Principles of Practice Flashcards
practice
- definitions
- continued practice helps…
acquisition of a skill/task through repetitive performance of that skill/task
dedicated effort toward improving upon a skill
continued practice helps shape, retain, and develop a motor skill
practice is the _____ phase of motor learning
acquisition phase
what is the most important factor in retaining motor skills
amount of practice
training vs practice
training
-aimed at improving physiological function and physical proficiency
practice
-aimed at learning decision-making skills and motor execution skills
-improving mental performance, tactics, strategies, team play, and motor skill
underlying principles of practice
it is not good enough to simply practice something over and over and over
-practice does not make perfect
-perfect practice does not make perfect
errors need to be made for learning to occur
-subject learns how to solve the motor problem with self-generated solutions
principles of experience-dependent plasticity
use it or lose it use it and improve it specificity repetition matters intensity matters
specificity
-what does it mean
nature of training determines the nature of the plasticity
use it or lose it
failure to drive specific brain functions can lead to functional degradation
use it and improve it
training that drives specific brain function can lead to enhancement
repetition matters
induction of plasticity requires repetition
intensity matters
induction of plasticity requires sufficient training intensity
principles of experience-dependent plasticity pt. 2
time matters salience matters age matters transference interference
time matters
different forms of plasticity occur at different times during training
salience matters
the training experience must have sufficient meaning to the learner to induce plasticity
age matters
training-induced plasticity occurs more readily in younger brains
transference
plasticity in response to one training experience can enhance the acquisition of similar behaviors
inferference
plasticity in response to one experience can interfere with acquisition of other behaviors
practice domains
structure schedule spacing components rehearsal optimal task difficulty
structure
-different options
constant vs variable
schedule
-different options
blocked vs random
spacing
-different options
massed vs. distributed
components
-different options
whole vs. part
rehearsal
-different options
physical vs. imagery
practice structure
-constant vs variable
constant: practice the same skill in the same condition
- closed environment
variable: practicing the skill while varying parameters of the skill
- relative components of skill
- relative timing of the skill
- relative displacement/velocity and force of the skill
- relative environmental conditions
which is better, constant or variable structure
variable
-practicing a variety of different ways to perform a skill during practice provides learner opportunity to apply different parameters to skill
practice variability vs. specificity
not contradictory variability relates to movement characteristics of skill performed in practice specificity relates to -sensory-perceptual information -environmental context -cognitive processes
practice structure
-for the initial stages of learning
relate this to cognitive stage of learning
learner needs to understand basic components of the task before adding variability
-discrete –> fewer task components –> early variability
-serial/continuous –> if repetitive, early variability
-complex tasks –> longer duration constant practice proportional complexity
THE MORE COMPLEX, THE LONGER THE CONSTANT PRACTICE SHOULD BE
practice schedule
- what does this refer to?
- blocked vs random
practice shedule for several tasks practiced in same session
blocked
-practice of one skill before practicing the next skill’s trials are performed sequentially without interruption
random
-various skills practiced in unsystematic way; trials are usually never performed more than once in order
contextual interference (CI)
- definition
- what are factors that make performing a task more difficult in practice
a memory and performance disruption that results from performing multiple skills or variations of a skill within context of a single practice situation
factors that make a task more difficult
-internal to task
-external to task
level of CI conditions for blocked vs. random practice schedules
blocked
-low CI conditions
-better practice performance in immediate retention tests
random
-high CI conditions during acquisition phase
-results in more errors during practice and acquisition
-learner is more accurate when performing a novel future transfer test
practice schedules with high contextual interference lead to…
better persistent improvement (long-term learning)
practicing a skill with high CI leads to poor _____ but better _____
poor performance during initial practice
better performance on retention and transfer tests for different skills - more learning
continuum of contextual interference effect
-low to high
nonrepeated blocks of trials of each task variation
derial repetition of short blocks of trials of each variation
random repetition of short blocks of trials of each task variation
serial order of all trials of all task variations
random order of trials of all task variations
hypotheses to explain the effectiveness of random scheduling
elaboration hypothesis
action plan reconstruction hypothesis
elaboration hypothesis
- what is it?
- learner can…
random practice causes learner to engage more strategies and then elaborate or discover the distinctive nature of each skill
learner can compare/contrast the nuances involved so that each becomes distinct find a new aspect of the skill); this doesn’t happen when performing a skill over and over
action plan reconstruction hypothesis (“forgetting” or “spacing” hypothesis
- random practice creates….
