module 6- practice, feedback, skill measurement

Part practice

– Practicing independent components

– Eventually, units of a task should

transfer to the task as a whole

E.g.: gymnastics routine

whole practice

-practicing skills as a whole

ex: golf swing

whole versus part

Practicing a skill as a whole appears to help learners

get a feel for flow and timing

• Practicing parts emphasizes performing each part

correctly before putting the whole skill together

what do you need to consider with whole and part practicing

task complexity- number of parts in the task and the info processing demnands

task organization- how the components are interrelated

when is part practice effective

• 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

when is whole practice effective

Used with tasks of short

duration where components

interact intensely

• Practicing individual

components would change the

essence of the skil

what are the 3 parts to progressive part practice

1. complex skill broken down

2. gradual integration of parts into larger units

3. parts are chained together into whole action

when is progressive part practice used

Used to avoid transfer problems due to high levels

of interaction among task components

• Effective for any sequential action

(e.g., tennis serve

what is blocked practice

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

when is blocked practice used

Enables learners to correct specific problems and refine

skills one at a time

• Blocked practice is especially important for beginners when

correct habits need to be learned and established

what is random practice and when is it used?

The ordering of tasks is randomized during practice

• Very effective once a skill has become more developed

– But can just overload a beginner because of the high task demands

what is a warning with random practice

The effectiveness is

rarely evident if measured on the basis of

performance…

…but it benefits learning

what does practice variability do?

practice variability can lead to an increase in errors, but

usually enhances learning. Also, it’s effectiveness

depends on the type of skill:

– Closed skills vs. Open Skills

what is the first method for promoting transfer

provide contextual interference- practice several different skills during a practice session and promote strategies that are less dependent on skill or context: randomized

what is the second method for promoting transfer

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

ex :punting the football with and against the wind

what is the third method for promoting transfer

Reduce the frequency of feedback- Forces the learner to engage in active problem-solving

and rely more on his/her own internal feedback

• Reminder: The ability to detect and correct own errors is a

characteristic of the autonomous stage of learning

• Plus, sometimes in competition certain types of external

feedback won’t be there

give a review of closed skills

performed under constant, relatively unchanging

conditions (stable and predictable)

• the movement form itself is often the goal of the

skill

• Example: gymnastics routines

teaching strategies for closed skills

• Goal: stereotyped movements that consistently

produce desired response

• Strategy: structure learning environment so desired

response will occur

• Repetition - without allowing external influences to

affect the performance (e.g., noise)

• Use kinesthetic and proprioceptive feedback (muscle

feedback)

give a review of open skills

Environment is unpredictable, performers need

to constantly adjust and respond

• Responses cannot be made effectively far in

advance

• Demand the capacity to adapt, anticipate, and be

flexible in responses

teaching strategies for open skills

• The learning environment should mimic the

environment in which the skill will take place

• Learners should exercise variability and

adaptability and face a variety of scenarios

– I.e. enviro should be uncertain and unpredictable

• Learners strive to identify patterns that provide

information about the movement of objects and

players

what is the open skill learning progression along the open-closed continuum

• Start learning by making the skill more closed

(e.g., one pitch speed)

• Once a certain level of proficiency has been

achieved, make the skill more open (e.g., live

pitch)

• Remove a component of uncertainty of the skill to

simplify its overall execution

how practice variability of open skills

Each response is somewhat novel and requires movement

patterns that can be used in a variety of situations

– Vary the regulatory conditions

» E.g., patterns of receivers; size of defenders

– Vary the non-regulatory conditions

» E.g., crowd noise; score; fatigue; wait time

how to practice variability of a closed skill

Practice conditions should be similar to those that will

prevail under competition conditions

– Hold the regulatory conditions relatively constant

» E.g., size of hoop for a free throw; height of bar in gymnastics

– Vary the non-regulatory conditions

» E.g., crowd noise; score; fatigue; wait time

information feedback

“the information that occurs as a result of a movement

what are some key things to know about feeback

• Feedback is one of the strongest factors

that controls the effectiveness of learning

• Remember that feedback is a key process in

our information processing model

intrinsic feedback

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

give an example of knowledge of performance and knowledge of results in intrinsic motivation

knowledge of performance- arm extension when hitting the tennis ball

knowledge of results- watching the tennis ball land in the opponents court

explain extrinsic feedback

information that is provided to the learner by

somebody else (an outside source) following a

performance outcome

• information above and beyond what is naturally

available to the learner

• Can be controlled; when, how, how often…

• Also known as AUGMENTED feedback

knowledge of results and knowledge of performance in extrinsic feedback

– Knowledge of results (KR)

• Information about the outcome

– Not effective when outcome is obvious

– Important when outcome is less obvious

– Knowledge of performance (KP)

• Information about the production or execution of the

movement pattern

– E.g. “Took your eye off the ball,”

“Swing was a little late,” etc.

what is the purpose of augmented feedback

1. Provides information for error identification

and correction

• Directs attention to the most important information

2. Acts as a form of reinforcement

• Strengthens correct responses

3. Serves to motivate the learner

• Provides information about progress

what are 3 things to keep in mind when using augmented feedback

1. Precision of feedback

2. Content of feedback

3. Forms of feedback

precision of feedback in augmented feeback

feedback can be either too precise or too general

content of feedback in augmented feedback

(a) Feedback can contain information about errors and/or

correct performance

(b) Feedback can be qualitative or quantitative

forms of feedback in augmented feedback

1) Verbal

(a) Prescriptive - identifies the error and tells the learner

what to do to correct it

(b) Descriptive - describes the error made

(2) Kinematic and kinetic

(a) kinematic - (velocity/acceleration)

(b) kinetic - (force production) visual displays

(3) Video

(4) Augmented sensory feedback

(e.g., biofeedback/ heart rate)

what can feedback turn into

• Early in learning feedback can be quite helpful

• Later, occasional feedback also tends to enhance

learning

• Providing feedback continuously over a long

period of time can lead to a dependency on that

feedback

what types of feedback minimize dependency

faded and bandwidth feedback

what is the benefit of faded feedback

the coach can tailor feedback to respect individual differences

what are the benefits of bandwidth feedback

– Eventually faded feedback occurs

– Lack of corrective feedback = negative reinforcement

– Movement consistency develops because the learner is not

encouraged to change movement on each trial

what are the benefits of summary feedback

– Generates movement consistency

– Avoids overloading the learner

what learning stage is feedback most vital in

the cognitive stage

what learning stage is faded, bandwidth, or summary feedback needed most

the associative stage

what learning stage can feedback be withdrawn in

the autonomous stage

how much feedback is necessary in new 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

– Example: “There was no follow through”

• Prescriptive (precise) feedback

– Provides you with precise correction statements about

how to improve your movements

– Example: “Snap your wrist more on the follow

through”

does descriptive or prescriptive feedback generate better results

prescriptive

what is the best timing for information feedback

• Immediate feedback is best!

– short-term memory is very susceptible to loss

– the greater the delay of info, the less effective