| The purpose of this study was to examine whether the self-reported use of learning strategies, as assessed with the Motor Skills Learning Strategy & Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MSLS-MAI), could discriminate between levels of performance in a motor skills class. For the purposes of this study a causal comparative research design, utilizing discriminant analysis, was employed. The fixed, categorical dependent variable was level of performance in a motor skills class and consisted of three levels: high, intermediate, and low. The continuous random independent variables, which served as the predictors, were the total scores within each of the twelve cognitive and metacognitive learning strategy sub-scales assessed within the MSLS-MAI. The subjects for this study included 199 of the 297 students enrolled in a college level physical education course. All subjects agreed to participate and provided informed consent. Results of this study provide evidence that the self-reported use of learning strategies can be used to discriminate between levels of performance in a motor skills class. The learning strategy variables most important in distinguishing between performance groups were declarative knowledge, conditional knowledge, procedural knowledge, evaluation, and debugging. Although classification results indicate that a significantly greater number of cases could be correctly classified than would be expected by chance alone, the results appear to be marginal in terms of their practical application. As a result, a secondary analysis was conducted, excluding the intermediate performance group, in an attempt to enhance the classification results. More specifically, the purpose of the secondary analysis was to determine if group prediction could be improved among the high and low performing students when the intermediate performing students were excluded from the analysis. The results of the secondary analysis not only indicate that group prediction was significantly enhanced, but they also provide confirmatory information about the important role of the declarative knowledge and conditional knowledge variables in discriminating between levels of performance in a motor skills class. The implications of this study provide insight for future research and allow for the transfer of theory, from multidisciplinary areas, into practice within the context of physical education and other motor learning settings. |
