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Four Weeks of Goal-Directed Learning in Primary Physical Education Classes
Sebastiaan W J Platvoet1, Marije T Elferink-Gemser2, Rianne Kannekens3
1HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Sebastiaan.Platvoet@han.nl.
Abstract:
Relatively little is known about how practice relates to children's improvement in gross motor skill performance. The aim of this study is to determine to what extent 6- and 7-year-old children improve their gross motor skill performance in a four-week period, in which goal-directed learning is stimulated and to determine whether differences between boys and girls occur. Groups of 6 year olds (n = 167) and 7 year olds (n = 140) practiced their gross motor skill for four weeks. Physical education teachers stimulated goal-directed learning by their instruction, skill-specific exercises, and individual practice. The week before and after, gross motor skill performance was assessed, using the Körper Koordinations Test für Kinder, and compared with a control group (n = 131). Both 6 and 7 year olds in the intervention group improved their gross motor skill performance significantly more than the control group. The results show the relevance of goal-directed learning for the improvement of gross motor skill performance.
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