PhD, Associate Professor E.V. Gavrishova¹
PhD, Associate Professor A.S. Grachev²
PhD, Associate Professor A.A. Tretyakov^3
1Belgorod Institute for Educational Development, Belgorod
²Belgorod State Technological University  n.a. V.G. Shukhov, Belgorod
³Belgorod Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia named after I.D. Putilin, Belgorod

Keywords: information and communication technologies, health, success motivations, failure avoidance motivations, complementary physical trainings and sports for health, physical education.

Background. It is traditional and habitual for the modern students to use computers, peripherals and mobile equipment for education and data exchange purposes as natural as their parents have used pens and notebooks. These mobile information and communication technologies, however, are known to be among the key factors responsible for the recent youth health deterioration trends. On the one hand, any information on the modern healthy lifestyles, health improvement methods, healthy diets and bad habits is readily available for the information and communication technologies users; albeit, on the other hand, their addiction to the information flows channeled by the digital gadgets keeps them physically inactive and undermines the health standards in every aspect – in the physical progress harmony, physical fitness, physical progress rate and the somatic health on the whole. The valid academic physical education curriculum assigns only two hours a week for the physical education classes, and no wonder that this physical activity is too limited to secure reasonable physical progress and good health. That is the reason why the academic community acknowledges the need for complementary self-reliant trainings on the students’ own initiative, free of compulsion and driven by the natural need for movement and individual motivations [1]. Such motivations-sensitive physical education methods shall offer the physical education models and tools customizable to at least the basic success motivations and failure avoidance motivations [3, 4]. Of potential benefits for these models may be the modern information and communication technologies tools to help design and manage the self-reliant complementary physical education and sport trainings for health and effectively test individual progresses in the trainings [2, 5] .

Objective of the study was to analyze benefits of the modern information and communication technologies for the self-reliant student physical education and sport trainings driven by the success motivations and failure avoidance motivations.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study the 1-2-year students (n=160, 80 males and 80 females) from I.D. Putilin Belgorod Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov and Belgorod Institute for Educational Development. Somatic health of the sample was tested by the G.L. Apanasenko scale; physical activity was tested by pedometer systems; and motivations were tested by the T. Ehlers Success Motivation and Failure Avoidance Motivation tests [3].

The sample was informed on the prior test data and offered the following optional self-reliant health physical education groups summoned via the Viber messenger: Beauty and Health group; Weekend Quest group; and Dolphin group. Each of the groups offered its own training model, schedules for outdoor trainings in parks (for Weekend Quest and Dolphin groups), with every group including its success motivated and failure avoidance motivated subgroups and trained by an instructor always ready to help/ consult the trainees. The instructor runs the group exchange to update the teammates on the healthy diets, drinking regimens, healthy sleep and rest regimen, safe food supplements, stress coping methods, etc.; and once a week uploads the training exercises practiced at least 3 times a week. Every trainee is required to report the individual trainings to the group with the videorecords/ selfies for discussion and support. On Saturdays the groups normally gather, on a pre-agreed basis, for the group trainings in parks. The individual progress in the training process is tested using a reference point system by the following tests: physical activity and progress harmony test on a monthly basis; and the somatic health and motivations rating tests once in six months.

Results and discussion. Having analyzed the students' interest in and commitment for the self-reliant information-and-communication-technologies-assisted health/ physical education and sport trainings, we found the success motivated subgroups being more determined than their failure avoidance motivated peers. Thus 56.2% and 58.8% of the success-motivated girls and boys respectively were tested with the high commitment for the trainings at first, although later on 3.7% and 4.4% of them quitted the trainings for the ‘lack of willpower’; plus 10% and 10% quitted due to ‘inability to combine them with other fitness/ sports group trainings’. As for the failure avoidance motivated subgroups, only 13% and 18.7% of the girls and boys respectively were tested fairly committed for the trainings; and 5% and 6.7% of them trained for only a few days and then lost their enthusiasm, stopped sending their training reports and lost contacts with the group instructors. On the whole 16.7% and 12.2% of the failure avoidance motivated girls and boys respectively quitted the information-and-communication-technologies-assisted trainings for the ‘lack of time’ – i.e. most likely due to the poor self-control and management skills and/or laziness.

