Mats Melvold Hordvik

Norwegian version of this page Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies

Associate Professor

Email: matsh@nih.no
Phone: +4723262304

Press photo

Research

Mats' primary focus is to link teaching-research-development.

Learning and teaching in higher education, teacher education, practitioner research (e.g., self-study methodology), continuous professional learning, and model-based practice.

Teaching

Teacher education pedagogy, university pedagogy.

Short biography

Mats is associate professor at the Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies (50%) and at the NIHs Center for Teaching and Learning (50%). In his doctoral project, Mats investigated learning and teaching in the teacher education program at NIH. The aim was to strengthen research that illuminates learning processes in teacher educators' teaching and professional development.

Mats holds a master's degree in sports science from NIH with learning and coaching as the special field. The title of his master thesis is 'Learning through video feedback: an action research project on how to use video to contribute to team development'. I

After his master's degree, Mats also has worked as a physical education teacher in high school. He has over 12 years of experience as a team handball coach.

Hordvik, Mats Melvold & Beni, Stephanie Lynn (2024). Signature pedagogies of teacher education in physical education: a scoping review. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. ISSN 1740-8989. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2024.2352829.
Scanlon, Dylan; Becky, Alex; Wintle, Jordan & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2024). ‘Weak’ physical education teacher education practice: co-constructing features of meaningful physical education with pre-service teachers. Sport, Education and Society. ISSN 1357-3322. doi: 10.1080/13573322.2024.2344012.
Johansen, Bjørn Tore; Kjær, Ingirid Geirsdatter Heald; Hordvik, Mats Melvold & Solstad, Bård Erlend (2023). “Fake it or hide it till you make it”: A thematic analysis of hiding techniques in physical education among students in secondary school. European Physical Education Review. ISSN 1356-336X. doi: 10.1177/1356336X231198824. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Some students find engaging in physical education (PE) problematic or undesirable to the extent that it makes them adopt strategies to avoid taking part, also known as hiding techniques. There is a need to get a deeper understanding of hiding techniques as a behavioral strategy in PE, especially the underlying causes as to why students choose to engage in them. Hence, the purpose of the current study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the situations and activities in which students engage in hiding techniques in PE and (b) to elucidate students’ motives for engaging in these hiding techniques. 10 Norwegian ninth-grade students (six girls and four boys, all aged 14 years) participated in in-depth interviews using vignettes. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data revealed that hiding techniques can be characterized into active and passive hiding techniques. Active hiding techniques were divided into: “avoiding the ball,” “reducing effort,” and “social dizziness.” Passive hiding techniques were divided into: “forgetting gym clothing,” “faking soreness,” and “warming the bench.” Furthermore, the use of different hiding techniques was found to be situationally related and activity specific. The findings also revealed the following motives for using hiding techniques: low perceived competence, fear of failure, too high expectations, and exposure of perceived low athletic skills. The findings of the current study allow us to reflect on possible ways to organize PE to prevent the use of hiding techniques.
Fletcher, Tim & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2022). Miscibility in blended approaches to PETE practice. Movimento. ISSN 0104-754X. 28. doi: 10.22456/1982-8918.122740. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
In this paper, we discuss findings from a collaborative self-study we conducted on enacting a blended approach (i.e. consisting of online and in-person components) to a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) course. Data consisted of reflective journals and recorded conversations. We examine assumptions about the structure, content, and pedagogies of “blended” approaches using the metaphor of miscibility, where liquids mix to form a homogeneous solution. The blended PETE course was not conceptualized or enacted in a way that made it miscible (i.e. it was immiscible), in that the in-person and online components were viewed as separate entities. This meant there were missed opportunities to offer formative experiences from one format to shape experiences in the other. Following the pandemic it will be important to consider the strengths of both in-person and online formats so that students experience the ways one can benefit the other.
Fletcher, Tim & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2022). Emotions and pedagogical change in physical education teacher education: a collaborative self-study. Sport, Education and Society. ISSN 1357-3322. doi: 10.1080/13573322.2022.2035345. Show summary
