USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL STATEMENTS BY PRESERVICE TEACHERS FOR OVERHAND THROWING PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine preservice teachers' ab ility to use component-specific feedback to influence student performa nce on the overhand throw and (b) to develop an instrument to record t eachers' verbal behaviors concurrent with student performance. Preserv ice teachers used a force-production sequence of overhand throw compon ents (Siedentop, Herkowitz, & Rink, 1984) to intervene upon sport-skil l performance of elementary age children. Techniques for observing, re cording, and accessing overhand throwing performance and the subsequen t instructional statements of the preservice teachers were presented, using the sport skill process variable assessment instrument (SSPVA). Analyses of data suggested three major patterns of instructional feedb ack statements provided by preservice teachers: (a) Preservice teacher s often provided feedback on a component that had been consistently de monstrated at a high level of efficiency; (b) some components were not demonstrated at consistently high efficiency levels, yet little or no specific feedback was directed toward these components; and (c) when preservice teachers were able to recognize errors and provide appropri ate feedback, change did occur.