Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept Mapping Intervention on Critical Thinking and Basketball Skills in Elementary School Accepted Manuscript Title Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept M[.]
Accepted Manuscript Title: Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept Mapping Intervention on Critical Thinking and Basketball Skills in Elementary School Author: Mei-Yao Huang Hsin-Yu Tu Wen-Yi Wang Jui-Fu Chen Ya-Ting Yu Chien-Chih Chou PII: DOI: Reference: S1871-1871(17)30006-8 http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2017.01.002 TSC 406 To appear in: Thinking Skills and Creativity Received date: Revised date: Accepted date: 27-6-2016 16-11-2016 3-1-2017 Please cite this article as: Huang, Mei-Yao., Tu, Hsin-Yu., Wang, Wen-Yi., Chen, Jui-Fu., Yu, Ya-Ting., & Chou, Chien-Chih., Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept Mapping Intervention on Critical Thinking and Basketball Skills in Elementary School.Thinking Skills and Creativity http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.01.002 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain Title: Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept Mapping Intervention on Critical Thinking and Basketball Skills in Elementary School Running head: COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND CONCEPT MAPPING a Mei-Yao Huang, bHsin-Yu Tu, cYu-Ting Yu, bJui-Fu Chen, dWen-Yi Wang, Chien-Chih Chou* (Responding Author) d a Department of Physical Education Promotion, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan County 333, Taiwan b Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 10106, Taiwan c Graduate Institute of Physical Education, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan County 333, Taiwan d Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei 10048, Taiwan *Corresponding author: Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, No.101, Sec 2, Zhongcheng Rd., Shilin Dist., Taipei City Email: ccc4453@gmail.com Research Highlights ► A mechanism of effective teaching for developing basketball skills is proposed ► The mechanism for skillful movers relies on critical thinking in practicing motor skills ► The CL method for peer interaction should be encouraged through group discussions ► Use of the CM method for accessing learners’ conceptualizations should be encouraged ► The CL and CM methods explain the full cognitive process in learning motor skills Abstract Helping students develop their critical thinking potential may assist them in effectively developing motor skills This study examined the effects of cooperative learning and concept-mapping interventions on students' critical thinking and skill learning during physical education 170 fifth-grade students were assigned to a cooperative learning condition (n=54), a concept-mapping condition (n=57), and a control condition (n=59) The students were subsequently assessed in terms of their basketball skills and critical thinking skills The results showed greater improvements of basketball skills improvements and critical thinking skills among the students in the cooperative learning condition and the concept-mapping condition than among those in the control condition The results indicated that peer-cooperation and concept-mapping mediated the learning of motor skills and offered a learning environment that assisted critical thinking in the context of physical education Abbreviations CL, Cooperative leaning in teaching physical education; CM, Concept Mapping in teaching physical education Keywords: motor skills, problem solving, peer learning, mind maps Introduction Effective physical education supports the developments of motor skills and critical thinking skills (Donnelly, Helion, & Fry, 1999) Recently, the cultivation of students’ critical thinking skills has been greatly emphasized in school physical education (Lodewyk, 2009; McPherson & Kernodle, 2007) Lodewyk (2009) suggested that motor skills performance always involves the development of critical thinking skills when solving a problem Critical thinking in physical education, which is mainly characterized by challenging students to produce unique solutions to movement problems (McBride & Bonnette, 1995), has therefore become an important strategy for enhancing personal critical thinking Methods for improving elementary school students’ critical thinking in a teaching and learning environment, however, have scarcely been studied (Barrett, 2005; Raab, 2007; Ripoll, Kerlirzin, Stein, & Reine, 1999) 1.1 The definitions of critical thinking in physical education Since the initial advocacy of critical thinking research by McBride in 1990, the proposed definition of critical thinking has changed from a unidimensional concept to a multidimensional one, that is, from factors related to personal characteristics to those concerning the social milieu (McBride & Xiang, 2004) What more recent works on critical thinking have emphasized, however, is that multiple components must converge in order for critical thinking to take place In his Componential Model of Critical Thinking, Chou, Huang, Huang, Lu, and Tu (2015) defined critical thinking as being characterized by intellectually disciplined information processing in learning motor skills According to Chou et al., (2015), five components are essential for the cognitive process of making reasonable and defensible decisions in learning motor skills: assumption