Emotions are foundational to teaching and teacher education practice. They can influence all aspects of the change process, including considerations of relationships, pedagogical and curricular decisions, and organizational structures. While the study of emotions in teaching has increased since the 1990s, less explicit attention has been paid to the role of emotions in teacher education practice. Using a sociocultural perspective on emotion, the purpose of this research was to consider the emotional aspects of pedagogical change experienced by teacher educators. The context in which change occurred was the development and enactment of a blended course (i.e. using face-to-face and online formats) in one physical education teacher education program. Collaborative self-study of teacher education practice methodology guided the research design, including the processes of critical friendship, and data collection and analysis strategies. Emotions were omnipresent throughout the pedagogical change process and were expressed by both the teacher educator whose practice was being examined and the critical friend. Emotions were often experienced in contrasting ways and in tension to each other; for example, trust-distrust, and uncertainty-confidence. The explicit focus on the emotional dimension brought to life the teacher educators’ experiences, taking the analysis beyond the technical and rational implementation of decisions and offering a humanistic perspective on the pedagogical change process. The focus on emotion carries implications for policies and practices related to the ongoing professional development of teacher educators.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; Fletcher, Tim; Haugen, Anders L. Hage; Engebretsen, Berit & Møller, Lasse (2021). Using the metaphor of orchestration to make sense of facilitating teacher educator professional development. European Journal of Teacher Education. ISSN 0261-9768. 46(3), p. 417–434. doi: 10.1080/02619768.2021.1946510. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The purpose of this research was to examine the ways that a metaphor could help describe and make sense of the facilitation practices of a teacher educator who collaborated in a self-study of teacher education practice project with colleagues in Norway, and an international critical friend. Our research question was: ‘How does the metaphor of orchestration offer an understanding and elaboration of the complex and dynamic processes of facilitating teacher educator professional development through self-study of teacher education practices?’ Data generation involved three layers composed of reflective diaries written troughout and at the end of the data generation, and audio records of pair and group meetings. The metaphor of orchestration provided insight into the ways the facilitator initiated and tried to steer dynamic and uncontrollable teaching and research practices while providing some concrete examples of how metaphors might be manifested in the practices of facilitators of professional development.
Bentzen, Marte; Hordvik, Mats; Stenersen, Magne Hem & Solstad, Bård Erlend (2021). A longitudinal transitional perspective on why adolescents choose to quit organized sport in Norway. Psychology of Sport And Exercise. ISSN 1469-0292. 56, p. 1–8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102015. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The present study used a prospective cohort design to explore the reasons why young athletes decided to quit playing handball. The theoretical underpinnings were drawn from the fields of career transition, motivation, and meaningful experiences in organized youth sport. Thirty-four athletes were included in a larger research project exploring the complex interplay of psychosocial factors during the transition period from lower-to upper-secondary school in Norway. In this study, the data collection involved three sources: individual interviews with the 10 athletes who decided to leave their teams during the study period (five girls and five boys), and individual open-ended questionnaires for these 10 participants collected five times over two seasons, aligned with their participation in focus group interviews. The data analysis involved a three-step process of inductive content analysis of the total corpus of the data. A core finding indicates that all adolescents had gone through a decision-making process over time to determine whether they should continue or quit. It was a process of accumulating reasons that resulted in the final decision. However, the results reveal a broad variation within individual perception and interpretation of what each adolescent experienced as meaningful. Of equal importance, the adolescents not only took their experiences in sport into account when considering quitting organized youth sport, but these were considered in light of their evaluation of meaningfulness in other areas of life. Overall, findings indicate that “dropping out of organized youth sport” should not be regarded as unambiguously negative.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; Fletcher, Tim; Haugen, Anders L. Hage; Møller, Lasse & Engebretsen, Berit (2021). Using collaborative self-study and rhizomatics to explore the ongoing nature of becoming teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education : An International Journal of Research and Studies. ISSN 0742-051X. 101:103318, p. 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2021.103318. Full text in Research Archive
Hordvik, Mats Melvold & Aaring, Vegard Fånes (2021). Modellbasert praksis – èn visjon for fagfornyelse i kroppsøving . In Vinje, Erlend Ellefsen (Eds.), Didaktiske utfordringer i kroppsøving. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202675288. p. 191–217.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; MacPhail, Ann & Ronglan, Lars Tore (2020). Developing a pedagogy of teacher education using self-study: A rhizomatic examination of negotiating learning and practice. Teaching and Teacher Education : An International Journal of Research and Studies. ISSN 0742-051X. 88. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2019.102969. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
