Abstract:

Aim of the research was to improve methods of health-promoting physical education classes for students with locomotor disorders; the improvement implies differentiated organization of the lesson structure and use of advanced fitness technologies.

The research involved survey, forming (transforming) educational experiment, assessment of motivation structure, evaluation of stress resistance, and methods of mathematical statistics.

The survey among 155 first-year students belonging to special medical groups (physical education (PE) groups for people with physical disabilities) showed that the most common pathology in subjects was locomotor disorders and diseases. It was also established that 59.3% of 155 special medical group students were not engaged in any kind of physical activity, 27.1% exercised occasionally without considering their functional capacity, and just 13.6% of respondents visited various sports centers on a regular basis.

Level of students' resistance to stress factors estimated by the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale was close to a low limit of the threshold range.

The educational experiment was conducted in 2015-2016 academic year and included 51 practical and 7 theoretical classes. The main part of the class included the sequence of three modules: module 1 – calisthenics (18 classes), module 2 – gliding disc workout (15 classes), and module 3 – Total Body Resistance Exercises (TRX; 18 classes). The experiment changed the hierarchy of students' motives for motor activity: the significant majority of the experimental group students reported that their primary motive for physical education was health promotion while grading-related motive score became significantly lower.

The comparative analysis of stress resistance assessment revealed significant (p<0.05) positive changes in the examined parameter in experimental group students, It proves that differentiated organization of lesson structure involving modern physical technologies allows the effective improvement of physical education teaching methods and health-promoting impact for students with locomotor disorders.

Keywords:

Health-promoting classes, physical fitness, fitness programs, calisthenics, gliding workout, TRX, motivation, stress resistance, locomotor disorders.