Differences between experienced and inexperienced teachers' planning decisions, interactions, student engagement, and...

This study focused on the differences between experienced and inexperienced physical education teachers' approaches to planning, low inference indicators of teaching behavior during instruction, and global variables from the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study. It was found experienced teachers asked many more questions before they began planning than did inexperienced teachers. Experienced teachers' plans reflected a concern about contingencies that might arise during instruction, whereas inexperienced teachers' plans did not. Interaction analysis and codings of student engagement showed marked differences between experienced and inexperienced teachers. Judging the qualities of experienced and inexperienced teachers also showed important differences. These sources of data are interrelated and give a vivid picture of how experienced and inexperienced teachers differ in accomplishment of instruction. The findings are discussed in terms of what they may mean for teacher development programs.