Acquisition of Motor Skills Lecture 2: Classification of Motor Abilities and Motor Skills

EXSC 351: Acquisition of Motor Skills

Lecture Overview

  • Lecture 2: Classification of Motor Abilities and Motor Skills

  • Instructor: Troy Herter

  • Contact: therter@sc.edu

Learning Objectives

  1. Differentiate between various classifications of motor abilities.

  2. Differentiate between various classifications of motor skills.

Defining Abilities

  • Ability: Refers to the general capacity to learn and perform skills.

    • Key Points:

    • One can have ability without having the corresponding skill.

    • One cannot have skill without having underlying abilities.

  • Motor Learning: The process that transforms abilities into motor skills.

    • Dependent on experience (e.g., practice).

    • Mediated by neural adaptations (plasticity).

  • Individual variations in abilities:

    • Unique combinations of motor abilities lead to successful learning and performance of motor skills.

Classification of Abilities

  • Broad Categories:

    1. Physical Abilities:

    • Includes anatomical and physiological abilities such as strength and endurance.

    1. Psychomotor Abilities:

    • Refers to perceptual and cognitive skills, including decision making and dexterity.

    1. Psychological Abilities:

    • Involves behavioral and emotional aspects like motivation and confidence.

  • Related Concepts:

    • Power, speed, and strength: while they are related, they are not identical elements of motor abilities.

Role of Abilities in Talent Identification

  • Talent: Defined as the combination of motor abilities and skills that underlie performance.

  • Challenges in Talent Identification:

    • Difficult to measure psychomotor and psychological abilities directly.

    • Difficulty in identifying specific combinations of motor abilities and skills that lead to expert performance.

Importance of Classifying Motor Skills

  • Classifying motor skills allows:

    • Comparison of research across different motor skills.

    • Prediction of learning and performance capabilities.

    • Generalization of findings across skills with similar classifications.

Classifications of Movement Continuity

  1. Discrete Skills:

    • Involve a single, brief movement with a distinct start and finish.

    • Examples: Throwing, kicking, punching.

  2. Continuous Skills:

    • Characterized by repeated movements without a distinct start or end.

    • Examples: Cycling, swimming, running.

  3. Serial Skills:

    • Comprise multiple movements that can combine both discrete and continuous skills.

    • Examples: Gymnastics routines, typing.

  • Continuity refers to the quality of motion being smooth, uninterrupted, and continuous, without abrupt changes or jerking motions.

Classifications of Movement Precision

  1. Fine Skills:

    • Small movements utilizing small muscle groups and requiring high precision.

    • Examples: Sewing, threading a needle.

  2. Gross Skills:

    • Involve large movements, utilizing large muscle groups with low precision.

    • Examples: Running, jumping.

  • Fine and gross motor skills exist on a continuum, and many skills display both fine and gross components (e.g., pitching, throwing darts).

Classifications of Environmental Stability

  1. Closed Skills:

    • Self-initiated skills performed in stable, unchanging environments.

    • Examples: Golf putting (can be done any time when the pin is stationary).

  2. Open Skills:

    • Skills performed in response to changes in the environment, where external stimuli dictate action.

    • Examples: Baseball batting (reacting to the pitch).

Practice Progression and Skill Development

  • Practice Sequence:

    • Skills are often initially practiced in closed environments.

    • Progression to open environments as proficiency increases.

  • Example for Practice:

    • Starting with a tee-ball (closed) and progressing to baseball pitching (open).

Gentile's Taxonomy

  • Comprises three classification schemes:

    1. Environment: Open or closed.

    2. Body Movement: Stationary, quasi-mobile, or mobile.

    3. Object Interaction: With or without object manipulation.

  • Interaction: Achieving task goals while potentially avoiding contact with other objects or players.

Sample Classification Plan: Basketball Dribbling

  • Motor Skill Identification: Dribbling in basketball.

  • Classification Dimension:

    1. Environment: Open - due to player movements (offensive and defensive).

    2. Body Transport: Yes - player moves around the court.

    3. Object Manipulation: Yes - handling the basketball.

  • Simplification Ideas:

    • Create a closed skill scenario by practicing without defenders.

    • Use larger, more manageable balls to ease handling difficulties.

Application of Classifications

  • Skills can be evaluated based on the environment and interaction.

  • Questions for Self-Assessment:

    • Is the environment changing, or is the performer changing?