Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine the Basketball (1) and Racquetball (1+2) students’ preferences of five learning styles (command, practice, reciprocal, guided discovery and problem solving styles) with respect to their gender. The participants in this study were 37 basketball students and 41 racquetball students from the Faculty of Physical Education / University of Jordan. The researchers taught both groups the required skills in these two courses according to five styles of Mosston and Ashworth (2002). The results of data analysis indicated that there were non-statistically significant differences between the basketball students’ and racquetball students’ preferences in three of five learning styles (command, practice, and reciprocal styles). However, the basketball students scored significantly higher in problem solving style, and the racquetball students scored significantly higher in guided discovery style. Also, there were non-statistically significant differences between the female and the male students’ preference in four of five learning styles (practice, reciprocal, guided discovery, and problem solving styles). Female students scored higher on command style. The results also indicated that there were non-statistically significant differences between the two groups and the females and males in students’ attitudes. The researchers recommend that there were no one ideal style of teaching, but physical education teachers should use more than one style and consider students’ learning style preferences when selecting teaching styles.
