Dynamics of Skill Acquisition (Davids/Button/Bennett)

Question 1

Think of an example of a complex system in a sport, exercise, or rehabilitation setting. What characteristics does this system share with other complex systems such as the weather or the CNS?

Answer 1

Complex systems:

• contain many independent and variable degrees of freedom
• many different levels within the system
• the potential for nonlinearity of behavior
• the capacity for stable and unstable patterned relationships among system parts to occur through system self-organization

Question 2

In what way does the concept of self-organization under constraints differ from the traditional ideas of hierarchical movement system?

Answer 2

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Question 3

Describe how the control of a complex multijoint movement, such as the front crawl in swimming, may be explained from the dynamic systems approach.

Answer 3

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Question 4

How would you explain to athletes that movement variability is a vital part of their development?

Answer 4

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Question 5

List some of the informational flows available to hockey players as they skate with the puck.

Answer 5

X

Question 6

Explain why information is conceived of as rich and meaningful in ecological psychology.

Answer 6

X

Question 7

How would the concept of affordances help to explain interindividual differences in coordination?

Answer 7

X

Question 8

How and why would a person rehabilitating from an ankle sprain need to move to perceive information?

Answer 8

X

Question 9

Discuss why an interceptive action such as hammering a nail is unlikely to be performed using optical tau alone.

Answer 9

X

Question 10

Devise an experiment to test Miler and Goodale’s (1995) model of two visual systems. (Tip: Think of a task in which perception for action or for recognition can be performed independently).

Answer 10

X

Question 11

How does the constraints-led approach to skill acquisition differ from traditional approaches in its definition of learning?

Answer 11

X

Question 12

Use the analogy of the perceptual-motor landscape to explain the following characteristics of learning: intrinsic dynamics, search, discovery, and efficiency.

Answer 12

X

Question 13

Reflect of your own learning experiences for a movement activity you participate in and the current repertoire of skills you have available. Map out a hypothetical perceptual-motor landscape, labeling the valleys as attractors for stable skills that are well-learned. Sketch out the peaks the rugged terrain to depict the less stable skills that are more open to perturbations. List some of the influential constraints that help to configure the landscape.

Answer 13

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Question 14

How might young children learning to throw a ball organize the large numbers of dfs at their disposal?

Answer 14

X

Question 15

Provide some examples of emergent movement behavior in experienced performers and inexperienced performers.

Answer 15

X

Question 16

Explain how retention, transfer, and technique change can be indicatiove of the learning process from a constraints-led approach.

Answer 16

X

Question 17

Explain how to use coordination dynamics to describe the process of skill acquisition for a learner. (Tip: Try to use terms such as intrinsic dynamics, perceptual-motor landscape, attractor, stability, symmetry, and functional equivalence).

Answer 17

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Question 18

How might a practioner assess the initial coordination tendencies of a novice skier?

Answer 18

X

Question 19

Design two contrasting lesson plans for hockey, one adopting the technique approach and the other adopting the TGfU approach.

Answer 19

X

Question 20

What alternative strategies in nonlinear pedagogy could you use to help a learner who has reached a performance plateau?

Answer 20

X

Question 21

Capel (2000) suggests that there is a lack of conclusive evidence to support the use of alternative teaching approaches to the technique approach. With reference to the practical considerations of modern-day physical education, discuss why such evidence may take time to surface.

Answer 21

X

Question 22

How are learners able to perform novel movement patterns that they have never attempted before? Answer this question by distinguishing between traditional and constraints-led theoretical appoaches to skill acquistion.

Answer 22

X

Question 23

How might a physical education teacher encourage discovery learning while managing a group of 30 children who are learning basic gymnastic skills?

Answer 23

X

Question 24

To what extent do genetic factors influence skill acquisition? Discuss this question in relation to common talent identification and development strategies.

Answer 24

X

Question 25

Provide some examples of rate-limiting constraints on a chef rehabilitating from a repetitive strain injury of the wrist.

Answer 25

X

Question 26

Explain some of the advantages of time-dependent measures of variability taken from javelin throws.

Answer 26

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Question 27

Why have some theorists described the theory of deliberate practice as “very environmentalist”? (Tip: See Starkes [2000] in Additional Reading.)

Answer 27

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Question 28

Identify examples of teaching techniques from either a physical education or rehabilitation setting where the performer is placed under high and low levels of constraint.

Answer 28

X

Question 29

List some task constraints that could be altered during skill learning. Which do you feel would be the most beneficial and why?

Answer 29

X

Question 30

How might manipulating the size of the practice area encourage a defender in soccer to improve positional awareness in a match?

Answer 30

X

Question 31

Discuss the value for a swimming student of practicing the front crawl in segments (i.e., the arm stroke separately from the leg kick).

Answer 31

X

Question 32

Why would repetition without repetition (Bernstein, 1967) during practice be beneficial for the learner?

Answer 32

X

Question 33

Advise motor skills practioners on how and when they should provide task instructions to learners.

Answer 33

X

Question 34

For optimal skill acquisition to occur, do performers need to be aware that they are learning motor skills? Refer to the organizational complexity of the CNS in your answer.

Answer 34

X

Question 35

Select a sport or physical activity and identify an important skill for learners to practice. Next, create a list of coaching instructions for learners using a traditional internal focus of attention. Finally, create a list of similar instructions using an external focus of attention.

Answer 35

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Question 36

Discuss how focus of attention mediates the benefit a learner gains from verbal instructions and feedback. (Tip: consider the learner’s experience, the nature of the task constraints, the availability of feedback, and so on.)

Answer 36

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Question 37

Using a skill of your choice, identify effective movement analogies that would encourage learners to search and explore different areas of the perceptual-motor landscape.

Answer 37

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Question 38

Why is a performer who learns by practicing a skill repeatedly without making any errors more likely to learn the skill implicitly?

Answer 38

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Question 39

List the advantages and disadvantages of a learner engaging in discovery learning without any intervention from a practioner.

Answer 39

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Question 40

Choose a motor skill from a sport with which you are familiar and identify relative motion characteristics from a demonstration that an observer should be guided toward.

Answer 40

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Question 41

What research evidence exists for the visual perception perspective proposed by Scully and Newell (1985)?

Answer 41

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Question 42

What factors should a practitioner consider when planning a practice session with respect to demonstrations?

Answer 42

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Question 43

How can learner-regulated feedback be an effective strategy for practioners?

Answer 43

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Question 44

What is perceptual-motor calibration, and how might it enhance a learner’s capacity to perceive affordances for action from observing visual demonstrations? Outline you answer with reference to different groups of learners, including disabled athletes, children, and older adults.

Answer 44

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