sport books publisher1 motor skills: learning and acquisition processes chapter 18

Sport Books Publisher 1

Motor Skills: Learning and Acquisition Processes

Chapter 18


Outline:

Developing Movement Intelligence

Stages of Learning a Skill

Feedback for Skill Learning

Transfer of Motor Learning


Developing Movement Intelligence


Movement Intelligence

Following factors affect development of movement intelligence:

– Starting at young age– Learning time– Instructor– Equipment– Progression


Starting the Learning Process at a Young Age

As early as the preschool years

Basic skills = basis for other activities– Walking, throwing, catching

Skill should be taught correctly the first time to avoid development of bad habits


Providing Sufficient Learning Time

Without physical experience, skills cannot be effectively learned and maintained

Sufficient time must be allotted for participating in PA’s that enhance movement skills


Being Taught By Qualified Instructors

Instructors, physical educators, and coaches must be properly trained and have experience with teaching PA

This means having trained physical educators fill such positions, rather than math or music teachers who do not have the necessary background


The Use of Quality Equipment

Safe, appropriate, and well maintained– e.g., scaled down equipment for

children• Lower basketball hoops• Smaller soccer nets• Lighter baseball bats

Effectiveness of teaching movement skills is directly related to the quality of equipment


Following the Right Progression Teaching skills in an organized manner that makes skills easier to

grasp and learn


Stages of Learning a Skill


Three general stages of motor learning have been identified

Each stage consists of:– Changes that occur as motor learning takes

place– Important features unique to each stage


Cognitive or Acquisition Stage

Begins when task first introduced Learner cognitively determines:

– What the particular skill involves– Performance goals required to perform the

skill

Instructions:– Are verbally transmitted (verbal stage)– Serve to convey the general concept of the

skill

Self-talk and verbal reminders facilitate learning

Performance: slow, jerky, and awkward


Associative or Stabilization Stage

Focused on performing and refining the skill

Concentration is directed towards smaller details (e.g., timing)

Performance: controlled and consistent

Rapid performance improvements (somewhat slower than fist stage)

Diminished self-talk


Autonomous or Application Stage Performance: automatic and very

proficient Attention demands:

Performance improvements:–Slow–Less obvious (e.g., reduced mental effort, improved style, reduced anxiety)


Feedback for Skill Learning


Information feedback: “the information that occurs as a result of a movement”

Some information is received during the movement and some is provided as a result of the movement

Feedback is one of the strongest factors that controls the effectiveness of learning


Feedback Classification

Information FeedbackInformation Feedback

Intrinsic FeedbackIntrinsic Feedback Extrinsic FeedbackExtrinsic Feedback

Knowledge of Performance


Knowledge of Results






Vision

Audition Touch

Muscle Feeling .

Vision

Audition Touch

Muscle Feeling .

Basketball

Golf Tennis service ace Darts

.

Basketball

Golf Tennis service ace Darts

.

Instructor/Coach Parent/Friend Video replay

Photographs Radar gun Stopwatch

Instructor/Coach Parent/Friend Video replay

Photographs Radar gun Stopwatch

Lap times

Distance jumped Height jumped Judge’s score

.

Lap times

Distance jumped Height jumped Judge’s score

.


Intrinsic Feedback Information that is provided as a natural

consequence of performing an action

Knowledge Knowledgeof performance of resultsArm extension Watching the when hitting the tennis ball landtennis ball in the

opponent’scourt


Extrinsic Feedback

Information that is provided to the learner by somebody else or some artificial means following a performance outcome

Provides information above and beyond what is naturally available to the learner (augmented feedback)

Can be controlled; when, how, how often…


Extrinsic Feedback cont’d Knowledge of results

– Information about the degree of success

Not effective when outcome is obvious

Important when outcome is less obvious

Knowledge of performance– Information about the execution of a completed

movement– Example: “took your eye off the ball,” “swing was

a little late,” etc.


Motivational Properties of Feedback Extrinsic feedback serves to motivate the

learner Error correction Therefore, a skilled instructor should be able

to reinforce correct actions as well as point out errors


Feedback Can be a Crutch

Providing feedback continuously for a long period of time can lead to dependency

Occasional feedback tends to enhance learning

Various types of feedback that minimize dependency have been identified


Faded Feedback

Benefit: teacher can tailor feedback to respect individual differences

Low Degree of skill High

High Gradually reduced (faded)

Feedback


Bandwidth Feedback

Benefits:1. Eventually faded feedback occurs2. Lack of feedback = positive reinforcement3. Movement consistency develops because learner is

not encouraged to change movement on each trial

Range of correctness

Feedback provided

No feedback provided


Summary Feedback

Benefits:1. Generates movement consistency

2. Avoids overloading the learner

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Trial 6 Trial 7 Trial 8 Trial 9

Feedback Feedback Feedback


When in the Learning Process is Information Feedback Needed Most?

Cognitive Associative Autonomous stage stage stageFeedback

is vitalFaded,

bandwidth, or summary

feedback

Feedback withdrawal


How Much Feedback is Necessary?

Novel tasks– Processing capacity can be easily

overloaded– Intense but selective instruction– One important piece of information

feedback at a time


How Precise Should Feedback Be?

