Lecture 15 Flashcards
What is Motor Learning = Characteristics of Skill Acquisition
in motor learning, what is a skill
a learnt ability to move more effectively and more efficiently
learning reflects changes in what
changes in perceptual, cognitive and action capability
does complex processing happen over multiple time scales
yes
(seconds, minutes, hours, days, months etc)
what is exercise dependent plasticity
to be able to change (in the brain)
as learning occurs what happens to the responsibility for motor control in the brain
gradually responsibility for motor control delegated to sub-conscious brain structures such as cerebellum, hippocampus etc
what are the 4 aspects of exercise dependent plasticity
- synaptic pruning
- long term potentiation
- selective inhibition
- myelination
what is synaptic pruning
unnecessary or unused synapses (connections between neurons) are eliminated or reduced in number
what is long term potentiation
leads to increased connection between synapses, two neurons will communicate with greater efficiency
- very complex
what is selective inhibition
inhibition of certain neural circuits or neuronal pathways while allowing others to remain active
what is myelination
maturation of certain nerve cells, whereby a fatty sheath forms around the axons which allows the nerve impulse to travel faster
why does blood flow change in the brain with learning
to accomodate with changes in capacity of learning
- subconscious parts of the brain take over more as time goes on
what does skill look like (5)
- accomplishment of task goal
- consistent
- persistent
- adaptability
- efficient (attention and physical)
what does skill require (4)
- perception / awareness
- intention to move
- postural control
- coordination
what does the classic model of Fitts and Posner distinguish between of the skill to be learnt
distinguish between cognitive, perceptual and motor demands of the skill to be learnt
what are the aspects of the cognitive stage in the Fitts and Posners model (5)
- getting the idea
- trial and error
- self talk
- awkward
- inefficent
what are the aspects of the associative stage in the Fitts and Posners model (5)
- coordination
- more control
- adaptable
- less errors
- more relaxed
what are the aspects of the skilled stage in the Fitts and Posners model (5)
- automatic
- fluid
- efficient
- accurate
- consistent
what is motor learning
result of permanent change, not observable
- must monitor performance over a long period of time
what is motor performance
temporary, non permanent changes, observable
what are good indicators of motor learning
- if it assessed over long period of time
- combined with other factors
what are the other factors that should be combined with assessing performance over a long period of time to indicate motor learning
- consistency
- persistance
- coordination stability
what would be bad indicators of motor learning
if the performance measure doesnt truely show gains
if improved performance is a result of acquisition of bad habits
what is a negatively accelerating performance curve
improvement in performance where initial gains are large but gradually decrease over time
what is a positively accelerating performance curve
improvement in performance where initial gains are small but gradually increase over time
what is a linear performance curve
the rate of improvement remains consistent throughout the learning process
what is a S - shaped performance curve
improvement in performance where progress initially starts slowly, accelerates rapidly, and then levels off as the learner approaches mastery of the skill
how to measures changes in performance
compare performance on a pretest and posttest
how to measure learning
a retention test must be administered following a break from practice (retention interval)
how to measure adaptability
perform a transfer test on a related motor skill following a retention interval
what is a key marker of learning
retention
what is a difference score and how is it measured
- amount of loss in skill over the retention interval
- difference between performance levels at end of original learning session and beginning of retention test
what is a percentage score
amount of loss in skill over the retention interval (difference score) relative to amount of improvement in original learning score
what is transfer of learning and how would a practitioner use this
tasks may be practiced in a session that are modified from the primary skill to be learnt (e.g drills, unopposed, part skill)
what is positive / negative types of transfer
positive or negative performance effects
what are general types of transfer
can benefit different activities, contexts
what are specific types of transfer
only useful for adapting movement in same context
what are vertical types of transfer
difficulty (increased / decreased task demands)
- applying what has been learnt to a simpler or harder task
what are horizontal types of transfer
context (same thing in different setting)
- broad application of skilled and knowledge to range of tasks, all with similar levels of complexity
how is the generally held assumption that learning to swim in a pool can prevent drowning, misleading
- assessment of swimming ability not water competency
- focus on movement reproduction not skill adaptation
- skill transfer from pools to other environments not clear
how should children learn to swim instead of in the pool
learn aquatic skills in moving water and not at the comfortable temperature of the pool environment
