BackgroundPlayers may not acquire adequate levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) when playing commercial video games. This study's goal was to evaluate the effects of an exercise bike video game played by using a mobile application-based exergame that was designed exclusively to promote participants' MVPA, with additional attention paid to this game's ability to promote greater situational interest.MethodsAn experimental design was used with 163 students (aged 20.31 ± 1.30, 18–26 years, 61.3% male), all of whom were randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group. Physical activity (PA) levels were assessed with ActiGraph GT3X+ (ActiGraph Inc., Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA) accelerometers. The situational interest scale was used to evaluate students' situational interest in both groups. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine the differences between sedentary behavior, PA levels, and situational interest between groups. Regression analyses were also used, with the purpose being to evaluate the strength of the relationship between PA and situational interest.ResultsResults revealed that the experimental group had higher degrees of sedentary behavior, light PA, total interest, instant enjoyment, exploration intention, attention demand, novelty, and challenge, whereas the control group received higher scores for MVPA (control 95.01% vs. experimental group 89.94%). Regression analysis indicated that instant enjoyment (β = 0.49, p < 0.01), exploration intention (β = 0.18, p < 0.05), and attention demand (β = 0.17, p < 0.05) were positive predictors for total interest, explaining 43% of its variance.ConclusionA newly designed mobile application-based exergame played via an exercise bike may enhance situational interest and provide a decent level of PA for players.

Based on the framework of interest, studies have shown that situational interest possesses strong motivation potential for students in physical education. Understanding how teachers can use situational interest in a classroom context is critical to motivate students. However, such investigations have been exclusively conducted in the United States and little is known about situational interest in other contexts. Grounded specifically in the French physical education curriculum, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the five situational interest sources (instant enjoyment, exploration intention, attention demand, challenge and novelty) and total interest, to demonstrate which sources could be related to total interest and to determine possible mediators’ effects among sources. Students ( n = 601; Mage = 14.37; range 11–18 years; SD = 1.96; 51.4% boys) from 25 classes in six secondary schools participated in the study. They responded to the French situational interest scale after practising learning tasks in regular physical education lessons. On the basis of multiple-regression and mediation analyses, a structural equation model was formed to map out the meaningfulness of the relationships among situational interest sources and the total interest. Our results showed that instant enjoyment and exploration intention have direct and positive effects on total interest. In addition, these sources mediated the effects from attention demand and challenge toward the total interest. These results indicated that an effective way to motivate students in physical education is to build motivational components into the course content, especially those which enhance situational interest.

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Purpose: Jigsaw is a popular cooperative method, but its effect on students’ motivation in physical education (PE) remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to estimate this Jigsaw effect and to explore whether the type of sport taught in PE modified this effect. Method: Overall, 136 middle-school students participated in two PE sequences in Jigsaw or control conditions, one in gymnastics and one in racket sports. These two types of sports were selected because they are frequently taught in PE and for their opposing characteristics. Students’ motivation was estimated during the third and sixth lessons of each sequence with a subjective measure, that is, situational interest; moderate to vigorous physical activity was added as an objective measure related to motivation. Results: Compared to control conditions, Jigsaw progressively enhanced moderate to vigorous physical activity and the novelty dimension of situational interest in gymnastics, whereas it undermined moderate to vigorous physical activity and the challenge dimension of situational interest in rackets. Discussion: We discuss the decisive role of the type of sport according to their characteristics when implementing Jigsaw.

Previous studies have shown that situational interest, as a primary motivator for students, affects student cognitive engagement. Considering this, the purpose of this study was to examine, within a situated perspective, the effects of situational interest dimensions on students’ learning strategies in physical education. A total of 148 tenth-grade students (mean age = 16.1, 15–17 years, standard deviation = 1.3, 40% boys) participated in a 30-minute body-conditioning learning task. Students’ situational interest and learning strategies were measured using validated self-reported questionnaires. Using correlations and regression analyses, the results showed that exploration intention positively predicts the learning strategies used by students. To motivate students and enhance their learning strategies, teachers could consider designing learning tasks that require higher-order cognitive processes demanding active exploration.