Motor Learning: Skill Acquisition Processed

focuses on the processes that underlie the production of movement in health and disease

focuses on how skilled movements are acquired, including the optimal conditions for learning new motor skills

Motor learning is a set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent changes in the capability for movement A change in the capability for movement rather than in movement itself

estimating what was retained from a previous test The processes that underlie learning are associated with practice or experience Motor learning does not always require physical practice or experience

The Law of Practice Maximizing the number of practice trials More practice leads to more learning

Starting at young age Learning time Instructor Equipment Progression

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

Without physical experience, skills cannot be effectively learned and maintained Sufficient time must be allotted for participating in PA's that enhance movement skills

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

Safe, appropriate, and well maintained Example: 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

Teaching skills in an organized manner that makes skills easier to grasp and learn-simpler task --> complex task

Cognitive, associative, autonomous

Changes that occur as motor learning takes place Important features unique to each 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

Focused on performing and refining the skill Concentration is directed toward smaller details (e.g., timing) Performance: controlled and consistent Rapid performance improvements (somewhat slower than fist stage) Diminished self-talk

Performance: automatic and very proficient Attention demands: skill execution, creativity, strategy, environmental stimuli Performance improvements: Slow Less obvious (e.g., reduced mental effort, improved style, reduced anxiety)

"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

Information that is provided as a natural consequence of performing an action

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..

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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.

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

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

Benefit: teacher can tailor feedback to respect individual differences

Benefits: Eventually faded feedback occurs Lack of feedback = positive reinforcement Movement consistency develops because learner is not encouraged to change movement on each trial

Benefits: Generates movement consistency Avoids overloading the learner

Processing capacity can be easily overloaded Intense but selective instruction One important piece of information feedback at a time

Indicates something you did, right or wrong Example: "There was no follow through"

Provides you with precise correction statements about how to improve your movements Example: "Snap your wrist more on the follow through"

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

Positive versus negative Near versus far

Example: 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

Not common Activities that may negatively transfer to the criterion task need to be avoided when performance is critical Example: playing mini-golf before golf tournament

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 Example: practicing various plays before a volleyball tournament

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 Example: overhand throw baseball throw, football throw, tennis serve, volleyball spike...

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

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

Part practice Practicing independent components of motor skill Eventually, units of a task should transfer to the task as a whole Example: gymnastics routine Whole practice Practicing skill as a whole Example: golf swing

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)

Used with discrete tasks of short duration where components interact intensely Practicing individual components would change the essence of the skill

Transfer to another target sporting activity Example: passing, shooting, dribbling, and faking drills for soccer Improvement of basic abilities Quickening, balancing, perceptual exercises, etc. Example: perceptual motor training

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 supplement to physical practice

Massed vs.

Distributed Practice Variable vs. Constant Practice Blocked vs. Random Practice

How much time should be spent in practice vs.

rest during a practice session How should practice sessions be distributed throughout the day Retention

Variable Practicing the same skill under varying conditions Constant Practicing the same skill under constant conditions

Blocked Practicing one skill until you become proficient Random Practicing many skills at one time