Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PE Live It Up
PE Live It Up
PE Live It Up
I
N
U
Learning and
improving skill
OUTCOME 1
Explain the application of biomechanical and skill
learning principles in analysing how motor skills are
learnt and improved.
OUTCOME 2
Identify and evaluate a range of coaching practices
that lead to enhanced sports performance.
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 1
As you read this page, you are using a skill you have
learned. As you turn the page, or write some notes,
you are executing other learned skills. It is likely
that your trip to school involves running for the bus,
riding a bike or walking. You perform skills every
day, and your ability to successfully perform these
skills significantly affects how you progress through
life. It is important to realise that skills development
is a lifelong process, and all people can improve some
aspect of a chosen activity.
This chapter focuses on skills in sporting and recreational pursuits for example, throwing, catching,
kicking and striking, along with more complex skills
such as determining strategies and making decisions
in a competitive situation and how those skills are
learned.
Understanding different types of skills and skill
development will allow you to improve your skill
level, analyse performers skills when you observe
them and teach a skill to someone else.
In this chapter you will be presented also with the
theory of how people are able to learn physical skills.
Assessment tasks
Topics
Page
Written reports
10
13
Test
Review questions
43
Oral presentation
17
Laboratory reports
15
33
41
Data analyses
28
30
16
20
21
Multimedia presentations
14
38
Reports on participation
in physical activity
11
22
36
CHAPTER 1
Assessment tasks
Introduction
Skill, skill acquisition and skilled performance play a significant role in the
ability of an individual to successfully cope with and adapt to daily life.
People use skills to reach desired outcomes in all aspects of life. Humans
are conditioned to learn and extend their skill level and range of competencies. A young baby is encouraged to learn to crawl and speak as quickly as
possible; an adolescent is encouraged to develop reading and writing skills;
young adults learn to drive and further their work skills. People constantly
learn and apply skills that are essential to surviving in modern society.
The skills used and learned in sporting activities are as numerous as those
in daily life. You need an endless variety of skills to participate successfully
in your chosen sport or physical activity. The skill may be as simple as the
finger release of an archers bow, or as complex as a whole body movement when swimming butterfly. Your activity level during the performance
may involve nothing but the execution of a specific movement such as
the delivery of a lawn bowl, or you may have to deal with an opponent,
weather conditions and space restrictions such as an attempt to make a
penalty save in the soccer goal.
How do we define skill? Is it possible to classify skills into groups? What
methods do we use to teach skills? How do we decide whether someone
can successfully complete a skill? This chapter discusses these questions
and more. It is designed to help you understand the following major skill
acquisition concepts:
1. definitions of skill and motor ability
2. classification of skills
3. stages in learning a skill and the ability to distinguish between a basic
skill and a mastered skill
4. man as an information processor
5. transfer of learning through memory
6. mental and physical practice
7. the use of feedback in the development of physical skills.
You will have opportunities during this chapter to use the theoretical
information provided to help your practical teaching and learning skills.
Classification of a skill
Definition of skill and motor skill
What is meant by skill? It has already been noted that skill varies between
activities, and that skill in one sport does not guarantee skilled performance
in all sports. However, some common characteristics of a skilled performance are defined in the Macquarie Study Dictionary: skill [is] the ability
that comes from knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well.
The logical progression from that definition is to discuss individual skills
in a performance, or motor skills. A motor skill is either part of a movement or a group of movements that produces a desired outcome when
performed in a sequence. It is any activity involved in moving the body, or
at least some body parts, to achieve a specific pre-determined goal. (B. Abernathy, chapter 6, Better coaching advanced coaches manual, 1991).
Skill can therefore be used to describe a particular sporting action such as
a smash in badminton, or equally, skill can be used to describe how well the
action was performed, such as describing Alicia Molik as a skilled tennis
player. Either way, there are common features to both definitions; they both
consistently achieve their desired aims, are coordinated in their movements,
seem to use the minimum of effort and have time to produce an action and
are a product of hours of practice.
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Figure 1.1:
The skills and movements needed
in a sprint start are much more
complicated and technical than the
actions of a person starting to run
for the bus.
Motor programs
A series of motor skills can be put together to make up a motor program.
A motor program is an organised set of individual motor skills (or subroutines) that result in the correct production of a specific skill. Success of a
motor program is dependent on the individual motor skills being placed in
the correct order or sequence and with the correct timing between each subroutine. The more sub-routines that make up a motor program, the more
difficult or complex the skill will be to learn.
1. Motor program
Hockey push
2. Motor skills or
sub-routine
Figure 1.2
A motor program indicating the
individual sub-routines for the
execution of a push in hockey
Grip
Stance
Lunge
Sticksweep
Contact
with ball
Follow
through
Stick
check
Motor ability
You will have noticed that some people seem to pick up new skills more
quickly than others. It seems these people have been born with some sort of
natural ability that allows them to learn and develop new skills more successfully than others. Golf is a perfect example of this. A group of learners
will have a large variation in their ability ranging from missing the golf
ball completely, to being able to hit the ball into the air in a straight line.
It seems that some people are born with greater natural ability in some
sports than others. According to Magill (2004) motor ability is an ability
CHAPTER 1
Table 1.1
Perceptual and physical
abilities
Extent flexibility
Dynamic
flexibility
Gross body
coordination
Gross body
equilibrium
Stamina
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Multilimb
coordination
Control precision
Response
orientation
Reaction time
Speed of arm
movement
Rate control
Manual dexterity
Finger dexterity
Arm-hand
steadiness
Wrist, finger
speed
Aiming
Source:
Magill, R.A. 2004, Motor learning and control. Concepts and applications,
McGraw Hill, 2004 pp. 434.
