The effects of integrating geometry into physical education
Abstract
This study investigated the effects integrating geometry into physical education had
on learning geometry concepts. Two fifth grade classes (N = 45) from an elementary
school in La Crosse. Wisconsin were subjects in the study. Both classes received
concurrent geometry instruction from their classroom teachers and gymnastics
instruction from their physical education specialist. The physical education teacher
taught a gymnastics unit integrated with geometry concepts to one class (n = 21) and
a gymnastics only unit to the other class (n = 24). Each student took a 32- item
geometry pretest before receiving instruction and a 32- item geometry posttest
following instruction. The integrated groups' pretest mean score was 12.38 and
posttest mean score was 25.29. The control groups' pretest mean score was 13.50
and posttest mean score was 20.96. An independent t-test for equality of means was
used to determine if the groups' pretest scores differed. This test indicated no
significant difference between the groups in the pretest (p > .05). An ANCOVA
adjusted for the insignificant differences in pretest means and was used to determine
if the groups' posttest scores were significantly different. It indicated that the groups'
posttest scores were significantly different (p < .05). The results of this study indicate
that integrating geometry into physical education increases geometry test scores