JOPERD Table of Contents
Enhancing Student Motivation and Social Skills: Adopting the Sport Education and Cooperative Learning Models
Angelo Montoya, Kelly Simonton, and Karen L. Gaudreault
There has been much research done on the many
different evidence-based instructional models in physical
education (Dyson, Griffin, & Hastie, 2004; Metzler,
2011). Researchers have studied the relationship between
these models and several variables of physical education such as
motivation, student attitude, student behavior, and social skill development due to their relations with student outcomes (Hassandra,
Goudas, & Chron, 2003; Hastie & Sharpe, 1999; Ntoumanis, 2001).
Although many of the models have provided significant findings,
there is a lack of evidence for teachers using such models (Hodges,
Laughlin, & Brusseau, 2018). The purpose of this article is to review
the essential components of two popular instructional models, the
Sport Education model (SE) and Cooperative Learning (CL) model,
and the positive effects they have had on student motivation, behavior, attitude and social skill development. We also discuss how professional development (PD) can improve teachers’ understanding
and implementation of these models.
Three essential outcomes of any quality physical education experience include increases in students’ motivation, their attitudes
toward physical activity and physical education, and, lastly, their
responsible behavior and engagement. A significant body of research
exists on student motivation, attitude and behavior in physical education. Increasing students’ intrinsic motivation has been a very
popular topic of motivational research studied in physical education
(Hassandra et al., 2003). According to Ntoumanis (2001, 2005), it
is important that intrinsic motivation is fostered and promoted in
physical education because it can lead to positive outcomes such as
adaptive attitudes and active behaviors into adult life. Motivation
is not only listed in the National Standards as an essential outcome
(SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators, 2014);
it is a direct predictor of student engagement (Garn, Simonton,
Dasingert, & Simonton, 2017), learning (Morgan, 2019), and adopting a healthy lifestyle (Wallhead & Buckworth, 2004).
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