What Preservice Physical Education Teachers See in an Unguided, Early Field Experience

Abstract

The ability of physical education teachers to observe the movement response of the learner and the environment in which the response takes place is crucial in effective instruction. This study is an initial attempt to identify what a group of 21 preservice physical education teachers reported seeing in a 15-minute games lesson with fourth-grade students. An analytic inductive strategy was employed to categorize the data at two levels of specificity. Results indicated that as a group the preservice teachers focused on a broad range of teacher and student behaviors and lesson elements, but as individuals they had a more limited focus of attention. Level 2 analysis revealed that only 10% of the recorded statements focused on the movement responses of the children and no statements related to the learning environment. If teacher educators deem it important that their majors notice teacher and student behaviors as well as lesson elements, they have to plan more carefully for this to occur, particularly with majors early in their professional education.