Introduction: According to a Norwegian study by (Säfvenbom, Geldhof, & Haugen, 2014) 44 % of the students (N=2055) expressed a lack of motivation in PE, 12 % did not like the subject and 32% were dissatisfied with the way PE... [ view full abstract ]
Introduction: According to a Norwegian study by (Säfvenbom, Geldhof, & Haugen, 2014) 44 % of the students (N=2055) expressed a lack of motivation in PE, 12 % did not like the subject and 32% were dissatisfied with the way PE was presented to them. On the other side sports participating subjects experienced more contentment with PE than those not active. Research have found that Norwegian PETE-teachers at University level gave rather traditional lessons (Moen & Green, 2012).
Our study investigated undergraduate PETE students’ preferences and experiences with a) traditional didactics and b) a Constraints-based Didactic (CBD) (Loftesnes, 2016), measured by several different motivational goals: enjoyment, team relatedness, group relatedness, codetermination and movement skill (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
Method: 96 undergraduate PETE-students (36% female) participated over a period of three weeks and were divided into two groups learning basketball. Group 1 participated in three double practical lessons using traditional didactics/teaching style followed by one double practical lesson of CBD. Group 2 was given three double lessons of CBD followed by one double lesson using traditional didactic/teaching style. Result scores, didactical style preference and level of enjoyment were plotted using SPSS (2016) nonparametric, One-Sample Binomial Test.
Result: The score (1-9) showed that both groups reported high scores on enjoyment (group one n=53, 7.80 sd= .912 and group two n=43, 7.63 SD=1.346). Newer the less, CBD was significantly preferred to the traditional didactics in the conditions enjoyment (N=96) (p=,000), team relatedness (p=.000) and codetermination (p=.000), but not in the condition individual skill (p=.064) and group relatedness (p=.305).
Discussion: Lessons given were rated high in the condition enjoyment; this was not the case in the condition individual skill. The CDB students' preferences show that, if the goal for PE and PETE students is motivation, CDB should be considered as a possible teaching style.
