How to practise

Question 1

What is the most important variable for practice effectiveness, according to Schmidt & Lee (2005)? (1 point)

Answer 1

The amount of practise

Question 2

Describe the difference between “blocked” and “random” practice schedules. (2 points)

Answer 2

Blocked practise has all the trials done together. (has low contextual interference because youre doing the same task one after another)

Random practise: same task NOT repeated on consecutive trials (high contextual interference; also known as “interleaved” practice). This counts as “high contextual interference” because the trials before and after the current trial are likely to be different tasks – and therefore their presence will interfere MORE with performance of the current trial

Question 3

Describe Shea & Morgan’s (1979) double-transfer design experiment on contextual interference (methods, results, conclusions). (3 points)

Answer 3

Mehtods: When different coloured stimulus lights turned on, participants had to knock over targets with a tennis ball in a certain order.
The order depended on the colour of the stimulus light. Participants practiced either blocker or random schedules.

Results: This data shows that the blocked group learned more than the random group.

OR it might show that the random group has learned as much or more than the blocked group, but has a temporary performance deficit (e.g. due to having to continually switch task).
That is, we can’t tell how permanent the effects on performance are.

Conclusion: That is, we can’t tell how permanent the effects on performance are - (a common issue with training design study)

Can be resolved with “Transfer design”

SO then Shea & Morgan (1979) tested participants again ten minutes after the original learning trials… and RANDOM scheduling showed SIGNIFICANTLY MORE RETENTIOM

Question 4

What’s a transfer design? (1 point)

Answer 4

Give people a rest before testing their performance one last time.
If learning has taken place, performance should be enhanced. If learning has not taken place then performance won’t be enhanced.

E.g. practising throwing ball in a hoop and then throwing a dart - the group that does them “blocked” will perform better initially because they are practising the same skill over and over with no “CONTEXUAL INTERFERENCE” (they can judge their next throw off their previous one). where as the random group will be worse because they are switching - but this doesn’‘t tell us much about learning.

if we leave a gap then we can actually see how much skill was retained regardless of ‘blocked’ or ‘random’ and directly compare

Question 5

Name the design that Karpicke & Roediger (2008) used in their 4 condition experiment on the testing effect. (1 point)

Answer 5

TRANSFER DESIGN (One way to resolve this confound is to use a transfer design. Give people a rest before testing their performance one last time)

(the experiment with testing, testing and dropping correct items, no testing and no testing and dropping correct items)

they tested throughout training but then also tested one week later to give a break to account for blocked practise

Question 6

What’s a double transfer design and when might you use one? (2 points)

Answer 6

TRANSFER DESIGN VS DOUBLE TRANSFER DESIGN
Transfer design
Give people a rest before testing their performance one last time.
Rational: To counteract performance deficit as a result of random schedules’ high contextual interference
Double transfer design:
where you use either blocked or random schedules for the 2 post-training tests (which for some participants will be the same as their original learning schedule and for other participants will be different).
Rational: which type of schedule do you use with your final tests? For example, if you use only a random schedule (as on the last slide) then you might be giving a specific advantage to those under random conditions. – so instead do both
E.g.
group 1: blocked training - break - random testing
group 2: Blocked training – break - blocked testing
group 3: random training - break – random testing
group 4: random training – break – blocked testing

Question 7

What are the two benefits of using a random rather than a blocked practice schedule? (1 point)

Answer 7

ADVANTAGES OF RANDOM:

1. better and longer term learning than blocked practice
   (i.e. performance does not necessarily reflect learning, considering blocked practise usually produces better initial results).
2. less context dependency
   (participants who used a random practice schedule could do both blocked and random tests – but participants who did blocked practice were only good at the blocked test)

Question 8

What is contextual interference? (1 point)

Answer 8

the fact that practising a skill within the concept of other tasks in a practice session degrades performance

However, training to deal with contextual interference is a benefit of using a random practice schedule (rather than a blocked practice schedule, which has low contextual interference)

Question 9

How did Van Merrienboer & Sweller (2005) reconcile contextual inference effects with Cognitive Load Theory? (2 points)

Answer 9

At first glance, the contextual interference effect (INCREASING load leads to better learning) appears to contradict Cognitive Load Theory (DECREASING load leads to better learning) (Sweller 1988).

However, in contextual interference, the increased load is relevant to learning the skill.

In contrast, Cognitive Load Theory specifically predicts that irrelevant load is what decreases learning - relevant load can be good for learning

So – not all cognitive load is necessarily bad for learning.

