This study examined volleyball achievement and task-specific self-efficacy for 182 students in 6 beginning college volleyball classes taught using either the Mastery Learning or Skill Teaching models. Three instructors each taught one Mastery Learning and one Skill Teaching class. Assessments included the AAHPERD pass, set. and serve tests, the Stanley spike test, successful and unsuccessful game trials. Bandura-type self-efficacy scales, and a knowledge test. A random coefficients growth curve model analyzed the intercepts and slopes of the learning curves and revealed significant pre- to posttest improvement on skills tests, self-efficacy, and the percentage of correct passes and serves in game play for all students. No significant difference existed between the two models on average number of trials per day; rate of improvement for the pass, serve, or spike skills tests; self-efficacy; percentage of correct passes, sets, or serves in game play; contacts per serve in game play; or knowledge scores. The Mastery students’ rate of learning was significantly better on the set skills test (1.3 points higher) and the percentage of successful spikes in game play, in which they started significantly lower. The low-skilled students improved at a faster rate on the serve and on self-efficacy for the pass, set, and serve. Males had higher self-efficacy than females, while females increased more rapidly in self-efficacy for the pass, set, and serve. All results were analyzed at the .05 level of significance. Students learned to play volleyball and improved significantly in skill performances with either model.

This study was designed to investigate the influence of a lighter ball (Tachikara Volley Lite) on 72 seventh-grade girls' tournament game play and pretest-to-posttest improvement for a 16-day volleyball practice period. Two intact classes were randomly assigned to groups, one of whom used lighter balls during skills progressions while a second used regulation balls. All students used regulation balls during tournament game play and skills tests. Both groups significantly improved the forearm pass from pretest to posttest. Analysis of covariance indicated no significant differences between groups on posttest means for any skill. A 2 x 6 (treatment x game day) analysis of variance indicated that the group practicing with lighter balls had significantly more correct sets and a higher average daily success rate for the set and underhand serve on game days than the group using a regulation ball.

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This study compared volleyball achievement and task-specific self-efficacy for high-, medium-, and low-skilled learners using two teaching styles. Students were pre-, mid-, and posttested on skills and self-efficacy and were ability grouped from skill pretest scores. Learning trials were tallied for 58 students in two university classes, and growth curves for each student were created by plotting the percentages of successful trials against the 19 instructional days. ANOVA, used to determine relationships between the teaching styles and the rate of change in volleyball performance, revealed two significant aptitude treatment interactions (ATIs). For skill practice, low-skilled learners did better with command style on the set, and the practice style was best for low-skilled learners on the spike. Self-efficacy increased for all students, with no significant difference in style.

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