THE EFFECT OF SELF-CONTROLLED AND EXPERIMENTER-CONTROLLED FREQUENCY OF MODEL DEMONSTRATION ON LEARNING A COMPLEX GYMNASTIC ROUTINE

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of learning a complex gymnastic routine with different frequencies of model demonstration controlled by the experimenter or self-controlled by learners. Fifty undergraduate physical education (PE) students were randomly assigned to 5 training groups: GF100 (100% frequency), GF20 (20% frequency), GFF (faded frequency), GSF (self-controlled frequency) and GYF (yoked group). All five groups followed the same experimental design, with one difference: groups GF100, GF20 and GFF observed model demonstration under externally controlled frequency, whereas group GSF self-controlled that condition. Participants were asked to perform a complex gymnastic routine (maximum vertical jump) with swinging the arms forwards and upwards, pulling the knees up to the chest while grabbing the shins followed by a half-squat landing with arms extended sidewards. During the acquisition phase, all the participants completed a total of 150 trials, with 15 trials completed in three blocks during each of the ten practice sessions. In the present study, we used expert ratings based on the FIG-COP to evaluate movement quality. For each trial, three gymnastic judges assessed the performance. To assess the differences between the five groups, a repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the last factor for retention and transfer (Group x Test) and practice (Group x Practice). Partial eta squared (ηp2) effect sizes were calculated for multiple comparisons and Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated for pairwise comparisons. Post-hoc Fisher’s LSD test was used for pairwise comparison. No significant Group x Test interaction or Group main effect was found, indicating that no group performed better than another in retention immediate, delayed and transfer tests. For each group, a significant improvement compared to baseline was observed in the retention and transfer tests (d > 0.8). The most important finding from the current study was that groups under self-controlled and experimenter-controlled frequency of model observing appeared similarly effective in learning a complex gymnastic routine. No significant differences were observed between the five groups in retention and transfer tests.