Student learning through interaction in physical education

Over the last 50 years, constructivist ideas have shaped educational practices and educational science profoundly. Amongst other things, constructivist thinking suggests that (1) learning involves the construction of meaning and (2) individuals construct meaning during interactions with others – this is one way in which the process of learning can be thought of as social (Rovegno and Dolly, 2006). In physical education (PE), this thinking is reflected in contemporary student-centred pedagogical models such as Teaching Games for Understanding, Sport Education and Cooperative Learning (Butler, 2006; Casey and Dyson, 2012; Siedentop et al., 2011). Indeed, the idea that students learn while interacting and that teachers should take on ‘less directive and more facilitative’ roles (Kirk and Kinchin, 2003: 229) appears to underpin many PE practices.

Despite the assumed centrality of student interactions to learning in PE, the topic has received relatively little scholarly attention. The work of Lafont and colleagues (Darnis-Paraboschi et al., 2005; Ensergueix and Lafont, 2010; Lafont et al., 2007) constitutes one of the most sustained attempts to understand interactive learning in PE. Lafont and colleagues have examined conversations, interactive dynamics and speaking turns occurring in PE settings and have provided important insights into group work and co-constructive activities. A didactique framework (Amade-Escot, 2006) has also proven fruitful, with its focus on the irreducible triad of teacher, student and content while examining the evolution of the content actually learned within peer-assisted learning tasks (Hennings et al., 2010; Wallhead and O’Sullivan, 2007). Complementing this work, Barker and colleagues (2013) have suggested that peer-learners have a key role to play in interactions and that in order to learn in groups, all students must engage in some kind of shared communication. Brock et al. (2009) have drawn attention to the role that student status has on the nature of social interactions, suggesting that factors such as athletic involvement, personality and even attractiveness influence how students interact.

There are still, however, important issues to be resolved and explored. How do teachers interact in ‘less directive and more facilitative’ ways in practice? How do interactions shape content development within pedagogical models, such as co-operative learning, where positive interdependence and interpersonal skills are critical to the success of the model? How are the micro-dynamics of situations affected by social and cultural factors? These kinds of question constitute the focus of the proposed special issue.