Method: Students from three separate classes from a rural school in the southern United States. The Physical Education Climate Assessment Instrument (PECAI) developed by Curtner-Smith & Todorovich (2002) was used to verify the authenticity of each motivational climate (ego, mastery, and mixed). Each class randomly received three separate golf (putting, chipping, and putting/chipping) lessons in each climate over a two week period. All lessons were videotaped and student engagement was coded using the low inference interval system Opportunities to Respond (OTR). Discrete skill responses were coded into one of four major categories: motor engaged appropriate (i.e., successful and unsuccessful trials), motor engaged inappropriate (i.e., free play, task change), not motor engaged motor supporting (i.e., setting up equipment, receiving instruction), and not motor engaged inappropriate (i.e., idle, passive).
Analysis/Results: Descriptive statistics showed students on average were appropriately engaged in the mastery climate 93% of the time, the mixed climate 86.6%, and the ego climate 82.9% of the time respectively. This finding supports the research which indicates a mastery climate is most beneficial for students, but also suggests that students exposed to a mixed climate would be more engaged than students in an ego climate.
Conclusions: Teachers might find creating mixed climates can help meet the needs of all students by incorporating some ego tasks in their lessons.