Practice style is useful for associative phase learners learning new skills. I’d control the task and what the students practised, allowing them to work at their own pace and intensity which allows time for individual attention. E.g. hockey drills- 5 players, 5 groups. The disadvantage would be that players may not work at a sufficient intensity as they are not being monitored.
Self-Check’s a development of the reciprocal style in which, students work in pairs or small groups to evaluate their performances. The teacher sets criteria but students are encouraged to interact and incorporate the practise style. Self check demands a higher ability and experience for students to assess themselves correctly. Video recording is useful. The disadvantages are that students may dislike being taught and criticised by peers, creating conflict. Also a danger of incorrect information being issued, which is why I’d use this style when teaching an autonomous phase learning group that are enthusiastic for their sport as they’d be more trustworthy if they enjoy their sport.
Guided discovery/ Problem solving are opposite to command style. A task is set and the student’s lead to the answer by asking questions, suggested strategies and practice. It promotes independent thinking which I’d find useful with a gymnastics class. It encourages creativity i.e. choreography. It may not be appropriate where practice carries risks e.g. cognitive learners learning new vaults.
Self teach/learner initiated is the complete opposite to command. The teacher’s an adviser and supervisor. Again I would use this style with dance or gym for the same reasons as problem solving, such as asking students to create contemporary routines independently. Also within a very mixed ability group I would put the experienced, mature students into a game situation where they are in charge so to work with the beginners.
Students need to be motivated to achieve their potential. Atkinson (1974) suggests that there are two general classifications of athletic personality: NACH - those with the need to achieve and NAF- those who need to avoid failure. NACH athletes are better suited to teaching styles such as self-check, reciprocal, and learner initiated because they’re highly motivated and understand the concept of improvement, therefore appreciating evaluations and negative feedback. NAF athletes have low confidence thus relying on positive feedback. Command and practise styles are at one end of the spectrum and are better suited to NAFs because they make them feel safe and secure i.e. they don’t like new challenges. It boosts confidence because they participate the only way they know.
Styles are often crossed, to compensate for mixed ability groups, which fulfil the aim of sustained motivation. E.g. y11 tennis class some players are autonomous phase learners and are put straight into a game situation to practice (self-check) whereas cognitive learners require command style to learn the basics clearly and see demonstrations. The teacher will know that transfer of learning is easier for some students, making their progress more rapid. This implies a change of style as students progress, down the spectrum. e.g. in the same class a beginner being an autonomous phase netballer/hockey player will have strong wrist flexors and agility necessary for tennis, giving them a physical advantage.
As shown, different styles are suited to different situations. Within sport, the two main experiences are practise and competition (preparation for it). There are different levels of participation, such as school, club and territorial. At a high representative level such as North England, the players would be autonomous and very committed e.g. hockey. Practise would be taken very seriously compared to a school hockey class of mixed ability students. At high levels motivation would be intrinsic to succeed, but also extrinsically because of the recognition and rewards available such as recommendation to a higher level-NACH. With a school hockey team players must be constantly motivated by positive feedback to encourage them to carry on. Within normal training feedback would be extrinsic but reciprocal and self check teaching would also make it intrinsic. The players would not work individually but as a team which is why practice would be a popular method to practise game situations and drills in a more closed environment. Intrinsic motivation would not be the need to win but the urge to improve and learn new skills and tactics. Guidance can be visual, verbal and manual to clearly explain tasks. The styles of teaching would be mainly teacher centred to practise the necessary skills. Once associative, skills are much better and the level of input from athletes can be increased in order to learn more about there own performance e.g. reciprocal and self-check
When the situation’s altered by competition e.g. regional tennis tournament, motivation’s about winning and preparing the athlete mentally. They’d be extrinsically motivated by physical rewards like trophies and recognition. The style of teaching becomes stricter, no longer self check. Command and practice would perfect tactics and skills ready for competition. Guidance becomes more detailed and tactical as there’s no point in changing a techniques (only practise as to improve the schema of the skill) within a short space of competition. The feedback would be mainly positive in order to boost confidence and secure mentality before competition, although necessary negative would be involved to try to cut out bad habits e.g. not coming into the net and instead opting for rallies.
In conclusion, different styles of teaching are suited to different ages, abilities, reasons for taking part, and sports. E.g. in trampolining guided discovery would be useful to create routines and stimulate creativity, but in hockey practising in a training match is more important as this is how they develop their creativity and awareness. Student attitude is also relevant and teachers can often base their style around this. Eager students may be sensibly behaved trustworthy with styles such as reciprocal. This determines the best style for everyone.
Generally in competitive situations, teaching/coaching methods tend to be teacher centred and practise style to build confidence and apply acquisition of skill. With associative and autonomous athletes self check and reciprocal may also be used in order to promote team interaction e.g. hockey and to go through set plays tactics. Styles vary between sports, but generally the teaching method depends on the learning phase of the athlete. Cognitive phase athletes need to master not only the basic skills, but safety and rules so command is most suitable. E.g. tennis- a beginner may need manual guidance for a forehand stroke. With more skill, associative phase learners learn by reciprocal to encourage interaction as well as practising for improvement e.g. introducing a hockey team to a 20 minute games situation. This also encourages competitive elements of sport.
