AUTHOR=Ezeddine Ghaith , Souissi Nafaa , Masmoudi Liwa , Trabelsi Khaled , Puce Luca , Clark Cain C. T. , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , Mrayah Maher 

TITLE=The problem-solving method: Efficacy for learning and motivation in the field of physical education

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1041252

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1041252

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>In pursuit of quality teaching and learning, teachers seek the best method to provide their students with a positive educational atmosphere and the most appropriate learning conditions.</p></sec><sec><title>Objectives</title><p>The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the problem-solving method vs. the traditional method on motivation and learning during physical education courses.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Fifty-three students (<italic>M</italic><sup>age</sup> 15 ± 0.1 years), in their 1st year of the Tunisian secondary education system, voluntarily participated in this study, and randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. Participants in the control group were taught using the traditional methods, whereas participants in the experimental group were taught using the problem-solving method. Both groups took part in a 10-hour experiment over 5 weeks. To measure students' situational motivation, a questionnaire was used to evaluate intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation during the first (T0) and the last sessions (T2). Additionally, the degree of students' learning was determined <italic>via</italic> video analyses, recorded at T0, the fifth (T1), and T2.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Motivational dimensions, including identified regulation and intrinsic motivation, were significantly greater (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) in the experimental vs. the control group. The students' motor engagement in learning situations, during which the learner, despite a degree of difficulty performs the motor activity with sufficient success, increased only in the experimental group (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The waiting time in the experimental group decreased significantly at T1 and T2 vs. T0 (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), with lower values recorded in the experimental vs. the control group at the three-time points (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>The problem-solving method is an efficient strategy for motor skills and performance enhancement, as well as motivation development during physical education courses.</p></sec>