Children learning lacrosse from teachers learning to teach it: the discovery of pedagogical content knowledge by observing children's movement.

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The purpose of this study was to describe lacrosse-specific pedagogical content knowledge discovered within the context of children learning lacrosse from teachers learning to teach it. Four teachers, each teaching one class of fourth- and/or fifth-grade children taught between 4 and 6 consecutive lessons, videotaping each so the children's movement patterns could be seen clearly. Inductive analysis and constant comparison were used to analyze the children's movement patterns in relation to the teachers' actions. Only data related to the vertical cradle, one of four skills taught to the children, were analyzed. Findings were presented as pedagogical content knowledge specific to lacrosse and were interpreted using the component approach to developmental sequences, Newell's (1986) 3-factor constraints theory, and Halverson's (1966) concept of eliciting the desired movement pattern.