C3 Skill Acquisition Flashcards
motor skills
a complex, controlled muscle movement that is learnt and practiced to complete a pre-determined task
subroutines
the components that make up a motor skill
motor program
the whole plan of a motor skill, including all subroutines
When is a skilled movement performed?
when all subroutines are performed effectively, with correct sequencing and timing
Describe the 2 types of movement classification for motor skills.
FINE
- small muscle groups used
- greater precision in movements
- eg. darts, archery
GROSS
- whole body, large muscle groups
- less precision
- eg. soccer, high jump
Describe the 3 other types of motor skill classification
DISCRETE
- have a distinct beginning + end
- brief duration
- eg. javelin, tennis serve, free kick
CONTINUOUS
- no distinct begin/end
- rhythmic, flowing movements
- eg. running, swimming, rowing
SERIAL
- a number of discrete skills in a sequence
- form a more complicated action
- eg. gymnastics routine, triple jump
Describe the 2 types of environmental predictability for motor skills.
OPEN
- variable + unpredictable environment
- externally paced (outside factors)
- requires adaptation of skills
- eg. battling in cricket, soccer, hockey, sailing
- more difficult to learn
- more decisions to be made
CLOSED
- stable + predictable environment
- internally paced (self-timed)
- replication of skill
- eg. hitting ball off a tee, golf driving range
- better for teaching skills
- less decisions to be made
Describe the teaching continuum between closed and open skills.
- skills should be taught on a continuum moving from closed to open
- eg. on cones passing, follow pass, add defender, 3v3 passing, match game
STAGES OF LEARNING
1. Cognitive phase
- developing initial understanding of how to do a skill
Characteristics
- trial + error
- very inconsistent, little success
- lots of self talk
- high attentional demand
- poor timing/sequencing of movements
- frustration
Coaching strategies
- repetitive demonstration
- clear instruction
- don’t overload info
- slow step-by-step
- give feedback
STAGES OF LEARNING
2. Associative phase
- practice of the skill, familiar w sequence + timing
- length of this stage based on: motivation, complexity, coaching ability
- most never progress past this stage
Characteristics
- self-recognition of error
- refiine accuracy, consistency + efficiency
- less self-talk
- develop correct timing
- smoother + quicker movements
Coaching strategies
- more specific + technical feedback
- increase difficulty - more open-style practice
STAGES OF LEARNING
3. Autonomous phase
- skill becomes automatic, little attention needed to perform correctly
Characteristics
- high speed + efficiency
- multitasking
- repeatable, consistent success
- identify + correct own error
- selectively attend to relevant cues
5 factors affecting skill acquisition
AGE/MATURITY
- children have < capacity to process info, and lower motor control
- people mature at diff rates
- performance usually peaks at a specific age (over 30)
GENDER
- differences in physiology
- men advantaged in strength/power
- women greater ability to utilise fats, increasing endurance
HEREDITARY
- body type/muscle fibre composition is based on genetics
MOTIVATION
- impacts persistence + effort
QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION
- professional teaching is better presented + taken in
PRACTICE TYPES
- massed vs distributed
MASSED
- repetitive, continuous practice w/o breaks until skill is learned
- more suited to highly skilled + motivated athletes
- eg. kicking 50 penalties in a row
DISTRIBUTED
- short, frequent practice sessions
- w regular breaks, in which feedback can be received/practice something else
- generally deemed more effective
- especially when learned is inexperienced, lack of motivation, skill is complex
PRACTICE TYPES
- whole vs part
WHOLE
- learning entire skill, whole process
- good for skills that are highly complex + difficult to break down
PART
- teaching a skill in its subroutines
- progressive - builds up to make whole
- good when skill has clearly defined components
PRACTICE TYPES
- fixed vs varied
FIXED
- same skill practiced repetitively in same enviro conditions
- good for closed skills
VARIED
- differing enviro conditions
- good for open skills
- develops schema
PRACTICE TYPES
- drill vs problem solving
DRILL
- traditional approach - learning through repetition
- controlled practice for closed skills
- eg. netball shots from set points
PROBLEM SOLVING
- learning through discovery
- application of a skill set to suit a situation
- teaches creativity + game intelligence
- eg. netball game with moving defence line requiring adaptation from attackers
schema
- schema is the ability to apply a skill to a range of different situations.
- every time a movement is conducted, information is gathered + applied to future performance of the skill
- therefore, it is developed by practicing in quantity + large number of different enviro conditions
- VERY important for open skills where conditions are changing + unpredictable
- eg. playing on turf, muddy pitch, good quality grass = schema is developed to play in all conditions
INFORMATION PROCESSING
1. Sensory Input
cues obtained using the senses:
- vision
- hearing
- proprioreception (kinaesthetic sense that gives awareness of muscular movement, through muscles, tendons, ligaments, skin)
- equilibrium (the positioning + balance of the body, important to maintain control - eg. gymnastics, diving, dancing)
- touch
- smell
cues
pieces of information obtained from the environment
noise
- irrelevant info from enviro
- eg. crowd noise, opposition taunts
orienting
- the ability to direct attention to the correct part of the environment to detect cues
- eg. opponent body position, referee whistle, ball movement
selective attention
- a performer’s ability to block out irrevelvant cues (noise) and respond only to the relevant
- cuts down length of info processing time, making for quicker reactions/decision making
- caused by correct orienting
- can be aided by: making relevant cues stand out, using as few cues as possible in initial practice, directing player attention to cues
anticipation
- predicting what will happen based on detection of relevant cues
- developed by experience
List 3 ways in which detection of visual cues can be enhanced.
- using larger objects
- using bright/contrasting colours
- slowing down objects
INFORMATION PROCESSING
2. Processing (stim ID, resp selection, resp programming)
- STIMULUS IDENTIFICATION
- cues are received + organised through memory
- signal detection is affected by: 1. ability of sense organs, 2. strength of the cue, 3. noise, 4. speed of the cue, 5. level of arousal (must be optimal) - RESPONSE SELECTION
- an action/movement is assigned to the identified stimulus/cue
- a motor program is formed as the most effective response - RESPONSE PROGRAMMING
- the relevant MP is retrieved from long term memory
- a sequence of muscular contractions is initiated
INFORMATION PROCESSING
3. Output
- the actual movement/motor program is conducted
- info is conveyed to the muscles by the brain through the motor neurons
INFORMATION PROCESSING
4. Feedback
- received about the skills performance after or during, can be:
- Internal: the feeling in muscles + joints, within body
- External: visual, auditory + verbal cues from enviro
reaction time
- the amount of time between when a stimulus is presented, and the first movement initiated in response to it
- total amount of time for athlete to collect + process info from senses, formulate a response, + transfer this to muscles to react
- it is more important in open skills
movement time
- the time taken to complete the task after it has been initiated
- from when body starts physically reacting, to when the movement is finished