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

Teaching methodologies in physical education.
Approaches and teaching 
methods in relation to physical education have changed considerably over time in many 
countries. For many years the purpose of physical education was to inculcate habits of 
obedience and discipline in children. In 1898 the report on Manual and Practical 

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Instruction in Primary Schools in Ireland identified rigid, highly structured and 
repetitive methodologies as the most desirable way to teach physical education to young 
children (Coolahan, 1981; Duffy, 1997). The primary motivation for physical education 
at the time was that it was an effective tool for disciplining children. Lambirth and 
Bailey (2000) point out that these excessively strict teaching methodologies engendered 
fear in many children and caused a negative attitude to physical activity in general. 
Curaclam na Bunscoile (Government of Ireland, 1971) whole class instruction 
on physical drill was discarded in favour of an approach which allowed each child to 
develop at their own rate according to their individual ability. According to the 
Physical Education Curriculum - Teacher Guidelines (Government of Ireland, 1999c), 
one of the keys to successful teaching in the subject is the use of a broad range of 
approaches and methodologies. Mosston (1966) represents the most well-known 
framework of alternative teaching styles in physical education which has since been 
modified (Mosston & Ashworth, 1994) and studies since have confirmed that use of a 
range of teaching styles may enhance student achievement (Graber, 2001). The 
curriculum (Government of Ireland, 1999c), while acknowledging other teaching 
approaches, which it indicates are particularly suited to teaching physical education, 
highlights the direct teaching approach, and the guided-discovery approach. It also 
points out that schools, classes and teachers will vary and that some methods will suit 
particular circumstances better than others. The nature of the strands themselves will 
also require the use of various teaching approaches, both within and between lessons 
and strands. The curriculum points to the teachers’ responsibility to choose the best 
style, approach or even a mixture throughout the lesson, to suit the needs of the learner.
In using the direct teaching methodology the teacher makes all, or most of the 
decisions concerning the content of the lesson with the child responding to instructions. 
MacFayden (2000) comments that this approach is effective as children are adept at 
copying what they see and so the teacher is guaranteed that correct methods are used. 
Furthermore, a direct teaching approach can help teachers to effectively control large or 
unruly classes (MacFayden, 2000; Pickup, 2005; Wetton, 1988). For safety reasons this 
approach also has merit as the children are provided with clear instructions as to how to 
use equipment and apparatus safely (Government of Ireland, 1999a; MacFayden, 2000, 
p. 43). However given the nature of development in children and their desire for 
exploration in physical activities, this approach may not be as suitable as others.
According to Siedentop and Tannehill (2000) many physical education teachers spend a 

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lot of time talking and children spend a lot of time listening and waiting when in these 
classes children need to move. The direct teaching style can lead to too much teacher 
talking and the lesson can become very instructional where there is little teacher-child 
interaction. The child in direct teaching style has little or no independence or control 
over their learning, there can be very little cognitive development with this style. Most 
sports demand cognitive development and social learning limiting the use of this style 
for the subject of physical education (Mosston & Ashworth, 1994).
The guided-discovery approach incorporates elements of the direct teaching 
approach and the exploratory approach. It involves the teacher ‘designing a series of 
questions that will eventually lead to one or more appropriate answers and ultimately 
the discovery of a particular concept’ (Government of Ireland, 1999a, p.43). Wetton 
(1988) comments that while it appears that the children have discovered and learned the 
skills for themselves, the teacher identifies the skills beforehand and guides the children 
along. The role of the teacher therefore is to facilitate and shape movement experiences 
which, as Davies (2003) asserts, can result in children showing greater versatility, 
increased skilfulness and clarity of intent and outcome. The Physical Education 
Curriculum (Government of Ireland, 1999b) recommends this approach for the young 
child as they explore movement through informal play experiences. Teacher designed 
tasks or a task orientated approach is another methodology closely related to the guided-
discovery approach. It involves the teacher setting a task and the children responding to 
it by moving in different ways. This approach allows children to be creative, to work at 
their own individual level and fosters a greater level of decision making on their behalf 
(Graham, 2008; Pickup, 2005; Wetton, 1988). These approaches require the teacher to 
be familiar with both the content and the pedagogical content knowledge to ensure the 
learning experiences of the child are maximised. As the child is in control of the 
activity it is imperative that the teacher can react to the variety of situations which may 
present themselves in a single class when using either of these approaches. 
Ultimately, the key to the successful teaching of physical education is the use of 
a broad range of approaches, styles and methodologies (Graber, 2001; Graham, 2008; 
Hastie & Martin, 2006; Oslin & Mitchell, 2006) where ‘an effective teacher is likely to 
switch and mix approaches to suit the objectives of the unit of work or the lesson’ 
(Government of Ireland, 1999c, p. 42). Over the past number of years other styles and 
models for pedagogy, have become associated with physical education and particular 
aspects of physical education. For example, checking for understanding (Graham, 

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2008; Siedentop & Tannehill, 2000) is an instructional strategy to ensure understanding 
by the children during a lesson and in the teaching of games, ‘teaching games for 
understanding’, ‘skill theme approach’ and ‘sport education’ are three approaches or 
curriculum models highlighted in the literature (Bunker & Thorpe, 1982; Kinchin, 
2006; Kirk & MacPhail, 2002; Oslin & Mitchell, 2006). When planning and designing 
a programme of professional development in physical education it is important to 
understand various approaches and methodologies and ensure that these align with any 
proposed lesson content in order for teachers to understand not only the content 
knowledge but also the pedagogical content knowledge associated with each of the 
strands of the physical education curriculum.