CHAPTER 1
the exact movement each time in a closed skill, for example, a gymnast tries
to perform the exact same vault with perfect form, or a golfer with his or
her swing when teeing off.
Open motor skills are performed in an environment that is constantly
changing and is externally paced, for example, the changing proximity of an
opponent, the changing speed and height of a wave in surfing or the varying
speed of a ball in hockey. These changes force the performer to adapt his or
her basic motor skills.
Figure 1.4:
A spectacular manoeuvre on top of a wave gives Mick Fanning maximum
competition points a reward for adapting his surfing skills to the
variable wave conditions.
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closed
open
Figure 1.5:
Open/closed continuum
Closed skills are simpler to learn as they are predictable and lack
the external pacing of open skills. This means that the learner can concentrate on the skill components or sub-routines themselves, without
having to worry about where their teammates or opponents are.
In addition to this, the learner can perform the skill in their own time,
learning the correct sequence and timing of the motor program. Open skills
should be closed down as much as possible for beginners so that they
have more control over the skill they are practising and focus only on the
production of the skill itself.
As skill development progresses, the learner should practise the skill
in situations that more closely resemble the game situation. This is called
opening up the skill and is essential if the athlete is to correctly and effectively apply the skills in the real game. For example, the beginner tennis
player should first drop the ball and hit it over the net. Once mastered then
the coach could hit the ball to the learner while they practise their forehand.
The next stage would be to hit forehands from a tennis ball machine. The
final stage of learning would have the athlete hitting forehands randomly
to a variety of positions from all corners of the court. In this way they are
mimicking the demands of the real game.
Figure 1.6:
Performers exhibiting
open and closed skills
CHAPTER 1
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Activity 1
Written report
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
OPEN
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Figure 1.7:
Swimming is an example of a
continuous skill.
Motor skills
Open
Closed
Fine
Gross
Discrete
Continuous
Serial
Changing
environment
Constant
environment
Small muscle
groups
Combined
actions
Brief
movement
Flowing
movements
Complicated
action
Externally
paced
Replicaton
of skill
Control of
touch
Coordinated
movement
Beginning
and end
No beginning
and end
Combination
of discrete
skills
Adaptation
of skill
required
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
Figure 1.8:
Summary of skill classifications
Activity 2
Report on participation in
physical activity
Classification of skills
1. Participate in a sports tabloid comprising eight different sports
skills from different sports. Afterwards, brainstorm for a few
minutes about the physical skills you used during the tabloid.
2. Draw up a table allocating a column to each of the skill
classifications, then list the tabloid skills in the relevant columns.
Do any skills fall in two categories?
If yes, explain why this occurs.
3. Name some different activities you participate in during
your recreation time. What are some of the different activities in
which you are a novice, beginner, competent performer or expert?
What are two or three skills that are important for each activity?
Classify these skills.
CHAPTER 1
11
Stages of learning
A coach or teacher needs to consider various aspects of a skill when
teaching it. A novice performer needs to be guided through the many steps
of learning a skill to become a skilled performer. The progression, step by
step from beginner to advanced performer is continuous. The progression
indicates that skills have been acquired and that learning has indeed taken
place. When a permanent change in the way our muscles coordinate to
produce skilled movement takes place, we can confidently say that motor
skill learning has taken place.
There are three recognised stages of learning that each beginner must
pass through to achieve mastery of a motor skill. Each stage has distinct
characteristics. However, all stages require practice. The learner must
physically and mentally practise the motor skill in order to learn it.
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Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete
Key skill
Describe skill learning principles
using the correct terminology.
Activity 3
Written report
Autonomous stage
An athlete or performer at the autonomous stage consistently achieves the
desired result without consciously thinking about the separate sub-routines
of skill production. Their movement responses are automatic and they pay
more attention to improving specific components of the actions, as well as
paying attention to when to use a particular skill within the game situation.
Skill improvement is still important, but the focus is also on factors such
as shot selection, tactics and responses to competitive situations. It is practice in the competitive situation that is crucial in this stage of learning. The
individual performer is able to identify problems and adjust appropriately,
whether during practice or in a competitive situation. Athletes who reach
this stage, usually remain in it, although they never stop learning. As new
tactics and styles of play are devised the autonomic performer must continuously refine his or her motor program to match the new conditions of play.
The coach or teacher must know when the athlete or performer moves
from one stage of learning to the next, and that the transition between stages
is not simply a one-way street. Coaches must know also how to train individuals in different stages (see table 1.2 ).
It is important to realise that athletes may return to the associative stage
of learning to relearn a particular skill in their technique. For example, Peter
Lonard, the Australian golfer, returned to the associative stage of learning
when he changed his putting style to use the new broomstick putter.
An athlete or performer at the autonomous stage:
performs in a smooth and unhurried manner
makes appropriate decisions both rapidly and accurately
acts with maximum efficiency and apparently with little attention
and effort
copes with the demands of both speed and accuracy in decision making
is consistent and adaptable in producing movement
pays more attention to higher order skills such as reading
the game and identifying the position of team mates and opponents.
It is true that great players make it look easy, but that ease is generally
the result of hours of quality practice, coaching and experience. A skilled
performer can make performance seem easy because his or her skill level:
maximises the chance of success
minimises the energy expenditure during the performance
minimises the time taken to complete the task.
CHAPTER 1
13
Table 1.2
Methods of
teaching skills
Performer
standard
Stage
of learning Tips to enhance learning
Beginner
Cognitive
stage
Beginner/
Associative
intermediate stage
Advanced
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill
learning (for example, types
of skills, stages of learning,
transfer and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
14
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Activity 4
Multimedia presentation
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete
Activity 5
Laboratory report
Stages of learning
The aim of this laboratory is to investigate if learning
has taken place as a result of practising a rebound throw
from a target using your non-preferred hand.
