The University of Southern QueenslandFaculty of Education

Postgraduate and Early Research Group10th Research Symposium

Paper presentation

October 2012

Title

Self-Identified and Observed Teaching

Styles of Junior Development and

Club Professional Tennis Coaches in

Australiaby

Mitchell Hewitt and Associate Professor Ken Edwards

Research Questions

• What teaching styles do Junior Development and Club Professional tennis coaches in Australia believe they are using during coaching sessions throughout the year?

• What are the observed teaching styles of Junior Development and Club Professional tennis coaches in Australia?

Mosston and Ashworth’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles

• Began in 1966

• Unified theory of teaching

• An array of teaching style options • Based on decision-making

• Non-versus

Spectrum of Teaching Styles Reproduction:• Style A – Command• Style B – Practice• Style C – Reciprocal• Style D – Self Check• Style E – Inclusion

Production:• Style F – Guided Discovery• Style G – Convergent

Discovery• Style H – Divergent

Discovery• Style I – Learner Designed

Individual Program• Style J – Learner Initiated

Program• Style K – Self Teaching

Teaching Style Definition

A Teaching Style is a plan of action thatdefines the specific decision interaction of the teacher or coach and the learner for the purpose of leading to the development ofspecific objectives in subject matter andbehaviour.* One or more teaching styles may be used during a lesson/session.

*Ashworth, S. (2009). Teaching a Spectrum Repertoire. Keynote presentationfor the 26th ACHPER International Conference. Brisbane, Australia, July.

Literature ReviewIncreasing importance of teachers’ and coaches’ understanding and mastery of

various teaching styles

Limited number of studies have explored the teaching styles of physical education teachers using Mosston and Ashworth’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles (2008)

1. Curtner-Smith, Hasty & Kerr (2001) Observed 16 physical education teachers

2. Curtner-Smith et.al. (2001) Observed 18 physical education teachers

3. Kulinna & Cothran (2003) Surveyed 212 physical education teachers’ in relation to their perceptions of teaching styles

4. Cothran et. al. (2005) Surveyed 1,400 physical education teachers’ in regards to their self-reported use of and beliefs about teaching styles – scenario descriptions

5. SueSee (2010, unpublished doctoral thesis) Surveyed and observed the teaching styles of physical education teachers – scenario descriptions

6. Jakkola & Watt (2011) Surveyed 294 Finnish physical education teachers

Methodology

◦Survey Questionnaire

◦Observations

Survey Questionnaire PART 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please circle your response for the questions below. For example: 1. GENDER: Female _______________________________________________________________________ QUESTIONS: 1. GENDER: Male Female 2. AGE: 15-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50+ 3. STATE/TERRITORY WHERE YOU CURRENTLY COACH: VIC NSW QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT 4. HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION: Secondary School Certificate or Diploma Trade/Apprenticeship Undergraduate degree Postgraduate degree Masters PhD/EdD 5. COACHING QUALIFICATION THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY COMPLETING: Junior development Club professional Master club professional High performance 6. YEARS OF COACHING: 0-3 4-10 11-20 20+ 7. HOURS PER WEEK COACHING: 1-5 5-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40+

Male

INSTRUCTIONS:

For questions 7 and 8 please indicate your response by placing the appropriate number in the box provided

8. AGE GROUP(S) MOST TIME SPENT COACHING PER WEEK: (Please number in order from most to least e.g. 1, 2, 3 etc; if time is equal use the same number e.g. 1, 2, 2, 3, 4 etc; or not at all – use an X)

4-7 10-12 15-17

7-10 12-15 17+ 9. LEVEL(S) MOST TIME SPENT COACHING PER WEEK: (Please number in order from most to least e.g. 1, 2, 3 etc; if time is equal use the same number e.g. 1, 2, 2, 3 etc; or not at all – use an X) Beginner Intermediate Advanced Elite Professionals

PART 2. TEACHING STYLES INSTRUCTIONS:

Please read the Scenario Description for each Teaching Style and circle your response for each question.

Please answer all questions from your coaching situations and respond as

honestly as possible about only your teaching experiences.

There are NO right or wrong responses. All teaching SCENARIO DESCRIPTIONS are valid. This questionnaire seeks your beliefs and opinions about which teaching styles you believe you use.

Survey Questionnaire Scenario Style

Scenario Description of Teaching Style

 

B The coach selects the subject matter tasks, the quantity, and the time limits so that students can practice individually and privately. The coach circulates among all students and offers private feedback. The students learn to set a pace to practice tasks within an allocated time frame. 

 How frequently do I use this teaching style in my coaching sessions throughout the year?

Not at all

Minimally

Here and there

Often

Most of the

time 1

 2

  3

 4

 5

Observations • Three 30 minute tennis lessons with four players

• Performed during the coaches’ formal certification coaching courses conducted by Tennis Australia (TA)

• All of the 36 video-recorded lessons were coded by the researcher and a second individual

• Prof. Sara Ashworth provided extensive assistance and advice during the coding process

Participants• Tennis Australia’s formal coaching courses

• Junior Development n=130• Club Professional n=78

• 208 tennis coaches participated in the survey questionnaire

• 12 coaches were selected for the observations

Results

Self-identified use of teaching styles (n=208)

• All teaching styles were reportedly used

• Practice Style-B 58.7%

• Command Style-A 51%

• Guided Discovery-F 46.2%

• Junior Development (JD) and Club Professional (CP) coaches reported similar teaching style usage

Results

Tennis coaches’ observed use of teaching styles (n=12)

• Two of the eleven teaching styles were observed

• Practice Style-B 84.2% of the time

• Command Style-A 10.5% of the time

• No other teaching styles were observed

Discussion• Lack of congruency between the teaching styles that tennis

coaches believe they use and what they actually use

• Predominant use of teaching styles in reproductive cluster

• Coaching accreditation manuals recommend a range of teaching

styles

• Results are not compatible with favoured pedagogical processes

Implications

• What are coaches doing?

• Self-reflective

• Promote awareness

• Benefit of a variety of styles

• Encourage the use of a variety of styles

• Pursue greater understanding

Summary1. Report the current teaching styles being used by 208 Australian tennis

coaches using Mosston and Ashworth’s Spectrum of Teaching Styles (2008) as a basis of identification

2. Observe twelve coaches and verify whether they are using the teaching styles they report

3. Results indicate tennis coaches predominantly use one teaching style – Practice Style-B

4. Coaches spend most of their time using teaching styles located in the reproduction cluster of The Spectrum

5. Correlate with direct instruction guidelines

Further Research

• Information forms part of a larger doctoral study

1. Observing one coach for an extended period of time

2. Interviewing all the observed coaches

3. Some exploration of canopy designs that are

located between teaching styles

Preliminary Findings 1. Observation

• Similar results to the coaches who were observed during three 30 minute

lessons

2. Interviews

• Multiple instructional processes exist for coaching

• Coaches’ interpretations and definitions lacked consistency and were often

used interchangeably

3. Canopy Designs

• An early examination of teaching and learning experiences that are located

between the eleven teaching styles demonstrated the prevalence of

teaching behaviour that can be analysed as canopy designs.

99

Thankyou