Skill Aq - Subject Specific Vocabulary

Question 1

Define discrete skills

Answer 1

Discrete skills have a clear beginning and end.

Question 2

Define serial skills

Answer 2

• Serial skills are several skills linked together.

Question 3

Define continuous skills

Answer 3

• Continuous skills have no clear beginning or end.

Question 4

Define gross skills

Answer 4

Gross skills use large muscle groups.

Question 5

Define fine skills

Answer 5

• Fine skills use smaller muscle groups.

Question 6

Define high organisation skills

Answer 6

High organisation skills are difficult to break down into parts/sub routines.

Question 7

Define low organisation skills

Answer 7

• Low organisation skills are easy to break down into parts/sub routines.

Question 8

Define open skills

Answer 8

Open skills are performed in unstable, ever changing environments.

Question 9

Define closed skills

Answer 9

• Closed skills are performed in stable, unchanging environments.

Question 10

Define self-paced skilsl

Answer 10

Self-paced skills allow the performer to decide when they start and how fast they perform.

Question 11

Define externally-paced skills

Answer 11

Externally-paced skills have their start, and the speed at which they are performed dictated
by external factors.

Question 12

Define simple skills

Answer 12

Simple skills require few decisions to be made when performing. They may also require
limited coordination and concentration due to a limited number of sub routines.

Question 13

Define complex skills

Answer 13

Complex skills require high levels of information processing / lots of decisions to be made.
They may also require high levels of coordination and concentration due to a high number
of sub routines

Question 14

Define skill

Answer 14

Skill is the learned ability to bring about a predetermined result with the minimum outlay of
time and/or energy.

Question 15

Define positive transfer

Answer 15

• Positive: The learning of one skill aids the learning of another.

Question 16

Define negative transfer

Answer 16

• Negative: The learning of one skill hinders the learning of another.

Question 17

Define zero transfer

Answer 17

• Zero: The learning of one skill has no effect on the learning of another.

Question 18

Define bilateral transfer

Answer 18

Bilateral: The learning of a skill using a limb on one side of the body can be transferred
across to the limb on the other side of the body.

Question 19

Define whole practice

Answer 19

Whole practice: Practising a skill its entirety eg sub routine A B and C all together

Question 20

Define whole-part-whole practice

Answer 20

Whole-part-whole practice: Demonstrating the skill in its entirety, eg ABC, to identify a
specific weakness. Practising the weakness in isolation eg B. The putting it all back together
again, eg ABC.

Question 21

Define progressive part practice

Answer 21

Progressive part practice: Learning the first part of a skill before adding parts one at a
time eg A, B, AB, C, ABC. Sometimes called chaining.

Question 22

Define distributed practice

Answer 22

• Distributed practice: Practising with rest intervals.

Question 23

Define massed practice

Answer 23

• Massed practice: Practising without rest interval.

Question 24

Define mental practice

Answer 24

Mental practice: Rehearsing a skill in your head with no physical movement. Can be done
from an internal perspective eg looking from within yourself or external perspective eg like
watching yourself on TV.

Question 25

Define variable practice

Answer 25

• Variable practice: Repeatedly changing practice type, drills, or situation.

Question 26

Define insight learning

Answer 26

The theory aims to develop a performer’s learning by understanding the relationship
between the sub-routines or different factors that may influence the whole problem rather
than learning specific movement patterns.

Question 27

Define learning plateau

Answer 27

A period where no improvement is made in performance.

Question 28

Define observational learning

Answer 28

This theory states we learn via watching others. Bandura’s model suggests 4 factors which affect
the success of observation learning

Question 29

Define positive reinforcement

Answer 29

Positive reinforcement: Introduction of a desirable stimulus following the correct
response.

Question 30

Define negative reinforcement

Answer 30

Negative reinforcement: The removal of an undesirable stimulus after the correct
response

Question 31

Define punishment

Answer 31

• Punishment: Introduction of an undesirable stimuli after the incorrect response.