Throwing
task
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
5m
2m
3m
Figure 1.9:
Rebounding a tennis ball to a target using the non-dominant hand
CHAPTER 1
15
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
Activity 6
Physical maturation
As children grow physically and develop, their bodies are capable of more
coordinated and refined movements. Therefore, performance will improve
with the appropriate level of physical maturity.
16
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Figure 1.10:
Physical maturation can account
for one player being more highly
skilled than another of the
same age.
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles such
as stages of learning, factors
affecting skill learning (for
example, types of skills, stages
of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels vary
from beginner through to the
skilled elite athlete.
Key skill
Activity 7
Oral presentation
CHAPTER 1
17
Feedback
Information concerning performance, especially while learning, is vital for
improvement. Two types of feedback are essential for learners in order to
improve their performances: information about the outcome of the performance (knowledge of results), for example, the ball went through the
goal posts and information about the characteristics of the movement itself
(knowledge of performance), for example, your arm was wide of your
body when delivering the ball so the ball was bowled at an angle rather
than straight. Feedback gives specific information about wrong judgement
or incorrect technique. It also offers solutions and new approaches, reinforcing learning and providing motivation for the performer.
Memory
The ability to remember past experiences and techniques is vital to learning
new, more complex skills. Using past experiences in sport, such as past
techniques, can assist the learner to modify a technique or to create a new
skill. In this way completely new motor programs need not be learned,
simply modified. For example, when learning to throw a javelin for the first
time, students are sometimes told to complete a standing tennis ball throw.
This action can be modified to throw a javelin. Beginners can transfer their
knowledge of how to throw a tennis ball to how to throw a javelin. Obviously modifications are necessary, but the learner already possesses the
basics of the new skill.
Perceptual ability
Information from your senses allows your body to construct a program
to enable performance of a skill. The ability to interpret or perceive the
sensory information is vital to learning and successfully performing that
skill; for example, a tennis player must observe the speed and direction
of a tennis ball to move appropriately to return the ball. More recent
research has identified the importance of being able to perceive or recognise
movement patterns during a game situation. The players ability to anticipate opposition or team mates movements during a game is heightened
as a consequence of being able to perceive specific movement patterns
during play.
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the forehand side, he must analyse the flight and spin on the incoming
ball, as well as his opponents court position prior to formulating a
motor program that will allow him to hit a cross court forehand back to his
opponent.
Regardless of which stage of learning an athlete is in, there are four
recognised mechanisms involved in processing and learning a physical
skill. Each mechanism analyses and interprets information in an effort to
produce a skilled performance. The mechanisms are:
1. input received via the senses
2. information processing
3. output produced by the muscles
4. feedback.
Information processing
Perceptual
mechanism
Decision-making
mechanism
Effector
mechanism
Organises
and interprets
sensory
information
Based on information
from the perceptual
mechanism, a motor
program is constructed
to facilitate an
appropriate
and effective
physical response.
Organises,
initiates and
controls the
chosen motor
program
Memory
is used to help
formulate the best
motor program
Feedback
Output
Figure 1.11:
Mechanisms involved in learning
a physical skill
CHAPTER 1
19
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete.
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
Activity 8
Figure 1.12:
A gymnast depends on a sense of
equilibrium and proprioception
during a routine.
20
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Key knowledge
Skill learning principles such
as stages of learning, factors
affecting skill learning (for
example, types of skills, stages
of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels
vary from beginner through
to the skilled elite athlete.
Activity 9
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the
correct terminology.
Information processing
Once your senses detect cues from the environment, you need to process
the information for it to be useful. You are a little like a computer: you can
type in relevant information, but the computer cannot respond without
computer programs to discriminate, interpret, organise and code the information. Humans go through the same processes to construct an appropriate
physical response. Three very important devices carry out these processes:
the perceptual, decision-making and effector mechanisms.
Perceptual mechanism
The perceptual mechanism is primarily responsible for the interpretation
of sensory information. It obviously depends on the efficient functioning of
our sense organs. Sometimes it is not easy to identify cues from the environment. Often many cues occur at once, and not all of them are useful to the
performer. The ability to detect cues or information is called signal detection, and it is vital for successful performance.
Five factors affect your ability to detect signals from the environment:
1. the ability of sense organs
2. the strength of the cue
3. noise
4. the speed of the cue
5. the level of arousal.
CHAPTER 1
21
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles such
as stages of learning, factors
affecting skill learning (for
example, types of skills, stages
of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Figure 1.13:
The Aussie Sport program was
designed to help young children
learn and participate in modified
versions of many sports. Brightly
coloured and easy-to-handle
equipment is a feature of
the program.
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Activity 10
Report on participation in
physical activity
Signal detection
Participate in and write a report on three different sports
within the Aussie Sports program.
1. List the three sports you participated in within the program.
2. List modifications that have been developed for these sports.
3. Explain how the modifications make the game easier
for these participants.
4. Interview and report on a classmate who has played
Aussie Sports.
Noise
Imagine being at Rod Laver Arena, playing netball for Australia against
New Zealand. With only seconds left in the match, the wing attack calls for
the centre to lob the ball to her at the top of the goal circle. The crowd is
going wild, and the centre does not hear the call above the cheering. Such
occurrences are common in sport. Noise is an enormous distraction. It can
be described as irrelevant cues that are present in the environment, distracting players from more important cues such as player movement. Noise
is not only audible distractions; the sun in your eyes while trying to serve a
tennis ball, or the smell of hamburgers at the nearby parents stall could also
affect your concentration. If a signal is not as strong as the noise, it is most
likely that a player will miss the cue. The presence and strength of noise
therefore affects signal detection. The ability to detect only the relevant cues
and disregard the irrelevant ones (noise) will influence the success of the
performer.