identification, induction, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments In the Cognitive Model of Critical thinking Schema, McBride (1992) used the case study method to explore the thought processes of individuals with highly developed critical thinking and proposed a schema of critical thinking to clarify the relationships between cognitive and psychomotor outcomes He concluded that a person with critical thing skills is unique, developmental change is multidimensional, and the critical person is an evolving system for problem solving in learning motor skills He also reported that the evolutions of critical thinking skills are influenced by teaching methods, motivation, emotions, and environments In the Peer Learning Model of Critical Thinking, Dyson (2002) proposed that two systems highlight the improvements of critical thinking: the interactions of the field in learning physical education and knowledge gained through collaborative groups and peer interactions This model emphasizes that individuals construct knowledge through social interactions with their peers, facilitated by their teachers Social interaction provided a means for students to view problems from multiple perspectives and enhance their critical thinking in learning motor skills Similarly, in the Interactive Perspective of Critical thinking, McBride and Cleland (1998) underscored the interaction of three core elements: the individual, other people, and the learning environment Moreover, in the Developing Concept Theory of Critical Thinking, Lodewyk (2009) claimed that learners were facilitated by teachers in improving their knowledge and reasoning He also suggested that critical thinking skills could help learners to correct misconceptions about motor skills and strategies by mapping the interrelatedness of concepts within the discipline Although the aforementioned literature shows that critical thinking may be influenced by multiple approaches, a consensus exists that among these influential approaches, problem solving in learning motor skills has the most direct and strongest effects on an individual’s critical thinking skills, and such approaches can be divided into three categories: knowledge, teaching-learning environments, and abilities (Dyson, 2002; McBride & Xiang, 2004) As for knowledge, Chou et al (2015) also argued that a basic level of motor skills and problem solving within a specific knowledge domain, along with deep knowledge of the subject, is required in order to develop movement skills In addition, they proposed that teaching and learning could foster a learner's critical thinking in physical education Apparently, using specific teaching-learning methods is the most fundamental and key element of critical thinking that can lead to the development of proficient movement in physical education As for teaching-learning environments, the second element noted above, their importance has been highly emphasized in a famous critical thinking scheme for motor skill performance (McBride, 1992) Brennan, Brownson, Kelly, Ivey, and Leviton (2012) have illustrated that dispositions such as problem solving and thoughtfulness are important for the performance of critical thinking in physical activities Based on a thorough literature review and empirical findings, Chou et al (2015) suggested two factors influencing critical thinking which could improve motor skills performance: teaching strategies and learning environments They found that in critical thinking skills, these factors were positively related to an individual’s motor skills performance As for abilities, the third element noted above, Rawahi (2015) regarded critical thinking as a kind of capacity that integrates problem solving for motor skills with learning processes, procedures, and performance Ennis (1996) declared that the range of skills, knowledge, and perspectives positively impact an individual’s critical thinking performance Yeh (2009) also argued that critical thinking involves using reasonable and defensible strategies Along the same lines, McPherson and Kernodle (2007) argued that critical thinking requires the ability to understand relationships among physical activities and concepts, and to organize the content of physical activities into conceptual frameworks in order to engage in the performance of physical activities Lodewyk (2009) found that such problem-solving abilities such as organizing and analyzing problems, planning and adjusting working progress, staying judgmental in solving problems, and being sensitive in making observations were positively related to critical thinking performance Therefore, both cognitive and metacognitive abilities are essential for critical thinking skills 1.2 The definition of the cooperative learning method Cooperative learning in physical education is an instructional method in which students work together in small groups to learn in psychomotor, cognitive, and affective domains (Dyson, Griffin, & Hastie, 2004; Iserbyt, Madou, Vergauwen, & Behets, 2011) It is characterized by various forms of student-student interactions through physical activities (Barrett, 2005; Donnelly et al., 1999; Dyson et al., 2004) To date, most cooperative learning studies are attempted in the context of physical activity levels or skill performance as well as problem solving, and most research regarding cooperative learning has therefore focused on the improvement of physical activity levels For example, Chen (2001) claimed that cooperative learning