Effect of cooperative learning model on the development of fundamen- tal motor skills among elementary school

Abstrak

Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are critical foundational competencies that must be developed

during the elementary school years to support lifelong physical activity engagement, academic

readiness, and overall health. Despite their importance, preliminary observations in Bojonegoro

Regency, East Java, indicated that elementary school students' fundamental motor skills remained

predominantly in the low-to-moderate proficiency category. Conventional command-style

teaching that still dominates physical education classes in this region appears to limit students'

opportunities for active practice, peer feedback, and meaningful engagement. This study aims to

examine the effect of a cooperative learning model on the development of fundamental motor skills

among fourth-grade elementary school students in Bojonegoro Regency. A quasi-experimental

design with a pretest-posttest control group structure was applied. Sixty students aged 9-10 years

were selected through purposive sampling and assigned to an experimental group (n=30) receiving

cooperative learning treatment and a control group (n=30) receiving conventional instruction over

eight weeks. The Test of Gross Motor Development - Third Edition (TGMD-3) was used as the

primary instrument, covering both locomotor (running, galloping, hopping, skipping, horizontal

jumping, sliding) and ball skills (object control) subtests. Data were analyzed using independent

sample t-tests and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at a significance level of 0.05. The findings

revealed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups (t =

7.124; p = 0.000), with the experimental group demonstrating a 24.8% improvement compared to

9.3% in the control group. The effect size (Cohen's d = 1.84) indicated a large practical effect. These

results suggest that cooperative learning offers a developmentally appropriate, contextually

relevant, and pedagogically effective approach for advancing fundamental motor skills in

Indonesian elementary schools.