Behaviors of students and teachers in the command, practice, and inclusion styles of teaching

Abstract

Validating selected theoretical assumptions associated with the Spectrum of Teaching Styles is critical to the pursuit of knowledge about effective instructional strategies. To assess these styles, a total of 77 college-aged students at one university enrolled in four physical activity classes and participated in three 50-minute lessons with different teaching styles. One lesson was delivered in the command teaching style, one in the practice teaching style, and one in the inclusion teaching style. All 12 lessons (three to each class) were taught by one Spectrum trained teacher. Students performed the same series of five Pilate’s abdominal exercises in all three lessons. Three observation instruments were used to systematically code instructional climate (Stewart, 1989), time-on-fitness (Chung, 1989), and teacher feedback (Dodds, 1989; Mosston and Ashworth, 2002). Descriptive statistics were computed for the student and teacher behaviors. One-way ANOVAs were used to examine behavior differences among teaching styles. The results revealed that the amount of time spent in instruction was higher in the inclusion style of teaching and amount of time spent in activity was lower. Within active fitness time, no differences were revealed across teaching styles. Individual skill feedback was provided at a higher rate in the practice and inclusion styles of teaching. This information is critical to educators making informed decisions regarding the efficacy of a specific teaching style and its potential utility in facilitating student performance behavior.