Designing a Motor Learning Program for Sports Training

Designing a Motor Learning Program for Sports Training

Some practical concerns • Many skills to master • Different skill levels among athletes • Finite amount of practice time

S o m e so u rce s o f so lu tio n s •Structuring the learning experience •Providing feedback during the learning experience

Structuring the learning experience

Practicing several different tasks • Blocked and random practice • Why random practice is so effective – The Shea and Morgan experiment – More meaningful and distinctive learning – Spacing of movements: the forgetting hypothesis

• Practical implications of blocked and random practice • How to use blocked and random practice during instruction

Blocked and random practice • Blocked practice – a practice sequence in which individuals repeatedly rehearse the same task • Random practice – a practice sequence in which individuals perform a number of different tasks in no particular order, thus avoiding or minimizing consecutive repetitions of any single task

BLOCKED PRACTICE

RANDOM PRACTICE

Why random practice is so effective Contextual interference effect

• •

• Blocked trial conditions lead to more effective practice performance than random conditions. • However, when subjects are given a retention test, those who had random practice in acquisition outperform those who had blocked practice. • Therefore, even though random practice is less effective during practice, it is better for learning than blocked conditions. • The benefits of random practice are evident in both random and blocked retention tests, but especially in the former. • The Shea and Morgan experiment (1979)

The Shea and Morgan experiment (1979) Barrier knockdown task used by Shea and Morgan (1979).  The stimulus lights indicated which pattern hung above the lights was to be performed.  The pattern indicated the sequence in which 3 of the 6 hinged barriers were to be knocked down.  After the warning light came on, 1 of the 3 stimulus lights was turned on.  This indicated that the subject was to leave the start button, pick up the tennis ball and knock the barriers down in the prescribed sequence.

Performance on movement-speed tasks under random and blocked conditions (Shea and Morgan, 1979)

More meaningful and distinctive learning: Elaboration hypothesis

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•

• Random practice forces the learner to become more actively engaged in the learning process by preventing simple repetitions of actions. • Random practice gives the learner more meaningful and distinguishable memories of the various tasks increasing memory strength and decreasing confusion among tasks.

Spacing of movements: The Forgetting Hypothesis

• •

• Random practice causes the learner to forget the short-term solutions to the movement problem after each task change. • Forgetting the short-term solution forces the learner to generate the solution again on the task’s next trial, which is beneficial to learning. • Retrieval practice – the act of retrieving a motor program and its parameters from long-term memory; facilitated by random-practice

Practical implications of blocked and random practice • Repetition – relatively ineffective for longterm learning • Blocked practice gives a false sense of skill • Criterion version of the skill is usually not blocked

Major processes in the conceptual model subject to alterations during random practice

Error

Input

Stimulus Identification Executive

Response Selection Response programming Desired state Ambient vision Motor Program

Effector

Spinal Cord Muscles

Output

Com parat or

M2 M1 Proprioceptive Feedback

Exteroceptive Feedback Focal vision

Actual state

How to use blocked and random practice during instruction • For the first few attempts at a new skill in the verbalcognitive stage, blocked practice might be slightly more effective than random practice, perhaps because the learner needs several attempts to produce the action successfully just once. • After this stage, the instructor should do everything possible to structure practice to avoid repetitious blocked practice. • Research evidence suggests that the benefits of random practice are enhanced by large task differences on successive trials. This fosters forgetting the solutions of each task before resuming its practice on a later attempt.

Gradual progression from blocked to random practice for volleyball skills

Blocked

Spike, spike, spike, spike, spike, spike Block, block, block, block, block, block Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass

Mix of blocked and random

Spike, spike, block, block, pass, pass Block, block, spike, spike, pass, pass Spike, spike, pass, pass, block, block

Random

Spike, pass, block, pass, block, spike Block, pass, spike, pass, spike, block Pass, block, spike, block, pass, spike

Practicing several versions of the same task • Constant practice and varied practice • Schema development: motor programs and parameters • The role of varied practice in schema development

Classes of tasks – Common sequencing among the elements – Common temporal, or rhythmical, organization – Usually (but not necessarily) the same body parts used – Differences only in terms of the values of surface features (e.g. speed), specified by different movement parameters

• Once learned, a GMP can be applied to many specific situations through the specification of the movement parameters in the responseprogramming stage.

Constant practice and varied practice • Constant practice – a practice sequence in which people rehearse only one variation of a given class of tasks during a session • Varied practice – a practice sequence in which people rehearse a number of variations of a given class of tasks during a session • Practice must be varied, taking into account the many possibilities actually experienced in the target version of the skill.

ecrof gniworht rof eulav retemaraP

High

Medium

Low Distance thrown (m)

Schema development: motor programs and parameters • Schema – a set of rules relating to the various outcomes of a person’s actions (e.g. short distance of a throw) to the parameter values the person chooses to produce those outcomes (e.g. small amount of force) • Parameter values – the values assigned by a performer to the parameters of a GMP (e.g. rapid movement time, short amplitude, right arm); allow performers to adjust a movement pattern to meet specific environmental demands

The schema relating force parameter values to throwing distances. To produce a throw of 40 m, the performer uses the schema to select a force with a value of D.

