Background/Purpose
Various forms of presenting content via computer differ in the number and quality of visual and verbal cues. Many of these cues such as eye contact, tone of voice, appearance, facial expressions, proximity, and gestures have been found to be beneficial to the learning process. This study seeks to uncover what effects multimedia computer assisted instruction, which contain a high degree of visual and verbal cues, compared to multimedia instruction, which contains a low degree of visual and verbal cues, may have on elementary 5th grade students learning motivation, classroom climate, and motor skill achievement in physical education.
Method
A pre-test and post-test experimental design was applied. Pre-test and post-test of motor skill test (Kovar, Combs, Campbell, 2004), learning motivation survey, and classroom climate in physical education scale were administered to the participants in this study. One hundred and three students from three classes were randomly assigned to experimental groups and control group. The experimental groups received two computer based multimedia assisted lessons with a forty-minute that included either full visual and verbal cues during each lesson as experimental group A (skill video with teaching feedback), limited visual and full verbal cues during each lesson as experimental group B (still motor skill picture with teaching feedback). The control group received no visual or verbal cues during lesson as control group (skill practice only). The one-way ANOVA test was used to determine the differences among the three groups, and pairwise ranking with the Scheffe method was conducted between all comparisons as a post hoc analysis. Moreover, the paired-samples t test was used to determine pre-to post-test changes within the groups. Alpha set at p< 0.05. Analysis/Results Results from one-way ANOVA show that students in experimental group A had significantly higher scores than the experimental group B and control group regarding learning motivation, classroom climate, and motor skill achievement (p<0.05), but results show no significant differences between experimental group B and control group (p>0.05). Findings revealed an improvement in motor skill achievement and in the development of a positive learning motivation regarding the use technology to support instruction on the experimental group A and B (p<0.05).
Conclusions
This study suggests that visual and verbal cues in multimedia may be important for student learning achievement in elementary physical education.