Practice Methods Flashcards
What is massed practice?
Continuous practice of a skill with little or no rest intervals between attempts of the skill
How does massed practice improve performance?
Coaching or teaching simple, discrete or closed skills
Coaching autonomous performers who are motivated, fit and have good concentration levels
Coaching or teaching skills of short duration of energy output
Attempting to replicate fatigue or increase fitness
How can massed practice hinder performance?
Less effective with beginners
May hinder performance due to fatigue
Skill is dangerous
Development of skill can be affected by a lack of concentration and attention
Example of massed practice
Performer going to a driving range to practice their tee shots
What is distributed practice?
A practice with relatively long rest breaks or rest periods between each attempt at the skill
How does distributed practice improve performance?
Coaching continuous, complex and dangerous skills
Coaching or teaching cognitive, less motivated, less fit performers or those with poor concentration
Coaching or teaching a skill with high energy output
Allows for recovery, feedback to be given and allows for mental practice to occur
How can distributed practice hinder performance?
Less effective with discrete skills as it may lead to frustration and boredom at having breaks/ delays between attempts
Give an example of distributed practice
A swimmer having a rest after each interval of 50m
What factors influence the selection of the most appropriate method of practice
Type of skill or nature of the task
Ability, skill level, age or fitness of performer
Available resources
Situation or context in which the skill is being performed
What is fixed practice?
Involves repetition of the same skill or movement pattern in the same environment to reinforce learning
How does fixed practice improve performance?
Coaching or teaching closed, discrete, ballistic skills or dynamic skills
Ensures skill is overlearned
Negatives of fixed practice
Can be boring
May hinder performance due to fatigue
Give an example of fixed practice
A gymnast prancing vaults over the same piece of apparatus
What is varied practice?
Using a mixture of massed and distribute practice in one session. The skill is practice in many different environments
How does varried practice improve performance?
Coaching or teaching open skills
Motivating learners, builders interest and preventing boredom when giving different experiences
Helping transfer of learning and replicating game situations and developing schema
What are the negatives of varied practice?
Learner must first establish the motor programme in a fixed environment before attempting varied practice
Example of varied practice
A basketball player perfect I shooting skills as fixed practice then putting the skill into a conditioned game
What is mental practice?
The cognitive rehearsal of a skill without actual physical movement
How can mental Prague improve performance?
Create a mental picture of the skill
Help with the understanding of the requirements of the skill
Help visualise fault correction
To activate nerve impulses and reduce reaction time
Help performer to selectively attend
Improve confidence
Control arousal levels
What are the negatives of mental practice?
Should not be used as an alternative to physical practice. Should be used in conjunction with distributed practice during the rest intervals
Cannot be used on its own
Example of mental practice
A 400m hurdler going through the movement in their mind before the race
