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

Recording interview data.
It is vital in all interview types to have a reliable 
system of recording information. In the case of the group interview in this study, audio-
recording information was vital as it would prove impossible to record the comments of 
all group members accurately. The transcribing process was beneficial as it enabled 
familiarity with the interview text as all interview data were transcribed verbatim.
Observations.
Gillham (2000) notes that observation involves watching what 
people do, listening to what they say and sometimes asking for clarification. An 
observer can be involved in the activity or detached from the activity; the former of 
these is known as participant observation and the latter as detached or structured 
observation. Participant observer conducts business with two purposes in mind: (a) to 
participate in the activities appropriate to the given situation and (b) to observe the 
activities and people in the situation (Spradley, 1979). He also suggests that the 
participant observer will ‘experience being both an insider and an outsider 
simultaneously’ (p. 57). In this study, I became a ‘complete observer’ (Spradley, 1979) 
as I was both a complete participant and an observer. This is the highest degree of 
participant involvement. At times in the study, it was necessary for this role to change 
to ‘passive observer’ where I was in the environment being studied but had little 
interaction with the people.
Not only are observations a method of data collection but observation is also one 
of the best ways to learn (Guskey, 2000) whether by observing others or being observed 
and receiving specific feedback. Therefore an observation schedule (Appendix I) was 
designed based on pre-service education, teaching practice observation schedules which 
the researcher was familiar with from use as a supervisor of teaching practice in St 

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Patrick’s College. These observation schedules were originally designed to provide 
feedback to students following supervisor observed lessons during their teaching 
practice experience in schools and included both the strengths and the weaknesses of the 
lessons, which was also the purpose of the observations for this study. In certain 
instances where lesson observations could not be made, teachers completed lesson 
evaluations. These evaluation schedules (Appendix J) were also adapted from the 
lesson evaluation forms used by pre-service students during their teaching practice 
experience and were designed to encourage the student, or in this case the teacher, to 
reflect on their teaching.