Impact of attentional focus of the process of learning and teaching a complex rhythmic gymnastics structure

Veliki broj istraživanja iz područja motoričkog učenja izvještava kako davanje informacija koje kod sudionika izaziva eksternalni fokus pažnje (koncentracija na efekte pokreta), nasuprot internalnog fokusa pažnje (koncentracija na dijelove tijela koji sudjeluju u izvedbi pokreta), rezultira boljom motoričkom izvedbom i učenjem različitih motoričkih zadataka. U okviru ovog istraživanja ispitivan je uspjeh u učenju i poučavanju novog složenog motoričkog zadatka uz različitu vrstu i učestalost povratnih informacija. 59 studentica Kineziološkog fakulteta u dobi od 19 do 25 godina bile su podijeljene u 4 eksperimentalne skupine i učile složeni motorički zadatak iz ritmičke gimnastike (zadatak vijačom). Sudionice su bile izabrane pod uvjetom da nemaju nikakvih prethodnih iskustava ni znanja iz ritmičke gimnastike. Različiti eksperimentalni uvjeti pretpostavljali su različite vrste povratnih informacija (eksternalni ili internalni fokus pažnje) i različitu učestalost davanja povratnih informacija (100%, 33%). Zadatak sudionica bio je savladati novi složeni zadatak iz ritmičke gimnastike – zadatak s vijačom. Zadatak obuhvaća manipuliranje vijačom na specifičan način uz simultano pokretanje tijela i udova. Prije početka izvođenja svaka sudionica je dobila početnu uputu u obliku snimke demonstracije motoričkog zadatka, zajedno sa snimljenom deskriptivnom verbalnom uputom po dva puta. Deskriptivna uputa sastojala se od pažljivo uobličenih verbalnih instrukcija o zadatku koje su poticale eksternalni ili internalni fokus pažnje. Svaka sudionica izvela je 48 ponavljanja, i to u 8 serija po 6 ponavljanja. Nakon svake ili svake treće izvedbe (ovisno o grupi kojoj je pripadala), sudionica je dobila povratnu informaciju o trenutnoj izvedbi. Povratna informacija koju je sudionica dobivala, bila je izabrana od strane ekspertice (dugogodišnje trenerice i međunarodne sutkinje ritmičke gimnastike). Ona je tu povratnu informaciju odabrala s liste unaprijed pripremljenih povratnih informacija uzimajući u obzir fokus pažnje koji ciljano potiče i učestalosti povratnih informacija ovisno o eksperimentalnoj grupi kojoj je sudionica pripadala. Poslije svake serije sudionicama je ponovo bila prezentirana početna uputa u obliku snimke demonstracije s verbalnom uputom po dva puta nakon čega su nastavljale s izvođenjem. Nakon sedam dana na svim sudionicama proveden je test usvojenosti izvedbe koji se sastojao od početne upute iza koje je slijedilo 5 ponavljanja izvedbe bez povratnih informacija. Cijeli proces učenja svake sudionice bio je sniman te kasnije ocjenjivan. Tri ekspertne sutkinje, samostalno su pogledale snimke i ocijenile izvedbu svakog pokušaja po kriterijima koji su bili konstruirani za procjenu ovog motoričkog zadatka s bazom iz Pravilnika ritmičke gimnastike. Ocjene su bile rangirane od 1 do10 za svaku izvedbu pri čemu je 1 predstavljao najlošiju, a 10 najbolju izvedbu. U skladu s prvim ciljem istraživanja napravljena je procjena pouzdanosti, osjetljivosti i homogenosti ocjena ekspertnih sutkinja kako bi se dobio stupanj slaganja ocjenjivača kroz sve promatrane točke mjerenja. Za procjenu stupnja objektivnosti ocjena sutkinja izračunata je prosječna korelacija njihovih ocjena. Za mjeru slaganja ocjena ekspertnih sutkinja kao pokazatelja pouzdanosti ocjenjivanja korištena je Crombachovu α (Cα) te međučestičnu korelaciju (IIr). S ciljem određivanja homogenosti, faktorskom analizom je određena struktura prve glavne komponente te je izračunata količina varijabilnosti prostora ocjena sutkinja objašnjena ekstrahiranom latentnom dimenzijom kao i postotak varijabilnosti manifestnog prostora ocjena sutkinja protumačenog ekstrahiranom latentnom dimenzijom. Učinkovitost učenja provjerena je na temelju prosječnih ocjena sutkinja-eksperata svake izvedbe kroz faze učenja te na temelju ocjene razine usvojenosti naučenog nakon 7 dana. S ciljem identifikacije značajnosti razlika unutar pojedine grupe, ali i između grupa u kvaliteti izvedbe složenog motoričkog zadatka korištena je trofaktorska ANOVA (fokus pažnje × učestalost × faza učenja; 2 × 2 × 9) s ponovljenim mjerenjima uz Scheffé post hoc analizu po potrebi. Parcijalni eta kvadrat (η2) bio je korišten za procjenu veličine učinka uz pogrešku zaključivanja α = 5%. Rezultati istraživanja jasno ukazuju na postojanje dinamičkog procesa učenja i poučavanja motoričkog znanja za sve četiri promatrane eksperimentalne grupe, neovisno o učestalosti davanja povratnih informacija i neovisno o fokusu pažnje koje su povratne informacije izazivale. Iako su sve grupe ostvarile napredak u učenju motoričkog znanja, rezultati jasno ukazuju na nepostojanje razlika među grupama s obzirom na inducirani fokus pažnje te je nemoguće odrediti učinkovitiju metodu učenja i poučavanja s obzirom na eksternalni ili internalni fokus pažnje. Promatrajući učinkovitost metoda učenja i poučavanja kroz prizmu učestalosti davanja povratnih informacija, učenje složenog motoričkog zadatka bilo je učinkovitije uz učestale povratne informacije (100%) nego uz povratne informacije smanjene frekvencije (33%) dok se njima inducira eksternalni fokus pažnje. Kada se govori o internalnom fokusu pažnje i učestalosti davanja povratnih informacija pri učenju složenog motoričkog zadatka nije bilo razlike u učinkovitosti procesa učenja s obzirom na učestalost primanja povratnih informacija. Također, nisu dobivene statistički značajne razlike među grupama u tempu učenja ovisno o različito induciranom fokusu pažnje i količini dostupnih povratnih informacija. Istraživanje potvrđuje da su sve grupe naučile novi motorički zadatak te da se naučeno znanje zadržalo i nakon sedam dana od završetka učenja, neovisno o vrsti i učestalosti povratnih informacija koje su sudionice primale tijekom učenja.A great number of motor learning studies have reported that feedback inducing an external (concentration on motion effects) instead of