is the practice of applying social skills from face-to-face interaction in peer relationships to physical activity in order to improve problem solving In the same vein, Honnan and Ratliffe (2004) declared that, in the context of physical education, group processing occurs when group members reflect on which member actions were helpful and make decisions about which actions to continue or change As far as the cooperative learning process is concerned, it involves the process of making decisions and solving problems (Dyson & Grineski, 2013), as well as the process of sharing relevant information, and expertise with others (Gillies, 2004) Accordingly, Donnelly et al (1999) argued that cooperative learning methods create an environment in which student-student interactions are encouraged through group discussions, the collective adoption of action strategies, and group efforts toward common learning objectives Such a learning environments allow students to make decisions in practice and to process information regarding motor skills actively and collectively so that they can become skillful movers As for influential factors of critical thinking, Lodewyk (2009) declared that peer-mediated learning settings involving the use of task cards could offer powerful learning environments that emphasize decision-making, as well as motor goals, in physical education classes Dyson et al (2004) suggested that, in physical education, pedagogical factors influencing critical thinking might include teaching method designs and integrative learning activities Along the same lines, Dyson, Linehan, and Hastie (2010) argued that teaching method designs that encourage teamwork improve critical thinking in learning motor skills Brennan et al (2012) also found that building team-learning groups in order to engage in decision making and problem solving in group discussions contributed to critical thinking in the context of physical education As discussed above, engaging in team learning for the purposes of discussion, decision making, and problem solving constitutes three core means through which to develop critical thinking skills and improve motor skills Therefore, these three activities may interactively influence personal critical thinking skills if the instructional program is well designed 1.3 The Definition of the Concept Mapping Method Novak, Gowin, and Johansen (1983) claimed that the concept mapping technique could serve as a measurement tool for accessing learners' issues with conceptualizations and knowledge representations Based on the concept mapping theory, concept maps consist of graphs of nodes and labeled lines that represent terms and concepts in a given domain and are used to measure important aspects of an individual’s declarative knowledge (Fitzpatrick & Zizzi, 2014) Along the same lines, Martindale and Collins (2007) argued that concept mapping visually illustrates the relationships between concepts, ideas, images, and words Those concepts are connected by words and phrases such that the connections between the ideas are explained, facilitating learners’ structuring and organizing of their thoughts on physical activity in a logical but not rigid manner that allows future information or viewpoints to be included Most concept mapping studies were undertaken in the context of physical education or physical activity, and most definitions of concept mapping have therefore focused on problem solving or critical thinking For example, in a study by Visek et al (2015), concept mapping was used to provide pictorial evidence-based blueprints for the fun integration theory that could then be used to maximize fun for children and adolescents in order to promote and sustain an active and healthy lifestyle through sport In the same vein, Ries, Voorhees, Gittelsohn, Roche, and Astone (2008) suggested that concept mapping is unique in its ability to generate and summarize detailed information succinctly in the form of a map for physical activity According to Ries et al (2008), concept mapping activities allow participants to share their opinions about aspects of their environment that are important to physical activity and generate ideas about how to increase physical activity As for cognitive thinking, Lodewyk (2009) claimed that concept mapping facilitates motor skill development and critical thinking Other researchers also found performance 3.4 Variables and Measures Critical Thinking Skills Critical thinking skills were operationalized using the theoretical framework recommended by Yeh (2009) The framework conceptualizes critical thinking skills in five components including assumption identification, induction, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation of arguments These tests were designed to evaluate the reasoning skills required by children to engage in reflective decision making concerning what to believe or what to in various life scenarios or when facing problems The construct was measured using a 25-item instrument validated for students from grades through grade 12 (Yeh, 2009) A multiple choice format was used and each item had only one correct answer Each correct response received one point, whereas incorrect responses received zero points High scores represented high levels of critical thinking The average discrimination index was 47, and the average difficulty index was 61 The overall Cronbach’s α coefficient was 76 These values indicate that the instrument was of moderate difficulty and