Skill Acquisition

Question 1

What are the four coaching styles

Answer 1

• Command
• Reciprocal
• Discovery
• Problem Solving

Question 2

Identify how coaching styles are measured

Answer 2

Mosston’s spectrum

Question 3

Outline and evaluate command style coaching

Answer 3

• Authoritarian style where the coach makes the decisions and tells the learner what to do
• A-B on Mosston’s spectrum

+ Novices need to be told what to do
+ Disciplined, immediate reactions to the coach
+ Dangerous environments eg. Rock climbing
+ Avoids chaos in large/hostile groups

-High level performers know what to do and can
make their own adjustments
-Group cannot socialise while listening
-Creativity

Question 4

Outline and evaluate reciprocal style coaching

Answer 4

• The coach teaches a skill and learners will then teach one another as part of the teaching process
• D-J on Mosston’s spectrum

+ Social interaction; learners can communicate
+ Gives responsibility to learners
+ Personal development of learners taking
ownership and organising the task
+ Peer feedback may have more impact

• Novices need to be told what to do
• Doesn’t demand discipline
• Learners may inaccurately interpret the coach
  and therefore relay false information
• Learners may have poor communication skills

Question 5

Outline and evaluate discovery style coaching

Answer 5

• The learner makes the decisions guided by the coach
• H-K on Mosston’s spectrum

+ Creativity
+ Learners motivated by ownership of activity
+ High level performers know what to do and can
make complex decisions based on experience

• Learner may not choose the most efficient way
• May learn incorrect habits
• Motivation can be knocked if something goes
  wrong based off the learners decision

Question 6

Outline and evaluate problem solving style coaching

Answer 6

• Learners have to decide how to solve a problem set by the coach without any limits, help or prompting with the aim of developing the learners cognitive abilities
• L-M on Mosston’s spectrum

+ Creativity
+ Learners motivated by ownership of activity
+ High level performers know what to do and can
make complex decisions based on experience

• Learner may not choose the most efficient way
• May learn incorrect habits
• Motivation can be knocked if something goes
  wrong based off the learners decision

Question 7

What’s the difference between discovery and problem solving style coaching

Answer 7

Problem solving style is used when there aren’t correct outcomes, the performers are more experienced and there isn’t a time limit

Question 8

Outline the factors that affect the coaching style used by a coach

Answer 8

• The coach: their philosophy, personality, experience, knowledge and capability

• The activity type: depends on the learner, task complexity and the risk/danger

• The learner: their skill, fitness, personality and age

• The situation: environmental factors such as the pitch/ weather and resources available such as equipment and facilities and time available

Question 9

Define a tactic

Answer 9

A plan of action aiming to improve chances of winning or improving performance within a sport, taking into account strengths and weaknesses of the performer(s) and opponent(s). They’re often categorised into attack and defence

Question 10

Define technique

Answer 10

• The series of actions necessary to perform a physical skill accurately and efficiently
• Technique depends on the mechanics of the movement, the performers strength and physique and the requirements of the sport and skill

Question 11

Outline how technique can be refined

Answer 11

• Refinement of technique involves knowledge of the mechanics of the movement, the perfect technical model and awareness of methods to change current technique

• Performance must be observed by video analysis and compared to a perfect technical model displayed by an elite performer.

• Most of skill learning will occur in a game situation and will need to be mastered before tactics and strategy can be utilised

Question 12

Identify the difference between tactics and technique

Answer 12

Technique is the way we apply skill, while tactics are how we apply skill successfully in competitive situations

Question 13

Define strategy

Answer 13

A general approach to a competitive scenario that may not include specific techniques and tactics

Question 14

How are strategies implemented

Answer 14

Coaches will attempt to simulate a competitive environment to practice strategies, but it will often be down to players to interpret situations and apply appropriate strategies

Question 15

Identify the most crucial factor in implementing strategies and why it’s important

Answer 15

Communication between coach and performer can be utilised to effectively adjust tactics and strategies to a situation, as issues can often be unseen by performers

Question 16

Explain how tactics and strategies can be communicated effectively between a coach and performer including a sporting example

Answer 16

• Verbal communication is the simplest method but hand signals eg. fingers behind the back for volleyball players is sometimes the only way tactics can be transmitted

• Prior to 2014, in athletics field events it was forbidden for coaches to speak to athletes mid-event. From 2016 coaches can not only speak to them, but show performers videos from their attempts so technique and tactics can be altered

Question 17

Outline motor programmes

Answer 17

• General movement patterns stored in long term memory and formed through repetition that allow a performer to create and repeat a skill until the movement requires little conscious effort

• Method of dissecting skill to allow coaches to breakdown learning into subroutines that contain of all the information required to complete the skill such as which muscles to use, the order in which to use them and the phasing and degree of muscle contraction.

