PhD, Associate Professor K.P. Bakeshin
St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg

Keywords: phased building, self-reliant cognitive activity, civil engineering university student, technical and tactical actions, boxing.

Background. A modern knowledgeable and skillful civil engineering specialist is expected to be highly determined and ambitious in the self-learning process to be able to effectively mobilize own creative resource for success in a professional career. In the sport terminology, he ought to have and maintain a good technical and tactical fitness (TTF). The academic physical education and sport process will ideally be designed to encourage the self-reliant learning priorities and agenda in students so as to help them apply the vocational-sport-specific technical and tactical knowledge and skills for the professional/ personality progress. Modern academic education and training service offers ample opportunities for the self-learning ability building in students [1].

Due understanding of the form and content of every (punching) action and the harmonic contribution of its every element into the goal of the movement sequence may be viewed as one of the key prerequisites for success of the key technical and tactical skills mastering process in academic boxing. In the actual academic practice, however, the traditional learning system is still dominated by the trial-and-error method, with the trainee making attempts to execute one or another technique and the instructor correcting actions on the run and eliminating errors. As a result, the trainee normally masters the movement sequence mechanically albeit and largely fails to understand and analyze the movement logics and structure in the context of the education and training process mission.

Objective of the study was to design and assess benefits of the self-reliant cognitive ability phased building model piloted in the academic boxing course at a civil engineering university to develop due technical and tactical skills in the trainees.

Methods and structure of the study. The educational experiment took 2 years, with the sample split up into Experimental (EG, n=20) and Reference (RG, n=20) Groups of equally skilled academic boxers. The RG was trained as required by the valid academic curriculum, and the EG was trained under the self-reliant cognitive ability phased building model of our own design, with both of the groups trained twice a week, and with the training loads maintained at the HR averaging 120-160 beats per min. The trainees’ general and special physical fitness was tested by a set of progress test exercises, and their health condition was controlled in the process by the academic health service specialists.

The cognitive self-reliance building in the sample was started up by the motivations-forming initiatives, with a special priority to the individualized formats of the motivations building in the education and training process. It was the phased intellectual progress theory [2] spelling out the skills and competence building logics that was used to theoretically support the experimental self-reliant cognitive ability phased building model. To put the cognitive ability building process on a systemic and consistent basis, we set the specific phased process goals with the relevant education methods and tools in every phase of the experiment.

In the first phase, the process was designed to shape up the right understanding of the subject technique in the context of the above specific goals i.e. start up the learning process from the notional base of the subject boxing techniques and tactics; and help the trainees realize the general and specific aspects of the punching techniques in the modern boxing sport. The above goals were attained by the following methods: briefings on the technical and tactical basics geared to systematize and excel the trainees knowledge of the subject; verbal descriptions and practical demo exercises to help the trainees model up the movement sequences; and encourage the constructive learning process in the group sessions with discussions of the education and training process goals, omissions and accomplishments. The specific interim educational process goals and ways to attain them were phased by the difficulty levels so as to encourage the self-reliant learning activity in the boxing techniques and tactics mastering process.

The second phase of the self-reliant learning ability building process was designed to shape up a logical vision of the motor skill frame (MSF), with the educational tools focused on the next specific goal – that was to help the students master the movement sequence verbalizing and visioning skills with a special emphasis on the action frame and details. The goal was attained by the process briefings on the action frame and details, with a special priority to the self-control of the execution, progress assessment and discussion, with fair self-analyses and self-ratings.

The third phase of the self-reliant learning ability building process was designed to make a transition from the logical vision of the motor skill frame to the verbally assisted and controlled execution, with the education tools focused on the next specific goal that was to secure the right execution with the MSF being verbalized in the process. The execution was facilitated by a set of the algorithmic instructions to mobilize and excel logical thinking abilities in the trainees [4].

The fourth phase of the self-reliant learning ability building process was designed to prioritize the physical execution of the MSF, with the educational tools focused on the next specific goal that was to master the subject motor skill with a special attention to the action spacing, pacing and dynamics. The process was assisted by the relevant ideomotor practices geared to: visualize and mentally verbalize the movement sequence prior to execution; and self-report the success versus the ideal execution model/ requirements. The execution was followed by the verbal descriptions and discussions of the performance to double-check the understanding of the movement sequence elements and the technique on the whole.

The fifth phase of the self-reliant learning ability building process was designed to consolidate and excel the technique by its testing in a variety of fight situations, with the trainees encouraged to master the new and more difficult technique application versions. The trainees were expected, for instance, to apply the motor skills in combinations with other challenging movement sequences to solve a variety of tactical tasks closely modeling the actual competitive situations.

