The Effect of Learning Units Based on the Osborn Model on Mental Imagery and Selected Fundamental Handball Skills among Students

Abstract

The study aimed to find out the effect of learning units based on the Osborn model on mental imagery and a set of basic handball skills for the second-grade students in the College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Al-Qadisiyah. These students exhibited low levels of mental imagery and low-performance levels in several basic handball skills, which can be attributed to the conventional instruction that neglected the cognitive and thinking aspect of learning, so the researcher decided to use the Osborn model to gain the skills. Since the experimental design with two equivalent groups was most appropriate for the problem, it was selected. The subjects were selected from the 200 second year students of the College in the 2025/2026 academic year, excluding those who attended irregularly or were involved in competitive handball, as 20 students were randomly selected from each group (B) and (D). The results show that the mental imagery was improved by the learning units developed by Osborn and the basic skill variables studied were also improved, with the experimental group showing a significant difference in post-test compared to the control group. Based on the above, the researcher suggests adopting the model of Osborn in the process of teaching handball skills, as it has a positive impact on students' skill development and cognitive development.