• They’re made up of subroutines that are adaptable and can be altered to fit different environments

Question 18

Outline subroutines

Answer 18

• A short, fixed segment of a skill which goes towards building a while movement, pattern or programme

• They can be structured in layers and dissected further into more subroutines

Question 19

Outline the advantage of learnt subroutines and therefore motor programmes

Answer 19

When effectively broken into subroutines and learned thoroughly, motor programmes can be performed automatically without conscious control and contribute to a performers autonomous phase of learning

Question 20

Define a skill

Answer 20

A learned action or behaviour with the intention of bringing about pre-determined results with maximum certainty and minimum outlay of time or energy or both

Question 21

Identify the continuums that classify skill

Answer 21

• Muscular involvement continuum
• Pacing continuum
• Continuity continuum
• Environmental influences continuum

Question 22

Outline the muscular involvement continuum

Answer 22

• Skills are distinguished based on the size of the muscle groups required to execute the action
• Skills are ranked from gross skills eg. long jump/weightlifting to fine skills eg. darts throw/spin bowl (cricket)

• Gross motor skills require the use of larger muscle groups and less precision and are categorised by fundamental motor skills like running and jumping

• Fine motor skills require greater control of smaller muscle groups, categorised by a degree of precision and hand-eye co-ordination. Larger muscle groups may be included but the smaller ones are key to the movement

Question 23

Outline the pacing continuum

Answer 23

• Skills are ranked from internally paced skills eg. golf putt/discuss throw to externally paced skills eg. service return in tennis/reacting to a starting gun

• Internally paced (set) skills are usually closed skills that are instigated by the performer who controls the timing of the performance

• Externally paced skills are usually open skills where the timing is determined by an outside source (eg an official or opponent) and always include a reaction

Question 24

Outline the continuity continuum

Answer 24

• Skills are ranked from discrete skills (eg. a rugby conversion kick) through serial skills (eg. triple jump) to continuous skills (eg running)

• Discrete skills are one distinct movement, where there’s a clear start and end. They’re brief but can be repeatable

• Serial skills are several discrete movements out together in a series or sequence and are often complex, like a gymnastics routine

• Continuous skills are repetitive movements with no clear start or finish where each movement flows to the next

Question 25

Outline the environmental influences continuum

Answer 25

• Need to rely on past experience, knowledge and perceptual skills to analyse the situation and properly execute the skill appropriately for the conditions
• Skills are ranked from open eg. a footballer shooting to closed eg. a basketball free throw

• Open skills are directly affected by the environment and require some type of adaptation to the skill each time so are never performed the same twice. They involve high load information

• Closed skills are performed in a predictable environment in the same manner every time as the movement sequence is pre-learnt and mastered. They involve low load information

Question 26

Define transfer of skill

Answer 26

When skills have been developed in one situation and can then be used in others

Question 27

Identify the types of skill transfer

Answer 27

• Positive transfer
• Negative transfer
• Bilateral transfer
• Zero transfer
• Retroactive transfer
• Proactive transfer

Question 28

Outline positive transfer

Answer 28

• Where the learning and performance of one skill is enhanced by the learning of another skill

• Transfers the stimulus-response bond from one skill to another helping to develop the correct motor programme

• Eg. Being able to transfer weight, swing and hit a ball in baseball can have a positive affect on cricket batting skills

Question 29

Outline negative transfer

Answer 29

• The learning and performance of one skill interferes with it hinders the learning of another skill
• Performers may respond incorrectly to similar stimuli and differences in kinaesthetic feedback can cause confusion

• Eg. The wrist action required in badminton is different in comparison to tennis where a rigid wrist actions required, so even through the skills are similar, the technique is different

Question 30

Outline bilateral transfer of skill

Answer 30

• Transfer of a skill from one limb to another

• Can be positive or negative, when positive bilateral transfer can help deceive a defender (using a non dominant foot)

