PhD, Professor V.A. Vishnevsky¹
Undergraduate I.A. Ukhvatova¹
PhD, Associate Professor M.N. Malkov^1
1Surgut State University, Surgut

Keywords: quest technologies, physical education lessons, intellectual performance domains, children with mental retardations.

Introduction. The paradigm shift in domestic education requires moving from the mass, average graduate training model to education and development in the younger generation of such qualities as leadership and self-dependence, ability to make breakthrough discoveries, build their social relations in a creative and active manner. At the same time, there is increasing heterogeneity of the student population and rapid development of inclusive education is the country. This implies the satisfaction of not only general but also special educational needs, design of an individualized educational path [1], on which not only the escort services but also all participants of the educational process should be involved. Inclusive education reverses the focus of physical education at school, updating its general educational, health-improving and correctional-and-developmental functions [2, 3]. The key to resolving such large-scale problems is the formation in students of high positive motivation and interest in the discipline, their involvement in search and communication activities, and formation of a creative environment that would contribute to the maximum disclosure and self-realization of a child’s personality. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the current trends of integration of entertainment, games, modern information technologies into all spheres of life of young people, up to the point when they become a personal life goal. Despite the contradictory nature of these trends, it is no longer possible to ignore them. In this view, of particular interest are the so-called quest technologies that are a kind of symbiosis of game, search and competition [4-6]. The possibility of their use for the purposes of correctional-and-developmental physical education in an inclusive school is the subject of this study.

Objective of the study was to determine the urgent and long-term effects of physical education lessons with the use of quest technologies on children with mental retardations.

Methods and structure of the study. Subject to the study were the schoolchildren of Beloyarsk secondary school No. 3 diagnosed with mental retardations. In order to increase the general educational, health-improving, and correctional-and-developmental orientation of the physical education lesson, circuit trainings including sport labyrinths and quest technologies were introduced. Two teams were asked to use a navigation system to determine the route of movement and complete the stages, at which they were to demonstrate their physical fitness level and perform the tasks that would promote the development of such intellectual performance domains as awareness, intuitive thinking, logical thinking, categorizing, abstract thinking, image synthesizing, spatial thinking, and fast memorizing.

The on-going estimate of the competitive results was made using a specially designed software product, where the following data were preconfigured: the number of teams participating in the quest, the number and names of participants, the number of stages, tasks and qualifying standards for each stage. After the start, the test results demonstrated by each participant were registered on-line. To exclude the influence of the accepted units of measurement, the parameters characterizing various aspects of physical fitness and intellectual development were standardized given the subjects’ age. This made it possible to assess the level and harmony of physical and intellectual fitness at different stages, as well as such complex indicators as the level and harmony of intellectual and physical fitness of each participant and the teams as a whole.

In order to study the urgent effects of the model on the body and physical condition of the team members before and after the physical education lesson, the following parameters were measured: wellbeing, activity, mood (in the WAM test), state anxiety (by Spielberger-Khanin method), adaptive capabilities, vegetative status and neurohumoral regulation level (cardiac rhythmogram, hardware-software complex "ORTO Expert", software package "Science"), activity of the cerebral hemispheres, time of motor reaction, reaction to a moving object (hardware-software complex "Activatiometer", assessment of self-organization of activity, sociometry, group consolidation indices (by Seashore method), students' attitudes to this lesson format. The long-term effects were evaluated in terms of the intellectual performance domains (according to the Amthauer's intelligence structure test).

Results and discussion. The comparative analysis of the motor and theoretical test results obtained during the quest revealed some significant differences on behalf of physical training (n=16, Μ±σ, p<0.05). As regards the types of physical fitness, the preferred outcome was observed in the tests as follows: sit-ups (131.3±34.3% of the standardized rate), shuttle run (93.7±8.1% of the standardized rate), standing long jump (92.6±11.6% of the standardized rate) and push-ups (65.3±38.2% of the standardized rate). The difference between the theoretical test rates was insignificant (40.8± 2.2%; 48.8±30.7%; 42.5±26.2%; 38.7±28.4% of the standardized rate).

The urgent training effects of the lesson with the use of quest technologies on the condition of schoolchildren with mental retardations are presented in Table 1, where only the statistically significant changes are indicated. The typical scene of the sport-specific stress with the signs of fatigue is observed. On the one hand, there is an increase in the activity of the sympathetic and a decrease in the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, an increase in the stress index and heart rate, a decrease of the time of motor reaction and state anxiety, and improvement of well-being. On the other hand, there is a reduction of the total neurohumoral regulation level, energy-metabolic and humoral heart rate regulation channels, increased response range in the "Response to Movement" test, and the lower activity in the WAM test; with the responses being within the ranges of the trainees’ adaptation resources, since the proportion of children with different levels of adaptation did not change neither before nor after the lesson: satisfactory level of adaptation - 25%; tension of the adaptation mechanisms - 62.5%; unsatisfactory level of adaptation - 12.5%. At the same time, the proportion of children with sufficient vegetative support increased (by 37.5%), while the number of those with excessive and insufficient vegetative support decreased - by 12.5% and 25%, respectively.

Table 1. Effects of physical education lesson with the use of quest technologies on schoolchildren with mental retardations

* – the changes are significant at p<0.05

The schoolchildren viewed the proposed format of the physical education lesson positively, pointing out that they liked it even more than a regular one (6.13±1.08 out of 7 points). Such format of the lesson helps them develop more harmoniously (6.13±1.74 points), learn to interact with other team members (5.88±1.66 points), demonstrate their maximum physical fitness level (5.00±2.06 points), self-discipline (4.88±1.66 points), volitional qualities (4.88±1.58 points).

The children singled out the following intellectual performance domains being improved during the lesson: logical thinking (6.38±1.02 points); fast memorizing (6.13±1.31 points); abstract thinking (5.25±1.12 points); ability to identify patterns (5.13±2.02 points); awareness and outlook (5.00± 1.78 points); intuition and instinct (5.00±1.63 points); ability to categorize (5.00±2.36 points); spatial thinking (4.63±1.45 points).

Among the most significant means of improving the quality of inclusive education is the formation of universal learning skills in schoolchildren. As shown in our studies, the foundations of this formation can be well laid during a physical education lesson. Implementation of the proposed model resulted in the positive dynamics in the development of a number of intellectual performance domains (Table 2). Moreover, the research findings are virtually equivalent to the children’s opinions.

Table 2. Results of the long-term use of quest technologies in physical education of schoolchildren with mental retardations in regard to their intellectual performance domains

Conclusion. Expansion of the general educational and correctional-and-developmental functions of inclusive physical education using modern quest technologies not only contributes to the harmonious development of schoolchildren, satisfaction of their special educational needs, and enhancement of their educational status, but also increases the discipline prestige.

References

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Corresponding author: apokin_vv@mail.ru

Abstract

The article analyzes benefits of a corrective inclusive physical education service model for the children with mental retardations that offers round trainings including sport labyrinths and quest technologies. The trainees’ physical and intellectual progress was rated by a special real-time software tool. Immediate responses of the trainees to the new training model were associated with: growth of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity; growth of the stress indices and heart rate; faster motor responses; sagging reactive anxiety rates; and the improved wellbeing rates. The tests also showed reduction of the total neurohumoral regulation level; energy-metabolic and humoral heart rate regulation channels; increased response range in the Response to Movement test; and the lower activity in the WAM test; with the responses being within the ranges of the trainees’ adaptation resources. The new corrective inclusive physical education service model was found beneficial as verified by the intellectual progress of the trainees in awareness, intuitive thinking, logical thinking, categorizing, abstract thinking, image synthesizing and the fast memorizing domains.