When mathematics meets physical activity in the school-aged child: The effect of an integrated motor and cognitive approach to learning geometry.

Mathematics is a science which can lead to both anxiety in children and teaching difficulties in teachers. Together, these two difficulties can increase the time spent in teaching and learning mathematics. The aim of this study is to examine the efficiency of a new integrated mathematics/geometry and physical activity program, specifically structured for increasing learning in fourth-grade pupils. Thirty-six children (age 10.36±0.55) were divided into an experimental (n1 = 19) group and a control (n2 = 17) group. The experimental group of subjects learned mathematics and geometry via the integrated teaching method, while the control group of subjects learned these subjects via traditional teaching methods. We administered two ad hoc tests, before and after the intervention, in order to study its effect. One test was on geometry knowledge and the other on mathematics, in which there were questions about the implemented teaching topics: rectangles, squares and their perimeters. Using a factorial 2×2 ANOVA, the results after four weeks indicated that the group of subjects who gained their mathematics and geometry knowledge through our intervention program were significantly more successful (P<0.05) than the control group. Our results suggest that the integrated teaching method proposed here could be considered a useful and efficient method for teaching mathematics and geometry based on motor tasks.

Morphological and motor characteristics of Croatian first league female football players.

The aim of this study was to determine the structure of morphological and motor characteristics of Croatian first league female football players and their impact on the estimated quality of the players. According to the goal of the research, a sample consisted of 70 Croatian first league female football players. Participants were measured in 18 tests for assessing morphological characteristics, a set of 12 basic motor abilities tests and a set of 7 tests for assessing football-specific motor abilities. Exploratory factor analysis strategy was applied separately to all measured tests: morphological, basic motor abilities and football specific motor abilities. Factor analysis of morphological tests has shown existence of 3 significant latent dimensions that explain 64% of the total variability. Factors are defined as transverse dimensionality of the skeleton and voluminosity (35%), subcutaneous fat tissue (16%) and longitudinal dimensionality of the skeleton (13%). In the area of basic motor abilities, four factors were extracted. The first factor is responsible for the integration of agility and explosive power of legs, i.e. a factor of movement regulation (agility/lower body explosiveness) (23%), the second one defines muscle tone regulation (15%), the third one defines the frequency of leg movements (12%), while the fourth one is recognized as responsible for the manifestation of basic strength, particularly of basic core strength (19%). Two factors were isolated in the space of football-specific motor abilities: football-specific efficiency (53%) and situational football coordination (27%). Furthermore, by use of factor analysis on extracted latent dimensions (morphological, basic and football specific motor abilities) two higher order factors (explaining 87% of common variability) were extracted. They were named morphological-motor factor (54%) and football-specific motor abilities factor (33%). It is assumed that two extracted higher-order factors fully describe morphological and motor status of first league female football players. Furthermore, the linear regression results in latent space showed that the identified factors are very good predictors of female football players quality (delta = 0.959). In doing so, both specific motor abilities factors and the first factor of basic motor abilities as a factor of general motor efficiency have the greatest impact on player quality, and these factors have been identified as most important predictors of player quality in Croatian women's first league and elite female football players in general. Obtained results provide deep insight into the structure of relations between the morphological, motor and specific motor variables and also indicate the importance of such definition of specific motor abilities. Consequently, results explicitly indicate the necessity of early, continuous, and systematic development of football-specific motor abilities in female football players of high competitive level but also, adjusted, to the younger age categories.