• Eg. learning to kick a football with both feet

Question 31

Outline zero transfer of skill

Answer 31

• Skills learnt from one sport have no impact in learning new skills from another

• Eg. A lifted pass in football won’t affect the development of the butterfly stroke in swimming

Question 32

Outline retroactive transfer

Answer 32

• Current learning of a new skill influences the performance of an old skill, positively or negatively

• Eg (positive) the use of ‘soft hands’ when catching in rounders can transfer to a better cushioning catch when receiving a netball pass

• Eg (negative) learning a lofted drive in cricket (more bottom hand needed) can be counter-productive when trying to play a drive along the ground (more top hand needed)

Question 33

Outline proactive transfer

Answer 33

• Previously learnt skill influences a new skill that’s yet to be learnt , positively or negatively

• Eg. Once a motor programmes been developed for a forehand in tennis, this can be altered to develop into topspin (same motor programme but modified technique)

Question 34

State Knapp’s definition of learning

Answer 34

Learning may be considered to be more or less permanent change in performance, associated with experiences but excluding changes which occur throughout maturation and degeneration or through alterations in receptor or effector organs

Question 35

What are the two associative theories

Answer 35

• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning

Question 36

What is conditioning

Answer 36

• Form of training which habitualises certain behaviour by creating a connection between stimulus and response
• Habits become ingrained, learned behaviours that become apart of a persons automatic response to a stimulus

Question 37

What is learning

Answer 37

A change in behaviour that takes place when a connections made between stimulus and response

Question 38

Outline classical conditioning

Answer 38

• Association results in learner behaviour in response to a stimulus, initially proposed by Pavlov (1927) and is broken into three stages:

1. Prior to conditioning, an individual doesn’t produce a response to a stimulus Eg. Pavlov’s dogs salivated (unconditioned response) at food (unconditioned stimulus) but not at a bell (neutral stimulus)
2. During conditioning, the neutral stimulus (bell) is paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food) making the bell a conditioned stimulus as the dog hears the bell every time it receives food
3. Once associated, a conditioned response is formed, so the dog hears the conditioned stimulus, the bell, and produces the conditioned response of salivation

Question 39

Sporting example of classical conditioning

Answer 39

During a relay, an incoming runner would shout ‘hand’ (stimulus) when presenting the baton and the outgoing runner would present their hand (response) until the response is automatic and learned

Question 40

Outline operant conditioning

Answer 40

• Consequences of actions form behaviour. Skinner (1938) reinforced pigeons behaviours of pecking at and hitting a table tennis ball with their beaks by feeding them, eventually they could hit a ball back and forth

• This is based on trial and error by responding to behaviours in three ways:
1. Positive reinforcement: addition of a positive reward, strengthening the s-r bond
2. Negative reinforcement: removal of a negative stimulus, strengthening the s-r bond
3. Punishment: addition of a negative stimulus or withholding of a positive stimulus, weakening the s-r bond

Question 41

Who proposed the three laws of learning

Answer 41

Edward Thorndike (1932)

Question 42

What are the three laws of learning

Answer 42

• The law of exercise
• The law of readiness
• The law of effect

Question 43

Outline Thorndike’s law of exercise

Answer 43

• Repeating or practicing the movement strengthens the stimulus-response bond and so helps learning
• A lack of practice or reinforcement weakens the S-R bond

• Eg. The number of times a successful tackles made, the stronger the S-R bond

Question 44

Outline Thorndike’s law of readiness

Answer 44

• A performer must be prepared and willing to learn the skill
• If the learner’s too young, too immature or perceptually inexperienced the skill can’t be performed, weakening the S-R bond and hindering learning

• Eg. If advanced tactics and strategies are employed too early on in a young netball team there’s a high chance they’ll be unsuccessful and potentiall lose motivation

Question 45

Outline Thorndike’s law of effect

Answer 45

• The use of reinforcement (satisfier) helps to strengthen the S-R bond, but it will be weakened if behaviours followed by a punishment (annoyer)
• Satisfaction or enjoyments positive reinforcement that strengthens the S-R bond while failure or lack of pleasures a form of negative reinforcement that weakens the S-R bond

• Eg. If a performers developing backhand topspin in tennis and gains success (satisfier) then they’ll be inclined to keep paying it, however if the shots continually unsuccessful (annoyer) it could end up being avoided with alternatives with perceived better change of success replacing it

Question 46

Who proposed the three stages of learning

Answer 46

Fitts and Posner (1967)

Question 47

Outline Fitts and Posner’s (1967) three stages of learning

Answer 47

Suggested there are three sequential stages of learning; cognitive, associative and autonomous.