High

ecrof rof eulav retemaraP

D C Schema B A

Low 10

20

30

Distance thrown (m)

40

The role of varied practice in schema development • Studies show that constant-practice groups outperform varied-practice groups in practice, but varied-practice groups perform better in novel versions of the practice task • One interpretation of these findings is that people acquire schemas when they practice and varied practice enhances the development of the schemas • Varied practice enhances the flexibility or adaptability of movement production, allowing people to apply what they have learned in practice to similar actions they have not attempted before

Random or blocked practice versus varied or constant practice • Blocked practice – a practice sequence in which individuals repeatedly rehearse the same task • Random practice – a practice sequence in which individuals perform a number of different tasks in no particular order, thus avoiding or minimizing consecutive repetitions of any single task

• Constant practice – a practice sequence in which people rehearse only one variation of a given class of tasks during a session • Varied practice – a practice sequence in which people rehearse a number of variations of a given class of tasks during a session

Combining random and varied practice • Variable practice combined with random resulted in better gains than blocked. • Introducing a second task is even better.

Practicing for consistent and varied stimulus-response mapping • Consistent mapping – a performance condition for which a given stimulus pattern always requires the same response • Varied mapping – a performance condition for which a given stimulus pattern requires different responses at different times or different situations • Automatic responding can be developed in consistent-mapping tasks and may not be possible in varied-mapping tasks at all

Providing feedback during the learning experience

A classification system for all sensory information

Classifying feedback • Intrinsic feedback – Exteroception – Proprioception

• Extrinsic feedback – Knowledge of results (KR) – Knowledge of performance (KP)

Intrinsic feedback – sensory information that normally occurs when people produce movements Exteroception – sensory information that comes primarily from outside a person’s body – Vision – Audition – Touch – Smell

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•

Proprioception sensory information arising from within a person’s body – Body and limb position – Body and limb movement – Forces

Extrinsic (augmented) feedback – sensory information provided by an outside source • Knowledge of results (KR) – provided after the action is completed that indicates how well the performer achieved the desired movement or environmental goal • Knowledge of performance (KP) – provides information about the quality of movement produced (e.g. displacement, velocity, acceleration); also known as kinematic feedback

Sometimes KR is immediate

Sometimes KR is delayed

• If learners have no knowledge of their own errors, practice results in no learning • However, extrinsic feedback in the form of KR generates rapid and permanent learning • Generally, information about errors, from extrinsic or intrinsic sources, is essential for learning to occur

Comparison of KR and KP Knowledge of results (KR)

Knowledge of performance (KP)

Similarities Verbal Extrinsic Provided after the movement Differences About environmental outcome Often redundant with intrinsic feedback More useful in laboratory

About movement production or patterning Usually distinct from intrinsic feedback More useful in real-world tasks

Properties of extrinsic feedback • • • • •

Motivational properties Reinforcing properties Informational properties Dependency-producing properties

Motivational properties • Motivating feedback – augmented feedback about a person’s progress toward goal achievement that energizes and directs the person’s behavior

Reinforcing properties • Reinforcement – an event that follows a person’s response and increases the likelihood that the person will repeat the response under similar circumstances

• Positive reinforcement – an event that follows a person’s response and, due to its pleasant nature, increases the likelihood that the person will repeat the response under similar circumstances

• Negative reinforcement – an event that follows a person’s response and consists of the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, thereby increasing the likelihood that the person will repeat the response under similar circumstances

The Law of Effect • An action elicited by a stimulus and followed by pleasant, or rewarding, consequences tends to be repeated; an action followed by unpleasant, or punishing, consequences tends not to be repeated (Thorndike, 1927).

• Intermittent reinforcement – a schedule of reinforcement in which feedback is given only occasionally

Informational properties • Information feedback – feedback that provides performers with error-correction information; can be either descriptive or prescriptive

Dependency-producing properties • Continued feedback tends to hold performance errors to a minimum • Too-frequent feedback can produce learner dependency • Feedback should not be given every trial; fading, or gradually reducing, feedback reduces withdrawal symptoms

Practical considerations when providing informational feedback • Determining whether to give feedback • Determining what information to give – Program feedback and parameter feedback – Visual feedback – Descriptive and prescriptive feedback

• Determining how much information to give – Summary feedback – Average feedback

• Determining how precise to make feedback • Determining how often to give feedback

Determining whether to give feedback • The more complex the skill and the less experienced the learner, the more feedback may be needed • Should help learners search for relevant intrinsic information • Once learners have a general idea of task, they might benefit more from feedback

A flowchart for determining the provision of instructional feedback Sensory feedback

Is learner experienced?