Level of arousal
Optimal
combination
Overaroused,
emotional
imbalance
Panic
Low
Sleep
Low
Disorganisation
Arousal
High
High
Performance efficiency
High
Performance efficiency
Performance efficiency
Low
Low
Arousal
CHAPTER 1
High
High
Low
Low
Arousal
High
23
The
zone
by Rod Nicholson
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In footballers, certain players can read the play exceptionally well, take the appropriate options and seemingly
do things with the minimum of fuss and with the most
productive outcome.
These players have the ability to do it regularly. Those
who do not make it to the zone never really do things
easily or, you could say, by second nature.
Blundell says recently retired Carlton champion and
Brownlow Medallist, Greg Williams, was a player who
had frequent visits to the zone with his peripheral handball vision and uncanny ability to find a teammate in the
helter-skelter of battle.
In fast-ball sports, such as cricket and tennis, players
in the zone seem to have all the time in the world to play
a shot. They never seem rushed, regardless of the speed of
the ball approaching them. And they have tunnel vision,
confidence and stroke selection to play the right shot at the
right time.
It is different in swimming. There is a terrific feel for
the water.
In gymnastics, there is a sense of balance: An exact
knowledge of where you are in space.
Everything, in whatever sport, should seem effortless,
rhythmical and natural when you are in the zone.
Figure 1.15:
The zone refers to the optimal arousal level required for peak performance.
Source:
Sunday Herald Sun, 26 December 1997, pp. 1213.
CHAPTER 1
25
Input
Input
Central
processing
Output (response)
Figure 1.16:
Single channel hypothesis.
Cues presented successively
cannot be processed at the same
time. There is a delay in processing
these cues until previous cues have
been cleared from the system.
Selective attention
Your perceptual mechanism has a limited capacity; it cannot process
every cue present in the environment because then the response time
would be extremely slow and not always appropriate. Given that both relevant cues and noise are present on the sporting field at the same time,
how does the perceptual mechanism know which information to process?
How does it know which information is relevant and which is simply a
distraction?The experienced athlete has an ability called selective attention,
which is responsible for filtering out irrelevant information. The brain does
not attend to this irrelevant information and therefore does not require time
to process it. Thus, selective attention reduces the amount of information to
be processed by the brain before you perform a skill. It also allows experienced performers to attend to the most relevant of cues in other words,
to select and process the most vital cues as the priority.
A batter facing a leg spinner, for example, must concentrate on the following cues:
1. Which side of the bowlers hand is visible during delivery of the ball?
2. What is the speed of the bowling arm?
3. From which side of the wicket is the bowler bowling?
4. Is the seam of the cricket ball visible through the air?
The first cue is most relevant or vital; the batter needs to process this
cue first to determine an appropriate shot at the ball. To help the beginner
learn how to concentrate selectively, the teacher or coach must identify the
relevant cues and continually reinforce them as the learner practises. The
beginner learns to attend to only the meaningful cues and to ignore distractions; with time and experience, the beginner will initiate this process
without help. The performers level of arousal, their experience and the
quality of their initial instruction in a skill will also affect their ability to
selectively attend.
Anticipation
Anticipation allows the performer to predict what will happen next on the
sporting field and is a product of experience. It occurs after you detect some
of the relevant cues, but it does not depend on the brain processing all cues
before you devise a plan of action. Relying on accurate selective attention,
anticipation is about reducing the amount of information to be processed
and thus allowing for a quicker response. It is a professional judgement,
based on previous experiences in the sport.
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Quality of instruction
Usually beginners do not know what exactly to concentrate on when
learning and practising a new skill. The coach must instruct the beginner to
take note of certain cues. The instructions must be clear and appropriate to
the performer. Verbal cues are often given, but visual cues are very effective,
as is the physical guidance from the coach through the actual skill itself. By
using these techniques the beginner can learn not only what the skill must
look like, but also what it should feel like.
Coaches can assist the beginners to selectively attend by doing some of
the following things:
making the equipment more visible such as using a fluoro-coloured
hockey ball
directing the learners attention to one aspect or component of the skill
at a time
using language that is appropriate to the beginner and by not being
too technical in the beginning
making the learning environment fun and stimulating, encouraging
the beginner to practise and learn
using past experiences to base new skills upon. In this way the learner
does not need to learn completely a new skill, simply to adapt the
old one.
Figure 1.17:
Anticipation allows the tennis
player to move into the crosscourt position before the
opponent hits the ball.
CHAPTER 1
27
Key knowledge
Activity 11
Data analysis
Selective attention
Equipment required
Tennis balls (five balls of different colours, five balls of the
same colour)
Procedure
1. The catcher stands approximately three metres away from the
line of five throwers.
2. Facing the catcher, the throwers hold the ball in their hand so it
cannot be seen.
3. On the command throw, the throwers simultaneously throw the
balls softly towards the catcher. The catcher attempts to catch the
coloured ball that is nominated before the throw.
4. Conduct five trials of each test condition. Rotate the coloured
balls randomly among the throwers.
Test conditions
Run the test using a designated ball that is different from the four
other same-coloured balls. Then run the test using a designated ball
that is pink while the four other balls are different colours.
Results
Record the class results and draw a bar graph to illustrate your own
performance in each task.
Discussion
1. What is selective attention?
2. What factors affect it?
3. Which of the three test conditions was more difficult to
selectively attend to? Why?
