Teaching outdoor and adventure activities: an investigation of a primary school physical education professional development p

Types of support
 
Modelling of 
complete lesson
(seeing)
Modelling of part of a 
lesson/Team teaching
(seeing)
Explanation of lesson 
prior to lesson
(explaining)
 
Number of Lessons
 
Week 1
 
Week 2
 
Week 3
 
Week 4
 
Week 5
 
Week 6
 
Week 7
 
Week 8
 
4
7
11
12
16
8
4
7
-
2
4
3
6
5
8
7
-
-
2
1
4
2
7
3
Total
 
69
35
19
5
 
Intense → Less Intense
5
Explanations ranged from 5 minutes to clarify a technical aspect of a lesson to 30 minutes where the complete 
lesson was explained in detail.

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Table 6.6 Uptake of available support during PDP – Stage 2 
Types of 
support
 
 
Modelling of 
complete lesson
(seeing)
Modelling of part of a 
lesson/Team teaching
(seeing)
Explanation of 
lesson prior to 
lesson
(explaining)
Observation 
of lesson
(observing)
 
Number of lessons
 
Week 1
 
Week 2
 
Week 3
 
Week 4
 
2
-
1
1
5
2
6
2
3
3
3
_
13
16
10
6
Total
 
4
15
9
45
 
Intense → Less Intense
It is important to note that no teacher who had a complete lesson modelled for 
them during the initial PDP required modelling of a complete lesson at stage 2 of the 
PDP.
Modelling.
Modelling was provided for whole lessons, part lessons and 
individual activities within a lesson. Teachers commented that having the opportunity to 
actually see another teacher teaching, modelling the content, explaining what they were 
doing (cognitive apprenticeship) and demonstrating strategies for them was extremely 
helpful; 
‘Oh yeah, well you know I wouldn’t be the best teacher of PE as you know so it 
showed me – I feel I could do it by watching you’
(1 FGT Lisa SI). 
‘…you know exactly 
what’s being done and how to go about doing it...’
(1 FGT Molly JI).
I think you need to see it in action. Because when it is written down on paper…it 
is very hard to visualize it unless you have seen it done. And once you have seen 
it done you will remember it again you know.
(1 FGT Amanda 1) 
The production of a DVD or on-line vignettes of lesson would be an excellent 
way of having lessons modelled according to one teacher who was anxious as to how 
much she would remember for teaching during the following year;
‘might be no harm to video it, I’m thinking in terms of you know, you have your 
notes but how do you do that again and if it was on a video you could say oh 
that’s the photo star’ 
(1 FGT
Kate JI).

At stage 2 of the PDP, modelling of lessons was carried out for Jack, who was 
new to the school and had no experience of O&AA previously, and for a teacher 
(Moira) who was now teaching two levels higher than at stage 1 and was not confident 

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with the new, more advanced content. Jack had this to say about his experience of 
lesson modelling; 
Can I say to compare that with, or to traditional in-service in PE, I found much 
more valuable to have you there because it...you get a quick thing from say 
turning and saying to somebody and it is the first morning lesson and you know 
like, with everything else, you have forgotten. Whereas being on site in the real 
situation, walking around, they are just looking at you doing it or doing it with 
you. Whereas I found it certainly much more important, much better learning 
experience. There is no doubt about it, I’d still from time to time like somebody 
to extend the lesson for the bright kids or with dance. It might be no harm if we 
could see somebody, you know, modelling it even once but in a real situation, 
not with adults. You need to see, to stress the lesson, you need to see kids doing 
it.
(2 FGT Jack 4) 
This opinion was supported by the Principal; 
‘That [modelling] was crucially 
important … because we don’t, we’re often told what to do, without actually being 
shown how to do it’
(IP). Teachers recognised that the ‘how to’ knowledge 
(pedagogical content knowledge) was just as important as the ‘what’ knowledge 
(content knowledge) and that for teachers to embrace the content and teach they needed 
both types of knowledge, which were provided by the PDP. The complexity of teachers 
moving between classes each year and new staff in schools each year highlights the 
importance of sustained support and flexibility within that support. The professional 
development programme in its design must be flexible to allow for complexities. 
Teachers have to see things in their world, their school with their children, to embrace 
the professional development and to understand the teaching and learning environment 
as it pertains to them. The lessons were detailed in terms of content and pedagogical 
content knowledge was provided through the modelling of these lessons; 
My main concern would’ve been not being able, not getting the idea of the 
concept, the concept of the lesson myself and not being able to do the lesson 
then. So, I had a look at these notes and thinking about it in my head. I don’t 
know what the game is. If you don’t know that, you can’t start. So, that’s, that 
would’ve been my main concern…knowing what a snake walk is, you know…I 
know now what it is.
(2 FGT Simon 3) 
The provision of resources without the modelling of their content for many 
teachers would not have encouraged them to teach the lessons. All teachers continued 
to report at stage 2, that the lesson/partial lesson modelling was invaluable. The 
following comment from one of the teachers encapsulate the teachers’ thoughts; 
‘I 

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thought that the way you modelled the lessons at the start gave me confidence…so I 
thought the modelling was brilliant’
(2 FGT Alannah 5). 
Similar to comments made at stage 1, teachers still supported the idea of having 
a DVD available with some of the activities shown so that they might have an idea 
where to start and that what they were doing was correct; 
I think that a video explaining or teaching or actually videoing, let’s say in 
orienteering and outdoor activity for each class level should be done. And that 
should actually accompany each class level then in school so that when people 
go into first class they have the video for first class with an example of 
everything, all the strands………But if something could be started, the support 
would be therefore teachers and there would be no reason why they wouldn’t be 
able to … visualise, and teach in a confident way.
(2 FGT Natalie 1)