Question 10

Describe a contextual interference experiment involving a simulation of a real sport. (2 points)

Answer 10

Contextual interference in tennis:

Method: Broadbent et al. (2017) asked novice tennis players to predict where a ball would go, while watching live size video of tennis players hitting three types of tennis shot (type of shot presented as random or blocked).
Clips cut to black when the racket contacted the ball. Participants called out where they thought the ball would go (4 possible locations). For feedback, participants saw the clip again after each shot, this time showing where the ball went.

Results: The random condition led to better performance in the delayed (retention) test than blocked.

Question 11

Describe three theories that explain the contextual interference effect. (3 points)

Answer 11

• random schedule forces people to engage in more elaborative & distinctive conceptual processing

• participants have to reconstruct how to do a task when it is preceded by a different task. The increased reconstruction/remembering/retrieval in a random schedule promotes memory processing for learning (i.e. it’s the testing effect).

• Random schedules lead to more errors. Errors (with corrective feedback) promote learning

Question 12

What evidence suggests that trainees might be unlikely to choose a random practice schedule if given a choice? (2 points)

Answer 12

Simon & Bjork (2001) conducted an experiment in which participants LEARNED 3 KEYSTROKE PATTERNS on a number pad using either a random or blocked schedule.
They did a retention test 24 hours later.
The random group performed better BUT predicted their performance would be worse.

Question 13

Make a case for the generalisability of the contextual interference effect. (2 points)

Answer 13

MATH
randomly interleaving different maths problems rather than grouping them (as happens in text books) led to better performance.

PAINTINGS
that students learning the painting styles of different artists did better where the paintings of the different artists were presented in a random order (rather than grouped by artist) - in spite of the fact that students believed they had learned better in the blocked condition.

WELL REPLICATED IN LITERATURE
The contextual interference effect is reasonably well replicated for laboratory tasks, lots of different sports (see Schmidt & Lee, 2005, p.346), and also knowledge acquisition (it’s described as “interleaving” in this literature)

Question 14

Describe Bourne & Archer’s (1956) experiment on massed vs distributed practice using a pursuit rotor tracking task (methods, results, conclusions). (3 points)

Answer 14

METHOD: Bourne & Archer (1956) used a pursuit rotor tracking task and 5 different practice distributions
0 rest, vs 15s rest, vs 30s rest, vs 45s rest, vs 60s rest
- all trials were 30 seconds

RESULTS:
Distributed was better FOR ALL- (During acquisition, differences could be due to fatigue.
However, the distributed advantage remained into transfer trials (with 0s rests)

Conclusion: Distributed practise better for learning task

Question 15

Describe Baddeley & Longman’s (1978) experiment on massed vs distributed practice involving postmen (methods, results, conclusions). (3 points)

Answer 15

METHOD:The British Post Office introduced post codes in the 1970s, which required postmen to learn to type the codes into a key pad. Baddeley & Longman (1978) ran an experiment to determine the most effective way to schedule their practice.

Postmen were randomly assigned to 4 conditions:
2 x 2-hour sessions per day
1 x 2-hour session per day
2 x 1-hour sessions per day
1 x 1-hour session per day

RESUTLS:
The most distributed group (1 x 1-hour) learned faster, continued to improve at a faster rate, and had better skill retention after several months.

However, this group were also least satisfied with their schedule and the overall duration of their training was longer (because it was more spread out).

CONCLUSIONS:
Better for learning - but like anything, takes longer

Question 16

Describe Moulton et al.’s (2006) experiment on massed vs distributed practice involving surgeons (methods, results, conclusions). (2 points)

Answer 16

METHOD: assigned surgical residents to either receive skill training via

EITHER
1-day session (massed)
OR
4 shorter sessions spread over several weeks (distributed).

RESULTS: Both groups performed a battery of skill tests (including performing the skill on a live rat) to the same level immediately after training.
However, the distributed group were significantly better in these tests 1 month after training.

CONCLUSION - similar to CPR assignment - better for knowledge and skill retention

Question 17

Give 3 reasons why distributed practice might lead to better retention than massed practice. (2 points)

Answer 17

1. Tgive the brain a chance to better consolidate the new skill or the information learned
2. allows for more cognitive preparation and mental rehearsal between sessions (where this could be implicit).
3. may increase the amount of retrieval required, just like random practice schedules (boosting consolidation and strengthening retrieval structures).