4. Which cues were easier to detect?
5. Were the class results similar to yours?
6. Did anticipation help you to detect the cues?
7. How can signal detection help to improve your performance?
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Role of memory
Figure 1.18:
The pathway of information
from the environment to the
long-term memory
Information
from the
environment
via the
senses
Once the brain has gathered relevant sensory information, the ability
to remember cues becomes important for processing that information.
Performers can remember cues from the environment, but the information
is lost within one second and replaced by new information. This short-term
sensory store links perception and memory. Selective attention allows you
to remember relevant information beyond the one-second limit; it helps
transfer information from your short-term sensory store to your short-term
memory, which is a less temporary storage facility.
Short-term
sensory store
1 second
duration
unlimited
capacity
Via
selective
attention
Short-term
memory
60 seconds
duration
limited capacity
Movement
28
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Via
rehearsal
chunking
encoding
meaningfulness
Long-term
memory
Unlimited
duration
Unlimited
capacity
Chunking
Chunking or coding is a way of increasing the amount of information that
the brain can retain. You can group (or recode) information into meaningful categories (or chunks) to increase the capacity of short-term memory.
Memorising a telephone number is an example: instead of remembering
52438652, you could chunk the information into 52 438 652 and thus reduce
eight individual numbers to three groups of numbers.
A performer may group or chunk motor information in a similar way.
Instead of remembering all the individual sub-routines for a tennis forehand, they may chunk the information into groups called stance, swing
preparation and follow-through.
Coded or chunked routine
Stance
Swing preparation
Follow-through
Individual sub-routines
Body side on to net
Left foot in front
Knees bent
Weight balanced between feet
Racquet held with correct grip
Racquet extended back behind body
Arm straight at elbow
Swing racquet from shoulder
Keep wrist straight
Swing racquet forward
Ball should be diagonally in front of body
Racquet should accelerate through the ball
Racquet follows through from a low position to a high position,
finishing at shoulder height.
Step through with right foot to begin recovery movement back
to the centre of the court.
It is vital for a coach or teacher to help the learner chunk teaching points
into meaningful groups of information.
Distractions (noise)
Just as noise distracts you when you attempt to attend selectively to relevant cues from the environment, noise can also interfere with your ability
to concentrate on sensory information and transfer it to your short-term
memory.
Meaningfulness
You can more easily transfer information to your short-term memory if the
information has meaning for you and if you believe it is relevant to your
CHAPTER 1
29
task. Your level of interest is also associated with your ability to remember
information. It is easier to understand and learn from instructions that are
appropriate to your age and level of development; you may not follow
highly technical explanations, whereas you will probably understand language and concepts that are more appropriately geared to you as a learner.
For example, when learning to swim backstroke the coach may demonstrate the technique and then explain it by telling the beginner that it is like
reaching up for an apple and then putting it in your hip pocket. This is far
more relevant and easier to understand than trying to explain the movement using technical or biomechanical terminology.
Rehearsal
You must rehearse information for it to be transferred into short-term
memory. It is vital that the rehearsal occurs as soon as possible following
the presentation of the cue. Practising a physical skill not only allows you
to better process and remember motor information, but it also allows you to
correct and refine your performance of that skill.
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Activity 12
Data analysis
Long-term memory
The short-term memory is like selective attention in that it filters out the
irrelevant cues and only processes and transfers the most appropriate and
relevant cues. A third memory storage facility with an unlimited capacity
permanently stores this information for future use. This facility is called the
long-term memory. Again, rehearsal is needed for information transfer to
take place. Once in the long term memory, the brain can retrieve the information when necessary.
When you learn a new skill, you can retrieve motor programs from previously learned similar skills from the long-term memory and refine them to
assist in current learning. Thus, the learner can compare the old and new
skills and reduce the amount of information for processing. Being able to
recognise and compare similar information is paramount: the performer can
store a complete motor program, retrieve it when necessary and make minor
adjustments to match the perceived environmental cues.
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Decision-making mechanism
Once the brain has gathered and interpreted information from the
environment, it undertakes the final stage of processing information. The
decision-making mechanism constructs a plan of action (a detailed set
of instructions called a motor program) that will result in an appropriate
physical response. The brain can recall the motor program from the longterm memory once the decision making mechanism decides to use that
program to complete the desired physical response.
The brain compares information in the decision-making mechanism
(located in the short-term memory) to stored information previously gathered
from similar situations. Thus the use of long-term memory to compare and
contrast cues allows the performer to produce the most effective response.
Output
Effector mechanism
We have discussed how the learner gathers information from the environment via the sense organs, how the brain interprets and organises this
information and how the memory helps the brain formulate a motor
program. The final mechanism involved in information processing is the
effector mechanism: it is responsible for organising, initiating and controlling the motor program. It sends the appropriate instructions to the nerves
and muscles to allow the designated movement to take place.
Reaction time
The time it takes for the perceptual, decision-making and effector mechanisms to complete their tasks is called your reaction time. It is a measure of
processing time the time from presentation of a signal to the initiation of
a response movement.
You can only produce movement after detecting, interpreting and processing all information. The muscles carry out the motor program selected
by the decision-making mechanism in accordance with instructions from
the effector mechanism. The total time to complete the movement is called
movement time.
Together, reaction time (the measurement of mental processing time) and
movement time are the athletes total response time the time from when
the athlete detects cues to when he or she completes the appropriate motor
program.
Figure 1.19:
The central nervous system sends
the selected motor program to the
appropriate muscles to carry out
the movement.
