Week 09 Flashcards
Benefits of part practice design?
- Simplifies the skill
- Lets learners experience early success, leading to increased motivation
- Lets learners practice on problem areas without wasting time on what’s already been mastered
Whole VS. Part Practice
Items to consider:
- Nature of the skill
- Capability of the learner
- Part practice techniques
- Attention cueing
Explain task organisation and task complexity
Task organisation:
- How much does the performance of each part of the skill depend on the component that precedes it?
Task complexity:
- How many subcomponents?
- How many information - processing demands?
Fractionization are skill components that are typically…
performed simultaneously, are partitioned and practiced independently.
- Effectiveness is questionable
- Whole body practice is recommended for some tasks, such as those that use arms and legs at same time
Simplification …
Reduces the level of difficulty of the task
Simplification can be done by…
- Modifying equipment
- Reduce coordination requirements
Change the environments complexity - Use skill building activities
- Sequence from simple to complex
Spatial accuracy:
An emphasis on speed negatively effects accuracy, and vice versa
Temporal (timing) accuracy:
Improves when a performer moves faster or movement distance is decreased
During early stages of skill acquisition, de-emphasize accuracy or speed?
accuracy
Bilateral Transfer
- Practice with one limb enhances skill acquisition on the same task using the opposite limb
- Question for practitioners: How should one sequence practice with the preferred vs. non-preferred limb
Psychological Strategies
- Motivation and practice
- Goal setting
- Mental practice / imagery
Two possible reasons for loss of motivation:
- Boredom
2. Frustration
To become motivated again:
- Practices should be fun and varied
- Learners should have some sense of success and achievement
What goals do:
- Focus learners’ attention
- Encourage development of new skills and strategies to improve performance
- Provide a means of monitoring progress
Type of goals (3):
- Outcome
- Performance
- Process
Mental Practice and Imagery
Visualisation or cognitive rehearsal of a movement in the absence of physical execution
Mental Practice and Imagery can be helpful in that….
- Acts as a preparatory strategy to enhance performance
- In reducing/controlling anxiety and increasing self-confidence
- In rehabilitation
Imagery guidelines
- Practice imagery
- Avoid distractions
- Focus on familiar skills/situations
- Create positive, vivid, and controllable images
- Focus on success and goal attainment
- Incorporate all senses in the imagery, to replicate an actual situation or environment
Variable practice
- Variability in movement and context is a necessary ingredient for skill development
- A learner should be able to generalise a skill to a variety situations
- e.g. in performance, same move is not performed twice
Variable practice guidelines - How to implement variability
- Assess the nature of the skill being learned and the environment in which it will be performed
- Then introduce variations in regulatory/non-regulatory conditions, or both
- Other areas where one can vary practice:
- Movement concepts
- challenges
Closed skills:
- Depends on the degree of inter-trial variability (ITV)
- Closed skills, no ITV - constant regulatory conditions; manipulate non-regulatory conditions
- Closed skills, with ITV- manipulate both regulatory and non regulatory conditions
Open skills:
Manipulate both regulatory and non-regulatory conditions
Contextual interference
- Switching from one skill to another
- Changing the context in which a task is practiced
- Blocked practice (low contextual interference)
- Random practice (high contextual interference)
Blocked practice =
Superior short-term performance during practice
Random practice =
Greater long-term learning gains
Challenge point framework
Practitioners should consider the relationship between skill level and task complexity to determine the optimal level of contextual interference
Designing and organising practice
- Practitioners should reconsider deeply rooted traditional practice methods
- Use blocked practice until learners get the idea of a movement
- Then introduce moderate or high levels of contextual interference to engage learners in higher cognitive processing activities
- Organise practice using serial, repeated-blocked, and random schedules
Designing Practice sessions for contextual interference
- Identify the skills to be practised
- Identify possible skill and performance context variations that will influence how the skill is executed
- Design practice where the learner is confronted with different variations and contexts using a randomised schedule
Massed VS. Distributed Practice
Massed:
Amount of time allocated to rest between practice sessions is comparatively less than the time spent engaged in practice
Distributed:
Rest component between practice sessions is equal to or greater than the practice component
Distributed practice recommended for…
- New and complex skills
- Continuous tasks
- Tasks with high energy requirements
- Tasks with some degree requirements
- Tasks with some degree of risk
- Skills practiced in a therapy setting
- Learners who lack needed physical conditioning
Massed practice effective for learners who…
- Have acquired basic skills
- are motivated
- Are in good physical condition
- Have long attention spans
(avoid practising when highly fatigued)
self-controlled practice
- Allows learners to control their own practice schedules for multiple tasks
- Enhances motor learning
- When learners were given the opportunity to select their own practice schedule, the approach they most often adopted gradually increased the level of contextual interference
