Students' experiences with and perceptions of Mosston's teaching styles in mainstream Singapore schools

The importance of adopting an active lifestyle to stem sedentary behavior has been in the spotlight in recent years. Singaporean youth’s early exposure to physical activity is through the structured physical education curriculum in mainstream schools, and their chosen co-curricular activity. Hence it is critically important that educators identify appropriate teaching styles to maximize learning and quality of experience. This research seeks to understand students’ experiences with and perception of Mosston’s Spectrum of teaching styles, a “tool box” for variation in education and provision for the diversity of both session goals and student’s cognition. 200 Students (age:M=21.51± .146) from universities across Singapore took part in a 60-question survey instrument adapted from an earlier study done by Dr. Donetta Cothran from Indiana University. Participants were asked to reflect on their experiences with teaching styles in physical education and sport training session. Results showed that students had significantly more experience with teaching styles from the reproductive cluster. Three items (fun, motivation, and effectiveness) accounting for perception, showed students preference towards more commonly experienced reproductive styles. Positive correlation of r=.253, n=199, p=.0005 was established. Concluding that the more variety of teaching styles, the greater the enjoyment in PE lessons. Results also showed that while more than 90% of the respondents acknowledge the essential need for exercise to maintain health, more than 60% did not participate in regular physical activity. This study identifies a need for educators to garner a stronger knowledge of the various styles and incorporate them more frequently to practice.Bachelor of Science (Sport Science and Management