an internal (concentration on parts of the body participating in the performance of the motion) focus of attention enhances motor performance and different motor skill learning in the participants. As part of this research, we examined the performance in learning and teaching a new complex motor skill with a different type and frequency of feedback. The participants were 59 female students aged 19 to 25 from the Faculty of Kinesiology who were divided into 4 experimental groups and taught a complex motor skill in rhythmic gymnastics (a task with a rope). The students with no prior experience or knowledge in the field of rhythmic gymnastics met the selection criterion for the participation in the research. Different experimental conditions assumed different types of feedback (external or internal focus of attention) and different feedback frequency (100%, 33%). The task of the participants was to master a new complex skill in rhythmic gymnastics – a task with a rope. The task required the participants to manipulate the rope in a specific manner, simultaneously moving their bodies and limbs. Prior to the beginning of their performance, each participant was given an initial instruction in the form of an instructional recording of a double demonstration of the motor skill accompanied by a verbal description. The descriptive instruction consisted of carefully formulated verbal instructions about the task that induced an external or internal focus of attention. Each participant performed 8 sets of 6 repetitions or 48 repetitions in total. After each or every third performance (depending on the participant’s group), an expert (a long-time coach and international rhythmic gymnastics judge) provided the participant with feedback on the current performance. The expert chose the type of feedback from a list of feedback prepared beforehand, with respect to the targeted focus of attention that it induced, as well as with respect to the frequency depending on the participant’s experimental group. After each set, the initial instruction in the form of a recording of a double demonstration accompanied by a verbal description was shown again to the participants who would then continue with their performance. After seven days, all participants were tested to check if they have acquired the skill performed. The test included the initial instruction followed by 5 repetitions of the performance without any feedback. The entire learning process was recorded and later evaluated for each participant. Three expert judges watched the videos and individually evaluated the performance of each repetition according to the evaluation criteria for this motor skill established on the basis of the Code of Points for Rhythmic Gymnastics. The scores were ranked on a scale of 1-10 for each performance, with 1 representing the worst and 10 representing the best performance. In accordance with the first objective of the research, an assessment of reliability, sensitivity and homogeneity of the ratings given by the expert judges was made in order to establish the degree of agreement among raters through all observed points of measurement. Average correlation of the scores given by the judges was calculated to assess the degree of their objectivity. Crombach's α (Cα) and inter-item correlation (IIr) were used to measure the concordance of the expert judges’ scores, which served as an indicator of inter-rater reliability. With the aim of determining homogeneity, factor analysis was used to determine the structure of the first major component and calculate the amount of variability of the judges’ scores in the factor space explained by the extracted latent dimension, as well as the variability percentage of the judges’ scores in the manifest space interpreted by the extracted latent dimension. The effectiveness of learning was verified on the basis of the average ratings given by the expert judges for each performance through the learning phases, as well as on the basis of the assessment of the level of skill acquisition after 7 days of learning how to perform the skill. A three-way ANOVA (focus of attention × frequency × learning phase; 2×2×9) with repeated measurements, including the Scheffé post-hoc test, was used to identify the significance of differences within a particular group, as well as the difference between the groups in the quality of performance of the complex motor skill. Partial Eta Squared (η2) was used to estimate the effect size with the Type I error rate α = 5%. The results of the research clearly point to a dynamic process of learning and teaching motor skills which is present in all 4 experimental groups observed, regardless of the feedback frequency and the focus of attention that the feedback induced. Although all groups made progress in motor learning, the results clearly indicate that there is no difference between the groups with respect to the focus of attention, and that it is not possible to determine a more effective learning and teaching method with respect to external or internal focus of attention. When observing the effectiveness of learning and teaching methods from the perspective of feedback frequency, the process of learning a complex motor skill was more effective with frequent feedback (100%) than with less frequent feedback (33%) inducing an external focus of attention. With regards to the internal focus of attention and the frequency of feedback, there was no difference in the effectiveness of learning a complex motor skill in relation to the feedback frequency. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the learning pace depending on the differently induced focus of attention and the amount of feedback available. Finally, it was established that all groups learned the new motor skill and that the acquired knowledge was retained even after seven days following the completion of learning, regardless of the type and frequency of feedback received by the participants in the course of learning