Lecture 14c, Conditions of Practice I (2)

Question 1

Variability of Practice

Answer 1

questions to consider:
- how variable should a practice session be?
- what type of variability best promotes learning
- how does variability in practice affect transfer?
the goal is to determine what practice methods will optimize learning

Question 2

If you want to be good at throwing accurately does it help to practice distance variations?

Answer 2

• yes, in terms of schema we are trying to build up relationships between our outcomes and parameters in case we encounter a new transfer task we have good representation of what the parameter and force will be for this new distance
• the more variation or relations you have between forces and distances the better able you are to parameterize new movements
• variability of practice is based on schema theory
  transfer/generalization question (going to be useful for this) - if you have variations in your experiences you can better achieve new goals

Question 3

If you want to be good at throwing free-throws, does it help to practice distance variations?

Answer 3

• there is not a big deal of variation but does it help to practice with variation when it is not needed (there is more ambiguity in this case of whether it is good or not to have variation)
  retention/specificity question

Question 4

Whether to practice one skill or multiple variations of that same skill? (constant vs. variable practice)

Answer 4

constant practice
- only one variation of the criterion task is practiced
- criterion task is practiced under identical environmental conditions

variable practice
- multiple variations of the criterion task are practiced
- variability achieved by practicing criterion task:
◦ under different environmental
conditions (wind speed, size of
ball etc.)
◦ at different speeds, distances,
etc

Question 5

What practice leads to better transfer of unpracticed tasks/skills

Answer 5

variability of practice leads to better transfer to unpractised tasks/skills

benefits in transfer for variable practice conditions

variability of practice can strengthen learning for a criterion task/skill

Question 6

Variable practice, worst in acquisition, yet best in retention on criterion task

Answer 6

• higher score, worse performance in this case
• variable practice group they have highest error in acquisition, but by the end they are all doing the same at the criterion task
• what we see with delayed retention is the variable group does best in delayed retention task

Question 7

Summary of Practice Variability Effects

Answer 7

• adding variability of practice increases transfer to novel task/skill variations
• adding variability of practice has been shown to increase retention (but some exceptions)
• however, increased variability of practice usually decreases acquisition due to more variations of skill being practiced (more challenging)
• we need to assess how well they are doing in learning which is retention test after a while and not just how well they are doing in performance which shows problematic data in terms of variability

Question 8

After GMP is selected and movement is completed
Four types of information stored in STM

Answer 8

A. initial conditions of the movement (how heavy the ball was. what the surface was like, windy)

B. parameters that were assigned to the movement (*e.g., amplitude/ absolute force or movement time)

C. outcome feedback about the movement (did the required outcome get met?)

D. sensory consequences of the movement (when we perform a movement we are storing information about how it felt, and visual - so we can use it with the comparator in future - closed-loop feedback)
these enable two schemas (rules) to be formed - recall & recognition schemas

Question 9

RECALL SCHEMA

Answer 9

relation between parameters & movement outcome
after each movement, information discarded from STM leaving only a rule
rule is strengthened with more (varied) data (parameters, outcomes & initial conditions) - the more variety we have in initial, outcome and parameter the stronger the rule becomes
- you can have a number of individual movements but we store the relation between parameters and movement
note: outcome could be on y axis (interchangeable)

PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN MOVEMENT PRODUCTION
in fast movements, mostly the recall schema controlling movement (there is no time for feedback, the programming of the parameter is controlling the movement)

Question 10

RECOGNITION SCHEMA

Answer 10

slower movements, where we have time to compare feedback to our expected movement

relation between sensory consequences & movement outcomes
- again, after each movement, information discarded from STM leaving only a rule

PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN MOVEMENT EVALUATION
more important for control of slower movements or it is important for programing newer movements next time (we have time for feedback so it is online)
- have you seen or felt this before with recognition / recall is to enact or initiate movement

Question 11

Variability of practice will enhance schemas & estimation of (new) parameters & sensory
consequences

Answer 11

• practicing a variety of movements with same GMP (different parameters, initial conditions) will form strong schemas
• production of new movement, requires application of schema(s)
• extensive parameter exploration&raquo_space; less uncertainty and error, due to more accurate estimations of parameters & sensory consequences

Question 12

If you want to be good at throwing free-throws, does it help to practice at nearer/farther distances?

Answer 12

• even if you are only tested at one distance, there are advantages to practicing at different variations
• free throw shot - show some exceptions to schema theory

Question 13

There is evidence that success at shooting free-throw type shots scales with distance

Answer 13

• the closer you are to the basket, success to making basket should be higher and as you get farther it decreases

Question 14

At the free-throw line, appears to show an exception “especial skill”

Answer 14

• the actual performance at special distance is closer to 85% - violation of schema theory
• there is bad transfer at nearby distance because you are so used to other distance
• doing only one skills becomes unique which may not generalize
• there can be benefits from practicing at only one distance if there are only going to ever shot from there but in basketball they shot from different positions so variation may be good

Question 15

Variability of Practice: Summary

Answer 15

• variability in practice of one skill (e.g., throwing) is good for transfer (aid parameter generalization).
• constant practice of one parameter variation can lead to an “especial skill” / good for that skill, but doesn’t generalize well to different outcomes (may show poorer than expected generalizations)
• variability of practice seems to be best after some initial constant practice (promote stability and acquisition of invariant/ relative features

Question 16

Other reasons why variability in practice might be good for learning

Answer 16

• no two movements look exactly the same, so variation in practice conditions matches reality “repetition without repetition” - we are trying to achieve the same thing everytime but there is noise in the system
• variability aids discovery of the optimal motor solution for the individual - different people have different constraints and so there is not one size fits all solution, however there can be general solution - using methods that encourage variation will lead to finding better solution
• variability was higher in constraints-led group and they perform better in retention task