The Effects of Active Games on Aggressive Behaviors of 7-Year-Old Children

DOI: 10.14527/pegegog.2014.003 This research is conducted to determine the possible effects of aggressive behaviours of 7 –yearold children during active games. The video tapes from various angles of children while playing games are used as the main assessment tool for collecting the data as well as “The Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test” and “The Observation Form for Aggressive Behaviours of Children during the Games”. The observation form is used to record the active and passive aggressive behaviours of the child towards his/her teammates, the opponent team players, the referee/s and the game instruments and facilities. This form is designed by the researchers and refined by views of the experts. Article history: Received Revised Accepted 11 April 2013 14 October 2013 19 January 2014


Introduction
Playing games is essentially a concept which we associate with children.It calls to mind a number of toys, movement, fighting and fantasy games and role modelling (McCusker & Van Doren, 2007).Although the main aim of the play is having fun and positive reasons, there are many studies which focused on appearance of negative behaviours during playing.In different game settings, mostly computer games, sport related games, rough and tumble play of father and son (Tannock, 2011) and similar ones frequently attaching with aggressiveness and related behaviour (Flanders, Simard, Paquette, Parent, Vitaro, Pihl, & Seguin, 2010).Additionally it's reported in some studies, aggressive behaviour is frequently observed in schools across Turkey (Dilekmen, Ada & Alver, 2011).
There are numerous definitions related with aggressiveness in the literature.Baumann (1994) described aggressiveness as a personality characteristic of showing an internal aptitude through aggressive behaviour.The most widely met descriptions of aggressiveness have a common property that can be stated as "harming someone or something" (İkizler & Karagözoğlu, 1997;Şahin, 2003;Tiryaki, 2000).
People show intentional or involuntary behaviour where the environment they live in.Some of these behaviours can be disturbing for others.Such as pushing an object, pulling, throwing, breaking or directing the object to a person, or indirectly verbal or physical attack to someone.A few people may feel comfortable with these behaviours, but disturbing other people or harming some objects are perceived as aggressiveness.In some cases, aggressiveness shows itself as an act of self-protection or a way of coping with a problem like legitimately attacking to an opponent in a sportive activity.
Sport is described as a set of ruled holistic, physical, mental and spiritual activities which are performed within particular rules and enable oneself to win or achieve something to satisfy his/her inner desires (Şahin, 2002).During a sport activity, whether it is an athlete or spectator may be observed acting out of rule physically or verbally.Some of the actors who have control of their drives can manage others' uncontrolled behaviours as well as themselves'.Beginning from the childhood, behaviours appears mostly in game forms (İnan, 2003;İnan, 2005;Oktay, 1999;Onay, 2007;Önder, 1999;Pehlivan, 2005;Sevinç, 2004).Huizinga (1949) describes playing games as "older than culture" and perceives games as an important instrument which could be the start of different cultural forms.And (2003) describes playing games as "catharsis, getting rid of the energy surplus, physiological drive and satisfying the imitation instinct".
From the human drawing test perspective, seven years' old children are in the "schematic" developmental phase.In this age, drawings start to differentiate from the "line-man" into the real person view (Skybo & Ryan-wenger, 2007).Writing and drawing provide opportunities for us to identify, explain, compare, persuade and question (Mavers, 2011).

Method Research Design
This study is a field research based on observations.The aggressive behaviours of children tried to be retrieved through observational tools.

Participants
Study conducted with 13 seven years old children (girls=4, boys=9) in a primary school, in Istanbul.Prior to the study, all legal permissions were taken from parents and school administration.The only criterion was that participating children would be volunteers to take parts in the games.

Instrument
Two educational and sportive games were organized in the gymnasium for the sample group of the study.With help of the cameras where positioned to see the game area from two different angles, children's play was recorded synchronized with the games.The behaviours of the children were recorded to the video before, during and after the games.The video tapes are then watched and analyzed by the researchers and the findings were recorded on the observation form.
Before the games, children were asked to wait in a designated area without any comment or direction for five minutes and recorded to camera.After that, children were taken to the game area and were directed to play an educational game and a stafet race.After the activity, like the beginning, children were asked to wait in the designated area.All the activity and waiting periods consecutively recorded to camera.

Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test:
One of the widely known drawing test used for drawing test instrument.Test is used for examining the behavioural problems, personality and analysing emotional background of children 4 to 14 year olds.Goodenough test originally developed in 1926.Turkish validation realized in 1972 by Ucman.There are 27 criteria for scoring the test including the openly drawing or not drawing of the genital area, omitting drawing the central part of the figure, clothing the drawn person, adding fruit trees, extremely small drawing, bad connection of the body parts, cutting hands, omitting to draw the arms or legs, adding or highlighting the belly, drawing sharp teeth, big hands, transparent figure, athwart figure, highlighting the genital area, drawing the legs attached and similar ones.

