Agentic education · Learning science

Actionable companion · Motivation & engagement

Learning with agency: Perceptions of Controlling Teaching Behaviors and the Effects on the Motivation and Behavior of High School Physical Education Students

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide, separate from the original research. Proposed actions are not claims or recommendations attributed to the source authors. No independent peer review of this guide is asserted.

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Evidence and context

Title and abstract screening; stage labels describe reported settings, not verified numerical ages. Design labels require full-text appraisal. Reported stage(s): Secondary school. Verify the participant population and task before transferring the findings.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the linked source license:

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of controlling teacher behavior on high school physical education students’ global intrinsic motivation, perceptions of the importance of the subject matter, intentions to be physically active, level of physical activity, and life satisfaction. The sample in this study was comprised of 416 Spanish high school students. Support for the study’s expectations was provided through structural regression analysis. The analysis revealed that a controlling teaching style was negatively associated with the global intrinsic motivation of the students. In turn, global intrinsic motivation predicted the perceived importance of the subject matter, which explained physical activity intentions. Physical activity intentions were positively associated with level of physical activity, which, in turn, explained life satisfaction. The knowledge obtained in this study can be of benefit to teachers and can be beneficial to the design of more adaptive learning environments for students.

What kind of evidence is this?

Intelligent tutoring & adaptive learning · Survey / observational study

Stage: Secondary school. Screening labels describe reported context and study-design language. They are not a risk-of-bias rating or proof of effectiveness for an age band.

Study methods · source passage

The sample was comprised of 416 students in their second year of high school who attended seven public educational institutions from the same autonomous community in Spain. The sample included 229 males and 187 females ranging from 16 to 18 years of age (M = 16.71 years, SD = 0.73 years).

Limitations and uncertainty · source passage

With regard to the limitations of this study, it is important to note that causality cannot be inferred from the cross-sectional correlational data that was obtained. As such, an experimental design using an actual intervention would be appropriate for examining the effects of variables on each other and over time. Similar studies at different educational levels would also be beneficial, including the use of self-observation and the inclusion of additional variables, such as gender. In sum, this study has used Self-Determination Theory as the primary point of reference for the study of student motivation and takes an important step toward understanding the overall personal development of students.

Design the system before the pilot

Document the learner model, mastery rule, hint sequence and adaptation signal. Compare adaptive routing with the same content in a non-adaptive sequence. Check whether early errors lead to persistent low-expectation pathways.

  • Measure engagement separately from achievement. Check whether novelty-driven participation persists and whether it translates to independent performance.

A 90-day district pilot

  1. Days 1–15 · Appraise. Have the curriculum lead and a teacher read the methods and limitations. Record the study design, sample, comparator, outcomes and evidence gaps. Define a local question that the study can help inform.
  2. Days 16–30 · Design. Ask learners to attempt a problem unaided, compare an agent hint, explain a revision and verify the final reasoning against a trusted source. Make the permitted use explicit for each assignment. Name an accountable owner and set the baseline, success threshold and budget before implementation.
  3. Days 31–60 · Test. Start with a small voluntary cohort, preserve an accessible non-AI route and require teacher review. Use synthetic or de-identified examples; approve data handling and tool terms through district processes.
  4. Days 61–90 · Decide. Measure unaided transfer and delayed retention, calibration of confidence and the ability to identify an incorrect AI explanation. Record whether help-seeking becomes answer copying. Compare with baseline, document uncertainty and stop or revise if learning worsens, access is unequal or critical errors persist.

The board decision brief

Report the learning problem, evidence quality, participating population, total cost including review time, measured benefit, errors, access differences and remaining uncertainties. Make a dated recommendation to stop, revise or expand. A positive perception survey alone does not establish learning improvement.

Attribution and reuse

Juan Antonio Moreno-Murcia; Elisa Huéscar Hernández; Lorena Ruiz. Perceptions of Controlling Teaching Behaviors and the Effects on the Motivation and Behavior of High School Physical Education Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2018-10-18). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102288

Companion prepared 2026-10-30. Original authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract is an attributed source extract; the implementation plan is new AI-assisted editorial material, offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license. This guide has not undergone independent peer review.