| Monday, February 1, 1999
COE
Researchers Help
A team of College of Education researchers was instrumental in helping
analyze and select Golf Magazine's new list of America's
Top 100 Golf Instructors in its February issue, currently on newsstands.
The answers to the questionnaires, along with additional research into each candidate's professional reputation and abilities in several teaching-related categories were used to narrow the nominees to the final 100. The UGA team worked on the project for more than a year, according to Schempp. The team included Bryan McCullick, an assistant professor in physical education and sports studies and eight doctoral students. "It's a very elite standing in a very elite sport," said Schempp, who came to UGA in 1991 from the University of Oregon. "The first time Golf Magazine did it was about 10 years ago and they started with the 50 Best. Now, they've expanded it to the Top 100 and it has become one of the biggest honors in the sport. Anyone named in Golf Magazine's Best 100 Instructors can average about $3,000 for half a day." Schempp and members of his lab began studying various aspects of expertise in sports instruction about five years ago to determine the characteristics of such experts. The lab undertook studies on major league batting instructors and physical education teachers before first being contacted by Golf Magazine about three years ago for an earlier Best 100. "They gave us all this data and we analyzed it for them," said Schempp. With Golf Magazine's approval, UGA researchers contacted the 100 Best Instructors to do a further analysis. The group included 91 men and nine women. They represent 29 states and their teaching experience ranges from nine to 73 years. The average years of experience is 29. The instructors estimated they have given an average of 45,000 lessons each. As a group they have written or produced 98 instructional videos, 69 books, 10 television shows, four CD-ROMs and countless magazine articles. Almost all were highly skilled professional players, with six of the 100 having won PGA or LPGA championships. Within the sample were instructors for several professional players, including Tom Kite, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. The results suggest that these experts have differing orientations toward teaching, students, subject matter and success. Yet, similarities existed as well. Some of the teachers held multiple orientations, while others were sharply focused on a single orientation. The dominant orientation toward teaching was attempting to correct deficiencies and errors in the skill performance of their students. In this way, the teachers saw themselves much like "repairpeople," diagnosing the problem and then fixing it. These teachers believed analytic and diagnostic skills to be essential pedagogical tools. They also valued a multitude of devices, drills or techniques for correcting student performance deficiencies. Finally, developing and enhancing the student's self-esteem appeared to be another essential pedagogical tool if the repair efforts were to be effective and relatively long-lasting, according to the study. A secondary pattern emerged toward teaching which researchers termed: "ambassadors of the game." These teachers felt a stewardship for the game and endeavored to instill an appreciation and love of the sport in their students. Golf's rules, traditions and etiquette found their way into their teaching. Orientations to students were classified in three areas: a) student as performer, b) student as recreator, and c) student as people. Those who viewed students as performers placed the instructional primacy on skill development. For instructors who saw students as recreators, enjoyment and participation in the game were requisite instructional goals. Finally, those who saw students as people attempted to tailor their instruction to individual needs. The study found a diversity of opinion as to what instructors thought should be taught. The dominant theme was that the "fundamentals" of a golf swing should be taught, but each instructor seemed to have their own definition of the "fundamentals." The "fundamentals" shared two characteristics, they were simple and few. A secondary theme was that golf should be taught as a holistic endeavor with fitness, strategies, rules, history and psychology all sharing the instructional marquee with skill "fundamentals." Researchers concluded that one brief and subtle statement from Butch Harmon, the instructor for Tiger Woods, encapsulated the creed of the expert golf instructor and separated the "expert" from the "less expert." "I teach people to play golf, not golf to people," he said.
See story and list of Golf Magazine's "America's Best 100 Instructors"
at:
Writer: Michael Childs, 742-542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu
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The
team, led by Dr. Paul Schempp, director of the Sports Instruction Research
Lab in the Physical Education and Sports Studies department of the College
of Education, developed a detailed questionnaire and analyzed the results
sent back by more than 400 contenders. The lab is recognized as the only
university lab in the country that studies how sports are taught.