motor learning
relatively permanent change in performance as a result of practice or experiencepromotes rapid dendritic spine formation
motor skills
- act or task that has a goal to acheive and requires voluntary body movement to be performed - learner develops set of motor responses in integrated + organized movement pattern
why is skilll not a reflex
bc requires trainiing and practice
4 characteritics of a skillful motor performance
1. production of a fast output of high quality 2. an appearance of ease and smoothness of movement 3. an anticipation of variations in the stimulus situation before they arrive - skilled ppl make adjustments v. quickly4. reduction in time to make a choice of responses once signal is identified ex) experiences skiiers use less muscle activity and go smooth downhill, keep COG as level as possible
3 types of variables that affect the learning of a motor skill
1. input variables - capacity of the performer to understand directions, to judge velocities of objects in a complex space field, as well as ability to percieve own movements 2. state of performer - maturation, tension, arousal, motives 3. nature of practice afforded - whether practice is massed or distributed, whether skill practiced in parts or whole, whether skill is component in a series
what should we consider for each motor classfication system
consider each of the two categories as extreme ends of a continuum
Classification system: based on precision of movement
- used in special education, adapted physical education and rehab gross vs fine motor skills
gross motor skills
- large muscles as basis of movement - running, walking, throwing, jumping- precision not important, smooth coordination essential to skilled performance - physical therapists work with gross motor skills
fine motor skills
- control small muscles to achieve success- hand-eye coordination, high precision - writing, drawing, piano- occupational therapists work with fine motor skills
classfication system 2: based on distinctiveness of beginning and end points of movement
- commonly used by motor learning researchers and human enginnerring + human factors discrete, continuous and serial motor skills
discrete motor skill
Clearly defined beginning and end pointsex) throwing a ball, pushing clutch in car, hitting key on computer
continuous motor skill
A motor skill with arbitrary movement beginning and end points. These skills usually involve repetitive movements.performers determines points ex) steering a car, swimming, running, driving (adjustment continuous)
serial motor skill
a motor skill involving a series of discrete skills, each skill has series of movements performed in specific order ex) shifting gears in a care
classification system 3: based on stability of the environment in which skill is performed
commonly used in PE closed and open skills
closed skills
occur in an environment that is stable and predictableskill self-paced or internally paced (performer decides when to do)stimulus waits to be acted on by performerex)golf, serving in tennis,swimming, weightlifting
open skills
skills that occur in an environment that is unpredictable and frequently changing- rapid modifications needed in plan of action to match demands of situation - acto accordingly to action of object + environment - externally -paced ex) returning a tennis ball, raquetball, team sports
can learning progress from closed to open
yes from unskilled to skilled allows us to perform activity under pressure
3 stages of skill aquisition
1. cognitive stage 2. associative stage 3. autonomous stage
Fitts and Posner
3 Stages of Learning: Cognitive, Associative, Autonomoustranistion from unskilled to skilled learners do not make abrupt moves from one stage to the next, continuum
cognitive stage
- understand what has to be done (coach gives demos)- concerned w. organization of movements - attempt to form mental plan of performacne- errors frequent and tend to be large, performance variable- response changed frequently to get better - coach gives diagnostic knwoledge of results
associative stage
- moves to this stage bc able to reproduce desired movement - refining to execute task - errors not large and are recognized w/o coach - concerned w. how to do it - learning to use proprioceptive rather than visual info- larger and larger parts of skills come from automated control ** no longer worries about grip/stance - looking at other factors, more parts autonomous
autonomous stage
- advanced- automated motor response, attn now to other tasks (open skill, strategy)- result of practice - degree of similarity between highly practiced skills and reflexes - variability is small- continued improvement **misses smaller (to lesser degree)
talent vs skill with piano players
- large variation in learning- fMRI showed areas of brain change w/ learning - other active areas that didnt change with practice used to predict learning rate (these areas rep talent)highly skill, learned quickly, lots of talent low skill, learning slowly, low music talent
3 important functions in learning
1. to guide error correction 2. to reinforce correct performance 3. to motivate the individual towards acheiving a performance goals
Knowledge of Performance (KP)
- info about correctness of movement (did you release the ball to early/late)- augmented feedback from an external source after completion - important in learning stages bc learner has not developed internal standard of correct performance
what info do we give as KP
- info about performance person capable of handling - direct attn to part of skill that must be corrected an enable them to correct - time learner has to use info provided following practice response v. critical - give sufficient time to put info to determine next response - not given on every trial (instill confidence, allow them to try correction a few times)
three time intervals associated with KP
1. KP-delay interval - follows completion of a response and precedes presentation of KP (critical time period cannot b too short)2. Post KP interval - focuses on presentation of KRand precedes next response (critical time period cannot b too short)3. inter-response interval - total time between to repsonses **given too soon/too late then doesnt work as expected
Videotape as a method of giving KR
- skill levels of student critical factor - beginners need aid of instructor to point out info from replay- replays used for 5wk periods - meaning ful info presented - videotape of K[ involves same problems as verbal KP (allows to see body in space and make adjustments
transfer of learning
- influecne of a previously practiced skill on learning of a new skillex) handball vs squash, pitching machine in baseball
positive transfer
when old information facilitates the learning of new informationhigher degree of similarity between component parts of two skills or two performance situations, the greater the amount of + transfer that can be expected between them
negative transfer
mastery of one task conflicts with learning or performing anotherex) forehand in tennis and badminton- when new response is required for old stimulus - generally be seen in only specific aspects of activity - affects typically temporary, overcome quickly w/ practice
zero transfer
When the learning of one skill has no impact on the learning of anotherex) learning to swim and learning to drive a car
bilateral transfer
transfer of learning that occurs between two limbs- important in motor skills like dribbling, kicking soccer ball- available evidence indivates that greater transfer expected from preferred limb to non-preferred limb - result of cognitive and motor functions - results indicate that bilateral transfer faster when one limb practiced to reasonable degree of proficiency before practice with other limb
3 types of assessment of learning
1, trial performance 2. retention tests (demos that motor performance doesnt mean motor learning - see graphs in notes)3. transfer test
see why questions
done
what is the purpose of practicing
to learn to perform that skill in situations where you will in some way be tested
what type of practice conditions should we have
- will lead to max test performance - variety of experiences involving variation of skill being learned so can perform in diff scenarios
open vs closed skill (practice)
- increase variability w/in each session preferred rather than one variation per session - amount of practice affects quality of learning (not proportional)- spacing/distribution of practice affects practice performance and learning as learning improves then more open skills, note that some sports all closed skills like golf
review mental practice graph
done
mental practice
- cognitive rehearsal of physcial skills in absence of physical practice (visualize what you want to do, runnign through routine)- reinforce proper response as an aid to an upcoming response - used in aquisition, performance and retention of motor skills, implementation requires effective planning by teacher and use by student
what is one benefit of mental practice
in a larger class, students can be instructed to mentally practice a certain # of movements/exercise while they are waiting their turn to use equipment