Reaction time
Movement time
Response
initiation
Stimulus
Response
completion
Response time
Figure 1.20:
The relationship between reaction,
movement and response time
Gun sounds at
beginning of race
CHAPTER 1
31
Figure 1.21:
Fast reaction time is vital for
many sports. Being able to
quickly process information and
select and carry out a motor
program is necessary for a
successful performance.
Age
Your reaction time is at its fastest when you are aged 1930 years, then it
increases (i.e. it slows down).
Gender
Males generally have faster reactions than women, although reaction times
vary between people of the same age and gender. Also, male reaction time
tends to slow with age at a quicker rate than the female reaction time.
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0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
As discussed earlier, signals that are larger and brighter are easier to detect.
Likewise, cues that are more intense are processed faster, reducing reaction
time.
Number of choices
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of
stimulusresponse
alternatives
Figure 1.22:
Choice reaction time.
Hicks Law states that there is
a linear relationship between
reaction time and the amount of
information to be processed.
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels vary
from beginner through to the
skilled elite athlete
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Reaction time is fastest if there is one stimulus and just one response to
it (simple reaction time), for example, the reaction of the sprinter to the
starting gun (the sound of the gun is the stimulus and pushing off from the
blocks is the response).
However, there are usually several cues present and more than one
response available for each stimulus, especially in team sports. The performer is faced with a number of choices (choice reaction time), and,
according to Hicks Law, reaction time increases as the number of response
choices increases; that is, the more choices you have, the more information
and time it takes to process. Sports that require the performer to process a
large amount of information, with an array of possible motor responses, are
usually more difficult to learn and master.
Activity 13
Laboratory report
Reaction time
Equipment
Reaction timer computer package
Procedure
Undertake the following tests (13) in two phases: at fixed time
intervals and at random time intervals.
Test conditions
1. Test your simple reaction time by responding to
a single visual stimulus.
2. Test your choice reaction time by responding to:
(a) two stimuli
(b) three stimuli.
3. Test the effects of stimulusresponse compatibility
by responding to:
(a) two visual stimuli reversed
(b) three visual stimuli jumbled.
Results
Using your own results, create a graph with the average times for
the fixed time interval tests 1, 2 (a) and 2 (b). Then create a graph
with the times for the random time interval tests 1, 2 (a) and 2 (b).
Using average results, compare tests 2 (b) and 3 (b).
Discussion
1. Using your own results, which experimental condition
produced the fastest reaction time?
2. Explain why your reaction times were different when using
fixed and random time intervals.
3. Why did your reaction time increase when the stimuli
changed position?
4. What effect would the level of motivation and arousal
have on your reaction time?
5. What effect would the presence of an audience
have on performance?
6. Discuss two other factors that may affect reaction time.
CHAPTER 1
33
Badminton
S1 = Backhand smash
from opponent
R1 = Move to net to play shot
S2 = Smash hits net
and deflects upwards
R2 = Move to block, but must
stop before playing an
overhead recovery shot
Warning signals
If a signal precedes the actual sensory cue, reaction time will be reduced.
The yellow caution traffic light precedes the red stop light, for example,
to let you know that the red light is about to shine and that you have to
stop the car. Being prepared for the red light, the driver can stop safely.
The starting sequence for sprinters works on the same principle: the set
command is a warning signal.
0.3 seconds
S
1
R
2
R
1
Stimulusresponse compatibility
0.2 seconds
Psychological
refractory
period
Figure 1.23:
The psychological
refractory period
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Feedback
Feedback is information about your performance. It is available to an
athlete before, during and after the performance, and it can come from the
performer or the coach. Feedback is vital for learning or improving a skill.
You can store feedback information in the long-term memory and use it to
reinforce or refine your performance when necessary. It is the final mechanism involved in processing a physical skill: without feedback, you cannot
compare your performance with the ideal performance.
Feedback serves the following functions:
to motivate the performer
to reinforce what has been learned
to change the performance.
It is important that feedback reinforces the correct elements of the performance, highlights incorrect elements and contains instructions for how
to improve the overall performance. Feedback should be constructive and
useful, and it should motivate the performer to continue to learn.
Types of feedback
Figure 1.24
Divers depend on their kinaesthetic
sense and the feel of their body
during the performance.
CHAPTER 1
35
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer
and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Activity 14
Report on participation in
physical activity
Feedback
Equipment
Volleyball, hoop
Procedure
Stand about three metres from your partner, holding the ball
and keeping your back to him or her. Try to throw the ball over
your head (without looking) and through a hoop held by
your partner. You have 10 chances.
Write down the number of successful scores for each
of the following three scenarios (use the points system to work out
a total score):
hit ball through hoop (3 points)
contact with the hoop (2 points)
complete miss (1 point)
Test conditions
1. You receive no feedback.
2. You receive limited feedback (only yes or no when asking
about the success of the throw).
3. You receive as much feedback as possible (complete information
about where the ball went in relation to the target).
Discussion
1. Did the different amounts of feedback affect your performance?
2. What are the functions of feedback?
3. List the types of feedback you received under each test condition.
4. Give an example of knowledge of results and knowledge of
performance that could apply to these tests.
5. How could your partner make your feedback more effective?
Precision of feedback
Feedback needs to be both precise and specific. Also, coaches must ensure
that they use language and terminology appropriate to the athletes under
their care. Learning can only occur if the feedback makes sense to the
performer and if it offers solutions to help overcome difficulties. Again,
demonstrations can be a useful tool in this situation. General feedback such
as Good shot! is far less effective than Your body position was excellent
and allowed you to hit through the ball, accurately placing it down the line,
which is much more precise and will result in reinforcing improvement in
performance.
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Timing of feedback
Performers use feedback to compare the intended movement with the
actual movement, and they remember any deviation. That transference of
information into memory can be hindered if feedback is delayed.
