If one had to choose between the traditional and contemporary methods of teaching, some would still favour the customary way for it has already been proven and tested, an old adage I may say. Nowadays, some would prefer an approach which is fresh and new that will cater to the needs of the students in today’s generation. We do not just teach our students what is in the book, we don’t just write on the board, and we do not just say what we want to say in the class; instead, we let learners experience what is found in the book, we allow them to pose questions and answer queries, and give them avenues to reason out and think critically. The millennials are at a different range when it comes to skills and potentials; thus, our styles and attitudes should be eclectic to meet all the needs of our learners today.
All subjects are the same when it comes to the level of difficulty. They just differ depending on the teacher’s pedagogical scheme. Physical Education may be one of the most challenging subjects for most students and teachers; however, there are still some students who fail, this may be due to teachers who are not effective enough to teach the subject for they take it frivolously. In regard to this, I conducted a study on the Performance of High School Students in the Spectrum of Teaching Styles in Physical Education. The study aims to utilise and find out the effectiveness of the Spectrum of Teaching Styles which is a framework for teaching PE among high school students of Irisan National High School. The Spectrum of Teaching Styles presupposes to have a framework of not only a singular teaching style but rather a host of teaching styles that can be utilised in the varying conditions of PE classes.
Physical Education is critical in teaching students’ active and healthy lifestyle that develops not only cognitive and social dimension but also physical skills. Many factors affect the achievement of this goal, however. PE teachers need to contend not only with limited perception of PE as a subject and at the same time manage the varying levels of students’ motivation, skill level, knowledge level, and diversity. Complicate this further with the fact that the same methods that are useful in other subjects need to be contextualised in order to accommodate the uniqueness of PE as a subject. Still, in other instances, a very different style of teaching needs to be used. In practice, this is where the difficulty of PE teachers lays. The choice of teaching styles to be employed in various areas of Physical Education give rise to an interest in the study of teaching styles among PE teachers. However, the results are mixed as to the teaching styles that work in different situations in the teaching of PE.
Both the Spectrum of Teaching Styles and lecture method are effective in increasing the level of performance of students in terms of knowledge and skills acquisition. However, the Spectrum of Teaching Styles has proven to be much better compared to the lecture method. It is recommended that the Spectrum of Teaching Styles should be utilised in the teaching of Physical Education not only in Irisan National High School but in other schools as well. Moreover, a training module on the Spectrum of Teaching Styles must be developed in order to provide a resource for teachers in PE which is enhanced by proper training. Learning different styles of teaching paves the way for varied avenues, a wider perspective and relentless pursuit for professional growth.
By Jeffrey Fogen Aliga
