engleski

Dynamics of bilateral learning process of complex motor skills

The choice of sides of rotation around the sagittal or longitudinal axis of the body while performing motor skills is the result of a complex interaction between intrinsic preference and externally imposed way of performing motor skill. Gymnastics skills, which possess such a possibility, are rarely learned while rotating on the right and to the left side for a number of reasons: 1) time constraints of the motor learning processes ; 2) by rotating on both sides, gymnasts often experience “the loss of perception” ; 3) the inability of the coach to assist with the nondominant arm. The aim of this study was to analyse learning processes of the same skill but performed with the rotation to different sides. Following the aim of the study, the dynamics of the learning process of the cartwheel on the left side (CL) and cartwheel on the right side (CR) were analysed on a sample of 33 students, chronological age 19 to 22, who attended 60 practical classes of artistic gymnastics (2 x per week (2 x 90 minutes) during 14 weeks). The performances of those skills were recorded on the 1st, the 24th, the 44th and the 60th hour of class and were evaluated by 5 judges according to the defined criteria. According to judges’ grades, objectivity (through inter-item correlation and Cronbach Alpha coefficients) and homogeneity (through the percentage of total variance and projection values on isolated factors) were evaluated. Average values and standard deviations of the grades were determined at each evaluation point (P1-P4). In order to identify the differences between the evaluation points of the learning process, two factor 4 × 2 ANOVA with repeated measurements on both factors were used. If the assumption of sphericity was violated, degrees of freedom were Greenhouse-Geisser corrected. Bonferroni correction was used to identify significant differences. Partial and squared (partial η2) were used for the effect size assessment. Objectivity and homogeneity were found to be satisfactory with both skills. From P1 to P4 for CL average values ranged from 2.88 to 3.48 and for CR from 3.02 to 3.49. The main effect of factor Treatment appeared to be significant (F3, 96=17.019 ; p<0.001 ; η2=0.347), while the main effect of factor Side was found not significant (F3, 96=2.174 ; p=0.150 ; η2=0.064). Interaction effect Treatment×Side appeared to be significant (F1.961, 62.737=4.155 ; p=0.021 ; η2=0.115 ; ɛ=0.654). Bonferroni correction revealed no significant differences between right and left side in all measurement points. Regarding CR, significant differences were identified only when the initial measurement was compared to all others (I-1, I- 2, I-F). Regarding CL, significant differences were identified only when the initial measurement was compared to final (I-F). Despite the initial differences and differences in the dynamics of the motor learning process, there were no significant differences in the levels of analysed skills at the end of the learning process. Obtained results are particularly important in planning the learning process of bilateral skills ; skills that can have a conditioning and corrective role in sports that dominantly use asymmetric moving structures ; such as sports gymnastics.

bilateral motor learning proces, cartwheel, students, two factor 4 × 2 ANOVA

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