How trainee physical education teachers in England write, use and evaluate lesson plans

Traditionally, all physical education initial teacher training (PEITT) courses in England, and in many other countries, require trainee teachers to complete detailed lesson plans for each lesson they teach in their school-based practicum and then to evaluate those lessons. However, there has been a limited amount of research on lesson planning in PEITT generally or in England specifically. The purpose of this study therefore was to gain an initial insight into how trainee physical education teachers write, use and evaluate lesson plans. Two-hundred-and-eighty-nine physical education trainees in England completed a questionnaire about lesson planning after finishing a block school-based practicum. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for the limited-choice questions on the questionnaires and open-ended questions were analysed using thematic analysis. Results showed mixed responses, with no one method followed by all trainees. Some trainees stated they planned and/or evaluated lessons as taught. Some stated they completed the plan and/or evaluation proforma to ‘tick a box’. The highest percentage of trainees stated it took between half an hour and one-and-a-half hours to plan each lesson. Although most trainees stated they found the plan useful in the lesson, others stated they found it too detailed to use. Some stated they did not deviate from the plan in the lesson, whereas others adapted the plan. The majority of trainees stated that evaluation enabled them to see if objectives had been achieved. Results are discussed in relation to teaching trainees how to plan lessons in PEITT in England.