14. Skill Acquisition Flashcards
What is skill acquisition?
Process of learning, developing & retaining new skills or improving existing ones through practise, experience & training
- Involves gradual progressich
- influenced by factors such as practise, methods, feedback, motivation, ability & environmental conditions
Why is skill acquisition important?
- Design effective training programmes
- insight into skill adaptations & applications
Skill definition
Learned ability to bring about predetermined results with maximum certainty & efficiency, often with minimal effort or energy
Characteristics of a skilled performance
- Learned
- permanent changes
- accurate & controlled
- fluent / smooth
- Aesthetic
- efficient & economical (minimal effort)
- Consistent
- goal directed
Ability definition
Innate, genetically determined traits that form the foundation for the development of skills & performance
Ability examples
-Balance
- coordination
- strength
-Flexibility
- muscular power & endurance
Gross motor ability definition
Physical capacity to perform movements that involve large muscle groups
Gross motor AbiIity key characteristics
- Large muscle groups
-Whole body movements - strength, power, balance, coordination
Gross motor ability examples
Running
Jumping
Swimming
Cycling
Olympic lifting
Psychomotor ability definition
Capacity to integrate cognitive function with physical ability enabling individuals to carry out precise movement
Psychomotor ability key characteristics
Reaction & response time
Accuracy
Muscle memory
Decision making
Anticipation
Coordination
Psychomotor ability examples
Hitting a ball - cricket
Serve - tennis
Passing ball - football
Routine - gymnastics
Skill classification assists coach in planning training by:
Targeted practise
Progression design
Performance measurements
Motivation & confidence
Environmental continuum
Describe whether skill is influenced by environment
Open (unpredictable, changing environment) - passing in football
Closed (predictable, stable environment) - gymnastics vault
Pacing/control continuum
Describes who control timing/pace of skill
Self paced (athlete chooses when to start, how fast) - golf swing, penalty kick
Externally paced ( timing & pace dictated by external factors - opposition, environment) - receiving badminton shot
Muscle involvement continuum
Refers to the size and type of muscle used
Fine (small muscle groups for precise movement) - darts throw, archery
Gross ( large muscle groups, whole body movements) - running, football shot
Continuity continuum
Describes whether a skill has a clear beginning or end
Discrete (clear beginning & end) - tennis serve, boxing punch
Serial (sequence of discrete skills) - triple jump, gymnastics routine
Continuous (no clear beginning or end) - running, cycling
Organisation continuum
How easily a skill can be broken into subroutines
Low organisation (easily broken down into subroutines) - triple jump
High organisation (difficult to separate into subroutines) - cartwheel, golf swing
Difficulty continuum
How complex a skill is
Simple (little concentration & decision making) - running, underarm throw
Complex (high concentration, coordination& decision making) - gymnastics vault, dribbling past defenders
Learning definition
Permanent change in behaviour that is reflected in change of performance
Performance definition
Demonstration of the solving of a problem or task t a given moment (a temporary phenomenon)
Link between learning and performance
As learning takes place, we usually see a gradual improvement in performance
Three stages of learning
Cognitive → associative → autonomous
Cognitive stage
(Beginner)
- inconsistent, high levels or error
- relies on guidance & demonstrations
- slow, deliberate, uncoordinated movement
- reliance on extrinsic feedback
- limited attention capacity - brief instructions needed
- no kinaesthetic feedback
- lacks confidence - need positive reinforcement
Associative stage
(Intermediate)
- performance more consistent
- more accurate
- fewer mistakes, can recognise and correct
- motor skills smoother & more coordinated
- more intrinsic & kinaesthetic feedback
- refines timing, technique & decision making
Autonomous stage
(Expert)
- skills performed automatically & fluently
- highly consistent, efficient & adaptable
- intrinsic & kinaesthetic feedback dominates
- less conscious effort needed
- errors are rare, quick corrections
- have spare attention capacity
Types of learning curves
Linear
Negatively accelerated
Positively accelerated
Sigmoid
Linear learning curve
Rate of improvement is directly proportional to time practising
There is constant improvement
Occurs when is skill is simple or the performer is highly motivated
Positive acceleration learning curve
Slow progress followed by rapid improvement
When a skill is complex at the start but once understood speeds up
Negative acceleration learning curve
Rapid progress early on but then plateaus as learning slows
Common when learning a skill that is easy to grasp but difficult to perfect
Sigmoid learning curve
Combination of slow initial learning followed by rapid improvement then a plateau
Struggle at first, make a breakthrough, level off
Factors that could cause a plateau
Not skilful enough to progress
Too much information
Feedback/coaching not detailed enough for progress
Lack of motivation
Fatigue of performer
Strategies to improve plateau
Rewards - both intrinsic and extrinsic
Smaller chunks of information and subroutines
Appropriate practise
Effective feedback
Effective and planned recovery
Observational learning
How we learn from me environment & those around us (nurture)
Modelling acronym
Demonstration
Attention
Retention
Motor reproduction
Motivation
Matching performance
Demonstration
