Some sports need to be taught in a different teaching style to others. A martial art would be better taught in command style, especially when doing synchronized things such as katas, as the whole group need to be doing exactly the same thing at the same time. Therefore, they need to be teacher led so they have someone to keep in time with and follow. There is no need for the individual to think for themselves so command style would be the most appropriate. If they were to be taught in a problem solving style, such as H, I or J, then it wouldn’t be as effective as they wouldn’t know what they were doing. However, a disadvantage of using command style is that the learner could get de-motivated and bored because they’re getting told what to do all the time. Some individual sports, such as javelin, are taught in command style, as it’s potentially a very dangerous sport. Therefore, it is a good idea for the students to be told exactly what to do and when to do it in order to avoid serious injury.
When doing techniques in a martial art, two teaching styles that could be used are command style A and practice style B. Command style A would b appropriate because some techniques could be dangerous, therefore the teacher would be able to tell the learner exactly what to do without hurting themselves or others. B gives people enough freedom not to get bored, but once again, it’s teacher-led. The students would see the technique demonstrated, and would then be able to practice it for themselves. This style, and command style A, are particularly useful when teaching beginners, as they will know exactly what to do and when to do it. Finally, in a competitive situation such as grappling, a teaching style where the individual has to think for themselves could be used. This is because grappling involves having quick reactions and you have to think for yourself.
For a racket sport such as tennis, a different method of teaching needs to be used. If you’re practicing shots, then once again practice style B could be used. “When a forehand stroke in tennis is demonstrated, all the learners are expected to practice the stroke as demonstrated, with the same motion and same foot position” (Teaching Physical Education: Muska Mosston & Sara Ashworth). This is a good example of using this teaching style; the teacher should demonstrate the technique, like command style, but the learner can develop some independence by practicing it on their own. However, in a game situation, the learners need to develop more independence and think for themselves, therefore they need to be taught in a style that is more student-led.
However, using a teacher-led style isn’t the only option. Self-check can also be used. This is where the student evaluates their own performance. An example of this while practising a tennis shot, is that the learner could have their performance recorded on video. They could then watch it back, and evalate how well they did and what they need to improve.
Playing a team activity, such as football, is completely different to doing an individual or racket sport, so once again the teaching style needs to be changed. A discovery or problem solving style could be used because when the learners are put into a game situation they would be able to think for themselves. When learning skills, it could be helpful to teach in a teaching style where the learner can think for themselves because then they would be able to find their own solution. For example, if an attacker is learning how to get past a defender, they could decide for themselves how they are going to do it. However, this would only work for more advanced learners.
In conclusion, you can alter your teaching methods a lot by choosing different teaching styles according to what you’re teaching. With an individual sport or one that needs the learners to be synchronized, a style where the teacher does a lot more of the decision making would be more appropriate. In comparison, if it’s a team activity where players need to work with or against each other, then the students should be given more freedom, as they need to learn to think for themselves in pressured situations. A similarity with all these sports is that when it’s a competitive situation, a style where the learner does more of the decision-making would be more appropriate.
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Bibliography
Teaching Physical Education: Muska Mosston & Sara Ashworth
www.sports-media.org
www.nipissingu.ca/education
Advanced PE for Edexcel: Frank Galligan et al.
