Specificity of Practice & Transfer of Learning (L 11)

Question 1

Learning is influenced by characteristics of 3 practice conditions:

Answer 1

1. available sensory/perceptual information
2. performance context characteristics
3. cognitive processes involved

Question 2

is Learning is specific to the sources of sensory
feedback available during practice?

Answer 2

YES

Question 3

When visual feedback is used during practice, it
continues to be needed throughout

T or F

Answer 3

TRUE

Dependency on sensory feedback develops because sensory
feedback becomes part of the memory representation for the skill

Question 4

how does familiarity of performance environment aid learning (Learning is specific to the performance context)

Answer 4

*Cues (turf, game location, etc) that are not part of actual skill get encoded during practice (incidental versus intentional remembering)
*When cues are available during a “test”, they help retrieve memory representation of learned skill

*Therefore:
*cues may aid performance
*Include as many features of ‘test’ environment context in the practice
environment context

Question 5

how is expertise domain specific?(2)

Answer 5

1. Experts develop movement patterns (e.g. invariant features of GMP) specific to their skill
2. Experts develop specific knowledge structure about their skill:
   problem solving, decision making, anticipation, perception

Question 6

bust the claims of the myth of general vision training:

Claims:
1. Superior athletes have superior visual skills
2. Visual skills can be improved with training
3. Visual skills trained in sport vision programs will result in superior sport performance

Answer 6

Evidence:
Superior athletes have a perceptual advantage that is sport specific
*They don’t have better general vision or non-sport specific perceptual processes
*General visual training programs do not work; there is no “transfer” (Abernethy & Wood 2001)

Question 7

transfer of learning(generalization) is the influence of prior learning on:

Answer 7

*the learning of a new skill
*the performance of a skill in a new context (augmented feedback, physical
environment, personal characteristics

Question 8

what are 2 reasons why transfer of learning is important?

Answer 8

1. Sequencing skills to be learned (teach foundational before more complex skills)
*Part versus whole practice (Chapter 18): People with stroke learn to weight bear while standing before they learn to walk
*Simplification (windsurfing: on dry land before in water; tee-ball)
*Simulators (surgery, piloting, pitching machines)

2. Assessing effectiveness of practice conditions

Question 9

How do you measure transfer of learning? equation

Answer 9

Effectiveness of practice condition determined on basis of skill performance at ‘test’ condition (e.g. sports competition, tournament, dance recital, concert, at home)

thru equation

Question 10

what are the 3 scenarios of transfer? what could happen?

Answer 10

Positive transfer**: Gain in one skill as a result of practice on another
**Negative transfer: Loss in one skill as a result of practice on another
(usually temporary)
*Zero transfer: no effect on skill performance as a result of practice on another skill

Question 11

why does positive transfer occur?

Answer 11

1. Similarity of skill and context components
2. Similarity of processing requirements

Question 12

what is the identical elements theory?

Answer 12

transfer is due to the degree of
similarity between component parts or characteristics of two skills, or two
performance contexts

Question 13

What constitutes “similarity”?

Answer 13

1. Skill: common movement patterns (kinematics), forces (kinetics)
   -arm movement, “swing”:
2. Context: walking in parallel
   bars at rehab hospital versus on busy sidewalk

Question 14

did Transfer of training between distinct motor tasks
after stroke depend on kinematic similarity

Answer 14

no

Question 15

Similarity of processing requirements
(Transfer-appropriate processing theory)

Answer 15

Transfer is due to similarity in the cognitive processing characteristics
*Common strategies, rules, problem solving, decision-making

Question 16

Does amount of transfer depend on motor
learning stage?

Answer 16

yes
Amount of transfer reduces when learner becomes more highly skilled
*With continued practice, skills become more specific and shares less
with other skills of same movement type
*Start with drills, but ultimately, need to practice in relevant context

Question 17

what is bilateral transfer?

Answer 17

Transfer of learning between two limbs
*performance improvements due to motor practice with one hand, leads to performance improvements in non-practiced hand

Question 18

Why does bilateral transfer occur? (2 reasons)

Answer 18

1. Cognitive explanation
   *Cognitive information acquired from practice with one limb is available when other limb begins to perform (recall Fitts and Posner’s cognitive stage of “what to do”)
   *Relates to ‘identical elements’ theory
2. Motor explanation
   *The GMP is the same (memory representation of a class of actions that share invariant features such as relative time, and order/sequence of movements)
   *But different muscles (a parameter) are used