Inductive and Deductive Reasoning in Sports and Exercise Coaching Process: A Systematic Review

Background. Skill acquisition in teaching a new physical exercise skill is quite similar in process to other skill-learning in general. In teaching physical exercise techniques, two teaching and learning approaches can be used. Most often instructors used the deductive method in teaching exercise techniques. But in a real-life setup, it is quite common to hear athletes learn exercise techniques on their own self, with limited guidance or exposure to proper steps or techniques (inductively). The aim of the study. This study aimed at identifying the actual number of studies that have been conducted and/or compared the usage of deductive and inductive teaching approaches in teaching exercises or sports skills.  Materials and methods. This systematic review used PRISMA guidelines to locate related literature. Eligible papers were evaluated for integrity, and relevant findings were combined to enable thematic analysis. Results. Twenty-six studies have actually fulfilled the requirements standards and were selected for review and analysis. In total, 1430 participants participated in those selected studies. Except for four studies, other studies have been found to have a low risk of bias, which indicated the research to be more accurate. This review showed that most of the instructors (teachers, coaches) prefer to use the inductive method. Five studies used the inductive method and three studies used the deductive method directly. The other 18 studies used the deductive and inductive methods indirectly or combined with other approaches. The inductive approach method was more effective according to the results. Conclusion. The inductive method for teaching exercise skills is said to be more preferred mainly due to a good response received from the students in the majority of the studies, and considered more effective for teaching a new exercise or sports skills. The deductive method has not been totally sidelined but it is less preferred.