Some performers may move quickly through the stages or the skill may be easy to learn while some skills are more complex and may never be fully learnt

Question 48

Outline the cognitive phase of learning

Answer 48

• The early phase of learning where the focus is on developing the fundamentals and mental practice occurs to help the learner form a basic understanding on the skill.

• The skills performed inconsistently, with only slight improvement being made

• Reliant on guidance due to a lack of understanding

• Basic errors are common due to the trial and error nature of this phase

• No understanding how to adapt performance when faced with a variety of situations

• Large proportion of attention is directed to completing the skill

Question 49

Describe the role of feedback in the cognitive phase of learning

Answer 49

• External feedback because the athlete won’t have the knowledge to provide internal feedback
• Positive feedback because the athlete won’t he motivated enough to accept negative feedback
• Terminal feedback as concurrent feedback could be distracting

Question 50

Outline the associative phase of learning

Answer 50

• The intermediate or practice phase, where a shift towards physical practice takes place and performers start to develop fundamental skills to a more advanced level although a ‘revisit’ to the cognitive phase can still occur.

• Skill performance becomes more consistent with the largest improvement made during this stage

• Specific motor programmes and subroutines relevant to the sport are developed

• Gross error detection and correction’s practiced and detailed due to a developing kinaesthetic feel

• Understanding of adapting the skill to various situations

• A balance between conscious and autonomous control over the skill

Question 51

Describe the role of feedback in the associative phase of learning

Answer 51

• Less extrinsic feedback, with a shift towards intrinsic feedback as the athlete begins to develop a kinaesthetic feel of the skill
• Positive feedback is still more effective, as setbacks are still frequent and negative feedback may reduce motivation

Question 52

Outline the autonomous phase of learning

Answer 52

• The final phase of learning where physical practice and analysis of the practice takes place and the performer is highly proficient

• Skills are successfully performed on a consistent basis with only slight improvement being made

• The learner has total knowledge of the skill, and are better at processing relevant information and picking up important cues, anticipating counterattacks (eg badminton player anticipates a return shot by body position/ movement patterns)

• Very few errors are made due to a strong kinaesthetic feel and the focus is generally more on tactics and strategies

• The learner can easily adapt their skill performance to suit different situations

• The movements under autonomous control with little to no conscious thought

Question 53

Describe the role of feedback in the autonomous phase of learning

Answer 53

• Intrinsic feedback as an athlete has a strong kinaesthetic feel of how the skill should feel
• Concurrent feedback as it is quicker and wont be distracting because the skill will be autonomous
• Negative feedback as the athlete is highly motivated and able to accept negative feedback

Question 54

Outline the efficacy of practice

Answer 54

Depends on the quality and quantity of practice and can only be of benefit if it’s the right type of practice, the appropriateness (vary over the season) will affect skill development

Question 55

Identify practice methods

Answer 55

• Whole practice
• Part practice
• Progressive part practice
• Part practice

Question 56

Outline ‘whole practice’

Answer 56

• A skill’s practiced in total and taught without
breaking it into subroutines

• Skills will be high organisational, can’t be broken
into parts (interrelated subroutines/ballistic or
requires temporal or spatial coordination
• E.G. somersault in gymnastics

• The performer will be experienced in the later
stages of learning, utilising distributed practice
+ Allows performers to gain a kinaesthetic feel for
the whole movement leading to better fluidity
from practice to competition

Question 57

Outline ‘part practice’

Answer 57

• The skill is broken into sub-routines that
performers can learn, practice and perfect
before moving to the next phase, using massed
practice

• Skills are low organisational, complex or are slow
or serial tasks. For skills that have independent
subroutines or are dangerous
• E.G. triple jump

• The performer will be struggling with the skill, a
beginner in the early stages of learning or have
limited attention span or motivation

+ Novices gain confidence with each step
-No fluency/kinaesthetic feel

Question 58

Outline ‘progressive part’ practice

Answer 58

• Skills are broken into subroutines and then
practiced with the next movement in the
sequence. Then they’re combined into the whole
movement or bigger parts for further practice

• Skills are serial, complex, require spatial/
temporal coordination and have good transfer
to the whole movement. Used for routines of
skills chained together E.G. gymnastics floor
routine

Question 59

Outline ‘whole-part-whole’ practice

Answer 59

• Involves initial exposure to the sill before
breaking it down into parts and putting it back
together.

