Student-teacher-content-context: Indissoluble Ingredients in the Teaching-learning Process

Abstract

This article analyzes the interdependence of four key elements in learning: student, teacher, content and context. These are the key, indissoluble ingredients of any educational setting, and they should be jointly considered when planning and designing programs.

After analyzing previous academic works on the concept of a pedagogical model that “highlights the interdependence and irreducibility of learning, teaching, subject matter and context” (Haerens, Kirk, Cardon, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2011, p. 324), I absolutely agree that these four elements (i.e., student, teacher, content and context) are the key, indissoluble ingredients of any educational setting, and they should be jointly considered.

Student

Education in general, and physical education in particular, has a long tradition of teacher-centered instructional approaches — from the old physical training programs in the mid-1880s (Metzler, 2005) to the spectrum of teaching styles in the 1960s (Mosston, 1966). Within this last framework, both the command and the practice style represent the highest degree of teacher control over all the class elements: “The role of the teachers is to make all decisions, and the role of the learner is to follow these decisions” (Mosston & Ashworth, 2008, p. 76). These direct-instruction approaches have been and probably continue to be the most widely used among teachers all over the world, mainly because the teachers feel that those are the most beneficial for their students (Jaakkola & Watt, 2011). From these reproductive teaching styles to the most productive ones, more and more decisions are gradually being shifted to the learners.

Current trends in education promote student-centered learning because it brings “democratic participation, equality, and empowerment to learners and help[s] transform and liberate societies” (Le Ha, 2014, p. 1). However, these learning contexts do not mean that students are left alone by the teachers. On the contrary, “student-centered approaches entail developing students' ability to become their own teachers” (Goodyear & Dudley, 2015, p. 275), which means that teachers should support students and help them learn how to learn, how to help one another, how to negotiate, how to be resilient when things get tough, and how to find solutions when they do not know what to do (Hattie, 2012). The goal is to “create the learning experiences that empower pupils to practice the skills they need to feel competent to engage in physical activity in contexts beyond the school” (Haerens et al., 2011, p. 332). This idea demands active teachers who take responsibility for dynamically guiding students through their own teaching-learning process.

Teacher

Goodyear and Dudley (2015, p. 284) highlighted that “teachers need to take into account several pedagogical considerations surrounding their actions within student-centered approaches,” and they included diagnosing, responding and evaluating. I strongly believe that not only in student-centered but in all different pedagogical approaches, teachers should go through this series of actions:

• Observe: watch carefully all the action that takes place in class; teachers must cautiously monitor all interactions among students, tasks and resources, scrutinizing the correctness of the instructional methods and teaching styles selected. They cannot perform the activities to remain focused in their role as observers and obtain precise and truthful information.

• Diagnose: identify the real needs of the learning context: content, teacher–learner contact, learner–learner interaction, resources and so forth. It might be necessary to inquire of the students to gain an authentic understanding of what is taking place in the class. The goal is to make the correct judgment.

• Respond: support the learning process through specific actions involving more or less (direct or indirect) action or intervention; this includes questions, explanations, feedback, demonstrations, encouragement and so on. It relies on teachers' knowledge but, more importantly, on their ability to understand what is happening, make the right diagnosis, and provide the needed response.

• Evaluate: assess the effects of one's own actions to determine whether students need more or less support, if any changes are needed in the task, or to decide the next step (exercise/task/game) in the children's learning process. This includes observing the performances, questioning the students, and checking the lesson plan to provide the adequate response: continue with the same task with or without new information or move to a different task (easier or more challenging).

A good teacher is not the one who does not make a mistake (we all make them) but the one who constantly scrutinizes the class, observes minute by minute, diagnoses, responds and evaluates in short cycles that are repeated constantly in an effort to improve the whole teaching–learning process. Teachers should play a very active role in any pedagogical approach, behaving as an activator more than a facilitator or a guide on the side (Hattie, 2012). Moreover, I agree with Casey's (2012) idea of teachers and students acting as “co-learners” in educational contexts, with both being active participants. Content selection also plays an important role, and it should be carefully considered.

Content

Metzler (2011) pointed out that content selection is one of the key actions in the teaching–learning process. It establishes what is taught in class and represents an initial control over the learning context. According to Boyce, Coker and Bunker (2006, p. 338), “The curriculum in the secondary setting is predominantly activity based…and consists primarily of units in sports (e.g., volleyball, soccer, softball, archery) or fitness activities (weight training, aerobics, Pilates).” This idea of what should be taught in secondary education has led to a molecularization of physical education — a hierarchical approach to teaching and learning basic skills, advanced skills, tactics and game play (Rovegno, 1995).

