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

Some sources of solutions

• 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

• 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 long-term 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

StimulusIdentification

ResponseSelection

Responseprogramming

MotorProgram

SpinalCord

Muscles

Comparator

Input

Desired state

Error

OutputExteroceptive Feedback

Actualstate

Executive

Effector

Proprioceptive Feedback

M2

M1

Ambient vision

Focal vision

How to use blocked and random practice during instruction

• For the first few attempts at a new skill in the verbal-cognitive 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, spikeBlock, block, block, block, block, blockPass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass

Mix of blocked and ran-dom

Spike, spike, block, block, pass, passBlock, block, spike, spike, pass, passSpike, spike, pass, pass, block, block

Random Spike, pass, block, pass, block, spikeBlock, pass, spike, pass, spike, blockPass, 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 response-programming 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.

Distance thrown (m)

High

Medium

Low

Para

met

er v

alue

for

thro

win

g fo

rce

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

Distance thrown (m)

High

D

Low

Para

met

er v

alue

for f

orce

C

B

A

Schema

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.

10 20 30 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

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 About movement production or patterning

Often redundant with intrinsic feedback

Usually distinct from intrinsic feedback

More useful in laboratory 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

Is learnerexperienced?

Does learner understand pattern

of motion?Is task simple?

Provide programfeedback

Provide parameterfeedback

Provide lessfrequent feedback

Provide moreprecise feedback

Provide feedback when requested

Sensory feedback

No No No

Yes Yes Yes

Intrinsic feedback sufficient

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

faster.

Swing your arms

back before you

throw.

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 this.

• 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.

Good throw.

Ok, I want you to prepare early, swing low to high, keep a firm wrist, rotate your hips, make contact

in front, bend your knees, and keep your eyes on

the ball.

And stay relaxed!

Huh?

Types of instructional feedbackType Function or consideration Example

Program Assists learners in developing fundamen-tal relative motion pattern

“Make the hands move faster than the arms” to convey importance of a rapid wrist action in a bat swing

More useful for beginners or inexperienced learners

Parameter Assists learners in adjusting fundamental relative motion pattern

“Swing faster” to convey the need to increase the amount of force applied

More useful for more experienced learners

Visual Provides learners with a visual depiction of their action

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

More useful for more experienced learners

Beginners may need additional verbal cue-ing

Descrip-tive

Directs learners’ attention to a particular aspect of the action

“Your swing is too stiff” to convey observable charac-teristic or action

More useful for more experienced learners

Prescrip-tive

Suggests a specific alteration or correction for the action

“Relax the hands and move them faster” to con-vey adjustment that might correct observed errorMore useful for beginners or inexperienced

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)