Effectiveness of a comprehensive module in improving serving skills and lob shots during badminton training

Abstract

Background: The quality of badminton skill achievement among secondary school students in physical education classes can be improved using a training module. Improving badminton skills in physical education classes is important to fulfil students’ needs and learning objectives. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive module for badminton training using the Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) cooperative learning instructional model to improve the badminton skills of secondary school students in Malaysia after six weeks of intervention. Materials and Methods: A total of 68 students from secondary school were selected through intact sampling for a quasi-experimental study, which included an experimental group (which used the developed module for badminton training based on the STAD cooperative learning model) and a control group (which used the traditional teaching approach implemented in physical education classes). In this study, the badminton high serve, backhand short serve, and lob shot tests were used to evaluate student performances in achieving badminton skills. Results: Pre-test results showed that both groups were equivalent before the intervention. Meanwhile, post-test results showed that the use of the badminton skill-training module for 6 weeks improved badminton skills as evidenced by higher mean scores in the high serve, backhand short serve, and lob shot tests compared to those of the control group. In addition, the post-test difference between the experimental and control groups reached 18.36% for the high serve skill, 21.59% for the backhand short serve skill, and 19.37% for the lob shot skill. Conclusion: This badminton skill-training module improves badminton skill learning, creates a more conducive learning environment compared to traditional teaching, and improves secondary school students’ achievements in physical education classes to meet learning objectives. Therefore, this badminton skill-training module should be used more widely throughout secondary schools in Malaysia to overcome issues in badminton skill achievement and to help students attain optimal performance during badminton training sessions.