Theory of Teaching Materials in Physical Education (II)

considerations on the conceptual system concerning teaching materials

Abstract

This study is a continuation of a previous paper that examined the problem of the concept of teaching materials in physical education. The purpose of this study is to describe the relationships among the “teaching unit”, “teaching content” and “teaching material”, as well as to consider the positioning of teaching material toward a content-method relation of instructions in physical education.
The concept of teaching materials can be defined as the means to help learners acquire the teaching contents (subject matter). Teaching materials can be also defined as the immediate objects of teaching-learning activities, This definition shows that the concept of teaching materials is subordinate to the teaching contents, and that the teaching materials are composed in correspondence to the teaching contents. In this context, a “teaching unit” can be organized on the premise that both the teaching contents included in a certain sport and teaching materials, as the means to teach these contents, exist.
To understand teaching materials as a means indicates that teaching materials mediate between the teaching contents and teaching methods. The vehicles which connect both dimensions, for instance, are the instructional devices used to give cognitive informations to learners and/or the styles of practice to make them acquire specific skills. Accordingly, it is unsuitable to confuse the relation of teaching materials to teaching contents, and it is also improper to separate teaching materials from methodological problems.