- high amounts of CI benefit learning because…
- random practice encourages use of…
- blocked practice tends to lead learners to…
random practice creates inter-trial interference
-allows short-term forgetting, requiring learner to generate a solution on every trial
-initial performance is hindered
high amounts of CI benefit learning because person reconstructs action plan on the next practice trial
random practice encourages use of retrieval skills with long-term memory
blocked practice tends to lead learners to over-estimate how well they are learning during practice
implementing practice variability
-closed vs. open skill
closed
-if future performance has no inter-trial variability of regulatory conditions, deep regulatory conditions but vary non-regulatory
-if high inter-trial variability, vary both regulatory and non-regulatory conditions
open
-must perform novel variations within changing contexts
practice components
-whole-task vs. prat-task practice
whole-task
-presenting a complete task to learners that can be practices as a single unit
part-task
-splitting a task into sub-tasks that may be practiced in isolation from the whole
practice components
-can base practice on…
skill complexity
-number of parts or components of a skill
-attention demands (musket loading)
skill organization
-high organization = components are spatially and temporally interdependent (playing music)
-low organization
*complexity and organization lie on a continuum (pole vault)
*a skill can be high in both complexity and organization, low in both, or high in one and low in another
part practice vs whole task
break a skill down into smaller parts
- serial skills
- complex tasks
- can eliminate burden of repeating simple parts of a task
implementing part vs. whole practice
- low complexity and high organization
- high complexity and low organization
low complexity and high organization
-practice whole skill
high complexity and low organization
-practice part skill
part practice strategies
fractionization
segmentation
simplification
fractionization
-what is it
involves practicing separate components of the whole skill
- typically with asymmetric limb coordination
- left hand or right hand on piano
segmentation
-what is it
separating skill into parts, practicing parts so taht after 1 part is practices, it is practiced with next part
simplification
-what is it
reducing difficulty of different parts
practice spacing
-massed vs. distributed (spaced)
massed
-practice time»_space; rest time
-leads to fewer practice sessions, short intervals between practice sessions
distributed (spaced)
-practice time < rest time
-long intervals between sessions
-practice must be extended over longer time to equal practice volume of massed practice
practice spacing
- quote
- what must PT decide
“with any considerable number of repetitions a suitable distribution of them over a space of time is decidedly more advantageous than the massing of them at a single time”
PT must decide
-how many practice schedules to schedule each week
-how to space or distribute practice between each practice session
spaced learning more effective than massed learning for…
facts, concepts, lists
skill learning/motor learning
classroom learning
spaced learning theories
consolidation theory
consolidation theory
-two assumptions
the state of a neural circuit following the first learning trial is such that a second trial will not increase consolidation of the first (molecular mechanisms saturated) - molecular effects must first decay
probability that second trial can reinforce first decreases with time
practice spacing
-what are the mechanisms underlying this superiority
dendrites become primed by 1st stimulus, primed dendrites need time to grow before 2nd stimulus
spaced practice neural correlates - Theta Burst Stimulation
- what is it?
- what does it do
repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol
- enhances LTP in hippocampus
- TBS delivered at 10 or 40 minute intervals –> no increase in LTP
- 60-90 minute duration led to increased dendritic spine synthesis and stability
spaced practice neural correlates - what is causing the change when the inter-trial interval is
- > /= 1 day
- > /= 1 hour
- minutes to 1 hour
- seconds to minutes
>/= 1 day -reactivation of stored memory >/= 1 hour -transcription and translation minutes to 1 hour -kinase activities and replacement of receptors seconds to minutes -second messengers
practice rehearsal
-physical vs. mental
physical
-physical performance of the skill
mental
-active cognitive or mental rehearsal of a skill
–person may think about procedural aspects of a skill
–engage in visual or kinesthetic imagery of performance (whole or parts)
-acquisition or performance preparation
focus of mental imagery
-internal vs external
internal
-1st person perspective
-individual imagines being inside his/her body and experiences sensations which would be expected in the actual situation
external imagery
-3rd person perspective
-individual views from the perspective of the observer
mental imagery types
motivational
cognitive
motivational mental imagery
-types
specific -represents specific goals -winning a medal for first place general mastery -effective coping strategies and mastery of a challenging situation -being confident or focused general arousal -represents feeling of relaxation, stress, anxiety -being relaxed before an event
cognitive
- types
- what is each?
specific
-imagery of performing specific skills
general
-imagery of strategies related to an event
-strategy to overcome a full-court press, organize items for cooking a meal
theoretical explanations for why imagery works
neuromuscular theory
cognitive theory
neuromuscular theory of imagery
- what is it?
- what happens?
- transcranial magnetic stimulation evidence
act of visualizing oneself executing a movement results in the activation of the same pathways in the brain that would have been activated had the movement actually been performed
-sub-threshold activity in motor cortex
TMS evidence
-visual cortex excitability increases in visual cortex with visualization
-motor cortex excitability increases with imagery of limb movement in the absence of any physical movement
cognitive theory
-what is it?
imagery facilitates the acquisition of the cognitive elements of a skill
- learners develop an understanding of movement requirements and develop performance strategies
- efficiency of imagery in that learner can practice a skill without risk of injury or fatigue
mental + physical > all conditions
mental > no practice
do brain and muscle activation mirror the intensity of the activity imagined
-examples
minute electrical discharge from muscles were in same proportion to actual task performance vegetative responses (HR, O2 consumption) covary with the degree of imagined effort time taken to mentally perform task matches time to physically perform
what impact does skill at imagery have?
amount of benefit from imagery is related to a person’s imagery ability
optimal task difficulty
-factors to consider
nominal task difficulty
functional task difficulty
nominal vs. functional task difficulty
nominal
-difficulty of task regardless of who is performing
-related to skill complexity
-information processing requirement increases with difficulty
function
-relative to skill level of performer
optimal task difficulty: balance test
- transfer test
- retention test
- % attentional demands
transfer test
-level 2 (of 4) showed the greatest improvements
retention test
-level 2 (of 4) showed the greatest improvements
at about 50% of max attentional demands produced greatest improvements