This self-study of teacher education practices examines the processes of developing a pedagogy of teacher education. Drawing on multiple data sources (video and audio, reflective diary, and focus groups), we used concepts from rhizomatics to explore the question, “How does a teacher educator negotiate his learning and practice as he develops a pedagogy of teacher education?” We explicate the complexity of teacher education learning by showing how a conflux of interactive elements co-produce a teacher educator’s practice. This encourages us to introduce the metaphor of “orchestration” as a way of conceptualizing teacher educator practice and pedagogy.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; Haugen, Anders L. Hage; Engebretsen, Berit; Møller, Lasse & Fletcher, Tim (2020). A collaborative approach to teaching about teaching using models-based practice: developing coherence in one PETE module. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. ISSN 1740-8989. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2020.1812558. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Background: The current interest in models-based practice (MBP) as an innovation and framework has necessitated deeper understanding of both what MBP is and how teacher educators teach pre-service teachers about innovative approaches such as MBP. Despite several studies of individual teacher educators enacting MBP, there are few examples of how several teacher educators might go about implementing MBP in physical education teacher education (PETE) programmes. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how a collaborative approach to teaching pre-service teachers MBP can support coherence in PETE modules. The study was guided by the question: How do teacher educators teaching in one PETE module negotiate their experience of teaching about teaching as they implement MBP? Method: This collaborative self-study of teacher education practices was conducted in a Norwegian PETE department and involved five teacher educators. The particular setting for the study was one module (what might be described elsewhere as a course or unit of study) that Lasse, Berit, Anders, and Mats were to teach to first year pre-service teachers in one PETE programme (13 females and 37 males). In addition to teaching the module, the four teacher educators acted as critical friends to one another, while Tim (who was based in Canada) offered a second layer of critical friendship to group members both individually and collectively. Data generation included two primary sources: audio records of our meetings in different configurations (21 meetings and approximately 35 hours audio) and our reflective diaries (total of 10 entries and 20 pages). Data analysis involved a five-step dialogic process of ‘thinking with' Loughran’s (2006. Developing a Pedagogy of Teacher Education: Understanding Teaching and Learning About Teaching. London: Routledge) concept of developing a pedagogy of teacher education (Jackson, A. Y., and L. A. Mazzei. 2012. Thinking with Theory in Qualitative Research: Viewing Data Across Multiple Perspectives. London: Routledge). Results: This study provides insights into the affordances of taking a collaborative approach to teaching about teaching MBP and how such a collaborative approach facilitated implementation individually and collectively. Furthermore, the study highlights the ways the several collaborative processes and structures produced the development of a shared language and vision for teaching about teaching MBP. This shared vision led to coherence in how we talked and taught about MBP with each other and with pre-service teachers. These visions helped make our individual and collective practices and their articulation coherent to ourselves and to one another, and also to the pre-service teachers whom we taught. Conclusion: Our understanding is that the development of coherent PETE programmes and the modules within those programmes requires at least: (i) a professional group of teacher educators who are willing to share their understanding, challenges, and uncertainties with one another and with pre-service teachers, (ii) an inquiry-oriented stance towards researching group and departmental beliefs and practices, and (iii) a desire to better understand and share the development of new understandings with colleagues at departmental, national, and/or international levels.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; MacPhail, Ann & Ronglan, Lars Tore (2019). Negotiating the complexity of teaching: a rhizomatic consideration of pre-service teachers’ school placement experiences. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. ISSN 1740-8989. 24(5), p. 447–462. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2019.1623189. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Background and purpose: Acknowledging that it is critical that researchers design and implement studies that examine teaching as a complex phenomenon (Strom and Martin [2017]. Becoming-teacher: A Rhizomatic Look at First-year Teaching. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers), the objective of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) experience of teaching a specific content (i.e. Sport Education) in various school contexts (i.e. diverse PSTs, contexts, students, and the SE model). Using the rhizomatic (Deleuze and Guattari [1987]. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press) concept of assemblage, this study was guided by the question, ‘How do PSTs negotiate their Sport Education physical education teacher education learning experience during school placement?’ Research setting and participants: Grounded in post-qualitative methodology, this study involved twenty-one PSTs undertaking their school placement as part of a three-year physical education teacher education (PETE) programme in Norway. School placement was composed of two three-week periods in upper secondary school in which the PSTs taught SE to the same class each week. The PSTs participated in a university SE-PETE unit prior to school placement. Data collection and analysis: Three focus group interviews were conducted with three PST groups: (i) end of the SE-PETE unit and prior to school placement; (ii) between school placement blocks; and, (iii) end of school placement. Also, PST coursework was collected on completion of the PETE unit (completed in groups) and on completion of school placement (individual coursework). The nonlinear analysis process included data walking, rhizomatic mapping, situational analysis, and memo writing. Findings and discussion: This study highlighted how particular characteristics of various human and non-human elements (that is, the PSTs themselves, their contexts, their students, the features of SE) influenced and shaped PSTs’ teaching and learning. Recognizing that it is not possible to be true to the myriad of elements influencing each PST, we provide a detailed consideration of two selected PSTs and show how interactions between human and non-human elements created two different teaching practices and learning experiences. We discuss the concept of assemblage in relation to the findings and introduce the notion of ‘translating’. In ‘translating’, as highlighted by the PSTs in this study, PSTs make sense of their PETE learning within a specific setting and a set of circumstances. Conclusion: We contend that non-linear conceptual and methodologic frameworks, such as those featured in this study, can assist the PETE community to push beyond linear and simple ways of studying practice and instead encourage more complex conceptualizations of teaching and learning. Hence, we advocate for an ontological turn (Lather and St. Pierre [2013]. “Post-qualitative Research.