Introduction (s1w1)

Question 1

what is motor control?

Answer 1

• the study of how movement is controlled
• “the ability to regulate or direct the mechanisms essential to movement”
• “regulation or maintenance of a function or action” e.g. balance

Question 2

critical thinking

Answer 2

“reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do”

Question 3

degrees of freedom

Answer 3

the number of parameters of the system that may vary independently

Question 4

what is motor learning?

Answer 4

• The process of acquiring (through practice or experience) the capability for producing skilled actions

Question 5

3 characteristics of motor learning

Answer 5

• learning occurs as a direct result of practice or experience
• learning cannot be observed, only inferred from a change in behaviour
• learning is relatively permanent

Question 6

Bernstein’s Stages of Motor Learning

Answer 6

Stage 1: Freezing the degrees of freedom

Stage 2: Releasing and Reorganising

Stage 3: Exploiting mechanical properties

Question 7

definition of skill

Answer 7

“The ability to bring about some end result with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of energy” (Schmidt)