1. education
2. english as a second language

The University of Southern Queensland
Faculty of Education
Postgraduate and Early Research Group
10th Research Symposium
Paper presentation
October 2012
Title
Self-Identified and Observed Teaching
Styles of Junior Development and
Club Professional Tennis Coaches in
Australia
by
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 that
defines the specific decision interaction of
the teacher or coach and the learner for
the purpose of leading to the development of
specific objectives in subject matter and
behaviour.* One or more teaching styles may
be used during a lesson/session.
*Ashworth, S. (2009). Teaching a Spectrum Repertoire. Keynote presentation
for the 26th ACHPER International Conference. Brisbane, Australia, July.
Literature Review
Increasing 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SueSee (2010, unpublished doctoral thesis) Surveyed and observed the teaching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
INSTRUCTIONS:
PART 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

INSTRUCTIONS:

8. AGE GROUP(S) MOST TIME SPENT COACHING PER WEEK:
Please circle your response for the questions below. For example:
Male
1. GENDER:
(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)
Female
_______________________________________________________________________
QUESTIONS:
1. GENDER:
2. AGE:
Male
For questions 7 and 8 please indicate your response by placing the appropriate
number in the box provided
4-7
10-12
15-17
7-10
12-15
17+
Female
15-20
20-30
30-40
40-50
9. LEVEL(S) MOST TIME SPENT COACHING PER WEEK:
50+
(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)
3. STATE/TERRITORY WHERE YOU CURRENTLY COACH:
VIC
NSW
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
ACT
NT
Beginner
Advanced
Intermediate
Elite Professionals
4. HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION:
Secondary School
Certificate or Diploma
Undergraduate degree
Trade/Apprenticeship
Postgraduate degree
Masters
PhD/EdD
PART 2. TEACHING STYLES
INSTRUCTIONS:
5. COACHING QUALIFICATION THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY COMPLETING:
Junior development
Club professional
Master club professional
High performance
6. YEARS OF COACHING:
0-3
7. HOURS PER WEEK COACHING:
4-10
1-5
5-10
11-20
10-20
20+
20-30
30-40
40+

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
1
Minimally Here and
there
2
3
Often
Most of
the
time
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
• Club Professional
n=130
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
Summary
1. 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