Interrogating efficacy of digital pedagogies for preservice health and physical education teacher education

Interrogating efficacy of digital pedagogies for preservice health and physical education teacher education

Tertiary students are demanding the flexibility of web based learning in all university courses and universities are embracing student demand (Njenga and Fourie, 2010). One university in Australia is offering a Bachelor of Education specialising in Health and Physical Education (HPE) teaching through the online environment without residential schools or any on-campus engagement. Students undertaking these programs as primary school or secondary school HPE specialist teachers, sports organisers, managers and coaches, can elect to complete the whole degree program or some of their required courses, through an online environment.

As a result of the flexibility in enrolment and study options, the courses offered in the HPE specialisations include student enrolments from around the world as well as students in rural and remote areas of Australia. The variety of contexts and geographic locations presents the need for specific considerations regarding equity of access to learning and availability of personnel and materials resources.
• The question- 'can innovative technologies effectively deliver authentic learning experiences for online preservice health and physical education teachers in movement and physical activity contexts?' must be addressed Furthermore, if we continue to deliver preservice teacher education digitally, which particular technologies meet pedagogical and learning needs for those pre-service teachers learning to teach movement and physical activity concepts?
• Reconceptualising pedagogy for utilising and implementing suitable instructional strategies and teaching styles for physical contexts of the HPE curriculum through the online mode is certainly innovative, but can it be effective? The online environment does present issues to be solved, especially when facilitating learning in the teaching of fundamental and specialist movements, teamwork, strategies and tactics, in a variety of movement and physical activity contexts.
• Virtual classrooms, online learning, interactive video, and technological innovation are now prominent features of the educational landscape (National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE, 2007). There is little to no research into the efficacy of completing Bachelor of Education specialising in HPE qualifications in online environments or into best practice for online learning in HPE teaching. 'There are no empirical studies in physical education comparing face-to-face learning with online approaches, but the need to initiate future research in this area exists' (NASPE 2007). 'Current physical education research for effective teaching and learning is based on face-to-face student and teacher interaction' (Rink, 2003).

A perceived need for investigating the efficacy of the online learning environment and keeping informed about the latest useful trends and technological innovations were the catalysts for this positional paper. There are questions and concerns about the efficacy of online learning in practical contexts that need to be answered. The prediction is that the need for future research and scholarship investigating this particular type of learning through online environments will be demonstrated.

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