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 26 (6): 629–633) in PETE research that focuses on the processes of teaching and learning rather than the outcomes alone.
Hordvik, Mats; MacPhail, Ann & Ronglan, Lars Tore (2019). Learning to teach sport education: investigating a pre-service teacher’s knowledge development. Sport, Education and Society. ISSN 1357-3322. 24(1), p. 51–65. doi: 10.1080/13573322.2017.1322948. Show summary
The pre-service teacher (PST) learning process has been claimed to include multiple and complex forms of learning because various areas of knowledge growth occur at the same time. In the Sport Education (SE) literature, there has been a noticeable dearth of research regarding how PSTs learn, interpret and deliver the model. While several studies report PSTs having experienced SE prior to the formal study being carried out, to our knowledge, only one study has followed PSTs through a series of learning experiences. In this study, we used the three-level model of learning as a framework to investigate a PST’s continuing process of learning to teach SE as part of a PETE program and while teaching during the school placement component of the PETE program. The study was guided by the question, ‘How does a PST’s knowledge of teaching and learning SE develop?’ This study reports on one physical education PST learning to teach SE. The learning experience was composed of four PETE courses (two content courses and two school placements) divided into five phases. Data collection employed five semi-structured interviews, coursework and a focus group. Data were analyzed using a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive theme development. Results revealed that the PST progressively developed conscious awareness and understanding about teaching and learning SE. The comprehensive learning experience made the PST develop understanding of teaching and learning SE that reflected knowledge on an abstract level. Studying the relationships between SE concepts, while connecting them with knowledge from various PETE courses, the theoretical foundation of SE became accessible. We encourage physical education teacher educators to allow for a continuing growth of understanding where PSTs develop knowledge through various SE learning and teaching experiences tailored around their needs and concerns.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold; MacPhail, Ann; Tannehill, Deborah & Ronglan, Lars Tore (2018). Decentering the "self" in self-study of professional practices : a working research assemblage. In Strom, Kathryn; Mills, Tammy & Ovens, Alan (Ed.), Decentering the Researcher in Intimate Scholarship : Critical Posthuman Methodological Perspectives in Education. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. ISSN 978-1-78754-636-3. p. 59–73. doi: 10.1108/s1479-368720180000031006.
Aggerholm, Kenneth; Standal, Øyvind Førland & Hordvik, Mats (2018). Competition in Physical Education: Avoid, Ask, Adapt or Accept? Quest (National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education). ISSN 0033-6297. 70(3), p. 385–400. doi: 10.1080/00336297.2017.1415151. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Competition is an essential part of youth sport. But should it also be part of the curriculum in physical education? Or are competitive activities incompatible with the educational context? While some researchers have argued that physical education should embrace the sporting logic of competition, others have criticized the negative experiences it can create for some students in school. In this article, we draw on insights from the philosophy of sport as well as educational philosophy, with the aim of questioning and critically examining the integration of competitive activities in physical education. We present and discuss four normative arguments (AVOID, ASK, ADAPT, and ACCEPT) that can each in their own way inform and guide future talks on the topic.
Hordvik, Mats; MacPhail, Ann & Ronglan, Lars Tore (2017). Teaching and Learning Sport Education: A Self-Study Exploring the Experiences of a Teacher Educator and Pre-Service Teachers. Journal of teaching in physical education. ISSN 0273-5024. 36(2), p. 232–243. doi: 10.1123/jtpe.2016-0166. Show summary
Purpose: In this study, we articulate and share our knowledge and understanding of teaching and learning Sport Education in physical education teacher education (PETE): (a) How did the PETE faculty member experience teaching about teaching Sport Education? and (b) How did the PSTs experience learning about teaching Sport Education? Method: One PETE faculty member (the first author) and twelve PSTs took part in a university Sport Education unit. Data were collected through the PETE faculty member’s open-ended reflective diary and focus groups with three PST teams. Results: The PETE faculty member and PSTs experienced various challenges such as bridging theory and practice when learning about teaching Sport Education and articulating the “what”, “how” and “why” when teaching about teaching Sport Education. Conclusion: Sport Education is a complex curriculum and instructional model, encouraging further interrogation of the theoretical implications of the model.

