Effectiveness of an innovative athletic program at the 1st stage of primary school

The aim of the experiment was to test the effectiveness of an innovative program in grade 3 of elemantary school and to compare the results with a traditional teaching program for lower stage of elementary school. The experiment took place at the Ďumbierska primry School in Banská Bystrica. One class was randomly assigned as an experimental group, in which teaching in the form of an innovative programme took place, and the other as a control group, in which teaching in the traditional way took place. Subsequently, the application of the innovative programme was carried out in the scope of 9 lessons. A 5-point scoring scale was developed to assess athletic skills. SPSS Statistic statistical program was used to detect statistical significance and the results were evaluated at α ≤ 0.05 level. The pupils of the experimental group achieved a significant improvement in sports skills compared to the control group, which was confirmed by calculating the statistical significance. The most significant improvement was recorded in short distance running, where pupils of the experimental group improved by 32%. In short distance running, the most significant differences between the experimental and control group were also recorded, by 20%. In the standing long jump, an improvement of 23.5% was recorded, with a more significant improvement of 19% compared to the control group. The least significant differences were recorded in cricket ball throwing, where the experimental group improved by 16.75%, 13% more than the control group. Based on the results, we recommend incorporating more innovative exercises, exercises in pairs and movement games, following the methodological procedures, incorporating more teaching aids to make the lesson more varied and fun for the pupils.