The practice and inclusion teaching styles: Student perceived involvement and style preference, self-determined motivation, and needs satisfaction

The diversity of learners and the pedagogical techniques available for teachers is well known research in the physical education field. How educators meet the needs of diverse students and how their use of teaching styles impact student motivation and involvement in physical education is not well known. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the practice (B) and inclusion (E) teaching styles on students' self-determined motivation and needs satisfaction, perceived involvement, and teaching style preference. Mosston and Ashworth's (2002) Spectrum of Teaching Styles was adopted as one of the theoretical frameworks for this study in addition to Deci and Ryan's (1985) Self-determination Theory as a second theoretical framework. A total of 149 college-aged students (58 female, 91 male) participated in two 50-minute badminton lessons over the course of nine weeks. One lesson was delivered under the conditions of the practice style and one under the conditions of the inclusion style. Four instruments were used in this study: (a) situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (SIMS); (b) perceptions of competency, relatedness, and autonomy (BPN-PE); (c) perceived physical, social, and cognitive involvement (DCS); and (d) a post-study questionnaire (PSQ). Descriptive statistics were computed for each instrument. Analysis of variance (repeated measures) with post-hoc tests were conducted to determine whether the teaching styles had an effect on motivation and needs satisfaction, and where the differences were present. A t-test was conducted to compare means from lesson one to lesson two for the DCS instrument. On the PSQ, students responded to a question about teaching style preference by stating which style they preferred and listing reasons why they chose the style. Qualitative data reduction techniques were used to determine common themes that evolved from the participants' responses. No significant differences were found in relation to the SIMS and BPN-PE instruments. One significant difference was found for the DCS variables. The students reported feeling more cognitively involved in the inclusion style lesson than the practice style lesson. In terms of the learning experience, students enjoyed the two lessons, learned new skills, and were motivated to learn under the conditions of both styles. The students had experienced the practice style more frequently than the inclusion style in K-12 physical education classes. In regards to style preference, more students preferred the inclusion than the practice style. These findings suggest both teaching styles may equally influence a student's basic psychological needs during a single teaching episode, which in turn impact his or her motivation. Findings also suggest that teaching styles do influence students' perceptions about involvement and preference in physical education lessons. Motivation orientations and needs differ among students. Therefore, employing a variety of teaching styles with students' need satisfaction in mind over the course of several lessons may facilitate more self-determined motivation.