Self-reliant physical education model for civil engineering university students using motor vehicles

Фотографии: 

ˑ: 

PhD, Associate Professor A.V. Popov
St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg

Keywords: physical education, academic education, theoretical and practical basics, self-reliant physical trainings, students.

Background. The new academic physical education paradigm requires the physical education and sports (PES) models, conditions, methods and tools being compliant with the valid academic Physical Education Standards – that have been developed on the theoretical and practical fundamentals laid by many national study reports [2]. The major self-reliant physical education models applicable under the academic physical education disciplines may be provisionally grouped as follows:

– Physical trainings prioritizing models;

– Interdisciplinary aspects prioritizing models i.e. making an emphasis on connections of the academic Physical Education discipline with other academic training fields; and

– Health practices prioritizing model.

It should be mentioned that the PES education models are being upgraded to complement the traditional physical progress components with the motor skills and abilities, healthy lifestyle cultivation and bodily adaptability building and improvement components – to respond to the modern social developmental challenges in context of the accelerated scientific and technological progress.

As far as the self-reliant physical training opportunities provided by the valid academic Physical Education discipline are concerned, these provisions may be grouped into institutional/ educational, practical/ technological and personality developmental ones – necessary for the personal physical culture formation purposes.

The academic self-reliant physical training process compliant to the relevant educational standards shall be customizable to students’ expectations, needs and predispositions. The students’ progress motivations in the process are dominated by the physical perfection agendas (in the female groups) plus the individual image, team role and social appreciation agenda (dominating in the male groups) [1].

Objective of the study was to develop theoretical grounds to improve the academic self-reliant and professional applied physical education curriculum at University of Civil Engineering with application of motor racing sport basics.

Methods and structure of the study. For the study purposes we analyzed the facilitating environment and provisions established in Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering to facilitate the personality physical development (‘PES culture formation’) process including: sport associations, groups and sport teams; sport assets and facilities accessible for self-reliant physical practices; due consulting and practical support from the PE faculty; general recommendations (available online) on the design of self-reliant trainings on health-group-, age- and gender-specific bases; and provisions for the self-reliant training progress indices being accounted by the academic progress rating system on the point scale applied in the academic Physical Education discipline.

We applied the A.N. Leontyev’s Active Learning Theory as a practical basis for our academic self-reliant training model. The model is designed to offer special training situations to improve the students’ cognitive activity and maintain it at reasonably high levels throughout the academic training period. It is also important that the model implies a permanent and effective assistance from the faculty with a focus on the students’ motivations and individual success agendas.

The academic self-reliant training model was customized to effectively build up the professional competences and skills of the Civil Engineering University students, in the context of the commonly accepted variety of professionally important mental, physiological and physical qualities and abilities: see Table 1 hereunder.

Table 1. Professional requirements to the civil engineering specialist’s mental, physiological and physical qualities and abilities

Job

Job-specific mental and physiological qualities

Job-specific physical qualities

Foreman, manufacturing engineer

Nervous system tolerance and mobility; immunity to diseases and vestibular tolerance; good memory (verbal, visual, auditory); eye estimation, peripheral vision; good auditory- and visual-motor and tactile responses

Overall and dynamic endurance, strength, perception reaction time, movement agility and coordination, body balance

Construction engineer, planning engineer, industrial engineer

Highly stable nervous processes; high attention focusing ability; good memory (verbal, visual), eye estimation; good auditory- and visual-motor responses

Overall and dynamic endurance, static strength, perception reaction time, movement (mostly wrist) coordination

Operating engineer

Highly stable and mobile nervous processes; high attention focusing ability; good memory (verbal, visual, auditory), eye estimation

 

Overall/ static/ dynamic endurance, strength, perception reaction time, agility, fine movement accuracy

Manager

Highly stable and mobile nervous processes; high attention focusing/ switchover ability; good memory (verbal, visual, auditory)

Overall/ static endurance, perception reaction time

 

Study findings and discussion. The academic self-reliant training model may be viewed as an indispensable part of the target self-reliant physical training system (SRPT) reasonably designed according to the modern PE science [3, 4]; and geared to attain the relevant general/ special physical development goals, particularly develop the professionally important physical qualities and skills [5].

The academic self-reliant trainings shall be designed to: study and factor in the best practical recommendations/ guidelines on the sport training basics and body systems development logics; develop, with support from a PE specialist, training schedules and tasks within certain timeframe (month, semester, year); run trainings; and make regular physical progress tests versus the academic PE discipline requirements and standards.

The highly physically fit students are recommended excelling in their vocational sports; the moderately physically fit students are recommended sticking to the traditional body conditioning practices; and the low physically fit students are recommended a health-building training model; with every training model making a special emphasis on the professional/ applied aspects of the training program.

We believe that the modern motor racing group practices are highly beneficial for formation and development of the above professionally important mental/ physiological functions and physical qualities. We offered and piloted the relevant academic self-reliant training model including the following training modules:

– Special individualized e-training-simulator-assisted physical training programs;

– Self-reliant trainings in the special motor racing sport disciplines including cross-country skiing; Beginner/ Student class cart races; combined motor races etc.;

– Amateur and professional competitive trainings geared to excel the professionally important qualities by: amateur rallies, track races, circle races and sprint rallies.

Conclusion. Job-specific qualities developing self-reliant physical training models of special design may be highly beneficial for the future specialists’ progress and competitiveness as demonstrated by the   motor racing self-reliant training model piloting experiment at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

References

  1. Dementyev К.N., Pristav O.V., Mironova O.V. et al. Issledovanie motivatsionnoy sfery studen­tov‑plovtsov vuzov v kontekste populyarizatsii fizkulturno-sportivnoy deyatelnosti [Study of the motivational sphere of university student-swimmers in the context of promotion of sports activity]. Uchenye zapiski un-ta im. P.F. Lesgafta, 2014, no. 10 (116), pp. 208–212.
  2. Lubysheva L.I. K kontseptsii fizkulturnogo vospitaniya studentov [The concept of academic physical education]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1992, no. 5-6, pp. 15-18.
  3. Mironova O.V., Pristav O.V. Fitnes-tekhnologii kak element obespecheniya konkurentosposobnosti fizicheskoy kultury studentov [Fitness technology for competitiveness of academic physical education]. Fizicheskaya kultura, sport i zdorovye, 2015, no. 27, pp. 8-10.
  4. Pristav O.V., Dementev K.N., Mironova O.V., et al. Proektnye vozmozhnosti fizicheskoy kultury studentov v novykh usloviyakh [Project capacities of academic physical education under new conditions]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 2015, no. 10, pp. 94-96.
  5. Safonova O.A. Professiogramma kak osnova soderzhaniya PPFP pri izuchenii distsipliny ‘Fizicheskaya kultura’ v stroitelnykh vuzakh [Professiogram as a basis of APPT content in study of Physical Education discipline in civil engineering universities]. Uchenye zapiski un-ta im. P.F. Lesgafta, 2012, no. 5 (87), pp. 117-121.

Corresponding author: dementevkn2013@yandex.ru

Abstract

The study considers some self-reliant physical education models, conditions, methods and tools to offer a theoretical basis for improvement of the academic physical education curriculum of a civil engineering university – in view of the high priority given to the self-reliant training models in the valid FSES 3+ and elective courses of the academic Physical Education discipline.

A key goal of a self-reliant physical education model is to cater for the individual physical education needs to make every student competent for the professional service with its general and special requirements. The academic physical education process shall give a top priority to the self-reliant physical education modules viewed as a key tool to develop and improve mental and physical qualities and skills most valuable for professional careers.