Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Motor Behavior, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 assistance professor of motor behavior department of physical education and sport sciences of Kharazmi university
3 faculty member of SSRC
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of solitary and group purposeful movement plays on the visual-motor skills of eight-year-old girls. To this end, using a quasi-experimental method with multi-group pre-test and post-test design, 40 girls with a mean age of 8.53 years were randomly assigned to solitary play (n = 13), group play (n = 12), and control (n = 15) groups. The Test of Visual-Motor Skills was used to measure variables before and after the experimental period (eight weeks, 16 sessions of 60 minutes) and one month after the end of the period. The results showed that visual-spatial skills (p < 0.001), visual analysis skills (p < 0.001) and visual-motor integration and visual fixation (p < 0.001) increased significantly from the pre-test to the post-test and remained unchanged until the follow-up test (p < 0.05). Based on the comparisons of groups at the post-test and follow-up test, the score of visual-spatial skills (p < 0.01) and visual-motor integration and visual fixation (p < 0.01) in the solitary play condition were significantly higher than group play, while the score of visual analysis skills in the group play condition was significantly higher than solitary play (ps < 0.05). Based on the findings, solitary plays in an eight-week course are more effective in improving visual-spatial skills, visual-motor integration, and visual fixation than group play among eight-year-old girls, and in contrast, group plays are more effective in improving visual analysis skills than solitary plays.
Keywords
- Farahbod M, Minaie A. Adaption and standardization of the test of visual-motor skills revised. J Rehab. 2004; 5(1-2):39-48. (In Persian).
- Bouska MJ, Kwatny E. Manual for application of the motor-free visual perception test to the adult population. Philadelphia, USA: Temple University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center; 1983.
- Stevens A, Bernier R. Visual-Motor Function. In: Volkmar FR, editor. Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. New York, NY: Springer; 2013.
- Farhbod M, Minaei A. Adaptation and standardization of the visual-motor skills test (revised version). Tehran: Exceptional Children Research Institute Publications, Exceptional Education Organization of Iran; 2003. (In Persian).
- Gardner MF. Test of visual-motor skills manual. San Francisco, CA: Chddren's Hospital of San Francisco, 1986.
- Gardner M. Test of visual perceptual skills: revised manual. Hydesville, CA: Psychological and Educational Publications Inc; 1995.
- Brown T, Unsworth C. Construct validity of the test of visual-motor skills-revised (TVMS-R): an evaluation using the Rasch measurement model. Scand J Occup Ther. 2009;16(3):133-45.
- Pellegrini AD, Smith PK. Physical activity play: the nature and function of a neglected aspect of play. Child Dev. 1998; 69(3):577-98.
- Truelove S, Vanderloo LM, Tucker P. Defining and measuring active play among young children: a systematic review. JPhys Act Health. 2017; 14(2):155-66.
- Loebach J, Cox A. Tool for observing play outdoors (TOPO): a new typology for capturing children's play behaviors in outdoor environments. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(15):e5611.
- Parten MB. Social participation among pre-school children. Journal Abnorm Social Psychol. 1932;27(3):243-69.
- Frost JL. Play and playscapes: Instructor’s guide. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers; 1992.
- Broadhead P. Early years play and learning: developing social skills and cooperation. London: Routledge Falmer; 2003.
- Broadhead P. Developing an understanding of young children's learning through play: the place of observation, interaction and reflection. Br Educ Res J. 2006;32(2):191-207.
- Meares R, Lichtenberg J. The form of play in the shape and unity of self. Contemp Psychoanal. 1995;31(1):47-64.
- Ahmadzadeh R. The effectiveness of psycho-motor intervention in increasing the visual-motor skills of deaf children aged 5 to 7 years in Bandar Abbas. Paper presented at 7th Scientific-Research Conference on Educational Sciences and Psychology, Social and Cultural Injuries of Iran; 2018 March 11; Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
- Mandani B, Sazmand A H, Farahbod M, Karimlou M, Mandani M. Occupational therapy interventions effect on visual-motor skills in children with learning disorders. J Rehab. 2007;8(2):44-9. (In Persian).
- Sabaghi A, Heyrani A, Yousefi B. The effect of selected perceptual-motor program on perceptual-visual benefit in children. Sport Psychology. 2014; 10:881-90. (In Persian).
- Conde JL, Calero MD, Fradua JL, Miranda MT, Viciana V. Perceptual-motor training in the improvement of motor and visual skills in the initial stage of sport training. Coaching and Sport Science Journal. 1998;3(1):3-8.