In contrast to this notion of physical education, Kirk (2010) promoted the idea of physical culture, a corporeal discourse concerned with five forms of human movement very closely related to physical education: sport, exercise, active leisure, dance and meditative and martial arts. Competition is the distinctive element of sports (e.g., korfball, handball, tchoukball). Benefiting health is the principal focus of exercise (e.g., Pilates, TRX, body pump). Active leisure includes any noncompetitive activity (e.g., parkour, cross-country skiing, roller-skating). Aesthetics and expression are the characteristic elements of dance (e.g., ballroom dance, drama, breakdance). Finally, many meditative and martial arts seek to train and find balance between body and mind (e.g., tai chi, non-contact kickboxing). The list and the possibilities are almost endless. Innovation is the key. If only traditional contents are used (e.g., basketball, running, rope jumping, volleyball), there will be no chance of creating a lifelong developmental perspective (i.e., transfer of learning; Kirk, 2010) of physical education for 21st-century learners.

In the past decade, a new element has entered the education arena: key competencies, which “should be conceptualized as the necessary prerequisites for meeting complex demands” (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2002, p. 6). Individuals need these competencies to actively participate in civil and political life, and physical education has the responsibility not to be left out of this significant duty, which connects with the idea of physical culture proposed by Kirk (2010, p. 99): “the human body is in nature and culture simultaneously, and neither can be reduced to the other.” The key competencies have been defined as “a collection of skills and knowledge that allow students to learn to regulate their own learning, applying this experience in their day-to-day reality” (Hortigüela, Perez-Pueyo, & Fernandez-Rio, in press, p. 2), and they should be considered. Finally, the school context should also play an active role in content selection.

Context

Context can be defined as the “sum total of all factors that can influence what and how content is taught and learned in a program” (Metzler, 2005, p. 54), and five major factors have been identified: school location (e.g., urban, rural), student demographics (e.g., number, cultural diversity, absentee rate), administration (e.g., budget, policies), staff (e.g., teaching experience, expertise, motivation), and resources (e.g., equipment, facilities).

• School location: teachers and students must take advantage of what is at the school's doorstep. This is the main reason why the physical education content in a rural and in an urban school cannot be the same. The natural areas, the wilderness and everything that they bring should be used in class. If the school is located near a beach, physical activities such as surf, beach volleyball or swimming should be included. If there is a river nearby, kayaking or rafting should be experienced by the students. If a forest is close to the school, hiking, orienteering or cross-country skiing should be considered. Mountain biking, climbing or alpine skiing are easy contents to introduce in the physical education class if the school is close to the mountains.

• Student demographics: there are many different issues related to this category, but here I focus on a very important one that affects all schools: cultural diversity. It should be viewed as an advantage for the teaching-learning process and not as a problem. It should be used to learn more about the different cultures that coexist in a class to help them “live together.” Things such as games, exercises or healthy habits can help people get to know one another better, understand others' behaviors, and establish bonds among individuals from different cultures for global enrichment.

• Administration: teachers cannot do much about national policies, but they can and should play an active role in school policies, especially those that affect students' healthy development. The school budget is another issue that affects schools and their programs. In times of money scarcity individuals (teachers) must use their imagination and be creative.

• Staff: teachers become part of a physical education department with their own teaching experience and academic background that influence their professional practice. The teaching experience is important, but more crucial is the will to assimilate new ideas and put them into practice.

• Resources: the teaching space is a distinctive element of physical education. It can be a big sport facility, a small gymnasium, an outdoor court, a playground, a regular classroom or the cafeteria. Teachers and students are forced to adapt to the unique characteristics of each school's teaching space. However, as introduced earlier, physical education programs should take advantage of whatever spaces are available near the school (e.g., parks, forests, mountains, rivers). Equipment is another key element in a school program. In times of budgetary shortage, innovative resources such as self-made materials can help boost the physical education program (Fernández-Réo & Méndez-Giménez, 2014). Materials that come from outside of the school, such as car tires, towels, skateboards or bicycles can also enrich the physical education program, bonding it with the out-of-school world (Fernández-Réo, 2010).

These five elements shape a school's program (macro level) but also a class (micro level). I agree with Siedentop (1991, p. 226) that “education is more effective when teachers adapt instructional formats to the context within which they teach.” This simple sentence reflects a key idea for developing a successful teaching-learning process. The context should be used to meet student and teacher needs and demands. However, many physical education programs are conducted in similar ways, regardless of the school and the class context. Imagination is the limit. Creativity should be pushed to the front.

In conclusion, student-teacher-content-context are indissoluble ingredients of the teaching-learning process, and they should all be considered when planning.

ORCID

Javier Fernández-Réo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1368-3723