could discriminate different responses well, in addition to indicating that it possessed acceptable reliability and validity Basketball Skills The basketball skills of the students were assessed using the AAHPERD basketball skill test manual (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance, 1984) The skills assessed in this study included passing, speed spot shooting, and control dribbling The AAHPERD test battery is suitable for participants between the ages of 10 and 22 years The internal consistency reliability α coefficient of the test battery ranges from 84 to 97 High scores represent superior performance in basketball skills For this basketball skills test, the raw data were transformed into standardized T scores The test directions and scoring 13 were show in the Appendix 3.5 Data Collection Data collection was conducted during regular physical education classes A pre-instruction test was conducted during the first week of instruction A post-test took place during the 10th week, and a follow-up test was conducted during the 15th week Four graduate students collected the data They were trained to administer the Critical Thinking Skills for Primary and Secondary School Students test (Yeh, 2009) and the basketball skills test (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Dance, 1984) In each data collection session, the data collection team began by distributing pencils and the Critical Thinking Skills test They assured the students that their responses would not affect their grades and that their teachers would not have access to their responses They then answered any questions the students had After the students completed the Critical Thinking Skills test, the data collectors checked each returned questionnaire for completion They then organized the students to take the basketball skills test The data collection protocols were identical for all the data collection sessions Data Analysis To ensure that any potential confounds would be homogenous for the three groups, independent t-tests or chi-square tests were used to analyze any continuous or discrete scales of demographic data, respectively, to allow for comparisons between the three groups Next, the effects of the different learning methods were determined using analyses of variance with repeated measures The critical thinking skill and basketball skill scores were the dependent variables, the timepoint of the given measurement was the within-subjects factor, and the experimental condition for the given student was the between-subjects factor Paired t-tests were performed to 14 confirm significant changes within each condition when necessary A significance level of p ≤ 05 was considered statistically significant for all analyses except when multiple t-tests were used In those cases, the Bonferroni adjustment was applied to adjust the α level for appropriate statistical significance Results 4.1 Homogeneity Tests The analyses results for the demographic analyses indicated that there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and age, F170 < 1.41, p > 05 In addition, in terms of the gender distributions for the three groups, x2 < 1.54, p > 05, suggesting that the three groups were homogenous Table summarizes the demographic characteristics and physical fitness of the participants in the three groups The variance homogeneity tests also revealed no significant differences on the critical thinking skill and basketball skill measures (F (2, 167) = 1.17 & 89, p > 05), suggesting variance homogeneity between the three groups Descriptive statistics of the critical thinking skill and basketball skills scores are summarized in Table and Table The critical thinking skill and basketball skills scores were tested using ANOVA with repeated-measures The within-subject factors were the pre-, post-, and follow-up tests in the experimental conditions The analysis revealed a significant condition × time interaction for both critical thinking skills (Wilks’ Lambda = 84, F (4, 332) = 7.37, p < 0001, and η2 = 08 in Table 2) and basketball skills (Wilks’ Lambda =.72, F (4, 332) = 14.57, p < 0001, and η2 = 15 in Table 3) The univariate tests showed that the CL and CM groups had significantly higher scores on critical thinking skills (F = 8.14, p < 0001, and η2 = 09) and basketball skills (F = 8.78, p < 0001, and η2 = 10) than the control group in the post test and in the follow-up test (F = 4.12 and 15 21.20, p < 0001, and η2 = 05 and 20, respectively) The results indicated that the CL and CM students scored higher than the control students on both measures at the post-test and follow-up test The analysis also revealed a significant difference in the rate of score change for critical thinking and basketball skills from the pre-test to the follow-up (F(2) = 26.41 and 53.15, p < 0001, and η2 = 50 and 67 and F(2) = 55.01 and 18.23 , p < 0001, and η2 = 68 and 40, respectively); a significant difference was found for the control group (F(2) = 6.07 and 8.29, p < 05, and η2 = 18 and 23) These results suggest that the CL group students and CM group students improved their basketball skills and critical thinking skills more than their peers in the control condition Discussion The findings of the present study support the hypotheses that the CL and CM teaching methods provide better assistance to students in basketball skills performance and improving critical thinking skills in a physical education environment than the practice style The findings