149 ARTICLES Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2006, 25, 149-165 © 2006 Human Kinetics, Inc. An Analysis of the Working Memories of Expert Sport Instructors Bryan McCullick and Paul Schempp University of Georgia Shan-Hui Hsu National Cheng-Kung University Jin Hong Jung Bridgewater State College Brad Vickers and Greg Schuknecht University of Georgia A distinguishing characteristic of expert teachers appears to be an excellent memory (Berliner, 1986; Tan, 1997). Possessing an excellent memory aids experts in building a substantial knowledge base relative to teaching and learning. Despite its importance, the memory skills of expert teachers have yet to be investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the working memories of expert sport instructors. Forty-three expert teachers served as subjects for this study. Each teacher was shown a series of slides depicting play and instructional situations in their respective domains. The test required that the subjects view a slide for 5 seconds and then recall as much as they could from the slide. The audio taped responses were transcribed and then analyzed inductively using Huberman and Milesʼ (1995) four-stage analysis framework to draw themes and commonalities from the data. The findings revealed three themes of expertsʼ working memories: a) voluminous and rich, b) a dominant order, and c) include a thorough skill analysis. There is support for Berliner (1986) and Tanʼ s (1997) contention that experts have excellent memories, arrange their knowledge in a hierarchical manner, and are able to discern the important from the unimportant. Key words: expert teachers, sport instruction, working memory In the field of physical activity and sport instruction, the ability of a teacher or coach to see and recall student skill performance or student behavior is essential McCullick, Schempp, Vickers, and Schuknecht are with the Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, 355 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602; Hsu is with the Physical Education Section, National Cheng-Kung University, No.1, Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan, Taiwan 701; Jung is with Movement Arts, Health Promotion and Leisure Studies, Tinsley Center, Rm 232, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA 02325. 02McCullick(149).indd 149 02McCullick(149).indd 149 4/2/06 3:05:48 PM 4/2/06 3:05:48 PM