Question 18

What’s the spacing effect? (1 point)

Answer 18

The distributed practice effect is sometimes known as the spacing effect (e.g. Pashler et al. 2007).

retention generally is better when learning or practise is spaced out

Question 19

Explain why the distributed practice effect and the generation effect might suggest different approaches to learning new words. (2 points)

Answer 19

The spacing effect (Distributed practise) says – go through whole list before returning to the first item (to maximize the gap between two presentations of the same item).

The generation effect says – if you attempt to retrieve the word from memory as soon as possible then you’re more likely to remember it than if you just read the word again. This means the sooner you are tested, the greater the chances of remembering the word.

Can be used at the same time via expanding retrieval

Question 20

What is expanding retrieval? (2 points)

Answer 20

First – retrieve the word/name after a short delay.
Then – repeat testing – but with longer and longer delays between each test

uses both the spacing effect and the generation effect effect (Landauer & Bjork suggest it for learning people’s names).

Question 21

What was Ebbinghaus’s (1913) “memory savings” discovery? (2 points)

Answer 21

Ebbinghaus (1913) noticed that while we forget information quite fast (so we can’t retrieve it), this doesn’t necessarily mean this information has vanished from our brains:

He memorized a list of words until he had perfect recall.
Then he waited until he forgot the entire list.

Then he re-memorized the list.
He found it was MUCH FASTER to memorize the list the second time, suggesting that the list was still in his mind (memory “savings”) – it had just become harder to access (until he “re-activated” its retrieval pathway).

Question 22

Bahrick & Hall (1991) found people who didn’t forget algebra over 55 years. What was their secret? (2 points)

Answer 22

students who had later exposure to algebra (e.g. in later Calculus courses) became immune to forgetting.
They were just as good at algebra after 55 years as when they had just been taught it.

Question 23

What benefits does sleeping have for learning and why? (2 points)

Answer 23

Sleep leads to better memory retention.

This is because it allows for consolidation of what we have learnt.

Firstly, synaptic consolidation occurs which involves the hippocampus, takes 24 hours.

Then, systems consolidation occurs information transfer from hippocampus to elsewhere in the brain.

Question 24

Describe the different types of variability that may affect the performance of motor skills. (1 point)

Answer 24

Skills with an action component (motor skills) involve some things that stay the same but also involve some degree of variation.

SAME FACTORS:
how you hold the ball before a particular type of shot and how you follow through the action.

VARIABLE FACTORS:
1. Factors to do with the skill - such as how hard you throw it, the trajectory of the shot, and ball spin, etc.

2. External factors - such as what other players are doing, your level of stress (e.g. throwing during a high-stakes game versus throwing during training), and even your body temperature.

Question 25

What is schema theory? (2 points)

Answer 25

people learn rules (“schemas”) that allow them to carry out particular classes of actions.

People learn schemas which a set of procedures for actions (for physical motions or movements)

For example, passing a ball in football would be a different class of action to kicking the ball, because it has a different “motor program” behind it.

A schema might take the form: “going through this particular set of motions” results in “me successfully throwing the ball to my team mate”.

Learning the action is about refining the parameters of the schema (e.g. how much force you put into your throw) to produce the various specific outcomes you want (e.g. ball travels in a flat arc to a team mate 3 metres away, slow enough for them to catch it but fast enough to avoid interception)

Question 26

What did Schmidt (1975) suggest would be beneficial for ensuring the development of a generalisable schema when learning a motor skill? (1 point)

Answer 26

Varying practise in line with all the different dimensions that may vary when performing the skill

(e.g. shooting wide open, shooting coming off a screen, shooting with a defender closing out, off the dribble)

to make our schemas as effective, generalizable, and robust as possible, we need to deliberately attempt to vary our practice along all the different dimensions that may vary when we have to perform the skill.

Question 27

Describe Catalano & Kleiner’s (1984) experiment investigating the effects of variable practice (methods, results, conclusions). (3 points)

Answer 27

METHOD: asked participants to predict when a moving light would arrive by moving their hand (i.e. analogous to catching a ball).

Some practiced this task under constant conditions: 5, 7, 9, OR 11 mph.
Other practiced under variable conditions: 5, 7, 9, AND 11 mph.

RESULTS: When they were all given a transfer task that involved new speeds OUTSIDE the range of the practice speeds (1, 3, 13, and 15 mph), the variable group performed much better.

CONCLUSIONS: This supported Schmidt’s variable practice proposal. (more generalisable schemas)