Scheduled for Poster Session: Research on Teaching and Instruction in Schools and Higher Education, Thursday, April 10, 2008, 11:15 AM - 12:45 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall, Reseach Consortium Poster Sessions


Meaningful Learning in a College Table Tennis Unit Through Concept Mapping

Shi-Chi Liu1, Ya-Ting Yu2, Yueh-Sheng Hsu1 and Cheng Lin3, (1)Taipei Physical Education College, Taipei, Taiwan, (2)National College of Physical Education and Sports, Taoyuan, Taiwan, (3)Nation College of Physical Education and Sports, Taoyuan, Taiwan

The concept mapping method is presented in the current study as a new tool to assess the learning process taking part in the hallmark of a college physical education program addressed to sport skills. In addition, concept mapping is a technique for representing knowledge in network graphs. Knowledge graphs consist of nodes and links. Nodes represent concepts and links represent the relationships between concepts (Novak & Gowin, 1984). Through the construction of a concept map (the integration of new or related concepts, establishment of new links or re-arrangement of existing links) learning can be assisted (Novak, 1990). Although graphic strategies, such as graphic organizers and knowledge maps, have pointed out helpful for learning, certain important application issues such as surface processing and cognitive overload have yet to be resolved. The study examined the learning effects of a concept-mapping generation setting and concept-mapping in collaborative setting on table tennis skill, table tennis skill cognition, and critical thinking abilities on college physical education. This study designed 2 concept-mapping approaches including concept-mapping generation setting (n=18) and concept-mapping in collaborative setting (n=19) to determine their effects on students' table tennis skill, table tennis cognition, and critical thinking abilities. Students in the both groups completed a table tennis skill test, table tennis skill cognition test, and critical thinking before and after the study. Students met two times in a week and each class was taught 90 minutes for 7 weeks. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-test, and stepwise regression. The experimental results from 37 college students showed that the concept-mapping in collaborative setting method enhanced table tennis skill, table tennis skill cognition, and critical thinking abilities and that the concept-mapping generation setting facilitated critical thinking abilities. The findings demonstrate that concept mapping may serve as a useful graphic strategy for improving table tennis skill and critical thinking. The findings also showed that students with higher critical thinking could be a positive factor to influence the table tennis skill test in college Physical Education. The findings also suggest that combining a spatial learning strategy with a collaborative setting method or scaffolding instruction is a potential approach for optimizing the effects of concept-mapping. Further explorations using longer training duration and more extensive table tennis materials along with participants of different levels of skill are worth considering to verify the relative efficiency of different concept-mapping methods for enhancing table tennis learning.
Keyword(s): college level issues

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