EDU 2462

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EDU 2462 Biophysical Foundations of Human
Movement 1
Lecture 4 MOTOR DEVELOPMENT SKILL ACQUISITION
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(No Transcript)
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Learning is

• The learning process is the change in
  personality which constitutes a new insight, or
  sense of values or ability. - H.C. Morrison
• Learning is the process of changing behaviour
  through experienceThe chief criterion of
  learning is change in behaviour. Learning, as
  the acquisition of new patterns of behaviour, is
  the result of experience. As the organism tries
  to meet its needs by the process of adjustment,
  it reacts to its environment. This reaction
  between organism and environment is called
  experience.
• Cowell, CC France,WL (1963) Philosophy and
  Principles of Physical Education

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Instruction is

• Instruction is the stimulation,
• direction and guidance of pupils by
• so organising their environment and
• experiences that the most effective
• learning results. Cowell, CC France,WL (1963)
  
• Philosophy and Principles of Physical Education
• HOWEVER
• Learning is not directly observable and can only
  be
• inferred from a persons behaviour or
  performance.
• Performance is observable
• Learning must be inferred on the basis of
• performance measures.

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PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

• Measured in 3 categories
• TIME
• completion time (eg. run 1500m 50 sit-ups)
• reaction time (how long for a goalkeeper to move
  once penalty kick taken)
• ERROR
• - number of errors (eg. How many missed serves?)
• amount of error (eg. How far off target?)
• number of successful attempts (eg. How many
  pitches in strike zone?)
• MAGNITUDE
• height (high jump)
• distance (javelin)
• weight (weight lifting)
• number of responses (How many rebounds?)

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Practice and Performance

• While practice may not lead to perfect
  performance, it can result in performance
  improvements that are on-going over a long time.

How then should we organise practice? What are
our options?
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Structuring Practice

• Massed Practice
• Those practice sessions in which the amount of
  practice time in a trial is greater than the
  amount of rest between trials (eg. cramming for
  an exam 50 continuous lay-ups)
• Distributed Practice
• Those practice sessions in which the amount of
  rest between trials equals or exceeds the amount
  of time in a trial, leading to a somewhat more
  "restful" practice sequence (eg.5 lay-ups then
  discuss technique, then 5 more etc.)

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Massed vs Distributed Practice

• Not clear which type of practice structure is
  best in terms of improving overall performance ?
  depends on the skill
• However
• In the early stages of skill acquisition,
  research suggests that distributed practice is
  superior to massed.
• Massed practice can lead to performance
  deterioration due to fatigue and its associated
  lack of cognitive attention to feedback
• Might be prudent to avoid overloading
• students and look at providing practice
• that allows appropriate recovery and
• feedback opportunities.

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Variability of Practice
However, development of skill adaptability should
not venture outside the activity itself (eg.
Practising badminton to develop a cricket skill).

• Open skills (changing or unpredictable
  environment), in particular, demand varied
  practice activities to develop a capacity to
  adapt skill performance to changing situations.
• However
• Less open skills can also benefit from varied
  practice to account for circumstances within the
  activity
• (eg. Practising golf swing into the wind,
  drawing, fading
• to prepare for performing for a variety of
  conditions and
• situations which may arise)

Beware, too, of drills that dont replicate
movement patterns that will occur in competitive
situations these may not necessarily lead to
improved skill performance! (eg. A rugby drill
involving forward passing)
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• Variability of practice is closely associated
  with Schmidts schema theory (1976).
• Schema
• a rule or set of rules that serves to provide the
  basis for a decision.
• developed by abstracting important pieces of
  information from related experiences and
  combining them ?a rule is formed.
• To learn movements, we abstract 4 pieces of info
  from
• each movement experience and store them
• Initial conditions (body position eg. start
  position, weather)
• Parameters (specific demands of carrying out the
  movement eg. speed, force, direction of movement)
• Sensory consequences (how does/did movement
  feel?)
• Movement Outcome (end result vs intended result)
• Information from these 4 sources are combined and
  stored
• together to form a general blueprint of the
  movement.
• Schemata are constantly updated with practice.

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• These four sources of information are stored only
  long enough that the performer can abstract some
  relationships among them. 
• 2 such relationships, or schemas, are thought to
  be formed
• Recall Schema
• Concerned with movement production
• Relates parameter and outcome information
• This relationship is stored and modified with
• practice.
• eg.
• A person throwing a ball alters the parameters
• (the force of the throw, the direction etc.) and
• notes the outcome.
• He/she learns the relationship between,
• for example, releasing the ball late and the
• distance covered by the throw.
• This relationship is best learned through
  practising
• throwing in a variety of situations to work out
• the optimal parameters for the desired outcome
• for each situation recognised.

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• The Recognition Schema
• concerned with response evaluation
• enables performer to compare actual sensory
  feedback (the outcome) with the expected sensory
  feedback
• then allows movement corrections to be made.

