How can you alter your style of teaching to meet the demands of different practice and competitive situations for individual, racket and team sports? Ability is a set of qualities that are genetically fixed i.e. you are born with it, whereas skill is ‘the learned ability to bring about predetermined results with maximum certainty, often with the minimum outlay of time or energy or both.’ (Guthrie, 1956). The difference between the two is that skill can be learnt and improved through practice, role models, trial and error and demonstrating and copying, whereas ability cannot be improved or learnt, it is constant.
Teaching styles originated from Mosston and Ashworth. They identified 10 main teaching styles and these were placed on a spectrum based on the degree of responsibility the teacher/pupil had in that lesson. At one side of the continuum, there is the straight, teacher-led style whereby the teacher maintains full decision making. At the other side is the relaxed, pupil centered approach whereby the pupil has the entire decision making.
The variation in styles is said to be determined by the amount of decisions that the teacher and learner make in the learning process, i.e. the more decisions the teacher makes, the more teacher-centered the style and vice versa. When learning an open skill, there are many factors that can affect the outcome, therefore a command style would be deployed. Whereas when learning a closed skill, a discovery style could be applied, because the skill is not affected by any or few, insignificant factors. A teacher centered approach such as command style could be used when teaching a fine skill, while a discovery style could be employed to teach a gross skill. I will be focusing on 4 main styles. These are command, recovery, guided discovery and discovery.
Firstly, command style is the most extreme, teacher-centered style. This is where the teacher makes all decisions and expects no feedback from the student. The task will be broken down into simple step by step instructions. Command style is usually applied when the student has very low self confidence/motivation. Therefore, if the student listens to the teacher and succeeds, they will become more motivated.
It is also applied when there is a large group of students who are not very academic, i.e. a bottom set, group of 30, year 9 boys. The reason for the decision in this case will be to ensure safety. Experience is also a big factor because a less experienced player will need a command style approach. This way, they will gain experience and succeed much quicker. The environment also plays a big factor in the choice of style. Where the environment is dangerous and there are many hazards, therefore command style will be applied to ensure safety.
Examples:- Individual – when carrying out a bench press in weightlifting, a trainer may use a command style when showing an inexperienced pupil how to go about it, step by step. This will ensure they avoid using the wrong technique and will improve the amount he can lift. It will also increase his motivation.