Methods of Practice

Question 1

Hint - Usually for athletes who are fit and experienced

What is massed practice?

[https://youtu.be/wqnChdGpf9Q?si=HOxHxBXTcGdn5MMR]

Answer 1

No rest and continuous practice.

E.g. Hitting 5 minutes of tennis forehand shots with little or no rest between shots, using a hitting partner in a rally or ball machine.

Question 2

Usually for performanes of low ability or fitness

What is distributed practice?

https://youtu.be/75KOaJIeFsM?si=SDUecOyhOJpP_Imk

Answer 2

Rests included, useful when danger involved.

E.g. Learning a skill such as tackling in rugby over a number of different training sessions until it is executed correctly.

Question 3

Closed skills are often learned through fixed practice

What is Fixed Practice?

https://youtu.be/QOxXA_543ac?si=sSnHfgc02FojVADo

Answer 3

Practice in the same environmental conditions every time.

E.g. The player would normally go to the gym every weekend (Friday-Sunday) to shoot free throws in basketball

Question 4

Open skills are often learned through variable practice

What is variable practice?

https://youtube.com/shorts/wcsI_un9m4c?si=vz26KIxxXpddsxXg

Answer 4

Match practice to a competitive situation.

E.g. If a tennis player does a forehand shot with different spins and speeds, it increases the level of competition (it turns competitive).

Question 5

What are the advantages of massed practice?

Answer 5

• Can save on time as skills don’t have to be reintroduced after breaks between sessions.
• Good for the grooving-in of habitual skills.
• Most suited to simple discrete skills of
  short duration.

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of massed practice?

Answer 6

• can be tiring or too fatiguing or
  tedious or boring
• Can lead to (overuse) injuries
• Can lead to mental tiredness /
  de-motivation / inhibition / drive
  reduction

Question 7

What are the advantages of distributed practice?

Answer 7

• Good for complex and potentially dangerous skills.
• Helps maintain motivation.
• Good for learning continuous skills.

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of distributed practice?

Answer 8

• Can cause disruption in learning
  because disjointed activity
  impedes learning
• Can de-motivate if breaks are
  too regular or too long

Question 9

What are the advantages of fixed practice?

Answer 9

• Information processing demands
  are low.
• Allows learner’s attention to be
  directed elsewhere.
• Specific movement patterns can be
  over-learned and become habitual.

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of fixed practice?

Answer 10

• can be: tedious / boring /
  de-motivating
• Can lead to (overuse) injuries
• Not suitable for open skills /
  does not prepare for game
  situation or open environment

Question 11

What are the advantages of variable practice?

Answer 11

• Improves detection of warning signals,
  making info processing (reaction time)
  faster and more efficient.
• Improves selective attention.
• The performer learns to adapt the
  technique to the changing
  environment.

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of variable practice?

Answer 12

• can confuse can confuse especially for learners or for
  cognitive phase performers
• May not be able to: groove a
  skill / develop effective motor
  programmes
• Too many stimuli can cause
  information overload