The use of video feedback has increased as technology has advanced.
These days athletes are able to perform a skill and seconds later watch their
performance on screen. This instant, visual feedback, coupled with the coach
giving verbal feedback is an extremely effective method. It allows athletes
to see what they did right, what they did wrong and how to improve. In
addition to this, some computer programs can take your performance and
superimpose over it an elite athlete doing the same skill. This gives you a
direct comparison between what you are doing and what you should be
doing. You can now see how to improve the skill as well.
In terms of information processing ability, the skilled or more elite performers have far more advanced abilities and practices. They will be able to:
detect and process relevant cues more quickly
selectively attend to only the relevant cues and dismiss the irrelevant ones
use past experience (stored in the long term memory)
to reduce the information processing required to anticipate
their opponents movements
Figure 1.25:
Coaches often use video
to help provide specific feedback
to their athletes.
CHAPTER 1
37
Key knowledge
Skill learning principles
such as stages of learning,
factors affecting skill learning
(for example, types of
skills, stages of learning,
transfer and mental practice),
information processing
systems and the provision
and use of feedback in
enhancing performance
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Activity 15
Multimedia presentation
Swinger
1. Video a fellow student completing a specific skill.
2. Use the same program to video an elite performer,
performing the same skill.
3. Have the student perform the skill again and immediately
following execution of the skill, show them the video footage
of themselves.
4. Ask the athlete to give specific feedback on his or her
own performance.
5. As the coach, show the video footage again and give specific
feedback to your student.
6. Now show the video footage of the elite performer, selectively
attending to the key elements of the skill.
7. Use a video analysis software program such as SwingerPro
to compare the images from the video of the student with images
from the video of the elite athlete. Look particularly at key
elements of the skill.
Write a detailed multimedia report on the use of video analysis in
assisting athletes to develop specific sporting skills.
Practice
As mentioned many times throughout this chapter, practice is essential for
the beginner to progress and learn a physical skill. How you practise is
very important: incorrect practice will not help you to learn a skill, only
make you good at an incorrect technique. Each learner is an individual with
individual needs. The coach must tailor-make the practice sessions to best
suit each individual learners skill level, concentration ability and fitness
level. Practice should be fun, but challenging. It must serve to motivate the
learner to want to practise and learn more.
Types of practice
A coach should select a method of practice that will optimise an athletes
ability to learn. Regardless of the type of practice, the coach must ensure
that the athlete stays motivated and has adequate rest so that fatigue does
not adversely affect the performance of the skill. The main types are:
massed and distributed practice
whole and part practice
drill and problem solving practice
physical and mental practice.
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Table 1.3
when
when
when
when
when
If the
task:
Table 1.4
Factors that influence
the choice of whole or
part practice
If the
task:
Whole practice
Part practice
If the
is able to remember
learner:
long sequences
has a long attention span
is highly skilled
Source:
Beashel, P. and Taylor, J. 1996, Advanced studies in physical education and sport,
Thomas Nelson & Sons, p. 256.
CHAPTER 1
39
Variability of practice
Most athletes have learned skills by completing hours of skill drills. This
is necessary for the athlete to develop an accurate motor program for that
skill. However, as discussed earlier, the skilled performer also needs to
develop motor programs that can be modified to match situations in actual
games or competitions. By varying the practice conditions, the coach helps
the learner to respond appropriately in different game situations. This
applies to athletes performing both open and closed skills. For example,
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Key knowledge
Skill learning principles such
as stages of learning, factors
affecting skill learning
(for example, types of skills,
stages of learning, transfer and
mental practice), information
processing systems and the
provision and use of feedback
in enhancing performance
Ways in which skill levels vary
from beginner through to the
skilled elite athlete
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
Activity 16
Laboratory report
Types of practice
Equipment
Tennis balls and targets
Procedure
Use your non-preferred hand to bounce the ball on the floor
before hitting a target on the wall.
Test conditions
1. Half the class (group 1) run 15 practice trials
standing 3 metres from the target.
2. The other half (group 2) run five practice trials standing
3 metres from the target, five trials standing 4 metres away,
and five trials standing 5 metres away.
3. Both groups run 10 trials standing 6 metres from the target.
Oral presentation
Using your results from the practical activity, outline to the class
whether variability of practice improved performance
in your fellow students.
Address the following questions within your presentation:
1. Which group would you have expected to score more points?
Why?
2. Which group scored more points in their trials standing
6 metres from the target?
3. How does variability of practice improve performance?
CHAPTER 1
41
CHAPTER REVISION
Key knowledge
42
Key skill
Describe skill learning
principles using the correct
terminology.
LIVE IT UP 1
Chapter summary
A skill is the ability that comes from knowledge, practice and aptitude.
A motor skill is any activity involved in moving the body, or at least
some body parts, to achieve a specific goal.
Motor skills can be classified as:
closed skills performed in a predictable environment
(e.g. gymnastics moves)
open skills performed in an environment that is constantly
changing (e.g. a sport in which the speed of a ball varies)
fine skills that involve the cooperative use of small muscle groups
and the senses of sight and touch (e.g. writing by hand)
gross skills that involve a combination of muscle actions which
results in a coordinated movement (e.g. skipping and throwing).
Generally, you can classify skills as:
discrete movements with a short duration and a distinct beginning
and end (e.g. a throw or kick)
continuous movements with no distinct beginning or end which
may flow on for several minutes (e.g. swimming or running)
serial a series or group of discrete skills joined together to create a
more complicated action. Each individual movement in the series has
a definite beginning and end (e.g. a gymnastics routine).
