Diagnostic Competence of Physical Education Teachers

Diagnostic competence is considered as a central aspect of teacher competence. It generally aims at specifying the needs for support and linking them with pedagogical didactical measures (Niederkofler et al. 2018; Schrader 2013). Facing the heterogeneity of learning groups, teachers’ diagnostic competences in assessing students’ characteristics and potential are becoming increasingly relevant. The ability to judge students’ prerequisites adequately is generally seen as a vital basis for an instruction adapted to students’ abilities. Up to now, diagnostic competences are considered as a core aspect of teachers’ expertise. While diagnostic competence includes measures of diagnostic accuracy, related to level, rank, and differentiation, it is not determined by a single ability. It, for instance, also embraces the judgment of requirements of learning materials as an essential element for initiating successful learning processes. The better the diagnostic competence is, the better the difficulty of tasks and materials are estimated. This is not only relevant for lesson preparation but also during a lesson while judging scenarios adequately and consequently adapting teaching and learning processes (Ohle and McElvany 2015; Schrader 2013)