U3AoS1 - Skill Acquisition Flashcards
Motor (movement) skill
Special form of skills that require movement of the body or limbs
Skill acquisition
The science that underpins movement learning and execution
- more commonly termed motor learning and control
Internal sensory information
Visual, auditory, touch and proprioception
What is proprioception?
Body awareness in time and space
Perception action coupling
Working together of the central nervous system and muscles
- body perceives stimulus via the CNS
- message delivered via muscles to perform
Cues
Relevant and irrelevant
Intrinsic Cue success for learners
Cognitive - not very successful at using intrinsic feedback
Autonomous and associative learners - much better at attending to external cues and using intrinsic information and feedback
Fundamental movement skills
Are the basic movements traditionally associated with activity
Fundamental skill list
- catch
- kick
- run
- vertical leap
- dodge
- leap
- ball bounce
- vertical throw
- punt
- forehead strike
- two - handed strike
Sport specific skills
More complex then FMS and are often a sequence of FMS
What are the stages of learning?
- cognitive
- associative
- autonomous
Characteristics of the cognitive stage
- beginner stage
- learning the mechanics of the skill
- substantial attention required to understand and perform skill
- many errors made
- learners have difficulty attending to external cues
- can’t make use of intrinsic feedback
- mentally trying to comprehend the movement requirements of the motor skill
- attention on movement production
- not yet developed error detection and correction
Performance of cognitive learners
- inconsistent performance
- stiff and unrelaxed movements
Associative Learning Characteristics
- movement patterns become refined
- intrinsic feedback for error correction
- increased awareness of environmental and external cues
- aware of tactical information
Associative learners practice type
Blocked and random practice
Feedback type of associative learners
- Augmented
- Internal feedback beginning to develop
Movements of associative learners
- refine technique and movement pattern
- more consistent, make fewer errors
- can detect cause of some errors
- develop strategies to eliminate them
- more attention to external stimuli
Autonomous stage characteristics
- automatic stage
- little attention required
- can make use of intrinsic senses
- focus on developing strategies and tactics
- automatic skills
- detect and correct errors
- performance variables are small
- focus on tactics
Practice type for autonomous learners
- Random
Feedback type for autonomous learners
Internal - knowledge of performance
What is movement precision referring to?
- fine motor skills
- gross motor skills
What is type of movement referring to?
- discrete
- serial
- continuous
What is predictability of environment referring to?
- open
- closed
What are fine motor skills? (with examples)
The use of small muscle groups to perform skills that require precision.
darts
- hookey
- spin bowler
- golf
- netball
Gross motor skills (with examples)
The use of large muscle groups to perform skills that require strength, power and force
- long jump
- footy kick
- batter in cricket
Define discrete skill (with examples)
- movements of short duration
- clear beginning or end
- kicking a soccer ball
- golf swing
Define serial skill (with examples)
Series of discrete skills linked to create a more complex skill
- triple jump
- tennis serve
Define continuous skill (with examples)
- no clear beginning or end
- movement continues for as long as performer wishes
- repetitive action of same movement
- run
- swim
- cycle
- row
What are closed skills?
- predictable environment
- self-paced
- determined by athlete
What are open skills
- changing/unpredictable environment
- externally paced
Note: some sports more open then others
What is practise distribution?
Ratio of time spent actively practicing compared to time resting and listening to instructions
- frequency/duration
Define massed practice
- Long duration
- Less Frequent sessions
Define distributed practice
- more frequent
- shorter periods
What is blocked practise?
Repetitive practice of the same skills
- isolation of skills
- little practice variability
- direct instruction
- closed skills
Effectiveness of blocked practice
- good for quickly learning mechanics of skills
- skills may not be transferred successfully into game settings
Suitability of blocked practise
- cognitive
- associative
Define random practice
Practicing skills out of sequence (in a random order)
- competition prepared
- develop tactics and strategies
- skills effectively transfer into games/ between sports
- decreased skill errors during games
Effectiveness of Random practise
Skills less likely to break down under pressure
Suitability of random practise
- associative
- autonomous
Define “Feedback”
Information the performer receives about skills or performances
Types of feedback
- Knowledge of results
- Knowledge of performance
- Intrinsic feedback
- Augmented feedback
Define Knowledge of results
Outcome of the skill
What are the benefits of knowledge of results?
- provides motivation/confidence to cognitive learner
- success results in greater perseverance in practice
- greater practice opportunities
- increased skill level
Why do cognitive learners prefer knowledge of results?
Reduces no. of cues so they can focus on performing the skill
Define “Knowledge of performance”
Feedback about the process of performing the skill
Benefit of Knowledge of Performance
Effective error correction, providing qualitative data about skill performance
Who should receive “Knowledge of Performance” feedback
Associative/Autonomous
Able to focus on external cues
Define intrinsic feedback
Received directly from performers sensory system
Suitability of intrinsic feedback
Autonomous
Define augmented feedback
Obtained from external source
Examples of providing Knowledge of performance
Coach giving verbal feedback/ video analysis
Define concurrent feedback
Experienced by performer whilst completing the action.
Define terminal feedback
Feedback received after the completion of the skill or performance
Benefit of concurrent feedback
Raise the player’s awareness of their performance
What is Qualitative feedback?