are consistent with those of past studies indicating that students improve their basketball skills and critical thinking more effectively by working together or using concept mapping than by working individually using traditional practice methods (Dyson, 2002; Dyson et al., 2010; Hall & O'Donnell, 1996; Lafont et al., 2007; McPherson & Kernodle, 2007) These findings may suggest that cooperative learning is valid and that the instructional program is effective in improving elementary school students’ basketball skills Moreover, the improvement of critical thinking skills may increase the chance of achieving group goals during game activities On the other hand, the findings also revealed that the concept mapping method could promote students’ critical thinking skills in games requiring tactical thinking involving assumption identification, 16 induction, deduction, interpretation, and evaluation, such as basketball games An important consideration for teachers when seeking to enhance students' basketball skills performance could thus be providing students with developmentally appropriate cooperative learning tasks that give groups the right amount of challenge to accomplish group goals in a movement environment In addition, the findings support the notion that through analyzing and synthesizing the relevant content using concept mapping methods, students may be able to execute the skills more effectively in basketball games requiring the reasoning skills needed for reflective decision making 5.1 The Outcomes of Cooperative Learning To validate the effectiveness and the underlying mechanisms of the cooperative learning, tests of basketball skills and critical thinking skills were employed at the beginning and end of the experimental instruction The analytical results indicated that most of the students achieved positive improvements through the peer-support and peer-interaction strategies and that the blended team discussions facilitated their problem solving with regard to skills performance in basketball activities Moreover, cooperative learning method also could improve critical thinking skills because the students are confronted with different games of the given situation in basketball The supportive peer groups utilized in cooperative learning may make it possible for each child to internalize both external knowledge and critical thinking skills and to convert them into tools for problem solving in learning basketball skills For example, the participants participated a peer discussion for tactical strategies of basketball games that facilitated to solve a problem and applying it in a movement situation, that team discussions contributed to their critical thinking, and that the feedback of evaluation, discussions, and practices of basketball skills enhanced their self-reflection In addition, the peer-support and peer-interaction processes in cooperative learning 17 encourage students to view each other’s performances critically and become active thinkers when receiving others’ feedback regarding their performances These processes may lead to the similar think-before-execute learning strategy, but they may be implemented collectively rather than individually For example, solving problems in basketball game activities collectively provides opportunities for group cooperation, face-to-face interactions, and team feedback that could lead to optimal critical thinking in basketball skills performance However, one fact worth noting is that the cooperative learning group outperformed the other two groups on the follow-up test This result seemed to echo the notion that peer feedback through peer teaching and peer evaluation can be a powerful mechanism in motor skill acquisition and critical thinking development (Dyson, 2002) Whether or not this observation is plausible needs to be empirically examined in future studies by examining the nature of peer interactions 5.2 The Outcomes of Concept Mapping The results of this study support that concept mapping is effective for critical thinking and basketball skills Concept mapping design assisted the students to produce unique solutions to game problems during the basketball activities and enabled them to combine and organize their previous experiences and knowledge with new concepts about solutions to tactical problems in order to develop their conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating skills in basketball game situations In the concept mapping group, integrating old and new concepts created a mental process such that when the students were involved in the basketball games, they were required to enhance their critical thinking to improve their skills It is possible that concept mapping effectively invited the students to adopt a systematic framework to organize their thoughts about basketball tactical problems and then 18 ... pertain Title: Effects of Cooperative Learning and Concept Mapping Intervention on Critical Thinking and Basketball Skills in Elementary School Running head: COOPERATIVE LEARNING AND CONCEPT MAPPING. .. improvements of basketball skills improvements and critical thinking skills among the students in the cooperative learning condition and the concept- mapping condition than among those in the control condition... cooperative learning and concept- mapping interventions on students'' critical thinking and skill learning during physical education 170 fifth-grade students were assigned to a cooperative learning condition