• Skills are serial and low organisational

• Performers get a look at how it’s performers and
practice the whole skill, developing a kinaesthetic
feel for the movement, before attempting the
phases

Question 60

Identify practice structures

Answer 60

• Massed practice
• Distributed practice
• Fixed practice
• Variable practice

Question 61

Outline ‘massed practice’

Answer 61

• Involved sessions of long duration with no
breaks, used for grooving skills and encouraging
a habitual response. Only used during pre-
season or for endurance based events

• Skills are short duration discrete skills

• Performers are highly conditioned and of an elite standard where they can rely on intrinsic feedback to rectify problems

+ Allow them to test skills when fatigued
-Lead to fatigue and boredom and can cause elements of negative transfer

Question 62

Outline ‘distributed practice’

Answer 62

• Sessions are broken down into different
sections, focusing on various parts of a
performance in one session. Can also refer to
several shorter sessions a week rather than a few
longer sessions

• Performers are novices that require more
extrinsic feedback, performers with low levels of
conditioning or to target weaknesses

Question 63

Outline ‘fixed practice’

Answer 63

• Involves repetition of an activity to develop a
specific motor programme, so skills can be ‘over
learnt’ (habitual skills performed automatically in
response to a stimulus so attention can be
directed peripherally to other elements of the
game)

• Ideal for closed skills performed the same way in practice and competition or novice performers to learn fundamentals of a skill

Question 64

Outline ‘variable practice’

Answer 64

• Involves a variety of activities/situations to mimic
a competitive situation

• Ideal for exposure to performing open skills on
more challenging, ever-changing environments

• Ideal for elite performed although coaches will
slowly introduce novice athletes to prepare them
for competitive environments

Question 65

Outline and evaluate mental practice

Answer 65

• Works by creating a mental picture of the skill,
producing small muscle contractions in the
same sequence as actual practice. Must be as
realistic as possible to be effective

• Used between rest and recovery periods
during and in between performances to focus on
important aspects of skills to learn a movement
more effectively.

+ Envisage success in competition
+ Mental warm-up to promote a state of readiness
+ Builds self-confidence, controls arousal and
indices calmness before performance

Question 66

Identify the types of guidance

Answer 66

• Verbal guidance
• Visual guidance
• Manual guidance
• Mechanical guidance

Question 67

Outline and evaluate verbal guidance

Answer 67

• Often used to accompany visual guidance to explain tactics, technical information and highlight key points. It can also be used to condition a response by giving reinforcement.
• Very useful for autonomous learners who can use information easily

• E.G. key points on how to perform a push pass in hockey, supported by a demonstration

+ Quick decisions
- Hard to visualise for novices/ complex language

Question 68

Outline and evaluate visual guidance

Answer 68

• Conducted through demonstration, video or visual aids (pictures,manuals,displays) to show the skill to a performer. Demonstrations should be realistic and not too complex, emphasise relevant details and be repeated

• E.G. Video can be used to help demonstrate parts of a dance routine

+ Mental picture created and locate visual cues;
good for cognitive learners
-Demonstration may be incorrect/ can’t ask
questions

Question 69

Outline and evaluate manual guidance

Answer 69

• Physical support for either safety reasons or to teach a new skill with the correct technique

• E.G. coach supporting a gymnast during asymmetric bar movements
• E.G. placing limbs in correct positions for a novice thrower

+ Develops a kinaesthetic feel
+ Useful for cognitive learners/dangerous skills
(reduces risk of injury)
-Performer becomes over-reliant, reducing intrinsic feedback so progress is compromised
-1:1 needed

Question 70

Outline and evaluate mechanical guidance

Answer 70

• Use of mechanical aids to control or restrict movements

• E.G. elite runners can use ‘assisted training’ where someone in front pulls them along to increase running speed
• E.G. stabilisers on bike m, flotation devices in swimming