Descriptive feedback about performance
What is Quantitative feedback?
- Evidence
- Numerical
What is correct feedback
- What is done well
- Motivate and engages the athlete
What is incorrect feedback
- What is done incorrectly
- Focus on skill error and ability to improve technique
What is a skill and drill approach?
- skills isolated
- assumes single correct technique
- no game experience
- tactical awareness and adaptation abilities not developed
Athletes without textbook technique negatively developed - no development of environmental awareness
What stage of learning is Direct Instruction most suitable to?
- cognitive stage
- learner is able to focus on mechanics of skill
Benefits of direct instructional approach
- blocked practise
- effective for learning FMS
- learner understands skill
- acquires quickly
- textbook technique acquired
- external cues limited
Disadvantages of direct approach
- skills taught in isolation
- ineffective game transfer
- skills breakdown under pressure
- tactics and strategy not developed
What is a constraints based approach?
Coach implements Individual, Environmental, and Task constraints
to focus on improving aspects of team/individual
Benefits of a constraints-based approach
- skills taught in a more open
- develop tactics/strategies
- effective game transfer
- less likely to breakdown under pressure
- self correction using intrinsic feedback
Disadvantages of a constraint based approach
- longer skill development
- not textbook technique
- autonomous learner
What are individual constraints?
Physical, psychological and behavioral factors internal to the performer.
Coach must know athlete well.
Examples of individual constraints
- athletes decision skills
- injury
- fitness level
- confidence
- FMS development
- genetics
Why is injury an individual constraint?
Coach may need to modify practise
Why is fitness level an individual constraint?
Duration/intensity may need to be modified
Why is FMS development an individual constraint?
Determines feedback type and skills taught
What are environmental constraints?
Type of environment/setting, characteristics of performance location.
Why are environmental constraints used?
Stimulate playing/match environment
Examples of environment-based constraints
Climate, lighting, playing surface
- geography (mountains/surf)
- coach influence (style)
- peer/family influence
What are task based constraints?
Factors that can be manipulated to manipulate performance
Examples of task based constraints
- rules of the sport
- modify equipment
- court/field dimensions
- player numbers
How can equipment be modified?
- size of bats, racquets, balls
How can player numbers be modified?
Ratio of offence/defence
Benefits of task-based constraints
Allows cognitive learners to improve performance
What are the sociocultural factors?
- Family
- Cultural norms/beliefs
- Peers
- Gender
- Socio-economic status
- Local community
Family
- Parent role modelling
- Family activity values
- Financial support
- Assistant accessing facilities
Positive family factors
- individuals have greater intrinsic motivation to be active
- deliberate play can be encouraged by family
Cultural Norms and Beliefs
Strong cultural identity with sports leads to increased participation/greater development of SSS.
Peers
Active friends more likely to participate in deliberate play
Benefit of active friends
- enables children to self-discover skills/modify rules
- enhances motivation/ development of FMS and SSS
Social support
Active with someone results in overcoming barriers such as perceived lack of time/poor weather conditions
Gender
factors can be barriers to female sports
What are some examples of female sport barriers?
- lack of opportunity and role modelling
- gender specific facilities
- stereotyping
- less funding and opportunities
- less women in administrative roles
Socioeconomic status
- lower SES mean lower levels of activity and skill
Can’t access memberships, equipment, registration, travel costs
May not be aware of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle
Local community
Skill development can be influenced by sports prevalent in the local community
- lack of numbers
- greater focus
Deliberate Play
Unsupervised learning environment where children devise their own interpretation of sport and competition enabling discovery-based learning.
Examples of deliberate play
- backyard cricket
- kicking a ball
- made up games
Deliberate practice
Highly structured practice usually overseen by a coach to develop specific FMS and SSS through augmented feedback
Observational learning
Learning via watching sport, help builds culture and tradition
What are the steps to Qualitative Analysis?
- Preparation
- Observation
- Evaluation
- Intervention
Preparation
Critical features of a skill
Know your athlete
Details of observation
Effective instruction
Critical features example
eg. angle of release, follow through etc.
Know your athlete
- Physiological/psychological information
- strengths/weakness
- gender
- skill level
- injuries
- FMS development
Details of observation
- what will be observed
- angle
- vantage points
- no. of cameras
- no. of observations
Effective instruction
Type of instruction/feedback given to the performer, vary on stage of learning
Digital recording
- replay multiple times
- athlete can watch
- slow down/ pause
- observed by multiple coaches for feedback
Digital observation
- subjective
- experience of analyst
- singular feedback
- no reference for comparison
- memory dependent
- overlook aspects
- labour intensive
Evaluation
- identify positives and areas for improvement
- 4 - 8 critical features observed/evaluated at one time
- critical features ranked on a scale from adequate to inadequate
Error correction
- Modify Practice
- Exaggeration
- Visual Model
- Manual Guidance
Modify practice
- part vs whole
- open vs closed
- massed vs distributed
Exaggeration
Overexaggerate certain aspects of a skill to emphasise technique
Visual model
Instructor demonstrate or show footage of correct technique
Manual guidance
- improves proprioception
- instructor moves body through correct technique