- Aghdaei M, Azimzadeh A, Akbari D. The effect of local games on visual-motor skills in students with respect to the experience in computer games. Motor Behavior. 2017; 29:169-82. (In Persian).
- Christenson GN, Winkelstein AM. Visual skills of athletes versus nonathletes: development of a sports vision testing battery. J Am Optom Assoc. 1988; 59(9):666-75.
- Abernethy B. Training the visual-perceptual skills of athletes. Insights from the Study of Motor Expertise. Am J Sports Med. 1996; 24(6 Suppl): S89-92.
- De Villiers NH. Effects of a gross motor skills intervention on visual-motor integration of neuro-typical 5-to 6-year-old children [Doctoral dissertation]. [Stellenbosch, South Africa]: Stellenbosch University; 2019.
- Brey A. The effect of ‘6 Bricks’ guided play on grade two learners’ visual perception and reasoning abilities [Doctoral dissertation]. [Port Elizabeth, South Africa]: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; 2017.
- Jemutai S, Webb P. Effects of a 6 brick duplo block guided play intervention on pre-literate learners’ visual perception. South African J Child Edu. 2019;9(1):1-8.
- Schröder E, Gredebäck G, Gunnarsson J, Lindskog M. Play enhances visual form perception in infancy–an active training study. Dev Sci. 2020;23(3):e12923.
- Jafari F S, Abedi A, Farmarzi S, Shirzadi P, jafari M S. Effectiveness of perceptual-Motor games on visual –spatial processing in children with developmental coordination disorder. J Except Educ. 2015;3(131):5-12. (In Persian).
- Mahmoudi S, Badami R. The effect of sports vision exercises on motor fundamental skills and visual perceptual skills of 8-10-year-old dyslexic children. Advances in Cognitive Sciences. 2017;19(2):43-51. (In Persian).
- Azizi A, Mir-Drikvand F, Sepahvani M. Comparison of cognitive rehabilitation, neurofeedback and cognitive-behavioral play therapy on visual–motor perception in primary school students with specific learning disability. Neuropsychology. 2017;3(8):103-18. (In Persian).
- Rezayi M, Ghasemi A, Kashi A, VaezMousavi S. Effectiveness of play therapy on motor skills and visual-motor integration of toddlers with preterm birth. Empowering Exceptional Children. 2018;9(1):21-32. (In Persian).
- Rahimi T, Arsham S. Effect of SPARK program on visual-motor skills of children with profound hearing loss and a cochlear implant. J Sport Manag Mot Behav. 2019;15(1):213-24. (In Persian).
- Allee-Herndon KA, Roberts SK. The power of purposeful play in primary grades: adjusting pedagogy for children’s needs and academic gains. J Edu. 2021;201(1):54-63.
- Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner A. G* Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175-91.
- Piaget J. Play, dreams and imitation in childhood (C. Gattegno and F. M. Hodgon, Trans.). New York: Norton; 1962.
- Diamond A. Executive functions. Annu Rev Psychol. 2013; 64:135-68.
- Wechsler D. WISC-IV: administration and scoring manual. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation; 2003.
- Cohen A, Fiorello CA, Farley FH. The cylindrical structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—IV: A retest of the Guttman model of intelligence. Intelligence. 2006;34(6):587-91.
- Sadeghi A, Rabiee M, Abedi M. Validation and reliability of the Wechsler intelligence scale for children-IV. Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2011;7(28):377-86. (In Persian).
- Anderson JAE, Campbell KL, Amer T, Grady CL, Hasher L. Timing is everything: age differences in the cognitive control network are modulated by time of day. Psychol Aging. 2014; 29(3):648-57.
- Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988.
- Rasoli N, Ghasemi A. The effects of eight weeks motor intervention on academic achievement and fine motor skills students fall behind in school. J Mot Behav Sci. 2018;1(1):18-28. (In Persian).
- Emarati F, Namazizadeh M, Mokhtari P, Mohammadian F. Effects of selected elementary school games on the perceptual-motor ability and social growth of 8-to-9-year-old female students. J Res Rehab Sci. 2012;7(5):661-73. (In Persian).
- Najafi-Fard A, Mehralitabar H, Sheikh M, Babaei HR, Bavardi A. The effect of school games on the development of fine motor skills of trainable male students. Paper presented at First National Conference on Research in Sports Sciences; 2015 September 29-30; Ardabil, Iran. (In Persian).
- Fathirezaie Z, Abbaspour K, Yazdani S. The effect of spontaneous play in nature on the fine motor skills and visual-motor integration of preschool children. J Res Rehab Sci. 2019;14(3):143-50. (In Persian).