The Observation Form for Aggressive Behaviours of Children During the Games:
A matrix-shaped observation form designed for scoring the actual aggressive behaviour for each child from the camera recordings.The Observation Form for Aggressive Behaviours of Children during the Games was filled out prior to the game, during the game and after the game setting for any aggressive behaviour.Researcher's marked each observed behaviour for each child separately.
Application of the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test was conducted in a classroom setting via providing a blank a4 paper and pencil to the children, without any time restriction and following with the original test procedure.Children were asked to draw a free human figure with their own creativity; they were free for drawing any desired person.When scoring the test, any criteria mentioned above scored as 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 and non-presence of the criterion means no score as well.

Data Analysis
Scored game observation forms, personal information about children and the Goodenough-Harris Test scores entered into statistical software.Non-parametrical statistics Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Mann Whitney U tests were used to analyse data, according to the small sample size.Evaluation of the observed aggressive behaviour rates scored as if all 13 children shows the behaviour, rated as 13/13=1, for converting the number related with sample, similar to percentages.

Results
Prior to the educational game; pushing, pulling, blocking, hitting behaviours and physical aggression were observed among students.Although there were similarities in the behaviours of the students after the game; a significant decrease was observed in passing and blocking behaviours.
Verbal aggression behaviours such as "yelling out loud" and "verbal aggression" were observed more than other behaviours before and after the educational game.While behaviours like "insulting" and "self-yelling out loud" were not observed before the educational game, "self-yelling out loud" after the game was significantly increased.
Aggressive behaviours toward the game materials like "tossing on the floor, throwing and kicking" before the educational game were more prevalent, "consciously stepping on materials" behaviour follow it and "breaking the material" behaviour was displayed the least while "breaking the material" and "kicking the material" behaviours were more prevalent."Deliberately stepping on the game materials" was displayed as less frequent after the game.
During shuttle games, aggressive behaviours observed as mostly "pulling" and "hitting", also "pushing" behaviour was one of the most observed one."Biting" and "chopping" were not observed.This result is a significant observation, because stafet games are very competitive.
Goodenough -Harris drawing test scores which expected to be associated with aggression showed no significant difference among children.In order to see the differences with respect to gender, the Mann-Whitney U test was run on the drawing test scores and aggression scores of gender groups during the active games and stafet games.No significant difference was found between the gender groups.
Children were divided into two groups according to their "total drawing test scores", one group consisted with children who scored low (2.0) points and the other group consisted of children who scored high (3.0)points.Each group's total aggression points which were obtained by the group members during and after the educational games and stafet races then compared.The aggression scores observed during and after educational games and stafet races did not show a significant difference in terms of Goodenough -Harris drawing test scores.

Discussion, Conclusion & Implementation
Aggressive behaviours mostly observed prior to the game and after the game on the dynamic educational games setting.On the contrary, children displayed aggressive behaviours mostly during the game and directed to the teammates in stafet games.This result is parallel with Tannock's (2011) findings on 5 years old children.
Blocking behaviours which related with physical aggressiveness observed significantly low after the game compared with before the game.This result shows expectation of the competition can be a triggering factor for the children during stafet games.
Yelling out loud and self-yelling behaviours were significantly higher at the end of the game, comparing to prior to the game period.This result shows that game itself can be an aggressive behaviour creating experience.Similarly, aggressive behaviour directed to game materials was significantly high at the end of the game then before the game.Similarly Nelson, Gelfand and Hartmann (1969) explain this phenomenon as "competition-induced frustration enhances both imitative and total aggression for children, especially for boys".This shows a parallel result with our study.Also in our study boys were significantly more aggressive to game materials after the game.They showed "kicking", "stepping" and "tearing off" behaviours more than girls.This result is parallel with Tannock (2011) and Dağlıoğlu, Deniz and Kaan's findings.
In this study no significant relationship has been found between Goodenough -Harris drawing test scores and children's aggressive game behaviour.Also there were no significant difference between boys and girls respected to Goodenough -Harris drawing test scores.Dağlıoğlu, Deniz & Kaan's study has similar results about lack of the significant difference between gender "anger-on aggressiveness" revealed that 5-year-old sample.Etkileri