The educational experiment was intended to mobilize the students’ values, priorities and motivations to encourage the self-reliant learning process, with a special emphasis on the personality development (must-can-want) mechanisms and their contribution to the competitive progress.

The self-reliant learning abilities of the sample were tested after the first year of the model testing experiment and upon its completion by questionnaire surveys, educational process monitoring and expert valuations to thoroughly profile the sample progress. The cognitive progress was tested by a set of criteria to rate the personality learning abilities including the accumulated knowledgebase; learning material analyzing skills; knowledge application in real practice; and self-management abilities [3].

Study findings and discussion. The cognitive abilities of the sample were classified into the following three levels: low level abilities that imply an insufficient knowledge for self-reliant solutions and poor if any motivation for success, with the learning activity dominated by replications rather than creativity; average level meaning that the knowledgebase is sufficient to analyze and generalize the data flow, find  causes and effects and apply the study material in practice, with the reasonable ability to manage own actions in a variety of standard situations; and the high level that means an extensive knowledgebase, high determination in the data mining and competence/ skills building domains, creative application of the competences in practice as required by the process goals, conditions and situations.

The self-reliant cognitive ability building model offers the following algorithm for the educator/ student efforts to mobilize and develop the learning abilities in the technical/ tactical skills mastering process:

1. Name the subject action using the modern sport terminology and provide an accurate and detailed description of the movement sequence and its goal(s).

2. Demonstrate the movement sequence to facilitate the learning and training process.

3. Explain the key elements of the subject movement sequence with a special emphasis on the relevant motor sensations.

4. Have the verbalized movement sequence reiterated by the trainee.

5. Demonstrate the movement sequence with the mental spelling of the execution process.

6. Have the movement sequence executed by the trainee followed by a verbal description (self-report) of the process.

7. Have the task execution quality fairly self-rated by the trainee.

8. Have the trainee’s actions analyzed and rated by the instructor upon completion of the task.

The pre- versus post-experimental progress data analysis showed a significant progress of the EG versus RG in the general physical, technical and tactical fitness (TTF) rates: see Table 1.

Table 1. Pre-/ post-experimental physical fitness test data of the EG versus RG

The pre- versus post-experimental progress data analysis showed a significant progress of the EG versus RG in the intellectual working ability rates: see Table 2. It should be mentioned that the EG had trained 10 Class II and 10 Class III boxers for the study period versus the RG where only 5 and 9 trainees had qualified for Classes II and III, respectively.

Table 2. Pre-/ post-experimental academic progress and intellectual working capacity test data of the EG versus RG

Conclusion. The self-reliant cognitive ability building model was tested beneficial with its educator/ student actions algorithm geared to encourage the learning activity in the technical/ tactical actions mastering process; and with the trainees’ progress rated by a set of the self-reliance learning ability rating criteria. The model piloting experiment demonstrated its significant benefits.

References

1. Bakeshin K.P. Osobennosti formirovaniya i proyavleniya samostoyatelnosti u studentov stroitelnogo profilya v uchebno-trenirovochnom protsesse (na primere boksa) [Self-reliant education and training style formation and manifestations: case study of boxing groups at Civil Engineering University]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2017, no. 11, pp. 36–38.
2. Volkov K.N. Psikhologi o pedagogicheskikh problemakh [Psychologists on problems of education]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie publ., 1981, pp. 27–42.
3. Kukharev N V. Formirovanie umstvennoy samostoyatelnosti [Teaching mental independence]. Minsk: Narodnaya asveta publ., 1972, P. 25.
4. Malinovsky S.V. Modelirovanie takticheskogo myshleniya sportsmena [Modeling athlete’s tactical thinking]. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport publ., 1981, 192 p.

Corresponding author: bakeshin@bk.ru

Abstract

It is common knowledge that the self-reliant cognitive ability is critical for success in the modern academic education in general and civil engineering university education in particular. The education science gives a high priority to the self-reliant cognitive ability building methods. The study analyzes the design and benefits of the self-reliant cognitive ability phased building model applied in the academic boxing course at a civil engineering university. The model was based on our prior research of the self-reliant cognitive ability phased building process efficiency, with specific interrelated progress goals set in the process. The model is supported by a set of efficient self-reliant cognitive ability building methods and tools geared to form positive attitudes to and motivations for learning and success, shape up and develop the logical thinking abilities etc.