Lecture 15b, Part vs. Whole Practice

Question 1

Whole Practice

Answer 1

a practice strategy that involves practicing a skill in its entirety (i.e., as a whole) - like a serve (the ball toss, back and getting it over the net)

Question 2

Part Practice

Answer 2

a practice strategy that involves practicing of a skill broken down into small unit (anything that simplifies the main skill - triple jump (parts of the jump)

Question 3

(1) Part vs Whole Practice

Answer 3

questions to consider:
- would practicing a simplified version of a target skill transfer positively to performance of whole skill? (primary question - why break it down when in transfer environment you keep it together)
- how much (if any) practice time should be devoted to “part” practice?
the goal is to determine what practice methods will optimize learning

Question 4

General guide/ questions to ask in determining part-whole practice

Answer 4

1. task complexity (if it task is of low complexity why make it easier)
   - low complexity (simple) → whole
   - high complexity (difficult) → part
2. interaction & timing // components (a pause?) - is there a pause or seperation between components (if there is not noticable pause then we want to keep it together - when the interaction between components more slower and have a pause we do part practice)
   - high interaction (more connected/faster) → whole
   - low interaction (pause/slower) → part

Question 5

Two reasons for easing task complexity by breaking down whole skills into smaller parts

Answer 5

efficiency in practice and ease of practice

Question 6

1) Efficiency in practice

Answer 6

• learner can spend more time mastering difficult components of “whole task”
• can focus practice on those component of a skill an athlete is having difficulty on
  gymnast practicing just the dismount off the bars

Question 7

2) Ease of practice

Answer 7

• learner might not yet be capable of completing whole task
• since the coordination to do complex stroke it too much for an early, novice learner
  novice swimmer learning butterfly practices dolphin kick independent of arm stroke

Question 8

Short, ballistic skills and continuous skills: High interaction. Usually benefit from whole practice

Answer 8

continuous task (sprinting, cross-country skiing)
- whole practice beneficial when coordination between simultaneous parts needed
- whole practice allows the athlete to feel flow of skill and maintain timing
- where rhythm and floe is importance

fast discrete task (golf swing, baseball swing)
- whole practice beneficial when movements are too fast to break apart …
- in rapid task, components interact strongly

Question 9

Serial skills or longer discrete skills: Lower interaction. Usually benefit from part practice

Answer 9

serial task (triple jump, athletic taping, gymnastic routine)
part practice beneficial for long complex sequences

slower discrete task (tennis-serve, archery, windmill pitch)
part practice can be useful for longer duration discrete skills. usually have parts with a “pause” between components

Question 10

Example 1: Should the student trainer be taught an ankle taping procedure in parts Or in its entirety?

Answer 10

part

Question 11

Example 2: Should we teach the beginner piano player a song in parts Or in its entirety?

Answer 11

part

Question 12

Should I do part practice? Here are some general questioning guides…
1. is it complex?

Answer 12

<remember this will depend on the learner & skill/task>
NO YES
Whole Part

Question 13

2. is it a serial or long-duration discrete skill?

Answer 13

NO YES
Whole Part
<sometimes also continuous skills can be broken down, if there’s low interrelatedness between body parts>

Question 14

3. is there low interrelatedness among component parts? (the timing of one does not depend on the timing of another)

Answer 14

NO YES
Whole Part