Training physical education students to self-regulate during basketball free throw practice

Area of Science:

• Motor skill acquisition
• Sport psychology
• Self-regulation theory

Background:

• Self-regulation involves forethought, performance, and self-reflection phases.
• Effective self-regulation is crucial for skill development and adaptive motivation.
• Previous research highlights the importance of metacognitive strategies in learning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the additive effects of self-regulation training across different phases on motor skill acquisition.
• To examine the impact of multi-phase self-regulation training on basketball free throw performance.
• To assess the influence of self-regulation training on self-reflective beliefs and motivational profiles.

Main Methods:

• Fifty college students participated in a study on basketball free throw acquisition.
• Participants received training in one, two, or three phases of self-regulation (forethought, performance, self-reflection).
• Performance was measured by free throw accuracy and adaptation (self-correction after misses).

Main Results:

• A positive linear trend was observed between the number of self-regulatory phases trained and free throw performance and adaptation.
• Two- and three-phase training groups demonstrated significantly more accurate free throws compared to other groups.
• The three-phase training group exhibited the most adaptive motivational profile, including strategic attributions and self/process-based evaluations.

Conclusions:

• Additive self-regulation training, particularly across multiple phases, significantly enhances motor skill acquisition in basketball free throws.
• Multi-phase self-regulation training improves shooting accuracy and the ability to self-correct performance.
• Comprehensive self-regulation training fosters adaptive motivational beliefs crucial for sustained performance and learning.