The Spectrum of Teaching Styles (The Spectrum) is a unified theory that defines the teaching-learning relationship as a chain of decision making between the teacher and learner/s.

When this concept is applied 11 styles emerge on The Spectrum of Teaching Styles. Evolving from (but not limited to) a Physical Education context, The Spectrum of Teaching Styles has most recently been explored in its application to sport coaching. The non-versus approach taken by The Spectrum places students and athletes at the centre of their learning and, with scalpel-like precision, clearly defines who (player or coach) is making decisions in each style. This clarity allows teachers, students, players and coaches to have their behaviours and decision-making clearly defined and provides a common language for players, coaches and practitioners to talk about coaching styles. For teachers and coaches interested in the wholistic development of the student/athlete, The Spectrum provides a detailed framework for achieving multiple outcomes through their work such as social, physical, ethical, emotional and social development.

This series of workshops will provide:

  • Introduction to The Spectrum and the concept of Coach as educator
  • Summary of the 11 teaching/coaching styles
  • Detailed description of each style and the decisions made by students/players and teachers/coaches in each style to assist teachers/coaches being successful when implementing the style
  •  Outlines the strengths of each style and what they can achieve, all the time backed up with research over 50 years
  • Numerous practical examples of the application of each style to a range of sports including Australian football, cricket, tennis, baseball, canoeing, rock climbing and netball to name a few
  • Teaching/Coaching to develop social skills, self-analysis and error correction, teach athletes to decide on appropriate practice levels or challenge points, problem solving, solution generation and the design and implementation of coaching episodes for themselves as a player-coach
  • Show how The Spectrum can be used in Physical Education Teacher Education situations or teacher education in schools for all teachers regardless of subject matter.
  •  For the first time, show how The Spectrum can be a powerful model in achieving numerous outcomes in Outdoor Education situations.

Based on over 50 years of research from coaching, physical education pedagogy and motor learning and offering the most comprehensive application of The Spectrum to coaching, The Spectrum of Coaching Styles is important reading for coaches, athletes, students and lecturers of sports coaching across any sport if you want to succeed in coaching for multiple outcomes.

Facilitators

Brendan Suesee

Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland

Brendan SueSee obtained his PhD from QUT, Brisbane, Australia in 2012. He was a high school teacher for 21 years and taught health and physical education, geography and history. He has worked at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) for 6 years. Brendan lectures in courses related to HPE curriculum and pedagogy. His research interests include teaching styles, alignment between HPE syllabus documents and reporting, and cognition. He has co-authored two books on The Spectrum – The Spectrum of Teaching Styles in Physical Education (2020) and The Spectrum of Sports Coaching Styles.

Shane Pill

Associate Professor in Physical Education and Sport, Flinders University

Shane is a multiple award-winning teacher, teacher educator, and sports coach. He is an experienced chair and board member of peak professional associations for health, physical education, and recreation.

Mitchell Hewitt

Education Project Manager Tennis Australia PE teacher PhD Adjunct A/Prof University Canberra Adjunct Lecturer USQ

Mitch is the education project manager for Tennis Australia. He regularly engages with over 25 tertiary institutions in Australia to provide professional learning to pre-service teachers, human movement and sports coaching students. These lectures and practical tutorials include applying the various teaching styles located on The Spectrum using tennis as a vehicle.

Joss Rankin

Senior Lecturer, Flinders University

My name is Joss Rankin and I am a senior lecturer in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work at Flinders University. I currently coordinate the Bachelor of Education (Secondary Health and Physical Education) and teach a range of topics including the first-year Foundation Studies of Physical Education and the suite of Outdoor Education topics on offer. Following my work as an outdoor instructor and sport coach I have worked in Education as a Health and Physical Education and Outdoor Education teacher. I undertook my roles in a range of schools in both regional and metropolitan South Australia as well as Cambridgeshire in England before moving to tertiary education to work as a lecturer in Health and Physical Education. I have been involved in a range of sporting, education and outdoor organisations and continue to connect with schools and community groups through a range of partnerships. As a member of the Outdoor Educators Association of South Australia and the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, I enjoy sharing the work that I am fortunate to engage with at a range of conferences and aim to continue to advocate for embodied, meaningful and authentic learning experiences that utilise a Spectrum of Teaching Styles.