Practice Design Factors
Chapter 8
INTRODUCTION
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What is better practice—the skill in parts or in
its entirety?
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Should one teach and practice the tennis serve in
parts? Or in entirety?
Should the patient be taught how to get out of bed
in parts? Or in entirety?
Should the student trainer be taught a shin splint
taping procedure in parts? Or in entirety?
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Ask the following questions:
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Would practicing a simplified version of the target
skill transfer positively to performance of the whole
skill?
Would the learner’s time be more effectively spent
practicing the whole skill?
How much (if any) practice time should be devoted
to part practice?
Whole vs. Part Practice
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Nature of the skill
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Task organization
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Degree to which sub-components of the skill are
interdependent and can or cannot be separated
Task complexity
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Number of sub-components
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Information processing demands
Whole vs. Part Practice
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Nature of skill (Task Organization)
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Part practice works best for tasks where the actions
involved in one part do not impact the actions
involved in the next part
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E.g. passing a baton in a relay is independent of the
running phase of the race
Whole vs. Part Practice
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Nature of Skill (Task Complexity)
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Use part practice when tasks are high in complexity,
low in organization (can be separated)
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Front crawl, transfer from bed to standing
Use whole practice when tasks are low in
complexity, high in organization (can’t easily be separated)
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Throwing a ball; transporting self in wheelchair
Whole vs. Part Practice
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Task Complexity (Information processing)
– Breaking the skill into component parts can reduce
the amount of information processing
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Reduces the attentional demands
Reduces the stimulus ID, response selection, response
programming = reduced RT
Prevents frustrating and overwhelming the learner
Enhances more successful performance during the early
learning stages (cognitive/early associative)
Whole vs. Part Practice
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Capability of the Learner
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Part practice when:
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Learners have limited movement experiences
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Learners are overwhelmed by the task
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Cognitive or attentional requirements of task exceed
learner’s capacity
Whole practice when:
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Learners are highly motivated and have had a variety of
movement experiences
Part Practice: Segmentation
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Separates skill into parts according to spatial or
temporal elements and practice is separated until the
segment is learned
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Part-whole method: A to proficiency - B to proficiency - AB
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Progressive part method: A - B - AB - AB + C
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Repetitive part method: A - AB- ABC
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Forward chaining: A + B + C = ABC
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Backward chaining: C + B + A = ABC
Part Practice: Fractionization
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Skill components normally performed
simultaneously are partitioned and practiced
independently
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Complex skill of two or more parts
Fractionization approach
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Related to bimanual skills in which one
practices each arm separately before
performing with the arms together
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Playing an instrument
Sidestroke in swimming
Tennis serve
Practice should begin with the hand that has the
more difficult task
Part Practice: Simplification
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Reduces level of difficulty of the task or some
aspect of the task for the learner
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Modify equipment; use assistive devices
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Reduce the coordination requirements of the task
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Simple to complex progressions
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Reduce complexity of environment
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Lead-up games
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Provide a rhythmic pattern
Whole vs. Part Practice
: Attention Cueing
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Learner attention is directed towards a specific
aspect of the skill during its performance as a
whole
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Allows learner to concentrate on one particular
task component or movement problem without
disrupting the underlying temporal and spatial
characteristics inherent to the skill
Breaking down Skills: Speed-Accuracy
Tradeoff
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A tradeoff exists between speed and
accuracy
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An emphasis on speed negatively impacts
accuracy and vice versa
Breaking down Skills: Speed-Accuracy
Tradeoff
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Implications for movement practitioners:
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Emphasis on accuracy in initial stages of learning
may impede the acquisition of efficient movement
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A focus on accuracy in initial stages gives evidence to an
incorrect movement
But, focus on speed facilitated efficient movements
In initial stages of learning, de-emphasize accuracy
tasks and focus on real-time movement speed
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Focus on the process of the skill, rather than a product
Bilateral Transfer
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When practice with one limb enhances the rate
of skill acquisition with the opposite limb on the
same task
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Greater degree of transfer occurs from the
preferred to the non-preferred limb
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Transfer seems to be asymmetric
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Skill should first be practiced with the dominant limb
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Once proficient, introduce to the non-preferred limb
Theoretical Explanations
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Cognitive
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Motor control
Cognitive Explanation
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Identical elements of the task performed by
both limbs
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Learner knows ‘what to do’
Cognitive components which take up a learner’s
attention have been learned before practice with
opposite limb occurs
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Begin at a higher level of proficiency
Motor Control Explanation
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The GMP is an abstract representation
responsible for control of a class of actions
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Muscles to do a task are parameters added to the
program to achieve a goal of the action
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The GMP specifies time and space features of a movement
which can be adapted for a muscle group that has not
practiced a movement
The GMP develops for a skill as a result of practice
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Practice with one limb should transfer with a reasonable
level of performance to another limb
Mental Rehearsal Techniques
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Involves the visualization or cognitive rehearsal
of a movement in the absence of any physical
execution
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Used as a preparatory strategy to enhance
performance
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Can reduce or control pre-competition anxiety
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Increases self-confidence
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Enhances motivation
Mental Rehearsal Techniques
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Can mental rehearsal contribute to skill
learning?
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Physical rehearsal is superior to mental rehearsal
when a skill is learned
Mental rehearsal is superior to NO rehearsal
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Effective for patients whose physical activity is restricted or
for those whose injury prevents physical rehearsal
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Consider how mental rehearsal could be used in therapy
settings
Types of Mental Rehearsal
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Mental Practice
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Procedure through which learners think through the
cognitive or procedural aspects of a motor skill in
absence of overt movement
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Strategies
Cues
General instructional information ‘how to’s’ presented
Mental practice requires no equipment and can be
done individually in a large group
Types of Mental Rehearsal
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Mental Imagery
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Procedure in which people imagine themselves
performing a motor skill from either a first person or
a third person perspective
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Internal perspective: they experience the movement and
environment in which the skill is performed
External perspective: experience the skill through a
videotape replay of their performance
Internal vs. External
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Which is best?
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When a closed skill that relies on form is to be
practiced, external mental imagery may be better
When a skill that connects the action to a product or
desired outcome is to be practiced, internal mental
imagery may be better
Effective imagery stimulates both the look and
feel of the actual movement
Imagery Guidelines
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Practice
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Distraction free setting
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Start with familiar situations and skills
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Generate positive, vivid and controllable
images
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Incorporate all senses
Review: match the terms
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Fractionization
Mental imagery
Segmentation
Simplification
Mental practice
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Slow motion practice
Gradual addition of parts of a
complex skill
Helps learners remember the
procedural aspects of a skill
The practice of a single part
of a complex skill
A springboard diver
attempting to see and feel the
dive before performing it
Review
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Discuss the concept of part practice, and then describe
how an instructor might use this type of practice in
assisting a person who is learning to drive a stick-shift
car
Explain the differences between mental practice and
mental imagery. Give an example of how a person who
is learning to ballroom dance might use each type of
mental rehearsal