Yes

No

Is task simple?

Yes

No

Does learner understand pattern of motion?

Yes

No

Provide program feedback

Provide parameter feedback Provide less frequent feedback

Intrinsic feedback sufficient

Provide more precise feedback Provide feedback when requested

Determining what information to give • Program feedback and parameter feedback • Visual feedback • Descriptive and prescriptive feedback

Program feedback and parameter feedback • Program feedback – feedback that provides learners with error information about the fundamental pattern of their movement • Parameter feedback – feedback that provides learners with error information about the parameter values they are selecting to make their movement fit environmental requirements

Swing your arms back before you throw. Swing your arms faster.

Visual feedback • The most common kind is video replay • Allows on-the-spot analysis • Instructors can point out specific cues so performers can attend to them individually

Descriptive and prescriptive feedback • Descriptive feedback – feedback that describes the errors a learner makes during the performance of a skill • Prescriptive feedback– feedback that describes the errors a learner makes during the performance of a skill and suggests something the learner might do to correct the errors

You’re holding the bat wrong.

You’re holding the bat wrong. Hold it like

• Attentional cueing – prescriptive feedback that directs learners’ attention to the most pertinent information for correcting a particular performance error (Janelle et al, 1997)

Attention-cuing feedback protocol used to promote learning of a nondominant-hand throwing task 1. Focus on the initial position of the body. 2. Focus on the initial movement of the trunk. 3. Focus on the left arm during the preparatory phase of the swing. 4. Focus on the right foot during the throwing phase. 5. Focus on the hips during the throwing phase. 6. Focus on the shoulders during the throwing phase. 7. Focus on the upper arm and elbow during the throwing phase. 8. Focus on the left hand and the ball during the throwing phase. 9. Focus on the left arm at the point of ball release. 10.Focus on the left arm during the final phase of the throw. 11. •Good throw.

rist, rotate your hips, make contact in front, bend your knees, and keep yo And stay relaxed !

Huh?

Types of instructional feedback Type

Function or consideration

Program

Assists learners in developing fundamental relative “Make the hands move faster motion pattern than the arms” to convey importance of a rapid wrist More useful for beginners or inexperienced action in a bat swing learners Assists learners in adjusting fundamental relative “Swing faster” to convey the motion pattern need to increase the amount of force applied More useful for more experienced learners

Parameter

Visual

Provides learners with a visual depiction of their action More useful for more experienced learners

Example

Video replay of a bat swing to convey image from several different viewing perspectives

Beginners may need additional verbal cueing Descriptive

Directs learners’ attention to a particular aspect of “Your swing is too stiff” to the action convey observable characteristic or action More useful for more experienced learners

Prescriptive

Suggests a specific alteration or correction for the “Relax the hands and move action them faster” to convey adjustment that might correct More useful for beginners or inexperienced observed error learners

Determining how much information to give • Summary feedback – feedback given after a series of performance attempts that provides the learner with information about each of the attempts in the series • Average feedback – feedback given after a series of performance attempts that provides the learner with information about their average performance in the series

Lavery’s experiment (1962) • Simple laboratory motor tasks • Different feedback schedules – After each attempt (Immediate) – After 20 attempts (Summary) – After each attempt and after 20 attempts

• During practice summary group did worst, but performed better in no-feedback tests 1, 2, 3, 4 days later and 1 month later

How does summary feedback work? 1. Learners must perform in an independent fashion for a number of attempts before they receive feedback. When they receive summary feedback, learners use this information to make corrections in their general movement pattern on the next series of attempts 2. Summary feedback produces more stable movements. Because learners perform a number of attempts before receiving feedback, they have no reason to change their movements very much from one attempt to the next 3. Summary feedback encourages learners to analyze their own movement-produced feedback. Because they receive feedback less often, learners are encouraged to pay more attention to intrinsic feedback and to develop their own error-detection skills 4. All of the above

Determining how precise to make feedback • Constant error (CE) – the deviation, with respect to amount and direction, of the result of a person’s movement relative to some target value • Bandwidth feedback – feedback given to learners only when their errors exceed a certain level

Determining how often to give feedback • Absolute feedback frequency – total number of feedback presentations given for a series of attempts • Relative feedback frequency – proportion of performance attempts for which feedback is given; absolute feedback/ number of attempts X 100 •

• Faded feedback – relative frequency of feedback presentation is high during initial attempts and is reduced later • Instantaneous feedback – provided immediately after movement completion • Delayed feedback – provided several seconds or more after movement completion

• Given the choice, learners requested instructional feedback only 11% of the time (Janelle et al, 1997) • Given a complex skill, learners with the most frequent feedback (100% of attempts) performed best in a retention test (Wulf, Shea and Matschiner, 1998)