O.N. Stepanova, professor, Dr.Hab.
Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow
N.N. Vengerova, associate professor, Ph.D.
S.N. Pogodin, professor, Dr.Sc. (Hist.)
St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg

Keywords: health and fitness classes, pedagogical design, principles, algorithm.

Introduction. In modern conditions technologization becomes one of remarkable trends in the development of physical culture and sport. In pedagogical science and practice, the term "technologization" is most often used in two meanings: 1) as a "way of systemic organization of educational activity based on its structuring and formalization"; 2) as "development (search, selection) and use of technology in an educational process" [1].

In recent decades, pedagogical design was one of the major directions of technologization in the area of health-improving physical culture. We define pedagogical design as a purposeful activity intended to create an effective model of the educational process to be used widely and pedagogical design of health and fitness classes - as the development of a strategy and draft program of these classes for the chosen group of people involved.

The purpose of the research was to develop a conceptual approach and algorithm of pedagogical design of health and fitness classes with different groups of people.

Results and discussion. The following ideas serve as the methodological basis of pedagogical design of health and fitness classes:

- system approach within which the training process is a system the main elements of which are ordered, interrelated and hierarchically subordinated and are as follows: individual exercises, thematic units of exercises with their inherent parameters of work and rest, holistic classes, micro-, meso- and macrocycles of conditioned fitness training;

- personalized activity approach according to which a pedagogical process is seen as an activity (practical execution of physical exercises) intended to develop the personality of those involved, organized in view of their past experience, interests, needs and individual (age, gender, psychological, intellectual, physical and other) features;

- anthropological approach that presupposes health and fitness activity focused on an individual as its main target and value; 

- axiological approach where values of physical culture (such as health, success, beauty of the body, aesthetics of movement) act as a driving force for the development of a personality in a direction which is given by a prototype of the “ideal future”;   

- norm-referenced approach presupposing setting goals, designing structure, content and results of physical exercises in view of nosological, developmental, gender and other standards, norms and regulations adopted for health-improving physical culture. 

The following fundamental principles serve as ones defining the effectiveness of the pedagogical design of health and fitness classes [2]:

-  the principle of predictability – orientation at the future state of the object (in our case – strategies and programs of health and fitness classes on the one hand and the planned level of the psychophysiological condition of those involved on the other);    

- the step by step principle – a gradual transition from a design concept to formulation of goals, objectives, planned results and criteria of efficiency of health and fitness classes with a chosen category of trainees, and further – to the program of classes itself and its implementation;

- the principle of feedback – receiving information about the progress and results of the project activity in order to make timely adjustments required;    

- the principle of efficiency – orientation of the project activity at obtaining results that are of practical importance;  

- the principle of cultural congruence – the results of design should be congruent to specific cultural patterns (e.g., norms and values of health-improving physical culture);     

- the principle of self-development – emergence of new projects during the realization of a set goal. For example, during the implementation of a designed program of health and fitness classes new ideas inevitably emerge with regards to modification (update, improvement) of the project, its usage for other purposes, under other conditions, with a different contingent of trainees as well as radically new design ideas. At the same time the principle necessitates working on strategies for further personal development and physical perfection of the trainees upon completion of the physical exercises program.   

The designed program of classes must meet the following criteria (features) of technological effectiveness [3, 6]:

- scientific validity and conceptual importance – be based on the latest achievements in science, relying on a certain educational concept, with regard to the advanced national and international experience in the sphere of both pedagogical design and health-improving physical culture; 

- consistency and structural properties – present a comprehensive logical and sequential process the elements of which are not arranged next to each other but are interrelated, interdependent and mutually conditioned;   

- algorithmic nature that presupposes the phased, logically coherent implementation of a training program, as well as organization of joint activities of a teacher (trainer, instructor) and a trainee;

- manageability, that is allow for diagnostic goal setting, educational process planning, phased diagnostics and making the necessary changes to ensure ongoing and phased adjustment of the process of health and fitness classes;  

- economic efficiency and effectiveness – ensuring the achievement of planned results at the optimal level of resources provision (material and technical, human, time and other);    

- reproducibility – allowing for replication (recreation) in other physical culture organizations, by other educators (trainers, instructors), with other groups of trainees.

In addition, the developed program must meet the principles of wellness (fitness) training [4, 5]: “exercises for the sake of health” (“do no harm”); comprehensive effect on the psychophysical sphere, functional systems, motor abilities and intelligence of those involved; freedom of choice of fitness training programs; their adaptability to the contingent concerned; aesthetic expediency; psychological regulation; hedonism and interest stimulation; control and monitoring of physical condition.

The process of design of health and fitness classes can be presented as an algorithm – a list of operations to be implemented in a strict logical sequence:

Stage 1 (diagnostic) involves a comprehensive examination of the potential contingent of trainees – assessment of their physical health and development, build, motor activity, functional and physical fitness, psycho-emotional state, determining characteristics of the sphere of their motivation and needs. At this stage they use such diagnostics techniques as anamnesis, surveys, measurements (anthropometry, somatoscopy, caliperometry, dynamometry, goniometry and others), motion timing, functional and motor samples and tests, psychological testing, calculation of coefficients and indices, comparison of the obtained data with the performance standards, methods of study of satisfaction and motivation to physical culture activity. Greater objectivity of the data obtained during the diagnostics promotes more accurate guidelines for choosing the strategy and creating the draft program of health and fitness classes.

Stage 2 (pre-design) involves the choice of the strategy of health and fitness classes – setting benchmarks for creating the training program with the chosen category of trainees. The major methods of the stage are: generalization, systematization and analysis of the results of the diagnostics; content analysis of the theoretical and methodological data; compilation of the advanced educational experience; expert methods (analytical and creative), forecasting, modeling, design, mental experiment and others.  

Stage 3 (design itself) is dedicated to the development of the model of standard classes and the program as a whole, including selection of techniques, methods, methodological approaches, physical load and rest parameters ensuring the achievement of the planned results. At this stage design methods (heuristic, experimental, formal) and those of fixing design solutions are fully implemented. 

Stage 4 (implementation) includes the practical application of the developed design of the program of health and fitness classes involving: progressive convergence of the actual parameters of the psychophysical condition of those involved with the planned values, the growth of the degree of satisfaction of the participants with the achieved results and the training process, motivation increase, actualization of the need for systematic physical exercise, leading a healthy lifestyle.

Stage 5 (control and correction), within which the effectiveness of the designed program of health and fitness classes is assessed in accordance with the given criteria. If necessary, adjustments are made to the plans of certain classes, micro- and mesocycles of fitness training in order to ensure the fullest possible compliance of the planned and actual values. The stage of control and correction requires the involvement of the same diagnostics techniques (biomedical, pedagogical and sociological) as those employed at the stage 1. The following also take place at this stage: summarizing, grouping, mathematical and statistical processing and interpretation of the empirical data obtained in the course of the diagnostics, as well as a comparison of actual results of the diagnostics with the planned (including proper) values. If necessary, design methods are implemented (revising and fixing of design solutions).

Stage 6 (transforming) – creative reconsideration of the obtained results, emergence of new project ideas. The leading techniques of the stage include reflective (including expert) analysis of the results of the developed program, hypothesizing, forecasting, modeling, extrapolation, mental experiment, expert discussion, brainstorming.

Conclusion. Taking into account the introduced conceptual provisions and pedagogical design algorithm, we have developed a number of health and fitness programs for comprehensive schoolchildren, students (basic and special medical groups), senior and elderly people, people with disabilities and others to be presented in our next publications.

References

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Corresponding author: stepanova.olga.75@gmail.com; natalyavengerova@yandex.ru