Chapter 8 - Intro to Motor Learning Flashcards
does improved performance define learning and why
no, improved performance is an indication that learning MAY have occured
define motor learning
set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent gains in the capibility for skilled performance
when measuring learning, what are we interested in and why
their underlying capability/capacity for performance
-on any given occasion, the learner might not for various reasons perform up to their capability/skill level
what factors improve the capability for skilled performance when it comes to learning give an example that would not be considered one of these factors
factors related to practice or experience
-performance capabilities of children increase as they mature and grow, but this is no evidence of learning cause it is not related to practice
is learning directly observable
no but its products are
during practice there are many alterations to what nervous system and what do some refer to this as and explain
Central nervous system
“brain plasticity”
-plasticity refers to a brain that is changeable under various conditions which helps establish relatively permanent changes in movement capability (practice will continue to maintain neural pathways)
because the changes in learning are not directly observable, what must we do
infer its existence from the changes in performance they presumably support
difference between learning and performance
performance is something we can observe, whereas learning is something we must infer from some characteristics of being a skilled performer
performance does not necessarily equal what and why
capability
-beginners luck
-performance not reliable or consistent
what are 4 things thing can influence our performance at any given time
capability
fatigue
environemnt
arousal
learning is not what 2 things but is what
NOT
-improved due to growth/maturation
-improvement due to cardiovascular fitness
IS
-relatively permanent
describe short-term plasticity
when first start practicing something
-neurotransmitters involved
-increase with lots of use and decrease with little use
what is long-term plasticity and what leads to this
structural changes to neurons which leads to more permanent change due to repeated practice
what is the general idea of neuroplasticity and what 2 ways can this occur
changes in neural pathways
-can occur through changes in neurotransmitters
-can see actual strucutre changes (neural pathways) with repeated practice
what 3 areas of the conceptual model improve with learning
-information processing
-motor program
-comparator
difference between expert and beginners motor program
-beginners motor program contains more noise
-experts motor program is more consistent because they are able to make corrections and adapt to changes quickly due to their memory of what a movement is supposed to feel, look, and sound like
what are 4 ways to measure motor skills
- time to complete
- measure/quantifying
-movement quality (smooth)
-if goal is met
briefly describe the learning continuum
beginner
-may perform well but cant reliably repeat
-beginners luck
AVERAGE
–may not perform in a way that reflects their capability
EXPERT
-most likely to perform close to their capability
-consistent
learning results from what 2 thigns
practice and experience
how can we observe learnign
indirectly
learning changes are inferred from what
certain performance changes because this can be observed directly
learning involves a set of processes in what
the central nervous system
learning produces what
an aquired capability for skilled performance
learning changes are relatively what and not what
permanent and not transitory (brief)
better at assessing (perceiving) what play is happening is an improvement with practice in what parts of the conceptual model
stimulus identification and response selection
being able to execute movment as planned is an improvement due to rpactice for what part of the conceptual model
motor program
being better able ot make corrections to movement is an improvement due to practice of hwat part of the conceptual model
quality of feedback and comparator
what is the performance curve and what is this used for
performance/time
-used to infer if learning has occured (but does not measure learning)
what are 3 limitations of the performance curve
- performance curve does not = learning curve
- between-subject effects are masked
- iwthin-subjects variability are masked
the shape of the performance curve depends on what
how you measure performance
what is the law of practice
improvement is steep at first and more gradual later
-performance curve
-rapid improvements at beginning but eventually slows down
-still learning but changes in performance are decreasing
what is the ceiling affect in the performance curve
test is so easy that everyone does well
what is the floor affect in the performance curve
most/none will have any success
what are the ceiling and floor affect useful for in the performance curve when it coems to measuring learning
help adjust assessment based on skill level
what is the most common and traditional way to evaluate learning progress during practice
performance curves
what are performance curves
plots individual or average performance against practice trials to evaluate learning progress
what is one of the main reasons for suing performance curves and what is te drawback of this
they average out the discrepan performances of different learners
- this hides any differences between people (individual differences)
-gives impression that all subjects improve at same rate or way (which is not true)
describe the within-subject variability in performance curves
-performance fluctuations within a single person tend to be obscured by the averaging process
-easy to assume that the learning process is going smoothly and gradullay however for each point on the curve represents an average of x amount of trials which is another average of the participants
what are the 3 effects practice can have on the learner
-relatively permanent effects that persist across many days, even years
-temporary effects that vanish with time or a change in conditions
-simultaneous temporary and relatively permanent changes that can noticeably influence performance
whenever learners practice and especially when they get instructions and feedback, what is important to have
a way to separate the relatively permanent practice effects from the temporary effects
(example if you can use a tool to help practice but cannot use during performance, important to practice without that tool at some point)
why does our performance on a given day, not necessarily equal our capability to perform a skill
because performance will still fluctuate due to performance variables
-alertness
-fatigue
-motivation
what are 4 defining features of performance
-observable behaviour
-may or may not be due to learning
-temporary
-may be influenced by performance variables
what are 5 key features of learning
-improvement
-consistency
-stability
-persistence
-adaptability
performance improves over what
time
what are 3 ways you can define improvement in learning
-speed
-accuracy
-movement quality
experts are able to _____ execute their skills at a high performance level
reliably
stability in performance refers to what and give examples
resistance to perturbations (May be internal or external)
INTERNAL
-distractions
-choking
EXTERNAL
-wind
-weather
persistance in performance refers to what and how can measure this
improved performance lasts over longer and longer periods of time
-retention test
adaptability in performance is also known as what and what does this refer to, how can this be measured
generalizability
-performer can adapt to a variety of contexts and maintain skill improvement
-transfer tests (measure performance on related test to show what youve learned)
adaptability is related to what other key factor of learning
stability
retention and transfer tests help us measure what in learning and performance
infer if have persistance and adaptability
what is the idea behind transfer designs
can analyze whether a change that improves performance in practice also improves learning by separating the relatively permanent and temporary effects of a variable
what does transfer test refer to
a change of task conditions
what does retention test refer to
a test given after an empty period without practice
what is the logivce behind a transfer or retention test
if temporary effects have dissipated by the time of the test and any temporary effects are not allowed to reappear, then any differences observed in the delayed test should be due to the relatively permanent effects aquired through training (learning)
when there is an increase risk during performance what is needed
an increase for simulations
-med students
-firefighters
-pilots
what is the idea behind the saying, never truly a blank slate, when it comes to learning
past experiences are always relevant and can be used in the learning process
what helps the increase of transfer between skills
similarity
what is transfer of learning
when practice on one task contributes to performance capability on some other task
ex; rollerblading, ice skating
transfer learning can be helpful for what type of skills and not so helpful for what
HELP
-serial or continuous skills
-can be broken down intor elements for practice
NOT
-discrete
-too fast
what are the different types of transfer learnign
specific and generalized
