Preservice Teachers' Analysis of Appropriate Teaching Practices in Physical Education: A Qualitative Comparison of Two Programs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how two different groups of preservice teachers from two universities identified and described appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices and suggest appropriate changes. The investigation was also designed to provide teacher educators with insights into how to better prepare prospective teachers for their first teaching experience.

Participants for this study were 30 undergraduate preservice teachers from two southeastern universities. There were 15 participants from each group, which included 17 males and 13 females. Eight video vignettes were created from the Developmentally Appropriate Practices document developed by NASPE (1992). Two vignettes depicted appropriate practices and six portrayed inappropriate practices. Participants viewed the vignettes during scheduled appointments and were instructed to identify and describe what they saw in the vignettes according to the criterion guidelines developed for this study.

Data sources for the investigation were the participants' written responses gathered from the Qualitative Response Chart (questionnaire) and the Debriefing Sheet. The research project attempted to answer the following questions: Were there differences in how University A and University B identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education? What were the differences in the teaching practices recommended? To what experiences did the two groups attribute their ability to identify and describe appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices?

Results indicated that the amount and kind of experiences provided by the respective teacher education programs did have an impact on how the participants identified and described appropriate teaching practices in physical education.