Our main goal in the information-and-communication-technologies-driven training model was to cultivate a highly-motivated need for habitual health/ physical trainings to make sure that every student knows why the work must be done (I want), how (I can), what progress can be made, and what benefits the training bring for the lifestyle and professional progress (I should). Success is achieved where “I want to be healthy and beautiful,” “I can achieve this” and “I have to do this for myself, my family, and professional progress” intersect. Success-motivated subgroup will set these goals versus own resource and abilities, look for the ways to attain the goals, persevere, overcome difficulties, enjoy success, cope with the failures, and the progress stimulates them for further trainings. The failure avoidance motivated trainees are not always fair in rating own resource and abilities, tend to set obviously too high goals, and excuse themselves for the failures; or set too easy goals that never yield the progress they expect. Knowing that, the group instructor assists the subgroup on an individual and highly sensitive basis. Thus the group instructor offers the trainees a few options of health/ physical training models to let them feel free do decide on what option better suits their health/ progress agendas. When the option is too strict for customizing/ individualizing, the instructor will make resort to the explanations, suggestions, demands, advises, persuades to ensure the suggested option being accepted as the best choice – to avoid a feel of it being imposed rather than chosen on own discretion, and to ensure due progress motivations.

The pre- versus post-experimental health/ physical fitness tests showed progress of the sample that gives grounds to believe that the new information-and-communication-technologies-driven motivations-sensitive health/ training model is beneficial for the self-reliant physical progress: see Table 1 hereunder

Table 1. Pre- versus post-experimental health/ physical fitness test data of the sample

As demonstrated by the Table, the success motivated group was tested with improvements in the somatic health and physical fitness tests. The failure avoidance motivated group was also tested with some progress, albeit its average physical fitness only neared the lower limit of the norm and the somatic health rate was tested to grow only one level up.

Conclusion. The new information-and-communication-technologies-driven motivations-sensitive health/ physical training model was found beneficial as verified by the significant growth of the physical activity with the associating progress on the somatic health scales. It should be emphasized that the new information-and-communication-technologies-driven training model is highly effective for the self-reliant physical education purposes only when highly sensitive to the individual motivations that are recommended to be primarily classified into at least the success motivations and the failure avoidance ones. The study found the success motivated group being fairly active, proactive and enthusiastic in their instructor-assisted health/ physical trainings conditional on the facilitating group climate i.e. friendly and individual needs sensitive attitudes and communication in the group – and they can even become good role models for their failure avoidance motivated peers. The information-and-communication-technologies-driven motivations-sensitive health/ physical training model was found to expand the scope and facilitate the learning process on the whole and physical education in particular, as it helps physically activate the students, help them design and manage their physical progress on a time-efficient basis, record, report and process the physical/ health progress data in the trainings and, hence, step up their physical progress motivations and health agendas.

The study was designed to contribute to Research Project #18-313-00124 “Effects of the success and failure avoidance motivations on the integrated health standards of the university communities in Belgorod” sponsored by the Russian Fundamental Research Foundation (RFRF)

References

1. Grachev A.S., Gavrishova E.V., Tretyakov A.A. Interrelation of functional and physical fitness characteristics of students motivated for sports. Uchenye zapiski universiteta im. P.F. Lesgafta. 2018. no. 11 (165). pp. 68­72.
2. Grigoryev S.G., Grinshkun V.V. Objectives, content and features of teacher training in the field of informatization of education by master's program of pedagogical university. Vestnik Moskovskogo gorodskogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Ser. «Informatika i informatizatsiya obrazovaniya». 2013. no.1 (25). pp. 10–18.
3. Ilyin E.P. Motives and motivation. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg: Piter publ., 2015. 512 p.
4. Lubysheva L.I. Sociology of physical education and sports. Textbook for university students. 4th ed., rev. M.: Akademiya publ., 2016. 269 p.
5. Okinawa Charter for the Global Information Society. Adopted on July 22, 2000 by the leaders of the G8 countries. Available at: http://base.consultant.ru/search. (date of access 24.07.2019).

Corresponding author: gavrishova.alena@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective of the study was to identify the effects of information and communication technologies on additional physical training and sport activities of students with different types of motivation: to achieve success or avoid failure. Sampled for the study were the 1st- and 2nd-year students (n=160, including 80 males and 80 females) of Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov, Belgorod Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation named after I.D. Putilin. The article considers the qualitative indicators of health and motor activity of the students with motivation to achieve success or avoid failure and suggests the ways to organize additional physical education classes with the use of information and communication technologies.

It was proved that effective application of information and communication technologies in independent recreational activities of students is possible provided that individual characteristics of their motivation are taken into account. It is important to determine which exactly gives an impulse to independent physical education activities: the desire to achieve success or avoid failure. It was found that information and communication technologies expand the process of education in general and physical training process in particular, define the content of motor activity, and enable to organize in the shortest time possible the assessment of the work performed, process the monitoring results.