Early Learning
Late Learning
Force
Force


Force
Throwing distance
Throwing distance
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Changes with Practice

• Recall Schema
• Stronger relationship
• between movement
• parameters and outcomes
• Improved estimation of parameters
• Recognition Schema
• Stronger relationship
• between movement parameters
• and sensory consequences
• Improved references for
• corrections

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Whole or Part-Practice?

• Practising a skill may be done in segments or in
  the skills entirety
• Depends on the complexity and organisation of the
  skill
• Low complexity, high organisation skills (eg.
  shooting an arrow) lend themselves to whole
  practice
• High complexity, low organisation skills (eg.
  tennis serve) lend themselves to part practice

Closely related parts of a golf swing (eg. the
swing, contact and follow-through) should be
practised as a whole while more independent
components (eg. the stance and grip) can be
part-practised
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Whole or Part-Practice? (contd)

• Whole practice may help students improve their
  rhythm and timing of the skill.
• Part practice allows them to focus on each
  segment correctly before combining them .
• There are times when parts should be practised
  separately, times when parts should be combined
  and times when the skill should be done entirely.
• Professional judgement time!!

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Implications for Practitioners

• Maximal participation of students should be major
  consideration in the activities chosen
• Meaningful activities
• Avoid waiting in long lines of non-participating
  students
• Avoid activities that only allow a few turns or
  for students to be eliminated from the activity
• As individual goals are reached, additional
  practice opportunities should be provided before
  moving on to new skills
• Massed vs Distributed Practice
• Depends on student needs and teacher
• time allocation (eg. 30 mins, once a week)
• Beware of impact of fatigue in
• massed practices effectiveness!

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Implications for Practitioners

• Whole or Part Practice
• Components of skills that are highly related
  and/or have a rhythmic or flowing nature when
  started should be practiced as a whole skill (eg.
  golf swing, forward roll)
• Aspects of the skill such as grip, stance,
  backswing generally best taught discretely (eg.
  ball toss for tennis serve, addressing ball in
  golf)
• Variability of Practice
• Develop tasks that lead to creative responses
  through practising under changing conditions
  directly relevant to game play situations.

Dance may lend itself to a progressive
part method where Part A is
presented, then Part B and then both are combined
an practiced before Part C is added.
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Speed vs Accuracy

• Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off occurs when a movement
  
• must be executed quickly and precisely.
• Focus on speed ? accuracy suffers
• Focus on accuracy ? slows movement response
• Increased difficulty ? decreases speed.
• 3 Options when teaching novices
• Slow skill down to focus on form and accuracy of
  movement.
• Maintain speed of movement ? accuracy and
  form will develop later
• Emphasise speed and accuracy equally
• Generally, practice conditions should resemble
• performance conditions as much as possible.

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Implications for Practitioners

• By slowing the skill down, the nature of the task
  is changed.
• Striking movements should be taught as they are
  to be performed, with equal focus on speed and
  accuracy.
• Too early an insistence on accuracy will lead to
  the student decreasing the speed of the movement
  (eg. the lollipop tennis serve)
• For students having difficulties or for
  activities that are complex or dangerous, slow
  the skill down and concentrate on correcting form
  (eg. tackling, kayaking).

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Modeling and Demonstrations

• Based on the principles of observational learning
  (Bandura, Ross Ross,1961)
• Learn from witnessing anothers behaviour
• Various features of the model as well as the
  learners relationship with the model will affect
  the degree of learning
• learners may benefit/suffer from copying
  significant others
• Imitation works well in early stages of learning.
  Also useful to provide model at other times
  during task.
• Most effective model may be a peer model rather
  than the teacher (McCullagh,1987)
• Self-modeling (observing self using video,
  digital camera) has the benefits of increased
  self-awareness, self-efficacy and openness to
  feedback
• HOWEVER
• It can lead to increased focus on negative
  aspects of performance

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Further Reading

• http//psychclassics.yorku.ca/Bandura/bobo.htm
• - Banduras (1961) classic study re
  observational learning
• http//www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/s/m/sms18/kine
  s321/skill.html - Penn States psychology of
  skill acquisition page
• http//www.cao.org/eyecare/sports.htmSPORTS -
  nice website re the contribution of vision and
  perception to sports performance
• http//www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/vol31/kerr
  .htm - Kerr, R., Booth, B. (1978). Specific and
  varied practice of motor skill. Perceptual and
  Motor Skills, 46, 395-401.
• http//www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/coachsci/vol31/aber
  neth.htm - Abernethy, B. (1991). Acquisition of
  motor skills. In F. S. Pyke (Ed.), Better
  Coaching (pp. 69-98), Canberra, Australia
  Australian Coaching Council
• http//www.unicaen.fr/unicaen/sfps/pdf/congres2000
  -symp27.pdf - Modeling and Motor Skill
  Acquisition Penny McCullagh (2000)
• http//www.newswise.com/articles/2001/8/SKILL.PSY.
  html - article Practicing Different Skills in
  Concentrated Blocks Not Efficient Way to Learn -
  APA