Skilled performer/coach (model) demonstrates skill
Should be accurate, clear, relevant to learner’s ability
Attention
Demonstration must be seen and heard, precise, focus on specific teaching points & cues, avoid information overload
Retention
Must be able to retain info in memory and recall it
Importance of practise and mental rehearsal
Motor reproduction
Allow time for physical practise of the skill, graduated approach to allow success, have ability to do the task
Motivation
Without motivation the learner won’t pay attention, remember or practise the skills
Importance of feedback and reinforcement
Matching performance
Able to successfully copy demonstration and be ready to progress
Transfer of learning
The effect that learning one task has in the learning of another
Examines how prior experiences affect the acquisition of new skills or the performance of tasks
6 types of transfer of learning
Positive
Negative
Zero
Bilateral
Proactive
Retroactive
Positive transfer of learning
When previous learning helps with new learning
Eg. Netball player with good hand eye coordination finds it easier to learn basketball passing techniques
Negative transfer of learning
When previous learning hinders new learning
Eg. Badminton player may struggle when learning tennis due to differences in wrist movements
Zero transfer of learning
When previous learning has no impact on new learning
Learning how to swim has no effect in learning how to ride a bike
Bilateral transfer of learning
When skills learned on one side of the body transfer to the other side
Eg. A footballer who can kick well with their right foot learns to kick with their left foot easier
Proactive transfer of learning
When old learning affects the learning of a new skill
Eg. A gymnasts experience with balance skills helps them to learn a new routine on the beam
Retroactive transfer of learning
When learning a new skill influences previous learning
Eg. A sprinter who improves their technique may find their previous form feels unnatural
guidance definition
any information we give to learners to help them develop skills
what is guidance affected by?
- stage of learning of individual
- nature of activity
- individual preferences
- individual’s personality, motivation, age & ability
- learning environments
what are the 4 types of guidance?
verbal
visual
manual
mechanical
visual guidance
physically showing how to execute a skill
visual guidance examples
demonstrations
videos
pictures
diagrams
advantages of visual guidance
- breaks down skill
- see correct technique
- beginners who need to see a model to copy
- teach large groups
- provides visual aids/targets
- aids observational learning
- aids verbal guidance
- build a mental image
- time effective
disadvantages of visual guidance
- if demo is incorrect, may copy bad technique
- complex skills may be hard to demonstrate effectively
- struggle to process visual info
- demotivating if too complex
- demo needs to be done by someone of similar standard
- become reliant on demo
- can’t deliver during performance
stage of learning suited to visual guidance
cognitive - allows learner to build a mental image & understanding of what the skill should look like
verbal guidance
spoken instructions or feedback given
verbal guidance examples
prompts, cues, explanations
advantages of verbal guidance
- can use alongside other methods
- given quickly & during performance
- provide key tips & motivation
- vital for marginal gains
disadvantages of verbal guidance
- beginners may struggle to understand
- too much info can be confusing
- unclear instructions can lead to incorrect technique
- lose focus if too lengthy
- beginners won’t know terminology
- coach needs experience
stage of learning suited to verbal guidance
cognitive - if more concise, doesn’t cause overload
associative - already have mental image so can correct
autonomous - more explained, greater attention capacity
manual guidance
physical support or assistance to guide through skill
manual guidance examples
supporting gymnast in somersault
guide player through tennis serve
advantages of manual guidance
- feel correct movement pattern to build kinaesthetics
- build confidence
- useful to learn correct technique
- reduce risk of injury
disadvantages of manual guidance
- may become overdependent
- may feel intrusive or uncomfortable
- limit development of independent execution
- only do for performer at a time
- restricts movement
stage of learning suited to manual guidence
cognitive - learn movement patten with correct technique
mechanical guidance
use of equipment or aids to support movement
mechanical guidance examples
harness on trampoline
floats in swimming
advantages of mechanical guidance
- increases safety
- helps gain confidence
- used for repetitive practise without fall risk
- help maintain correct posture & movement
disadvantages of mechanical guidance
- may become too reliant
- doesn’t fully replicate real conditions
- equipment may be expensive
- restricts movement
stage of learning suited to mechanical guidance
cognitive - learn movement pattern
autonomous - develop complex skills
What factors affect the type of practise used?
- stage of learning
- personality & motivation
- classification of skill
- facilities, equipment & time available
- size & structure of group
Mental rehearsal definition
Athlete visualises themself successfully performing a skill with no actual physical movement involved
Benefits mental rehearsal
Cognitive - think about strategies & tactics can help learner make correct decision (anticipation)
Neuromuscular- mental practise causes muscular neurones to fire as if the muscle is actually active
Confidence - improve as the performer concentrates on successful & correct performance
