Complex Group Organizational Forms – an Optimizing Factor in Physical Education Instruction

A sample of 114 male pupils from elementary schools in Split aged 11 to 12 years was divided into experimental (N=58) and a control group (N=56) with the aim of determining the differences between differently treated groups considering patterns of instruction used in physical education lessons. The conducted experimental model included participation of students from the Department of Kinesiology, the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Kinesiology, the University of Split, in PE classes of both groups, with 35 lessons given throughout the school year 2003/2004. The students taught complex patterns of instruction (work in stations, the circuit type of work, an obstacle course, work in a station – consecutive repetition of the same movement under various conditions) only in classes of the experimental group. The other 35 lessons were taught by the PE teachers and complex instruction forms were not used. Both groups did their PE lessons according to the same programme, based on 70 lessons per year, 2 hours per week, using the same curriculum content. The researchers did not have an insight into the possible participation of the subjects in any of the extracurricular sporting activities. The sample of variables consisted of the 11-item battery of standard tests assessing anthropological status of pupils. The testing was conducted at the beginning and at the end of the school year. The analysis of variance showed a statistically significant improvement of both groups between the initial and the final testing (p=0.00), so that the hypothesis about the positive influence of group instruction forms on the observed anthropological characteristics can be considered correct. The advantages of complex instruction forms which contributed to the intensification of the teaching process in the experimental group are especially emphasized. They enabled the significantly better achievements than those of the control group (p=0.00). The mentioned findings were recorded in the measures of body mass (p=0.04), forearm circumference (p=0.00), and upper arm skin fold (p=0.00), in the field of power, dynamic muscular endurance and static muscular endurance (p=0.00), and also in the physiological abilities (p=0.00). It can be concluded that the quality of PE lessons, as well as the effects of the process of exercising, considerably depends on the choice and the correct usage of the instruction forms.