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

participant as observer’ 
(Denscombe, 2003, p. 203) perspective. While the 
preferred approach would have been to maintain distance from the lesson and the 
teaching, this was not always possible. As an observer in a physical education setting I 
frequently became part of the lesson as teachers approached me to receive affirmation 
having given the children a task to complete. The children having experienced lessons 
with me as the teacher came at times to seek my approval or to show me what they were 
doing. Some children approached me when they saw the teacher was busy and they 
required an adults help and others simply to say ‘hello’. As I became involved in some 
lessons and because some teachers indicated that they felt under pressure having me 
observing and making notes, I completed many of the observation schedules 
immediately after the lesson. The observation schedule template and completed sample 
observation template can be seen in Appendix I (i) and I (ii). The observation schedule 
was informed by the observation schedule used by the researcher on teaching practice to 
observe pre-service teachers. The schedule included sections on ‘strengths’ and ‘areas 
requiring development’ and any other ‘general observations’ pertinent to the PDP. 

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Lesson evaluations.
Teachers were asked to evaluate their own lessons if I was 
unable to be present. An evaluation template was designed for this purpose (Appendix J 
(i)). The lesson evaluation template was informed by the lesson evaluations used by 
pre-service teachers when on teaching practice and includes headings such as 
‘strengths’ and ‘areas requiring development’ of the lesson as well as outlining content 
included in the lesson, levels of physical activity and a space for any other general 
comments. The lesson evaluation templates were accompanied with instructions for 
completion for each teacher and a sample completed evaluation form can be seen in 
Appendix J (ii).