+ Used to assist with safety regulation (reduces injury risk) and confidence (in beginners)
+ Builds some level of kinaesthesia
-Performer becomes over-reliant, reducing intrinsic feedback so progress is compromised

Question 71

Identify technologies that underpin guidance

Answer 71

Verbal: MP3/audio files on computers allow players to listen to verbal guidance from a peer or coach to reinforce technique or effort

Visual: Mobile phones can produce digital video displays that can provide visual guidance to the performer at a later date

Question 72

Outline feedback and identify the different types

Answer 72

• Defined as

• Feedback is used for motivation, reinforcement, detection of errors and correction of errors
• Should be detailed but not too long, specific, age appropriate language, as soon as possible, relevant, accurate and constructive.

Types of feedback include:
• Positive Feedback
• Negative Feedback
• Intrinsic Feedback
• Extrinsic Feedback
• Concurrent Feedback
• Terminal Feedback
• Knowledge of Performance
• Knowledge of Results

Question 73

Outline and evaluate positive feedback, including an example

Answer 73

• Constructive feedback that offers praise and encouragement

• Positive feedback is usually extrinsic and outlines what was performed correctly
• E.g. After performing a sprint start in athletics, a coach praises a young athlete on their body position and balance

+ Important for novices and beginners to know
what to repeat and increase motivation
-Too much positive feedback nah cause
reinforcement of inappropriate S-R bonds if a
skill’s performed incorrectly

Question 74

Outline and evaluate negative feedback, including an example

Answer 74

• Feedback used to suppress an aspect of performance.

• This can be useful, however further feedback should follow on how to correct errors in technique
• E.g. Feedback involving the slight change of body position in cycling to reduce drag

+ Useful for beginners to improve and experts to
fine tune their technique
-Regular negative feedback can be demotivating

Question 75

Outline and evaluate intrinsic feedback

Answer 75

• Comes from the performer. There are two types of intrinsic feedback

• Kinaesthetic intrinsic feedback is the information fed directly into the spinal chord from the muscles, tendons and joints that provides information about where the body is in space that can be responded to without conscious control
• Proprioceptive intrinsic feedback is when we receive information from touch receptors, balance mechanisms in the inner ear and stretch receptors in muscles

+ Becomes more effective as performers improve
-Performers in the cognitive phase haven’t fully
developed their motor programmes, so
kinaesthetic awareness won’t be good enough
for intrinsic feedback

Question 76

Outline and evaluate extrinsic feedback

Answer 76

• Comes from an external source, such as a coach, teammate or video

+ Essential for novice performers that rely on expert advice which can also aid motivation
-Must be accurate and given by an expert or
qualified leader
-Over-reliance on extrinsic feedback can
compromise progress as performers always seek
external advice and approval

Question 77

Outline and evaluate concurrent feedback, including an example

Answer 77

• Information a performer receives about their performance during the activity

• Can either be from kinaesthetic feel (intrinsic) or from coaches/teammates (extrinsic) so the performer can adjust their performance
• E.g. Tennis player adjusting their serve technique on the 2nd serve or the use of GPS data during a rugby match can be used by an analysis team to make substitution decisions

+ Performer can adjust performance during the
activity
-Novices can’t use kinaesthetic feel and extrinsic
advice must be accurate and given by an expert
or qualified leader

Question 78

Outline and evaluate terminal feedback, including an example

Answer 78

• Information a performer receives about their performance after the activity

• Comes from an extrinsic source straight after or an extended time period later (video analysis)
• E.g. high jumper looking at their technique on a big screen

+ Essential for novice performers that rely on
expert advice which can also aid motivation
-Must be accurate and given by an expert or
qualified leader

Question 79

Outline and evaluate knowledge of performance as a type of feedback, including an example

Answer 79

• A form of extrinsic feedback where the performer gains an understanding about their performance. This is in terms of form, technique and quality of a specific area of weakness over the overall outcome.

