122 Kinesiology Final - Motor Learning

Motor skills

Activities in which there is a goal to achieve and are performed voluntarily, require body and/or limb movement, and need to be learned.

Motor control

The neural, physical, and behavioural aspects of movement.

Motor performance

The act of executing a motor skill that results in a temporary, non-permanent change.

Motor learning

How people acquire motor skills in a way that results in a relatively permanent change in someone’s ability to execute those motor skills.

Motor development

Age-related changes that occur over a lifetime.

Key to any successful motor performance

Our ability to process information in the environment.

Recognize and utilize external factors.

Information processing model

• input

• environmental information, sensory system

• perceptual system, differenciating information

• interchange between processor and memory, determine how to react to the situation and recognize elements and usage.

• response organization, the actual reaction

• effectors, result of the response

• feedback goes back to the sensory system

Performance

Observable behaviour.

Learning

Must be inferred from behaviour, we cannot observe learning directly.

Other factors that effect performance

• reflexes

• maturation

• luck

• strong teammates

• motivation

• incentives

Indications that learning has occurred

• change over time - need for observation

• more consistent performance - the same movement patterns are performed consistently

• change is relatively permanent

3 stages of learning

• cognitive stage

• associative stage

• autonomous stage

Cognitive stage of learning

• a large number of errors occur

• gross errors (large, catastrophic)

• high variable performance (new strategies are attempted)

• high cognitive involvement (information processing demands are very high)

Associative stage of learning

• fewer errors

• ability to detect own errors and detect the reason for the error

• basic fundamentals have been learned

• decreased variability, even the types of errors made are more consistent

• cognitive shift to higher order components, especially during open skills

Autonomous stage of learning

• skill becomes automatic, little to no cognitive involvement is needed to produce the skill

• little error, the errors that are made are usually decisional rather than technical

• there is also a well established internal standard of performance that allows for the detection and correction of errors

Transfer of learning

The influence of having previously practiced a skill on the learning of a new skill.

The mechanical process is the same.

3 types of transfer of learning

• positive transfer

• negative transfer

• zero transfer

Positive transfer of learning

When the experience with a previous skill facilitates the learning of a new skill.

More likely when:

• the components of the skills are similar (similar environment)

• there are similarities between the learning processes required (similar to the individual)

Negative transfer of learning

When the experience with a previous skill interferes with the learning of a new skill.

More likely when:

• there are changes in spatial location required

• there are changes in timing required

Zero transfer of learning

When the experience with a previous skill has no effect, or little effect, on the learning of a new skill.

3 instructional methods for promoting learning transfer

• provide contextual interference - promotes the development of cognitive strategies that are less dependent on skill or context (practice several different skills during a practice)

• vary the type of practice - practice many variations of one skill in a variety of contexts

• reduce the frequency of feedback - forces the learner to engage in active problem-solving and rely more on their own internal feedback (in competition, certain types of external feedback won’t be there)

Practicing as a whole

Help learners get a feel for the flow and timing.

Done when a skill is low in complexity but high in organization.

Practicing in parts

Emphasizes performing each part correctly before putting the whole skill together.

Done when a skill is high in complexity but low in organization.

Things to consider when practicing

• task complexity - the number of parts in the task and the information processing demands

• task organization - how the components are interrelated

Blocked practice

The task is practiced on many consecutive trials before the next task.

Enables learners to correct specific problems and refine skills one at a time.

Especially important for beginners when correct habits need to be learned and established.

Random practice

The ordering of tasks is randomized during practice.

Effective once a skill has become more developed.

Practice variability

Can lead to an increase in errors, but usually enhances learning.

Depends on the skill.

• closed skills - practice conditions should be similar to those that will prevail under competition conditions, hold the regulatory conditions, vary the non-regulatory conditions.

• open skills - requires movement patterns that can be used in a variety of situations, vary the regulatory conditions, vary the non-regulatory conditions.

Augmented feedback

Information about performance that comes from an outside source.

Knowledge of results

Information about the outcome.

Knowledge of performance

Information about the production of the movement pattern.

Purpose of augmented feedback

• provide information for error identification and correction - direct attention to most important information

• acts as a form of reinforcement - strengthen correct responses

• serves to motivate the learner - provides information about progress

Things to consider when using augmented feedback

• precision of feedback - feedback can either be too precise or too general

• content of feedback - feedback can contain information about errors and/or correct performance, can be quantitative or qualitative

• forms of feedback

Forms of feedback

• verbal

• kinematic and kinetic visual displays

• video

• augmented sensory feedback

Prescriptive verbal feedback

Identifies the error and tells the learner what to do to correct it.

Descriptive verbal feedback

Describes the error made.

3 types of feedback that minimize dependency

• faded feedback

• bandwidth feedback

• summary feedback

Faded feedback

Gradually withdrawing feedback as the degree of skill increases.

Benefit - the coach can tailor feedback to respect individual difference.

Bandwidth feedback

There is a range of correctness, if within range then no feedback will be given, if outside the range then feedback is provided.

Benefits - eventually faded feedback occurs, lack of feedback = positive reinforcement, movement consistency develops because the learner is not encouraged to change movement with each trial.

Summary feedback

Periodic feedback.

Benefits - generates movement consistency, avoids overloading the learner.