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This study represents a descriptive analysis of feedback patterns and perceptual maps of experienced and inexperienced teachers. Five experienced elementary physical education teachers and 5 inexperienced teachers participated in the study. Data were collected by videotaping and audiotaping three lessons taught by each teacher. Transcripts of audiotapes were made for all verbal feedback administered by the teachers, and each unit of feedback was coded from the written transcripts using a multidimensional observation system. Following the second and third lessons, patterns in cue perception employed by teachers during feedback interaction were accessed using a stimulated recall interview and concept mapping techniques. Results indicated that inexperienced teachers did not differ from experienced teachers in their feedback structure. However, experienced teachers differed from inexperienced teachers on their perceptual patterns. Specifically, perceptual maps of experienced teachers were more complex and were organized hierarchically, whereas inexperienced teachers’ patterns tended to be sparse and hierarchically shallow.

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the influence of subject matter expertise on teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Data were collected through multiple, extended interviews with 10 teachers with expertise in at least 1 subject area in physical education. Each teacher was interviewed 4 times for approximately 1 hour, focusing on the teacher’s familiarity with 2 content areas (1 expert and 1 nonexpert) and their experiences teaching the subjects. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative technique. The findings were presented with reference to Grossman’s (1990) definition of pedagogical content knowledge. Subject experts identified their largest pedagogical problem as student motivation, while nonexperts believed finding appropriate activities was their greatest challenge. Subject experts were more comfortable and enthusiastic about pedagogical duties and could accommodate a greater range of abilities. The experts and nonexperts revealed no differences in curricular selection, perceptions of students’ understanding of the subject, or evaluation criteria.