The effect of metacognitive strategies on the attention networks of students physically active in futsal shooting

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of metacognitive strategies on attentional networks in active students during the learning of futsal shooting.

Methods: 45 female 11th-grade students were randomly assigned to three groups: control, experimental A, and experimental B. The experimental A group practiced instep shooting with accuracy training in front of a designated banner, while the experimental B group performed the same training combined with metacognitive strategies. All participants completed the attentional network test before and after the intervention to assess alerting, orienting, and executive control networks. A mixed ANOVA was conducted to test the study hypotheses.

Results: A significant time × group interaction effect was found for the executive control network (p = 0.003), indicating that post-test scores were influenced by group type. Additionally, significant main effects of time (p = 0.012) and group (p = 0.026) were observed. Bonferroni post-hoc analysis revealed that the experimental B group outperformed the control group (p = 0.026), whereas no significant differences were found between the experimental A and control groups or between the two experimental groups (p > 0.05). No significant main or interaction effects were observed for the alerting and orienting networks (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that metacognitive strategies can enhance executive control network function but have no substantial impact on alerting and orienting networks. These results highlight the potential of metacognition in optimizing training programs and designing effective educational interventions.