The effectiveness of using blended learning strategies in improving basic skills performance in team sports among secondary school students: A field study at Al-Barq Al-Khatif Secondary School and Ibn Khaldoun Secondary School in Bani Walid

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using blended learning strategies in improving the performance of basic skills in team games among secondary school students. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher adopted the experimental method utilizing a two-group experimental design (experimental and control groups) with pre- and post-tests. The research sample consisted of forty students purposively selected from secondary school students at Al-Barq Al-Khatif Secondary School and Ibn Khaldun Secondary School in the city of Bani Walid. The participants were randomly and equally divided into two groups: the experimental group, comprising twenty students, was taught using blended learning strategies based on integrating digital media and explanatory video clips with field application, while the control group, comprising twenty students, was taught using the conventional traditional method. To collect field data, a skill performance evaluation rubric for basic skills in team games was developed, and its validity and reliability were verified using appropriate statistical methods. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) through means, standard deviations, paired and independent samples t-tests, and the gain ratio (improvement percentage). The results revealed statistically significant differences between the pre- and post-test means for both groups in favor of the post-test. Furthermore, the results showed a substantial and statistically significant superiority of the experimental group over the control group in the post-test of skill performance; the experimental group recorded an overall improvement percentage of 87.913%, compared to 44.489% for the control group. In light of these findings, the study recommended directing physical education teachers to adopt and employ blended learning strategies as a modern instructional approach that keeps pace with contemporary developments, and providing the minimum required technical and visual equipment within school playgrounds and gymnasiums to support students' visual modeling.