• Identifies if a skill was performed better than previously and can form a part of an athletes overall periodised training plan
• E.g. a tennis player looking to develop their success rate on 1st serves early in the season

+ Important for beginners or the development of
skill technique and teamwork that are more
important at a young age than the outcome of a
game

Question 80

Outline and evaluate knowledge of results as a type of feedback, including an example

Answer 80

• Knowledge of the outcome of performance, whether you were successful or if you won or lost form the basis of this type of feedback

• Knowledge of results in the form of how successful a technique is/was is also important and can allow a link between success and a new technique
• E.g. a younger netball Goal Shooter (GS) will want to know if their shot has gone in after practicing their technique for an extended period of time

+ More focus from elite athletes
-Younger athletes should avoid this and focus on developing overall performance

Question 81

Identify technologies that underpin feedback

Question 82

Define an intellectual skill

Answer 82

• Involve mental powers or planning strategies and tactics to outwit and opponent or calculating split times required to run a race in a certain time

• E.g. problem solving, verbal reasoning

Question 83

Define a perceptive skill

Answer 83

• Making sense of information coming via the senses

• E.g. Netball player will have to interpret a lot of information such as their location, other players locations or the flight of the ball

Question 84

Define a motor skill

Answer 84

• Executing physical movements and responses

• E.g. The completion of a pass, dribble or shot resulting in a successful basket or defensive play in basketball

Question 85

Outline motor control

Answer 85

J.A Adams (1971) proposed a motor control theory in which we detect and correct errors through closed-loop control of motor programmes. He suggested that motor programmes are made up of two areas of stored information:
• The memory trace which is used for selecting
and initiating movement, operating as an open-
loop system of control prior to the perceptual
trace
• The perceptual trace which controls the
movement once it’s started and uses a point of
reference (past experiences of movement) to
determine the extent of movement in progress.
It operates a closed-loop system of control so
when there’s a deviation from the perfect
execution of the motor programme adjustments
can be made via intrinsic feedback

Split into three levels:
• Level one: open-loop control
• Level two: closed-loop control
• Level three: closed-loop control

Question 86

Outline open-loop control

Answer 86

• In open-loop control, once a motor programme has been but into action there is no feedback involved as there’s no time to act on it

• Applies to closed and self-paced skills, motor programmes with simple and well-learnt subroutines that are completed rapidly and automatically without feedback time.
• The results of open-loop controlled skills can be improved by using knowledge of results as feedback

• Open-loop control indicates motor skills however it’s inflexible when unpredictable changes arise.
• E.g. In a slip catch, a cricket player will only have fractions of a second to choose a motor programme and execute it

Question 87

Explain the information processing model of open-loop control

Answer 87

An input is perceived so an executive system makes a decision and triggers a motor control mechanism or effector system.
This sends a motor command that produces an output of movement.

Question 88

Outline closed-loop control

Answer 88

• The use of feedback is involved in detecting and correcting errors during the performance, termed the ‘perceptual trace’
• Split into two levels; level 2 and level 3 (level 1 is an open-loop control)

• Feedback is short and gathered from kinaesthesis and proprioception during the execution of a skill and stored in the long term memory for future reference
• This allows quick, subconscious corrections to take place during the movement e.g. a slalom skier will make quick adjustments to retain balance

• E.g. When a gymnast performs a handstand, if they start to lose balance, the proprioceptors will detect changes in balance and as a result of processing the information from these receptors the brain will trigger muscular contractions to maintain the handstand

Question 89

Explain the difference between level two and three of closed-loop control

Answer 89

• Level two involves reflex actions, controlled by the central nervous system, which allow for quick sub-conscious adjustments during the performance of skill

• Level three control involves the brain interpreting intrinsic feedback, so conscious control occur more slowly and often results in jerky movements as comparisons have been made so adjustments can take place

Question 90

Explain the information processing model of closed-loop control

Answer 90

An input is perceived so an executive system makes a decision and triggers a motor control mechanism or effector system.
This sends a motor command that produces an output of movement.
This movement produces feedback and allows for the detection and then correction of a mistake in said movement

Question 91

Outline information processing in sport

Answer 91

• When a performer interprets and judges information around them and chooses a skill to put into action

• Broken into four stages:
1. Input
2. Decision making
3. Output
4. Feedback

Question 92

Outline the input phase of the information processing model

Answer 92

Stimuli from the display (physical environment the learners performing in) are taken in by sense organs and analysed

Question 93

Define stimuli

Answer 93

Any information available to thought processes

Question 94

Outline the decision making phase of the information processing model

Answer 94

• Selecting an appropriate response about what to do on the basis of information collected from the display