Introduction
Physics is one of the academic disciplines that involves the analysis of nature and understand it over years until now.Physics also has played an important role in the development of the new technology (Serway & Beichner, 2002).In other side, the continuity of learning is changing according the theoretical aspects (Dagher, 1995;Duphin & Johsua, 1989;Greca & Moreira, 2000;Lawson & Lawson , 1993).This state support the new technological developments and making them used in learning activity (Uşun, 2003).One of these technologies is the computer technology which can be used to visualize the concepts via simulations or animation.In addition to this, the using of new technology and converted it to instructional materials will help student to better understand real-world situations.One of the roles of computers technology in the teaching of physics is to support the building of knowledge and retention practice (Grabinger, 1999;Jonassen, Pech & Wilson, 1999).
As a result of inefficient usage of computer technology that has a great role in development, an imaginary environment has been developing rapidly in recent centuries.One of these new born technologies is "Augmented Reality".It is considered that augmented reality will contribute in getting both knowledge and talent.Especially for the subjects that are understood more difficultly like physics, it will be very useful as it has visual and three dimensional effects (Winkler, Herczeg & Kritzenberger, 2002;Winn, Windschitl, Fruland & Lee, 2002).Augmented reality is used in education with two different sides in basic.The first one is used in an imaginary visual environment and the second is used more intense, including imaginary items.But the important point here is that the real objects and the imaginary objects are related with each other (Liu, Cheok, Ling, & Theng, 2007).The more related are they, the more successful it works (Zagoranski & Divijak, 2003).In this way, it will be easier for students to build their knowledge (Alouf & Bentley, 2003).Thus, learning environments will be funnier, interactively, effectively and also powerful (Kirkley, Kirkley, Myers, Borland, Swan, Sherwood & Singer, 2005) unlike traditional classroom environments (McDermott, 1993).As a result, it is believed that augmented reality will contribute to physics programs especially for difficult subjects for students.

Method
The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinions of students in learning physics and physics teachers in teaching physics during using augmented reality environments.In this study, focus group interview technique was used as a qualitative research technique (Çepni, 2001).At this context to gain the aim for this research, the answers for the following questions are tried to find: 1. Is the technology in physics classes sufficient for the teachers?2. What are the problems in lessons and what are the solutions?3. What are the contributions of augmented reality in magnetism subject? 4. What is the students' point of view in classes or in labs while using augmented reality? 5. How does augmented reality show differences in terms of students' motivation when it is used in classes or labs? 6.How does augmented reality show differences when it is used in classes or labs in terms of students' knowledge?

Research Design
This research was done in a high school with three volunteer physics teachers and with eleventh grade students in the 2010-2011 second term academic year.Before starting the project, three classes were selected at random and the subject of magnetism was studied in each classes for three weeks, but in 11-D the subject was studied with the researcher using augmented reality environment, in 11-A in the classroom environment and in 11-B in a lab environment.Among these students two of them are educated in the classroom environment, three of them are in lab, and three of them are in augmented reality environment.The high school teachers participated in this project had been given a seminar about augmented reality for a day and then they began to use the augmented reality environment by the help of the researchers.At the end of this study, participants were considered to have enough knowledge about the three different environments.

Participants
For this research to answer the question a group work was made with three physics teachers and eight students.The researchers gave the teachers and students two different forms about using augmented reality environment in their classes to gain their point of view.While preparing these forms the ideas of a physics expert and a computer expert were taken which formed the questionnaire.

Instrument
The results were registered and evaluated by the researcher.For three weeks, the research was carried out in augmented reality by the participant teachers and the students.In the time of these applied progresses the observations were evaluated and a semi-structured form was prepared by taking the expert's views.

Data Analysis
The researcher took the participants' ideas on how the environments affect in understanding the magnetism.At this point it was aimed to have their own ideas.In this environment they all learn their own ideas as well.As for the evaluation the grading levels were; "yes, partly, no" from top to bottom in degree.The answers were evaluated by the researcher and for the objectivity, it was controlled and analysed by the experts.

Results
According to research results, physics teachers answered positively to the questions which are based on using augmented reality in teaching physic.Whereas they have some difficult in using technology in classes and labs.Additionally, they prefer three dimensional visual materials in physics lessons especially in subject of magnetism.Students also answered positively to the questions which are based on using augmented reality at learning process.

