Results

1. Students’ Physical Activity Levels and Motivation in Dance Dance Revolution Zan Gao, Chaoqun Huang, and James C. Hannon, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Methods Participants The participants were 195 7th - 9th graders (M age = 13.54, SD = .94, age range = 12 - 15; 100 boys, 95 girls) enrolled in one public school in the Mountain West region of the U.S. The participants consisted of 75 7th graders, 65 8th graders, and 55 9th graders, with the following ethnicity: White-American (n = 153), African-American (n = 4), Hispanic American (n = 17), Asian American (n = 5), and undeclared (n = 16). Due to missing data, the final sample was comprised of 190 participants. The participants in each class had a 50-minute PE class taught by one of three PE teachers everyday. Measures Situational Motivation. The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) were used to assess the participants’ situational motivation in physical education classes. This scale is a 16-item self-report inventory that measures intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation and amotivation (Guay et al., 2000). In this study, participants were asked to rate how important each of the 16 statements were to their personal motives to engage in each specific activity, by responding to the stem, “Why are you currently engaged in today’s activity?” A 7-point Likert scale, ranging from1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree, were used for all responses. Items from the SIMS include: (a) because I think that this activity is interesting; (b) because I am doing it for my own good; (c) because I am supposed to do it; and (d) there may be a good reason to do this activity, but personally I don’t see any. Physical Activity Levels.To measure students’ physical activity levels, ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers (Pensacola, FL) were utilized. The ActiGraph GT1M is 5.3×5.0×2.0 cm in size and can be worn on a waistband or in a clip pouch at the midaxillary line of either hip. Given the duration (short-period) of the physical education class and the aims of this study, activity counts were measured in 30-second epochs, and physical activity levels were quantified as average activity counts per 30-second (average count/30s) for the intensities of the activities. Cut points established by Puyau et al. (2002) were applied to the data: (a) 0-399 counts per 30s = sedentary; (b) 400-1599 counts per 30s = light; and (c) ≥ 1600 counts per 30s = moderate to vigorous physical activity. In this study, students’ percentage of time spend in different intensity levels of physical activity were used as the outcome variables. Data Collection and Data Analyses The students participated in a 2-week DDR unit in physical education. Students’ in-class physical activity levels were measured by ActiGraph GT1M accelerometers for one class in the second week. They also reported their situational motivation at the end of the class. Descriptive analyses determined students’ percentages of time in various physical activity intensity levels (sedentary, light, and moderate to vigorous intensity [MVPA]) and situational motivation, and the relations between students’ physical activity levels and situational motivation. A 2 x3 (gender × grade) MANOVA was performed to examine the mean differences of students’ physical activity levels and situational motivation by gender and grade. Introduction The Dance Dance Revolution is an interactive video game that requires fast-foot movement. It is not only one of the most innovative video game concepts ever, but it is also a fun and entertaining way for school children to develop healthy habits and a fitness-oriented lifestyle. Dance Dance Revolution can act as an important bridge that catches children’s interest and gets them up to a basic level of fitness. Incorporating Dance Dance Revolution into gym class is part of a general shift in physical education, with school districts de-emphasizing traditional sports in favor of less competitive activities. Currently at least several hundred schools in at least 10 states are now using Dance Dance Revolution as a regular part of their physical education curriculum (Schiesel, 2007). There has been increasing evidence that school children do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity. This has lead to a dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes among this population, which may cause further health problems in their future. Physical education has the potential to increase all children’s physical activity levels and therefore can play a critical role in promoting public health. Students’ positive motivation has been identified as an important contributor to active engagement in physical education classes. The application of the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to physical education has been recommended to understand students’ situational motivation toward physical education. According to this theory, four factors are considered important to situational motivation, namely, intrinsic motivation (participation in activities for their own sake), identified regulation (behaviors that occur when individuals accept certain activities as important to their personal goals and values), external regulation (actions that are carried out in order to gain an external reward or avoid punishment), and amotivation (a lack of intention and a relative absence of motivation). Both intrinsic motivation and identified regulation represent higher levels of self-determined motivation and lead to positive consequences, while external regulation and amotivation refer to low levels of self-determined motivation and lead to negative consequences. Empirical work examining students’ physical activity levels and situational motivation in DDR has been scarce. This study attempts to explore the mean differences of and correlations between students’ PA levels and situational motivation in DDR, as well as gender and grade differences among the study variables. Results Students were motivated to participate in DDR (i.e., Mintrinsic motivation = 4.81, Midentified regulation = 4.8), but their percentages of time in MVPA were extremely low (i.e., MMVPA = 4.95%, Mlight = 28.77%, Msedentary = 66.28%). Pearson correlations yielded positive relations between time in MVPA and intrinsic motivation or identified regulation (r s = .15) and between light physical activity and intrinsic motivation (r = .16). Inversely, sedentary time was negatively related to intrinsic motivation or identified regulation (r = -.16 to -.18). The MANOVA yielded a significant main effect for gender, Wilks’ Lambda = .92, F (7, 178) = 2.34, p = .03, η2 = .08. Follow-up tests revealed that boys scored higher on intrinsic motivation and external regulation than girls did (p s< .05). No significant differences were found with grade levels. Table. Results of Regression Analyses Discussion The findings suggested that, although students were highly motivated for DDR, they were not physically active in DDR as they spent far less than 50% of the class time in MVPA. Second, students’ higher levels of motivation were positively related to percentages of time spent in MVPA. Instructors should present and organize the activities in an interesting, novel, meaningful and enjoyable way which lead to the maximum of MVPA in physical education. It is possible that students with higher skill levels on DDR had higher intrinsic motivation, identified regulation and MVPA in the DDR unit. Future studies should focus on effects of skill levels on MVPA and strategies to maximize students’ MVPA in DDR.