Types and methods of practice

Question 1

What is MASSED PRACTICE ? (3 + 1eg)
And what are its benefits? (3)

Answer 1

• practising continuously without a break
• simple and discrete
• experienced athletes
• eg racquet strokes

Benefits include

• Improve fitness and deal with fatigue
• Groove the skill (habitual)
• Allows for replication of game-like situations

Question 2

What is DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE? (4)
And what are its benefits? (3)
Example of it used?

Answer 2

• practising with breaks
• complex and new skills
• gives time to recover/feedback
• Do not do things that will lead to negative transfer

Benefits include

• Helps when skill is continuous
• Helps when skill is dangerous
• Better for beginners and less motivated students HOWEVER it can lead to demotivation and lack of concentration if there is excessive recovery

eg. football dribbling between cones = get feedback after doing one set

Question 3

What is VARIED PRACTICE? (5)

Answer 3

• Allows performer to come into contact with a range of experiences
• Helps performer adapt to changes in environment
• Used when skill is open
• Each situation different from last
• Allows performer to draw on strategies from LTM

Question 4

What is FIXED PRACTICE ? (3)

Answer 4

• Stable and predictable environment
• Closed skills
• Allows movement to become habitual

Question 5

Part Method

Types (3)?
4 Weaknesses?
An example of part method?

Answer 5

1. Fractionisation
   • practising the separate sub-routines of the whole skill
   • Allows the performer to understand the requirements
   • Eg. breathing in swimming
2. Segmentation:
   • same as progressive-part method
3. Simplification
   • reducing the difficulty of the subroutines
   • e.g. using large sponge ball

Weaknesses:

• Harder to adapt
• Lack of realism
• Less fluency in movement
• Takes longer
• eg. tennis serve = back swing before striking the ball

Question 6

Whole Method

Definition?
4 Strengths?
3 Weaknesses
An example of it?

Answer 6

skill is taught without breaking it down/ taught in its entirety

Strengths:

• execute the skill fluently/ timing correctly
• appreciate the relationship between each movement
• gain kinaesthetic feel/ develop schema
• easily transfer into full competitive situations
• good for rapid or ballistic skills

Weaknesses:

• Difficult to use for complex skills
• Difficult for novice performers
• Not ideal for dangerous skills

eg. golf swing = each part interacts closely with each other

Question 7

Whole part whole method

What is it (3)?
4 Strengths?
4 Weaknesses?
Example of it?

Answer 7

1. Firstly attempts the whole skills
2. Then broken down
3. Then puts sub-routines together

Strengths:

• allows athlete to understand the technique
• allows performer to focus and perfect certain parts
• increases success rate
• more fluency
• good for low organisation and serial skills

Weaknesses:

• takes longer
• could lose kinaesthethic awareness
• transfer may be difficult
• timing whole skill put together could be difficult

eg. basketball layup = break skills down into run-up and take-off

Question 8

Progressive Part method

What is it (3)?
5 strengths?
2 weaknesses?
An example of it?

Answer 8

1. Serial skills are broken down into sub-routines
2. Each sub-routine is seen as a link of a chain
3. Two links are then practiced, then three links

Strengths:

• allows complex skills to be broken down
• novice performers can achieve success
• develop understanding between subroutines
• transfer to whole skill is easier
• good for serial and complex skills

Weaknesses:

• time consuming
• performer can become too focused on particular subroutines

eg. breaststroke = leg action and then arm action