Combining Pedagogical Tact with a Mastery Motivational Climate to Optimize Student Learning in Physical Education

This article proposes combining the concept of pedagogical tact with a mastery motivational climate to optimize student engagement and learning in Physical Education (PE). To promote a mastery climate, the acronym TARGET (task, authority, recognition, grouping, evaluation, and time) is presented. Pedagogical tact is defined as the ability to decide what is good and not good for an individual in any given situation and is considered in relation to how it manifests itself, what it does, and how it does what it does in PE. The consistency between pedagogical tact and mastery TARGET structures is identified throughout, as are certain pedagogical moments where the mastery TARGET structures may not always be the most tactful approach to adopt.