The Impact of the Yaker Model on Teaching Certain Skills on the Floor Exercise Mat in Gymnastics for Students

Abstract

Research Summary:

The importance of this research stems from its focus on a sensitive educational and motor aspect of teaching complex athletic skills, particularly floor exercise skills in gymnastics. These skills require precision in instruction and a gradual progression in performance. The Yaker model is one of the modern models that relies on clear and organized teaching steps to help the student understand and analyze the skill before executing it. It also opens new educational horizons for the teacher by adopting a model that gives the student an active role in the learning process, making them an active participant rather than a passive recipient. Applying the model contributes to reducing the level of difficulty students experience when performing the skills because it relies on breaking down the skill into stages and then teaching each stage separately, enabling the learner to grasp, both technically and physically, what needs to be done. The research problem: Despite the significant importance of floor exercise skills in gymnastics, the educational reality indicates that many students face considerable difficulty in learning and mastering these skills. This is due to their technical complexity and the numerous movement phases involved, in addition to some teachers' reliance on traditional teaching methods that do not provide sufficient organization of the teaching steps or consider the individual differences among students. Field observations revealed that a large percentage of students suffer from weak motor comprehension, confusion during performance, and a high error rate, which sometimes leads to learner frustration or a fear of performing certain skills. The research aimed to identify the impact of the Yacker model on teaching certain floor exercise skills in gymnastics to students. The experimental method was employed, and the research sample consisted of third-year students at the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at the University of Basra. After applying the model, the most important conclusion was reached: the Yacker model, with its four phases, is important and fundamental in teaching certain floor exercise skills in gymnastics to students. Therefore, it was recommended to adopt the Yacker model, with its four phases, as it is essential for teaching certain floor exercise skills to gymnasts.