Teaching and Coaching: A Comparison of Instructional Behaviors

Abstract

Researchers have studied teaching and coaching separately, despite the fact that these roles overlap. The purpose of this study was to compare the instructional behaviors of educators who were engaged in the dual role of teaching high school physical education and coaching baseball. Nine teacher/coaches were observed using the ASU Observation Instrument. Of the 13 behavioral categories observed, significant differences were found in 5 categories. Coaching behaviors were greater for preinstruction, praise, and silence. Teaching behaviors were greater for the categories of management and the category “other.” The results demonstrate that instructional behaviors can vary depending upon context. This study supplements a beginning data base for comparisons of pedagogical behaviors of teacher/coaches.