View all works in Cristin

Fletcher, Tim; NI Chróinínb, Déirdre & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2023). Practitioner-driven research methods. In Richards, Kevin Andrew; Hemphill, Michael A. & Wright, Paul M. (Ed.), Qualitative Research and Evaluation in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. ISSN 9781284262391.
Østerlie, Ove & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2022). [Podcast, krø.no] “PhysEd-Academy” vil revolusjonere kroppsøvingsfaget! [Internet]. www.krø.no.
Hordvik, Mats Melvold & Aggerholm, Kenneth (2021). A Bildung Theoretical Underpinning of Models-based Practice in Physical Education.
Østerlie, Ove & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2021). Exploring Physical Education in Norway: Part of the 2021 Series. PE Scholar.
Aggerholm, Kenneth; Standal, Øyvind Førland & Hordvik, Mats (2017). Vi må tale om konkurranse i kroppsøving.
By, Inger - Åshild; Holthe, Asle; Lie, Catrine; Sandven, Jostein; Vestad, Ingeborg Lunde & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2019). Følgenotat om forslag til ny forskrift om rammeplan for 5-årige faglærerutdanninger i praktiske og estetiske fag / Lærerutdanning i praktiske og estetiske fag for trinn 1-13, med rammeplanutvalgets vurderinger. Oversendt Kunnskapsdepartementet 14. januar 2019. Kunnskapsdepartementet.
By, Inger - Åshild; Holthe, Asle; Lie, Catrine; Sandven, Jostein; Vestad, Ingeborg Lunde & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2019). Forslag til forskrift om rammeplan for femårige lærerutdanninger i praktiske og estetiske fag for trinn 1–13. Oversendt Kunnskapsdepartementet 14. januar 2019 . Kunnskapsdepartementet.
By, Inger - Åshild; Holthe, Asle; Sandven, Jostein; Vestad, Ingeborg Lunde & Hordvik, Mats Melvold (2018). Master i faglærerutdanning i praktiske og estetiske fag. Utredning av kompetansebehov av å innføre master i faglærerutdanning i praktiske og estetiske fag, og anbefaling til departementet om hvorvidt det bør innføres en master i faglærerutdanning. Kunnskapsdepartementet.

View all works in Cristin

Published Oct. 17, 2023 1:11 PM - Last modified Dec. 13, 2023 2:35 PM