Effective Teaching of Health and Physical Education

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Effective Teaching of Health and Physical Education
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Effective Teaching of Health and Physical Education
Effective teaching refers to the level of confidence and skills possed by the teachers that
can influence the actual as well as perceived abilities of the educators to assist learners in
achieving academic success and enjoyment at school. In the physical and health education field,
it is essential that the curriculum is undertaken by teachers who understand the learning
objectives established in the syllabus and linked to the national and international standards
(Francesco et al., 2019; Jeong, 2013). Walker and Johnson (2018) present that student learning
objectives are addressed in lessons using psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains. This
paper seeks to review existing literature on effective health and physical education with the aim
of analyzing teacher education, coach education, and physical education. The specific objective
is to understand the processes undertaken by health and physical educators to acquire and
enhance their knowledge for effective learning outcomes. Learning for preservice teachers
primarily focuses on content, and this progresses throughout their training as student learning
gets prioritized.
Over the years, research on physical education has offered a variety of research topics
emerging from nearly every corner of the world. One such topic is seen in the research on field
experiences and teaching identities as analyzed by Ingersoll, Lux, and Jenkins (2014). The
researchers established that experiences in the field could make it possible for preservice
teachers to change from content knowledge and shift focus to the improvement and learning of
the students. This is important in enhancing physical and health education as, occasionally,
students could start their preservice programs with various misconceptions about teaching.
Therefore, when these teachers move through experiences in working, a conceptual change that
challenges these misconceptions could be achieved. A shift from content knowledge to student

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learning and improvement starts when the preservice teachers understand the phenomenon of
task progression and ensure adequate adjustment of their instructions to suit individual learners.
However, this transition may prove difficult for new teachers in some instances.
Earlier experiences on teacher education for physical education emphasized the subject
matter as the most effective form of instruction. Teachers ought to take a proactive stance in their
education as they are required to shape their identity and form practices for instructions (Walker
& Johnson, 2018). This implies that their focus needs to shift to the ownership of their academic
training instead of viewing the learning as just a service provided by the professors. Ingersoll,
Jenkins, and Lux (2014) present that the early preservice teachers' experiences shape their
teaching identities in ways that could differ from the lessons taught and learned in their programs
for teaching. Hence, preservice teachers need to be prepared for the realities of instructions in
schools as this could ensure they make a compelling start to in-service practice. The teachers
themselves may shape the teaching identities as they also counter the washout effect. Studies
around the perception of evaluation and measurement should also be undertaken to enhance
positive learning outcomes.
There is a significant gap in the preservice training of health and physical educators in
relation to the topic of disability. Jeong (2013) conducted a preliminary study that found that up
to 48% of the educators enrolled for the training had no prior working experience with students
with disabilities. Interestingly, the study also found that 28% of the preservice trainers had no
confidence in handling this particular class of students. These findings paint society's true
picture, especially in the learning environment for health and physical education. In some
instances, the preservice teachers have developed ambivalent feelings towards inclusive
education, expressing their preference for the placement of this group of learners into a special

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school setup. There is a need to promote inclusion, and this can only be achieved if preservice
teachers are trained to embrace inclusion. Changing instructional behavior and developing a
physical education curriculum for teachers could be used to re-examine internship, work
experience, and lecture.
There is a long way to go if physical and health education is to achieve inclusivity,
especially in youth sports. Research by Hutzler et al. (2019) adds to the findings of Jeong (2013)
as it indicated that in the communities, coaches engaging athletes in youth sports are often not
ready to incorporate the needs of disabled athletes, which are known to be unique. This issue
needs to be addressed as the consequences of not knowing how to accommodate this group into
the sports curriculum could be devastating for both the coach and the athlete. One way of
addressing this issue could be through integration; integrating two or more subjects in the
physical and health education curriculum will help students and educators understand under
different learning environments. Using Clarke and Skiba's (2013) Mathematical Modelling of
Athletic Training and Performance, it would be easy to achieve effective integration in the
curriculum.
Training programs for physical and health education explore the models of curricula that
emphasize competition. A study conducted in Australia in the course of game teaching suggested
an unconventional approach to teacher instructions as opposed to the reproductive style in the
education of students ( Moy et al., 2014). The study showed that the teacher educators in
physical and health education could overcome students' acculturation. The researchers examined
sports education by incorporating them into preservice education while reporting setbacks in the
instructions. However, the study participants still valued physical education as a curricular
model. The study did not examine the problems involving game teaching instructions for