Situational interest, cognitive engagement, and achievement in physical education.
Students' learning has been the center of schooling. This study examined the contribution of situational interest motivation and cognitive engagement in workbooks to student achievement in learning health-related fitness knowledge. Situational interest, performance on solving workbook problems, and knowledge gain in cardio-respiratory fitness and benefits were measured in 670 third-grade students from 13 randomly selected urban elementary schools. Structural equation modeling and regression curve estimation analyses revealed that situational interest contributed little to workbook performance and knowledge gain. Performance on solving workbook problems contributed significantly to knowledge gain. The results also show that skipping workbook tasks had stronger negative impact on knowledge gain than performing the tasks incorrectly, suggesting the importance of engaging students in the learning process by attempting the workbook tasks. The findings reinforced the value of using workbooks to facilitate cognitive knowledge learning in physical education, but raised questions about the direct function of situational interest on engaging students in cognitive learning.
Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland - College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA.
Xihe
X
Zhu
Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
Ang
A
Chen
Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA.
Catherine
C
Ennis
School of Physical Education & Exercise Science, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-5650, USA.
Haichun
H
Sun
Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland - College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA.
Christine
C
Hopple
School of Education, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY 10577, USA.
Marina
M
Bonello
Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland - College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA.
Mihae
M
Bae
Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland - College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA.
Sangmin
S
Kim
Learning; Physical education; Situational interest