Situational interest and physical activity in fitness testing: A need for pedagogical engineering

Abstract

Students' situational interest and physical activity are crucial for their engagement and well-being in physical education. This study examined (a) whether students’ perceived situational interest and physical activity differed in Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) and One-mile Run (OR), and (b) the effects of the tests on different groups of students' interest and physical activity. Seventh-grade students (N = 178) completed PACER and OR wearing accelerometers in two consecutive weeks during a cardiovascular endurance unit, and completed Situational Interest Scale afterwards. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Students were vigorously active more than twice as much time in OR than PACER, generating approximately 933 more steps. There were statistically significant yet small differences in attention demand, exploration intention, and novelty between OR and PACER. The top 33% performing students engaged in significantly longer physical activity in PACER than their bottom 33% counterpart, whereas the bottom 33% group had significantly longer physical activity in OR. These findings suggest that physical educators should weigh the evidence and decide on the tasks/test to satisfy the students' needs.

Keywords:

• pedagogy
• mile run
• fitness test
• PACER

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Old Dominion University (ODU) Research Foundation (ODURF) Summer Research Fellowship Grant (#993058). Its content is solely the responsibility of the author, and is not necessarily endorsed by the official views of ODU or ODURF.