The Effect of an Educational Curriculum Based on the Constructivist Model of John Zahorik on Learning the Performance of Shooting Skills in Basketball among Fourth Preparatory Grade Students

The research aimed to design an educational curriculum based on the constructivist model of John Zahorik and to employ it in instructional exercises during practical physical education lessons in basketball. It also sought to identify the effect of this educational curriculum on learning the performance of basketball shooting skills among fourth preparatory grade students. The researchers hypothesized that there would be statistically significant differences between the pre- and post-test results of the experimental and control groups in performing shooting skills — free throw performance, jump shot performance, and lay-up performance — in basketball. Furthermore, they assumed that there would be statistically significant differences between the post-test results of the two groups in the same shooting skills. The experimental method was used, employing a two-group design (experimental and control) involving 30 fourth preparatory grade students for the academic year 2024–2025, representing 26.786% of the total population. The elements of the strategy were incorporated into instructional exercises and applied in practical basketball lessons, with four instructional units assigned to each shooting skill. One lesson was conducted per week, and the implementation continued for 12 weeks. The exercises were carried out during the main part of the lesson, which lasted 30 minutes of the 45-minute basketball class. After completing the experimental procedure, the results were processed using the SPSS statistical software. The most important conclusions and recommendations indicated that applying an educational curriculum based on the John Zahorik constructivist model in practical lessons helps improve students’ performance in all shooting skills — free throw, jump shot, and lay-up — with superior results compared to those who learned without it. It is essential to increase the focus on practical applications to better integrate knowledge with performance, and to emphasize hands-on learning while minimizing excessive explanation when employing the elements of the curriculum based on Zahorik’s model. Moreover, it is important to consider individual differences in students’ responses to the stages of this model in both the instructional and practical aspects of the basketball units. The study further recommends paying greater attention to individual differences when applying this curriculum model and to diversify instructional situations and tasks to achieve the intended educational goals in teaching basketball skill performance.