Descriptive (general) feedback– Indicates something you did, right or wrong– e.g., there was no follow through

Prescriptive (precise) feedback– Provides you with precise correction statements

about how to improve your movements– e.g., snap your wrist more on the follow through

Precise feedback generates far better resultsPrecise feedback generates far better results


Per

form

ance

Blocks of Learning Trials

Precise Feedback

General Encouragement

High

Low

Early Late


What is the Best Timing for Information Feedback?

Short-term memory is very

susceptible to loss Generally, the greater the delay of

information provision the less effect the given information has

Therefore, immediate feedback is more beneficial


Transfer of Motor Learning


Transfer of learning between two tasks generally increases as the similarity between them increases

Types of Transfer:Positive vs. negative

Near vs. far


Positive Transfer

e.g., Practicing drills and lead-up games with strong (positive) transfer to the actual game

Learning can be positively transferred from practice to game situation when drills are similar in nature to the criterion task


Negative Transfer

Not common

Activities that may negatively transfer to the criterion task need to be avoided when performance is critical

e.g., playing mini-golf before golf tournament


Factors Affecting Transfer

Positive Transfer Example

Negative Transfer Example

Movement Response/Patterns

e.g., tennis & badminton

RacquetsNetSimilar shot variations

Ball vs. birdie

Psychomotor Demands

e.g., rowing, kayaking, & canoeing

WaterDynamic balanceCoordination

Boat size and level of balance

Cognitive Demands

e.g., basketball & handball

Game purpose Travel on the court

Biomotor Demands

e.g., sprint & long jump

Explosive power No take off and jump in sprinting

Psychological Demands Narrow focus of attention in archery and darts

Shifting attention in hockey vs. judo and karate


Near Transfer

Desired when the learning goal is a task that is relatively similar to the training task

Transfer of learning is specific and closely approximates the ultimate situation

e.g., practicing various plays before a volleyball tournament


Far Transfer

Desired when interested in developing more general capabilities for a variety of skills

Occurs from one task to another very different task

Best applies when beginning to learn a skill e.g.,

overhand throw baseball throw, football throw, tennis serve, volleyball

spike…


Transfer Strategies

Training machines and stimulators Whole vs. part practice Lead-up activities and drills Mental rehearsal


Training Machines and Simulators Closely mimic features of real-world task

Goal = positive transfer of learning from simulator to the target skill

Effectiveness depends on the ability to simulate motor as well as perceptual, conceptual, and biomotor elements


Whole vs. part practice

Part practice– Practicing independent

components of motor skill– Eventually, units of a task should

transfer to the task as a whole– e.g., gymnastics routine

Whole practice– Practicing skill as a whole– e.g., golf swing


Part Practice

Effective for tasks serial in nature and relatively long duration

Effective as long as the actions of one part do not interact strongly with the actions of the next part (i.e., independent)


Whole Practice

Used with discrete tasks of short duration where components interact intensely

Practicing individual components would change the essence of the skill


Progressive Part Practice

Used to avoid transfer problems due to high levels of interaction among task components

Effective for any sequential action; e.g., tennis serve


Lead-up Activities and Drills

1. Transfer to another target sporting activity– e.g., passing, shooting, dribbling, and faking

drills for soccer

2. Improvement of basic abilities– Quickening, balancing, perceptual exercises,

etc.– e.g., perceptual motor training


Mental Rehearsal The process associated with mentally

rehearsing the performance of a skill in the absence of any overt physical movement

Evidence has demonstrated that mental rehearsal generates positively transferable motor learning

Involves constructing model situations and going through the motions of what you will do later

Especially beneficial for injured athletes It is a supplementsupplement to physical practice


Designing Effective Practice Conditions of Practice:

a) Blocked Practice - a given task is practiced on many consecutive trials before setting

about the next task - enables the learners to correct specific problems and refine their skills

one at a time

- important early in practice when correct habits should be learned

b) Random Practice - ordering of tasks is randomized in a way that tasks from different

classes are mixed throughout the practice period

- random practice is very effective once a skill has become more developed


Massed Versus Distributed Practice

a)Massed Practice -a schedule in which the amount of rest between practice trials is short

relative to the trial length

-eg. 5 sec of rest for a practice trial lasting 60 secs.

b)Distributed Practice -practice that allows for more rest between trials relative to the trial length

-the rest period may last as long as the trial itself

Reducing the amount of rest between trials will also reduce the amount of

time the body and central nervous system have to recover from physical

and mental fatigue

There is no single optimal practice-rest ratio for all learning tasks


Grouping for Practice

Designed to make learning suitable for everyone involved

Should be based on the learners’ skill levels, rather than a subjective determination of their underlying abilities

Other factors, such as maturity level, previous experience, and level of physical fitness need to be considered


Effects of Motivation on Learning Until the learner has been motivated, effective learning is

not likely to occur An instructor plays an important role in motivating his

students (encouraging learners to set goals, providing excellent demonstrations, or using visual aids)

It’s a Fact !: She who is motivated makes more of an effort during practice, can practice for longer periods of time, and learns more in the end

The Law of Effect: Organisms tend to repeat responses that are rewarded and to avoid responses that are not rewarded or punished

sport books publisher1 motor skills: learning and acquisition processes chapter 18

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