The Effect of Educational Units Based on the Visual Teaching Strategy on Motor Coordination and Learning the Handstand Skill on the Floor Exercise Mat in Artistic Gymnastics among Students with Disabilities (Deaf and Mute)

Abstract

This study aimed to design educational units based on the visual teaching strategy for developing motor coordination and facilitating the learning. The handstand skill on the floor exercise mat in artistic gymnastics among students with disabilities (deaf and mute). The study hypothesized that there would be statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results of both the control and experimental groups in learning the handstand skill in artistic gymnastics, favoring the post-tests. It also hypothesized the existence of statistically significant differences between the post-test results of the control and experimental groups in both motor coordination and handstand skill performance, in favor of the experimental group.
The research population consisted of students from the Al-Amal Institute for the Deaf in Diyala province. The research sample was selected purposively and included fourth-grade primary school students totaling (38) male and female students. Female students were excluded from the study sample, and their number was (14), distributed across Sections A and B. Consequently, the study sample consisted of (24) male students distributed between the two sections. Additionally, four students were excluded from the main sample because they participated in the pilot study and were not included in either the experimental or control groups. Thus, the final application sample consisted of (20) students.
The sample was divided into two equal groups through random assignment (lottery method). The experimental group consisted of (10) students from Section A, while the control group consisted of (10) students from Section B. The researcher employed several instructional tools that facilitated the learning process, including a foam mat, adhesive tape, a weighing scale, and an inclined surface.
The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data obtained from the main experiment. The findings revealed a clear improvement in learning among the study sample through the use of the visual teaching strategy in developing motor coordination. The researcher concluded that implementing the educational units and applying skill exercises in their proper sequence enabled students to perform the exercises effectively while reducing the likelihood of sports injuries. Furthermore, the visual teaching strategy demonstrated a positive effect on learning the handstand skill in artistic gymnastics.
The researcher recommends adopting the proposed instructional strategy (visual teaching strategy) because of its positive and effective impact on learning various artistic gymnastics skills