Question 32

Define cognitive stage of learning

Answer 32

Cognitive stage of learning: This is the first stage where learning is very much trial and
error. The performer lacks a clear mental image of what the skill should look like so learns
through observing others to develop understanding of the relationships between subroutines. Large errors will often be made.

Question 33

Define intrinsic feedback

Answer 33

Feedback from within the performer.

Question 34

Define knowledge of performance

Answer 34

Feedback about the execution of the skill.

Question 35

Define knowledge of resultd

Answer 35

Feedback about the outcome of the skill.

Question 36

Define manual guidance

Answer 36

A coach can physically support an athlete during a movement.

Question 37

Define mechanical guidance

Answer 37

The use of artificial aids to support an athlete during a movement.

Question 38

Define negative feedback

Answer 38

Feedback about what went wrong. The correction of errors.

Question 39

Define positive feedback

Answer 39

Feedback about what went well.

Question 40

Define verbal guidance

Answer 40

Using spoken words to bring about an improvement in performance.

Question 41

Define visual guidance

Answer 41

Providing information which can be observed to bring about an improvement in performance.

Question 42

Define temporal anticipation

Answer 42

• Temporal anticipation: Refers to the timing of an action or when something will occur.

Question 43

Define spatial anticipation

Answer 43

• Spatial anticipation: Where an individual thinks an action will occur.

Question 44

Define central executive

Answer 44

Central executive: The control centre of the working memory. It directs information to the
other sub systems.

Question 45

Define episodic buffer

Answer 45

Episodic buffer: Acts as a link between the other two sub systems to create sequences that
can be compared to or stored in the long term memory.

Question 46

Define phonological loop

Answer 46

• Phonological loop: Deals with sounds.

Question 47

Define visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 47

Visuospatial sketchpad: Deals with information which can be seen and understanding
where things are taking place in relation to each other.D

Question 48

Define Hick’s Law

Answer 48

The more choices there are the slower reaction time.

Question 49

Define chunking

Answer 49

• Chunking: Breaking actions into sub routines or parts so they can be more easily recalled.

Question 50

Define chaining

Answer 50

• Chaining: Linking bits of information together so it can be stored as one item.

Question 51

Define perception

Answer 51

The process of filtering and making sense of sensory information.

Question 52

Define psychological refractory period

Answer 52

The delay in response to the second of two closely spaced stimuli.

Question 53

Define single channel hypothesis

Answer 53

suggests that the brain can only deal with one
piece of information at a time

Question 54

Define simple reaction time

Answer 54

• Simple reaction time: The time taken to start a single response to a single stimulus.

Question 55

Define choice reaction time

Answer 55

Choice reaction time: The time taken between a stimulus and an action which requires a
choice

Question 56

Define recall schema

Answer 56

Recall schema initiates the action, occurring before the movement:

Question 57

Define initial conditions

Answer 57

• Initial conditions: Information from the environment eg about where the performer is.

Question 58

Define response specification

Answer 58

• Response specifications: Information about what the performer needs to do.

Question 59

Define recognition schema

Answer 59

Recognition schema controls the action, occurring after the movement:

Question 60

Define sensory consequence

Answer 60

• Sensory consequences: Information about how the movement felt.

Question 61

Define response outcome

Answer 61

• Response outcomes: Information about what happened.

Question 62

Define selective attention

Answer 62

Filtering information to identify what are perceived to be relevant stimuli and ignore stimuli
deemed irrelevant

Question 64

Define extrinsic feedback

Answer 64

Feedback from external sources.

Question 65

Define autonomous stage of learning

Answer 65

Autonomous stage of learning: Performance of skills can be completed with little thought
allowing the performer to concentrate on other aspects such as tactics and strategies.
Intrinsic feedback is highly developed so the performer can self-correct. They’re very few, if
any smaller errors in skill execution.

Question 66

Define associative stage of learning

Answer 66

Associative stage of learning: Associative learners are in the practice stage. They will have
developed a mental image of the skill but will still be reliant on some external feedback.
They are starting to develop intrinsic feedback by comparing their performance to others.
Though errors are still evident they are smaller and there are fewer of them.