Effect of task organization, kind of participation, and the ratio of students to material on the learning of three volleyball skills and process perception in secondary students

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to study the effect of task organization, kind of participation and the ratio of students to material on the learning of three volleyball skills and the students’ perception of the process in secondary physical education. The sample consisted of two classes each from the following grades: 1st year of secondary school (12 years old), 2nd year of secondary school (13 years old), 3rd year of secondary school (14 years old), and 4th year of secondary school (15 years old) from a high school in southeastern Spain (197 students). A quasi-experimental inter- group design with pre-test and post-test was used. A treatment of five sessions was done. The independent variable was the combination of task organization, kind of participation and the ratio of students to balls. The dependent variables were: a) procedural learning; b) conceptual learning; c) attitudinal learning; and d) the students’ perception during the sessions in relation to learning and enjoyment. From the results obtained, the following conclusions can be established: a) all the combinations that were studied obtained similar levels of procedural learning (precision and control), conceptual learning, and enjoyment perception; b) none of the combinations studied obtained attitudinal learning; and c) students’ learning perception was irregular for the combinations that were studied.