The Effect Of Teaching Style In Children's Physical Activity Levels Within Structured Physical Activity Settings

Abstract

Structured physical activity (i.e., physical education or out-of-school movement programs) is the primary method where children start learning movement skills, develop physical fitness, practice healthy habits, and have shown to be quite successful in tackling physical inactivity in children. PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the effect of different teaching styles in physical activity levels among children in structured physical activity settings. METHODS: 35 Preschool and 25 School-age children were each divided into two groups (N = 15 and N = 20, preschool; N = 14 and N = 20, school-age), participating in two 60-minute developmentally appropriate lessons. The first lesson was delivered using a teacher-centered teaching style, while the second lesson used a child-centered approach. Each lesson was composed of a warm-up, physical fitness development, motor skill learning, and activity closure, whereas the equipment and other environmental variables remained the same between the two lessons. Physical activity was measured in step count using an OMRON HJA-308 pedometer, and data were obtained every fifteen minutes. An independent t-test was used to assess teaching styles' effect on overall physical activity and examine gender differences in this sample. RESULTS: Teaching style did not significantly affect physical activity level in preschool children; however, step count was significantly higher in school-aged children when a student-centered teaching style (2115 ± 460 steps vs. 1679 ± 387 steps, P < 0.05) was adopted. School-age boys were significantly more active in a student-centered teaching style (2253 ± 463.5 steps vs. 1635 ± 401 steps, P < 0.05), but the choice of teaching style did not affect school-aged girls' physical activity levels. In contrast, no significant gender differences were observed in preschoolers in both groups. CONCLUSION: While teacher-centered teaching style is still the most common way of delivering instruction in structured physical activity settings today, educators and coaches in the field should be aware not to overuse it. Instead, a comprehensive teaching strategy that includes both teacher and child-centered approaches would be more developmentally appropriate. Supported by the Planning subject for the 13th five year plan of Beijing education sciences (BEAA19045)