This study examined students’ technical performances improvements in three track and field events (hurdles, shot put, and long jump) following either a Sport Education season or a Direct Instruction unit. An experienced Physical Education teacher taught two classes totalling 47 sixth-grade students (25 boys and 22 girls, aged between 10 and 13 years old) in 20, 45-minute lessons over 10 weeks. The students’ technical performances were analysed and evaluated through systematic observation of videos. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare scores at three time points (pre-test, post-test and retention), and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine the differences within each instructional model at each assessment moment, as well as by gender and skill level. The impact of each instructional model in student learning was markedly distinct. While in Sport Education students of both genders and skill levels improved significantly in all events, in Direct Instruction, evidence of significant improvements was limited to boys and students of higher skill level.

• The impact of each teaching approach in student learning was distinct. While in Sport Education the technical performance improvements spread throughout students of both genders and skill levels, in Direct Instruction significant improvements were exclusive to boys and students of higher skill level.

• The extended analysis in the current study, taking into account student gender and skill level, permitted a more comprehensive measure of the learning impact of the two approaches. More sophisticated analyses of the tasks and instructional strategies of each approach are encouraged.