Knowledge vs. Understanding: Soccer Step-Over Skill in PE
This paper investigates the distinction between knowledge and understanding in a physical education context by examining how Year 3 students (ages 7–8) at an international school learn and apply the step-over skill in football (soccer). Over three weekly 45-minute lessons, the researcher used a mixed-methods approach—combining tally-sheet observation, video recording, and classroom discussion—to measure both isolated skill performance and in-game application. Drawing on Perkins' (1993) performance view model of understanding and Pill's (2013) constraints-led approach to sports pedagogy, the study finds that while some students acquired knowledge of the skill, very few demonstrated genuine understanding by applying it appropriately during live match play. Findings highlight the persistent gap between instructed knowledge and context-dependent understanding in PE settings.
- Introduction and Background: Rationale for studying knowledge-understanding gap in PE
- Literature Review: Knowledge, Understanding, and Sports Pedagogy: Theoretical models linking knowledge, understanding, and sport
- Research Design and Methodology: Participant observation combining qualitative and quantitative methods
- Data Collection and Ethical Considerations: Three-week lesson sequence, tally sheets, video, and consent
- Results and Discussion: Most students showed knowledge gaps; few demonstrated true understanding
- Conclusion: Understanding harder to achieve than knowledge; future directions
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds a classroom observation study in a clear theoretical framework — Perkins' performance view of understanding — which gives the data collection and interpretation a principled foundation.
- The mixed-methods design is well justified: tally sheets capture quantitative frequency data, while video replay and classroom discussion provide qualitative context that the numbers alone cannot supply.
- The paper is appropriately self-critical, acknowledging that the threshold of five skill demonstrations was set arbitrarily and that the instructor's own methods were not controlled for, which limits causal claims.
- Ethical considerations are handled with care, explaining why fresh consent was needed even though parents had previously signed iPad-use permissions — a nuanced and honest distinction.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates triangulation across data sources: quantitative tally data, qualitative video analysis, and classroom discussion are used together to cross-validate findings. This is particularly important when measuring something as subjective as "understanding," and the author explicitly describes how qualitative evidence was used to confirm or qualify what the numbers showed.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard empirical research structure: introduction and rationale → literature review → methodology → data collection and ethics → results and discussion → conclusion, with appendices supplying the consent form and raw tally data. Each section is clearly delimited and builds logically on the last, making the argument easy to follow from research question through to findings.
Introduction and Background
Within the PE curriculum, basic skills practiced across a variety of sports — passing, throwing, catching, stepping, and so on — are often isolated from context and actual performance in a game (Pill, 2013). Because knowledge of a skill and understanding of a skill are two different things (Perkins, 1993), it is important for a PE instructor to measure how effectively knowledge acquired through instruction is translated into understanding demonstrated in practice. The assumption, for example, is that a chest pass or bounce pass in basketball represents genuine knowledge only if it can be demonstrated appropriately in a game. For this particular study, the sport of football (soccer) is used to examine one skill in particular — the step-over — and the extent to which the gap between knowledge and understanding is bridged. This is achieved by observing how often students use the skill in a match and whether they understand the benefits of one skill over another in certain situations.
For the purposes of this study, it was important to define key terms. Knowledge was defined as being able to perform a skill in isolation after being taught it by demonstration. Understanding was defined as knowing when and why to use the skill in a match and being able to use it effectively. Knowledge is something one acquires in the classroom; understanding is something one acquires in the field. Knowledge is "information on tap" (Perkins, 1993, p. 40). Understanding involves both identifying problems and solving them effectively (Perkins, 2010).
The main aim of this project was to analyze the difference between knowledge and understanding in sport. The skill used to examine this difference was the step-over skill in football, taught by the researcher in the role of the students' PE instructor.
Rationale
Learning can be represented through the acquisition of knowledge of facts and data. Understanding must necessarily go deeper — it must penetrate the realm of applicability, addressing how certain information can be applied in the real world. By studying learners' understanding of how and when to perform a specific football skill, this study tests the theory advanced by Pill (2013) that non-linear learning in sports via a constraints-led process is most effective for students' acquisition of understanding. Rather than controlling the constraints, authenticity is achieved by allowing students to demonstrate understanding in real game play. This study has relevance for all PE instructors, as it can show where knowledge and understanding may diverge in real play and provide more opportunities for developing pedagogy.
Research Question
In Year 3 PE football lessons, do students understand why they are learning a skill and how to apply the skill in a match?
Scope of This Study
This study focuses on teaching a football skill that Year 3 students can perform. A literature review follows this introduction, after which the methodology employed in the study is discussed. A description of the findings and a subsequent discussion are then provided. The overall aim is to assess whether using game play as an evaluation opportunity allows the researcher to determine where students are able to perform a basic skill.
References
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Carling, C., Reilly, T. and Williams, A., 2009. Performance Assessment for Field Sports. London: Routledge.
Cushion, C., Harvey, S., Muir, B. and Nelson, L., 2012. Developing the Coaching Analysis and Intervention System (CAIS): establishing validity and reliability of a computerised systematic observation instrument. Journal of Sports Science, 30: 201–16.
Fallowfield, J., 2005. Statistics in Sport and Exercise Science. Chichester: Lotus Publishing.
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Nedha, 2015. Difference between knowledge and understanding. Retrieved from http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-knowledge-and-vs-understanding/
Perkins, D., 1993. Teaching for understanding. American Educator: The Professional Journal of the American Federation of Teachers, v17 n3, pp. 8, 28–35, Fall 1993.
Perkins, D., 2010. Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pill, S., 2013. Teaching Australian football in physical education: constraints theory in practice. Strategies, 26(1), 39–44.
Wegerif, R., Li, L. and Kauffman, J., 2015. The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Teaching Thinking. 1st ed. New York: Routledge.
Wiske, M.S., 1998. Teaching for Understanding: Linking Research with Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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