the entire class are - characteristics of novice teachers(Griffey and Housner, 1999; Parker, 1995) and closely linked to concerns forclass control and discipline evident in most beginning teachers.

One of the formats used to display the observed teaching behaviours iscalled a scalable time-plot. A scalable time-plot is a time-line (seconds) alongthe X-axis, with the observed teaching behaviours forming the Y-axis. Fromthe analysis of the scalable time-plots the warm-up segment was typically theperiod of the lesson where activity was most sustained in terms of duration.This concurs with previous research that has shown the warm-up elementof PE lessons is often the most active aspect for pupils (Yelling, Penney andSwaine, 2000).

It is somewhat interesting, but at the same time worrying, that first (1UG),final year (4UG) and PGCE student teachers in this study showed quite similarpercentages of managerial and verbal instruction time in classes taught insimilar contexts. It certainly begs the question as to whether new entrants'use of time will facilitate the delivery of the required content of NCPE andchallenge/extend children through the NCPE level descriptors (DfEE/QCA,

132

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

1999). Data was not collected on the opportunities children had to engage,successfully or otherwise, with the content to be learned but this offers afurther avenue of research using BEST. It is important to note that the useof systematic observation and the insights such techniques can provideinto teaching and learning have not played a central part in these studentteachers' preparation. The impact of descriptive-analytic techniques in concertwith qualitative feedback on the effectiveness of student teachers' teachingcould be worthy of further investigation.

The ability to objectively evaluate one's own teaching performance andmodify that performance could be primary benefits derived from the use ofsystematic observation methodology (Mancini and Wuest, 1989): i.e. physicaleducators becoming agents of their own change. Teacher trainers havebeen challenged to meet the demands of the TTA requirements for ITT ininformation and communication technology (ICT), whilst also preparingtheir student teachers of PE to deliver effectively the NCPE and its inherentICT characteristics (TTA, 2001). It is not suggested that the use of the BESTsystem be embraced, simply because it is relatively new technology - ratherthat it is not overlooked that the analysis of teaching behaviours demandsthe best use of our human intelligence.

It is accepted that the use of a systematic observation methodology, suchas the BEST system, is not a panacea for all. However, student teacherstrained in the use of systematic observation may be able successfully tomodify their instructional behaviour with the application of BEST. It isnecessary to use tools of the 21st century to facilitate and further developan understanding of complex pedagogical processes of teaching. Thiscould improve the teaching standards of student teachers: for example,by providing data for post-lesson review to target effective and ineffectiveteaching behaviours. Importantly, this type of systematic analysis (BEST)can provide an insight into the decision-making that led to the actions,which the teacher demonstrated during the lesson, and may advance thequest to find the best ways to teach.

In conclusion, although limitations of the study are recognised, the mainfinding of this study was that there were no statistical differences in theteaching behaviours studied between a group of fourth-year student teachersin a traditional ITT undergraduate programme and a group of studentteachers in a PGCE programme. Previously, Eraut (1994) has stated thatenhanced knowledge creating capacities of individuals and professionalcommunities could help overcome barriers to practice-centred knowledgecreation and development. It is an important professional skill to be able toreflect on your professional practice and Hargreaves (1995) has highlightedthe need for innovation in the conditions for interaction that support personsinvolved in change processes within teaching. If student teachers are to takeresponsibility for their own development, both during ITT and then as NewlyQualified Teachers, it is important that they are equipped and empoweredfor this task. Mawer (1995, pp. 7-8) stated: 'Effective teachers are...constantlyseeking to improve and develop, to put their practice under scrutiny, toexplore new ideas and to become better teachers'. The BEST system has the

133-

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

potential to become a more highly productive means of providing a betterunderstanding of effective practice in ITT and teacher trainers should becomemore committed to the cautious and systematic exploration of computertechnology-based ways and applications of preparing effective teachers.

CORRESPONDENCEPlease address all correspondence to: Dr. John Sproule, Department ofPhysical Education, Sport and Leisure Studies, University of Edinburgh,Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ. Telephone: 0131 6516554; e-mail:John.Sproule@education.ed.ac.uk

REFERENCESBakeman, R., and Gottman, J.M. (1986). Observing Instruction: An Introduction to Sequential

Analysis, New York, Cambridge University Press.Beyer, L (1984). Field experience, ideology, and the development of critical reflectivity. Journal

of Teacher Education, 25, 3:36-41.Cooper, J.O., Heron, T.E., and Heward, W.L (1987). Applied Behavior Analysis, Toronto,

Merrill.Darst, P., Mancini, V., and Zakrajsek, D. (Eds.) (1989). Analysing Physical Education and Sport

Instruction (2nd ed.), Champaign, IL., Human Kinetics.Davidson, J. (1995). Initial teacher training in physical education. Paper presented at the British

Universities and Colleges Physical Education Association annual conference. Cork, April.Department for Education and Employment/Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (DfEE/

QCA) (1999). The National Curriculum for England: Physical Education, London, DfEE/QCA.

