Physical Education Achievement Standard 2.4

Examine skill learning principles and psychological skills in relation to physical

activityCredits: 2

Key Words in this standard

1. Skill2. Skill Learning Principle3. Psychological Skills4. Physical activity

1. What is a (motor) Skill?

• Activity – in pairs compare an unskilled golfer to a skilled golfer.– Write down what are the main features of each?– What do they look like?

Definition of a Motor Skill

• A learned, coordinated activity that achieves a set goal

Classification of Skills

• Three ways to classify skills1. Fine or Gross– What do you think this means?

– A Fine motor skills involves small muscle groups. – Examples?

– A Gross motor skill involves large muscle groups and/or the whole body

– Examples?

Note!

• Many motor skills include both Fine and Gross Movements

• Examples?

2. Discrete, Continuous or Serial

1. Discrete – involves a distinct start and end point– Examples?

2. Continuous – no distinct beginning or end– Examples?

3. Serial – involves a series of discrete skills performed in order to create what looks like a continuous skill– Examples?

3. Closed or Open

1. Closed – the performer is in complete control of the sequence and timing of the skill– It is internally paced– Examples?

2. Open – The timing depends on factors the performer cannot control– It is externally paced– Examples?

Revision Questions

1. Which of the following groups consist of only open skills?

a) Gym routine, long jump, wind surfingb) Golf drive, 100m sprint, vaultc) Boxing, batting, surfingd) Archery, netball shooting, softball pitch

2. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a skilled performance?

a) It is goal directedb) Consists of a complex sequenced activityc) The skilled player must attend to everything

very carefullyd) Movement patterns must be sequenced and

timed correctly

3. Skills based on the external environment are classified as?

a) Open or closedb) Serial or continuous c) Fine or grossd) Discrete or continuous

4. Which of the following is not a continuous activity?

a) Skiing down hillb) Starting a carc) Dribbling a basketballd) Riding a bicycle

5. Which of the following activities cannot clearly be classified as fine or gross?

a) Sewingb) Handwritingc) Holding a headstandd) Rowing a boat

6. Place the following skills on a continuum from the most closed to the most open

a) Teeing off in golfb) Running a 100m racec) Batting in cricketd) Sailing a boat

7. Driving is a continuous skill while starting a car is serial. Why?

8. A Netball goal shooter who has to shoot for a goal in overtime with the

scores tied (with both defenders standing down) and the whole stadium going crazy

is still performing a closed skill. Why?

Stages of Learning

• We all go through three main stages as we learn new skills. Some go faster than others but we all go through them all!

• Remember them as the three P’s1. Planning2. Practice3. Perfection

Planning• Also known as the Cognitive phase. 1. What do these names tell us about what is going on during this stage?

2. In order to move through this stage what will learners need?

• There are many errors made during this phase of learning. Instruction and modelling by a coach or other skilled performer is very helpful to move on to the next stage…

Practice

• Also known as the associative phase• Amount of time here in this stage is dependent on:

– Motivation of the performer– People to practice with– Resources

• Time• Money• Coaches• Equipment• Transport

– How complicated the skill is

Perfection

• Also known as the automatic or autonomous stage• Skill is performed without thinking and with few

errors. • Characteristics of this stage of learning:– Less likely to be distracted– More mental energy available to focus on strategy etc– Speed and efficiency improved– Skill appears effortless, smooth and controlled

• Must keep practising to stay here

Instruction and Practice

• 4 main instruction and practice techniques:1) Massed and distributed2) Whole and part learning3) Drill and problem solving4) Mental and physical practice

1. Massed and Distributed Practice• Massed practice is when we perform the skill over and over

without rest– What type of person does this suit:

• Fit people or highly motivated people• Low energy tasks

• Distributed practice is when we perform the skill in sessions, with rests in between– Best situations:

• High intensity activities• Early stages of learning• Complex skills• Unmotivated learners or boring tasks

2. Whole and Part Practice

• Whole is when the skill in taught in its entirety– Advantages: good for simple skills

• Part is when the skill is broken down into smaller parts or sub-routines– Advantages: skill can be broken down into it’s

sub-routines

Drill and Problem Solving practice

• Drill is learning a skill through repetition– Suits what type of skill? Best suits closed skills

• Problem solving is learning through investigation, experience or discovery– Best suits what type of skill? Best suits open skills

Mental and Physical practice

• Physical is what we all know – the skill is practiced by doing it!

• Mental practice involves performing the skill in your mind without movement.– Which type of practice could you use this with?– Would work well with distributed practice – in the

rest sessions

Factors affecting Learning

1. Arousal! – This is a measure of how mentally and physically

excited, hyped up and activated you are.• Everyone has an optimal level of arousal• At this optimal level of arousal they are most

likely to find their optimal performance• The Inverted U graph

Continued…

• How can we influences someone’s level of arousal? – Alter the skill• Too hard = over aroused• Too easy = under aroused

– Alter the environment– Alter the individual = psychological skills (more on

this later)

Feedback/Feedforward

• Feedback is vital to move through the stages of learning

• Where can we receive feedback from?– Coach, teamates, parents, diary, reflect, senses

Purpose of feedback/feedforward

• Reinforce learning• Alter performance• Increase motivation

Types of feedback

1. Internal2. External3. Continuous4. Terminal5. Knowledge of results6. Knowledge of performance7. Positive8. Negative

Reaction time

• Two types of reaction time1. Simple2. Choice

Speed vs. Accuracy

• Experiment…• Graph…• Implications…

Transfer of learning

• Positive transfer• Negative transfer

Psychological Skills

• Goal setting– SMARTER goals

• Mental imagery - handout