• Broken into four steps:
1. Sense organs / Receptor systems:
Sense organs including vision, hearing and
proprioception gather information that’s passed
via nerves to the CNS

2. Selective attention
   Represented in diagrams by less arrows joining
   sense organs to perceptions. Involves focusing
   on and interpreting relevant information and
   ignoring irrelevant cues; filtering relevant
   information
3. Perception/Perceptual mechanisms
   The process of the brain judging and
   interpreting information, made up of three
   processes:
   • Detection: the brain identifies a stimulus is
   present
   • Comparison: The stimulus is compared to
   similar stimuli previously stored in memory
   • Recognition: When the stimulus is matched to
   one stored in the memory it’s now identified of
   recognised
4. Decision making/translatory mechanism
   Response selection where the athlete selects
   the right skill for the situation

Question 95

Outline the output phase of the information processing model

Answer 95

• Programming the muscles to produce the movement required

• Nerve impulses are sent via the motor neurones for the relevant motor units that must work in a particular order to create the right amount of force to successfully produce the skill. Sometimes the motor programme is modified to suit the situation. Once nerve impulses are sent the skill is carried out

Question 96

Outline the feedback phase of the information processing model

Answer 96

• When the motor programmes been put into practice by the effector mechanism the display changes to create new information, this new information is feedback and can be used to adjust the action

• In closed-loop skills there’s time for feedback to allow modifications during performance

Question 97

Identify the two models of information processing

Answer 97

• Welford’s model
• Whitings model

(All conflicting names for stages are given in that order in subsequent flashcards)

Question 98

Outline memory

Answer 98

• Memory is central to our ability to recieve and interpret relevant information, make a decision and pass the appropriate information to the body’s effector systems

• Represented in the multi-store memory model that was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). It consists of three parts: short term sensory store, short term memory and long term memory

Question 99

Outline the short term sensory store of the multi-store memeory model

Answer 99

• An area of the brain that receives all stimuli from a display and holds it for a very short time (0.25-1second) prior to processing
• It has a large capacity and encodes information in separate stores for each sense (modality specific).

• Information is passed to the short term memory through attention and selective attention is the process of sorting out the relevant bits of information.
• Attentional wastage is focusing on irrelevant information and will affect cognitive learners.

Question 100

Outline Selective Attention

Answer 100

Selective attention is the process of sorting out the relevant bits of information from the many that are received.
• Autonomous performers can focus on several things or focus totally on important aspects of the skill; irrelevant information’s disregarded.
• E.g. a sprinter ignores the crowd when the gun goes off. This helps us react quickly.

• Perceptual mechanisms determine what information’s important and directs the attention to this; this is the recognition aspect of perception.

• Selective attention can be developed by relevant practice, increasing stimulus intensity, use of verbal (e.g. “keep your eyes on the ball”) or kinaesthetic (e.g. a swimmer putting their hand through the water) cues, the use of visualisation/mental rehearsal and watching models

Question 101

Outline short term memory of the multi-store memeory model

Answer 101

• Area of the brain that keeps information for a short period (20-30 seconds) after it’s been deemed worthy of attention.
• It has a capacity of 5-9 (7+-2) items and encodes information in separate stores for each sense.

• The amount of information held can be increased through chunking, where information is ‘lumped together’ and can be used for decision making and passed to the long term memory for permanent storage

Question 102

Outline long term memory of the multi-store memeory model

Answer 102

• Area of the brain that retains information for long periods of time, which can be up to a lifetime and is stored in the form of motor programmes

• The long term memory has a two-way relationship with short term memory; information can be moved between them. Long term memory holds unlimited information permanently that has been well-learnt and practiced in the form of motor programmes, e.g. riding a bike.

• Long term memory is the recognition part of the perceptual process

Question 103

Explain how retention can be improved in the long term memory

Answer 103

• Retention can be improved by educating the performer on details of the skill and explaining how to do it. Information must be brief not to overload the short term memory which can only hold small amounts of information.

• KISS (keep it simple stupid) shoukd be followed and skills should be carefully separated from similar skills to enable the performer to distinguish them.
• Requires organisation, meaningful information, associated with already learnt information, practice (makes perfect), repetition of any information or skill will enable it to be remembered