Dodds, P., and Placek, J.H. (1991). Silverman's RT-PE review: Too simple a summary of acomplex field. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62, 4:365-368.

Doyle, W. (1986). Classroom organization and management. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed), Handbookof Research on Teaching, New York, Macmillan, pp 392431.

Eruat, M. (1994). Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence, London, The FalmerPress.

Evans, J., and Penney, D. (1993). School contexts and the implementation of the NationalCurriculum. Bulletin of Physical Education, 29 3:6-13.

Evans, J., and Penney, D. (1994). Whatever happened to good advice? Service and inspectionafter the Education Reform Act. British Educational Research Journal, 20, 5:519-533.

Griffey, D. C, and Housner, L.D. (1999). Teacher thinking and decision making in physicaleducation: Planning, perceiving and implementing instruction, in C. A. Hardy and M.Mawer (Eds), Learning and Teaching in Physical Education, London, Falmer Press, pp 203-214.

Hargreaves, A. (1995). Changing Teachers, Changing Times - A Teachers' Work and Culture inPostmodern Age, London, Cassell.

134

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2

European Journal of Physical Education

Hawkins, A., Sharpe, T.L., and Ray, R. (1994). Toward instructional process measurability: Aninterbehavioral field systems perspective. In R. Gardiner, D.M. Sainato, J.O. Cooper, T.E.Heron, W.L Heward, J. Eshleman and T.A. Grossi (Eds), Behavior Analysis in Education:Focus on Measurably Superior Instruction, Pacific Grove, CA, Brooks/Cole, pp 241-255.

Kantor, J.R. (1969). The Scientific Evolution of Psychology, Chicago, Principia.Kazdin, A.E. (1982). Single Case Research Designs, New York, Oxford University Press.Mancini, V.H., and Wuest, D A (1989). Self-assessment feedback instrument. In P.W. Darst, D.B.

Zakrajsek, and V.H. Mancini (Eds), Analysing Physical Education and Sport Instruction,Champaign, IL., Human Kinetics, pp 143-147.

Metzler, M. (1983). ALT-PE for inservice teachers: Questions and insights. Journal of Teachingin Physical Education Monograph, 1: 17-21.

Metzler, M. (1989). A review of research on time in sport pedagogy. Journal of Teaching inPhysical Education, 8: 87-103.

Metzler, M. (1990). Instructional Supervision in Physical Education, Champaign, IL., HumanKinetics.

Morgan, L (1997). The preparation of physical education teachers during initial teacher training.The British Journal of Physical Education, Autumn, 18-20.

Mosston, M., and Ashworth, S. (1986). Teaching Physical Education, Columbus, Ohio, MerrillPublishing Company.

Parker, J. (1995). Secondary teachers views of effective teaching. Journal of Teaching in PhysicalEducation, 14: 127-139.

Piotrowski, S., and Capel, S. (1996). Recent influences on the training of physical educationteachers in England and Wales. Sport, Education and Society, 1: 185-199.

Schempp, P.G., Sparkes, A.C., and Templin, T.J. (1993). The micropolitics of teacher induction.American Educational Research Journal, 30: 447-472

Sharpe, T., and Koperwas, J. (1999). BEST: Behavioral Evaluation Strategy and Taxonomysoftware, California, Sage Publications, Inc.

Silverman, S. (1991). Research on teaching in physical education. Research Quarterly forExercise and Sport, 62, 4: 352-364.

Skinner, B.F. (1989). Recent Issues in the Analysis of Behavior, Toronto, Merrill.Tan, S.K.S., Schempp, P.G., and Schwager, S. (1995). Surviving induction: The problems and

sources of support. In AIESEP The First Year of Teaching, Proceedings, Part 1, of the AIESEPWorld Conference, Netanya, Wingate Institute, pp 123-129.

Teacher Training Agency (TTA) (2001). Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status andRequirements for the Provision of Initial Teacher Training: Consultation Document, London,TTA.

Tinning, R.I. (1988). Student teaching and the pedagogy of necessity. Journal of Teaching inPhysical Education, 7: 82-89.

Walberg, H. (1986). Synthesis of research on teaching. In M. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook ofResearch on Teaching (3rd ed.), New York, Macmillan.

Yelling, M., Penney, D., and Swaine, I. (2000). Physical activity in physical education: A casestudy investigation. European Journal of Physical Education, 5: 45-67.

Zeichner, K. (1983). Alternative paradigms of teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education,34:3-9.

135

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Uni

vers

ity o

f E

dinb

urgh

] at

01:

56 0

9 A

ugus

t 201

2