The study effect of focus of Attention instructions on motor skills learning: Difference in children’s learning process

The limited information processing capacity of individuals forces coaches in various sports to turn their attention to the main and important parts of the movement by providing instructions. One of the most important factors in the effectiveness of instructions is to focus on individual. It is very important to pay attention to this issue in children. By study the effects of instructions of attention on children's free-throwing learning skills, this study will help determine which type of instructions of attention are most useful for children. Tools and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, It is chosen ۴۲ girl students randomly who aged ۹ to ۱۱ years old in ۱۸ district of Tehran and divided in three groups: internal focus attention, external focus attention, and control. After introduction the primary instructions and watching instructional movie related to basketball free throw, the participates thrown five times in test way then in acquisition phase, made ۱۰۰ attempts in two sessions during two sequencing days. Each session included two blocks of ۱۰-attempts and recovery time in ۲ minute among blocks. The retention test included two blocks of ۱۰-attempt that token ۴۸ hours after last acquisition session. It is used covariance analysis test (۳(group)* ۱۰(throw)) in acquisition phase and LSD test to analyze the data. Resuit: The result showed that the internal focus attention group performed better than the control group in acquisition phase (P = ۰.۰۱۲), there isn’t significant difference between external focus attention group's mean (P = ۰.۰۸۴). also there isn’t significant difference between internal focus attention group's mean and external one (P = ۰.۴۰۱). In other words, internal focus led to an improvement in basketball throwing performance in children at the acquisition stage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of focus instructions on motor skills learning in children. The results of free throw performance scores did not show any significant difference between the groups during retention, but showed the advantage of using internal attention in the acquisition stage. A theoretical understanding of how different instructions  can have practical implications for teachers and educators in helping learners  for acquire skills, and changes in performance and learning processes depend on both task and performance, and no definitive conclusion can be drawn as to which The type of focus is useful for children's learning, and educators should take on the role of facilitator in guiding learners, regardless of the type of focus provided in different areas of learning.

کلیدواژه ها:

Acquisition of skill ، external focus ، Free throw Basketball ، Information processing ، Internal focus ، Motor Performance