Discussion, Conclusion & Implementation
As a result, physics teachers thought that, in their lessons labs are used but the technology is partly sufficient for them.In this research it was understood that physics teachers get benefit from physics labs by using standard expert materials like Nova5000.They take care of using simple, cheap easy in use materials and they give importance to rich visual materials, three dimension materials that enable the subjects to become more concrete as well as they are very beneficial for the students.In literature there are many studies that support this point of view (Chabay & Sherwood, 2006;Demirci & Çirkinoğlu, 2004;Kocakülah, 1999).
Teachers express that, they insist on using visual materials, three dimension objects, experiments, animations that form concrete meaning in physics lessons especially in subject of magnetism.Chaboy and Sherwood (2006) said that students have difficulty in understanding magnetism rather than the other subjects.For its reason the researchers implied that this subject includes abstract concept.It requires three dimensional thinking that creates difficulty for them in understanding.Similar results can be found in the studies of Bagno and Eylon as well (1997).At the result of this work the numbers of teachers were increased and it was said that, to understand physics especially the subject of magnetism, visual learning and concrete learning methods, using three dimension objects enable students to understand it much better.Also the studies of Buesing andCook (2013), Macedo, Fernandes, Lima andBiazus (2012) support the idea that augmented reality helps students to understand the subject of magnetism better.
Students in the classroom environment stated that the books in this Area, the opportunity to make registers are great advantages for them.Also the chance making experiments in labs that can be related with real world has a great advantage in understanding physics for them too.As for augmented reality environment, as it enables concrete understanding and visual materials it is adventurous as well.In literature the importance of students learning by doing themselves is stressed.Also, as in augmented reality environment a person can do experiments by themselves, they can increase their experiences (Matsutomo, Miyauchi, Noguchi & Yamashita, 2012).The physics students explained that if the learning environment is not sufficient, they may even hate the lesson or in that insufficient environments students are not willing to participate the lessons actively.Labs are more attractive for them as they can make experiments which make them love the subject more.In augmented reality as the new technology is used which forms a visual atmosphere, the students think that they defeat their affairs about physics.This result has a parallelism with the studies of Finkelstein, Perkins, Adams, Kohl and Podolefsky (2005).So with this new study motivate the students and it makes the environment attractive.
Students in classroom environment stated that this environment is insufficient to understand the subjects especially magnetism.The students in labs said that labs are more beneficial for making experiments.The students in class said that this environment supported the labs and as it requires visual understanding, it is more productive.Ayas, Akdeniz andÇepni (1994), Akdeniz, Çepni andAzar (1998), Böyük and Erol (2008), Chiappetta and Koballa (2002), Hofstein, Navon, Kipnis and Mamlok (2005) stressed the positive effects of labs in the physics lessons as well.
Students in classroom environment think that in understanding magnetism, this environment is not sufficient.Students in labs said that experiments take their attention, and these experiments make the subject more interesting and attractive as well.Students in augmented reality stated that even the new technology alone can take their attention.Students stressed that augmented reality environment enable them to comprehend the subjects better while following the science and the technology as it has great advantages.In analyzing how technology affects the society and the environment Finkelstein et al. (2005), Müller and Ferreira (2003), Winkler et al. (2002) stated that augmented reality environment helps the students to learn and comprehend better.These results show a parallelism with literature.Also Böyük, Demir and Erol (2010) stressed that labs have great positive affect in learning as they increase their interests for the lessons.While investigating these problems the following results are gained.
1. Physics teachers say that they use labs for their lessons but the technology they use is not sufficient enough.2. Physics teachers have difficulty in lecturing magnetism when they try to concrete the magnetic field, expressing three dimensions and explaining right-hand rule.3. Physics teachers think that augmented reality make it much easier to teach magnetism.4. Students think that augmented reality environment has much more advantages than the classes and the labs. 5. Students say that the environment they learn affects their emotions and their thoughts.6. Students say augmented reality environment affects their academic success in a positive way.
By looking these results, we may suggest that: 1.In the physics lessons should be organized by the advantage and benefit of augmented reality for the subjects that are understood hardly.2. Ministry of National Education should use augmented reality in "Fatih Project" in different fields which will be very useful.Also this material should be used as a teaching method as it is congenial with informatics technology.3.For secondary education augmented reality can be organized for different lessons at schools too.
So, difficult subjects like magnetism can be understood more easily and efficiently by the students.4. As it is a new technology the teachers should be educated about augmented reality with seminars organized by the Ministry of National Education to use it in their lessons efficiently.5.As physics is one of the lessons for which the students generally have affairs and have difficulty in understanding, first of all students should be motivated about this lesson positively.Besides this, their emotions and thoughts should be developed in a good way as much as possible.6.It is understood that augmented reality environment affect their emotion and thoughts positively and this should method should be participated in education process.