There are three stages to learning:
1. Cognitive stage. This stage involves an inexperienced performer who
produces variable results created by errors in movement patterns.
2. Associative stage. This is the next stage of learning at which the performer has grasped the mechanics of the skill and is able to execute
the skill with less frequent errors.
3. Autonomous stage. The performer is able to consistently achieve a
desired result without consciously thinking about the separate stages
of skill production. Movement responses are automatic.
Factors that affect learning include:
physical maturation
physical fitness capabilities
attention and motivation while learning
feedback
memory
practice
perceptual ability.
There are many physical mechanisms involved in learning a physical
skill. Your senses are responsible for detecting pieces of information and
passing them to the brain. A piece of information is called a cue. Hearing,
vision, touch, equilibrium and proprioception are important senses in
the learning of a skill. Once cues have been detected through senses, the
information must be processed. The perceptual, decision-making and
effector mechanisms help you to process information.
The ability to detect cues or information is called signal detection.
Five factors affect your ability to detect signals from the environment:
1. Ability of the sense organs (also called sensory acuity).
This affects your ability to detect a number of cues.
2. Strength of the cue. A cue can be made more intense and easily visible
by players (e.g. the brightly coloured ball used in AFL night games).
3. Noise. Noise can distract a player from detecting more important cues.
4. Speed of the cue. The speed will affect your ability to detect a cue
(e.g. the difficulty of hitting a fast pitched softball).
5. Level of arousal. A balanced level of arousal will allow the athlete to
perform successfully.
CHAPTER REVISION
Single channel hypothesis is the idea that the brain must process many
cues, but only one at a time. An experienced athlete has selective attention,
which is the ability to filter out irrelevant information and concentrate on
the important cues.
The ability to remember cues is an important component in processing
information. The short-term sensory store provides a link between perception and the remembering of cues, but this information is lost within
one second and replaced by new information. Selective attention is a tool
to transfer information into the short-term memory, which is a less temporary storage facility of memory.
Chunking is a system of grouping pieces of information together into
chunks that are easier to remember. Meaningful information is also more
easily understood and more easily transferred to the short-term memory.
That transfer requires the performer to rehearse the information.
Distractions can interfere with the athletes ability to transfer information into the short-term memory. Some information ends up permanently
stored in the long-term memory, where it can be retrieved at any time.
Reaction time is the time taken for the perceptual, decision-making and
effector mechanisms to complete their tasks. It is influenced by age,
gender, the intensity of the cue, the number of choices, warning signals,
the probability of the signal occurring, successive presentation of cues
(or psychological refractory period) and stimulusresponse compatibility.
Stimulusresponse compatibility is the degree of relevance between the
stimulus and the response performed.
Finally, learning a skill involves plenty of practice. Types of practice
include massed, distributed, whole or part practice, and mental or physical practice.
Review questions
1. Define in you own words the key terms listed below, all of which appear
in this chapter. When you have finished, check your definitions with
those in the glossary on page 285.
arousal
associative stage of learning
attention
autonomous stage of learning
choice reaction time
chunking or coding
closed motor skill
cognitive stage of learning
continuous skill
cue
decision-making mechanism
discrete skill
distributed practice
effector mechanism
feedback
fine motor skill
gross motor skill
knowledge of performance
knowledge of results
long-term memory
massed practice
CHAPTER 1
mental practice
motor program
motor skill
movement time
open motor skill
part practice
perceptual mechanism
physical practice
proprioception
psychological refractory period
reaction time
response time
selective attention
sensory acuity
serial skill
short-term memory
short-term sensory store
signal detection
simple reaction time
sub-routine
whole practice
43
CHAPTER REVISION
Figure 1.26:
The skill of jumping
puddles can develop into
a significantly skilled
sporting performance.
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Characteristics
of stage
Examples of people
in this stage
Cognitive
Associative
Autonomous
Beginners or novices
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER REVISION
7.
Stage
45
CHAPTER REVISION
Circle the correct answer and give reasons for your choice.
25. When introducing a new skill a teacher will demonstrate the task three
or four times and emphasise the key points concerning the task. This
procedure ensures that the learners use their:
(a) signal detection ability
(b) selective attention capacity
(c) perceptual discrimination ability
(d) tactile sense.
26. When facing a spin bowler, a cricket batter focuses on the wrist
movement of the bowler. The batter is applying the principle of:
(a) signal detection
(b) task vigilance
(c) kinaesthetic awareness
(d) selective attention.
27. The use of white cricket balls and a black sightscreen behind the bowler
has assisted players in night cricket matches. The acquisition of skill
concept that applies here is:
(a) velocity discrimination
(b) information overload
(c) signal detection
(d) task vigilance.
28. Perception may be affected by:
(a) familiarity with the type of stimulus
(b) noise
(c) level of attention of the performer
(d) all of the above.
29. During a rest period at swimming training, a coach informs a swimmer
that she is not bending her elbow during the freestyle armstroke
recovery. This information is an example of feedback known as:
(a) extrinsic knowledge of results
(b) intrinsic delayed knowledge of results
(c) intrinsic delayed knowledge of performance
(d) extrinsic knowledge of performance.
30. As players improve their level of performance, anticipation becomes
more important in game situations. Expressed in information
processing terms, anticipation is:
(a) practising a task many times
(b) effectively a shift in reaction time
(c) a reduction in movement time
(d) a reflex movement.
31. The transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term
memory is unlikely to occur without:
(a) signal detection
(b) rehearsal
(c) retrieval
(d) knowledge of results.
32. When the human performer is required to respond to two signals that
arrive in rapid succession:
(a) the reaction time to both signals is the same
(b) the reaction time to the second signal is faster
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CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER REVISION
Useful websites
47