A Comparison of Traditional versus Programed Methods of Learning Tennis

Abstract

Two college service classes, each containing 20 subjects, were taught beginning tennis skills. The traditionally taught Group (Group A), and the programed group (Group B), were first determined homogeneous in height, weight, the Hewitt Revised Dyer Backboard Tennis Test (HRDBTT), and the American College Test before the teaching methods were initiated. After 14 periods of instruction, the groups were compared on various measures. The results of the study indicated that: (1) the general skill level of the groups, as measured by the Hewitt Revised Dyer Backboard Tennis Test, and a single-elimination tournament, was not significantly different; (2) the traditionally taught group improved significantly in general skills while the programed group did not; and (3) the programed group received better subjective rating scores on form than did the traditionally taught group.     

Educational and psychological counselling in Slovakia: Keeping continuity

The Slovak counselling system playedan important role in the development of Europeancounselling, especially in the Central Europeanregion. This article presentsa short excursion on the history of the creation ofthe educational counselling system.The author presents the latest information on thecontemporary development of educational andpsychological counselling in Slovakia. The resultsof a study made recently by the Research Institute onChild Psychology and Patopsychology describing changesin working conditions of the Counsellors inEducational and Psychological Counselling Centres arealso discussed.     

Early learning and awareness of division: A phenomenographic approach

Interviews with 72 pupils in grade 2–6 were used to investigate awareness of the relation between situation and computation in simple quotitive and partitive division problems as informally and formally experienced. The research approach was phenomenographic. Most second graders counted or made drawings, and related these methods to the situation described in the problems. Several of the older children, on the contrary, experienced a conflict between computation and situation in partitive division. Most second graders, but also some third, fourth and sixth graders, could still not carry out repeated addition, the precursor of multiplication. The data are finally viewed from two theoretical perspectives other than phenomenography. It was concluded that formal division, understood as related to everyday situations, only develops in interplay with informal knowledge.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.