Motor Learning & Skill
Acquisition
19.1
Basic Principles of Motor Learning and Skill
Acquisition
• The more we perform a skill, the better we get at it
• Ability to master increasingly difficult skills is
enhanced as we grow and develop
• Motor Learning:
Process by which a person develops, through a
combination of physical and psychological factors, the
ability to perform a task
• The root of any motor activity lies in the sensory and
nervous systems
Division of Motor Activity
Automatic Motor Activity Controlled Motor Activity
• Involves very little
thought
• Results in movement
that appears to be an
almost unconscious
reflex action
• Requires relatively more
thought and time to
perform
• Eg: baseball batter
ducking at a wild pitch
Eg: Soccer player weaving in
between opponents
The Principle of Individual Differences
• same way that people have different
anatomical and physiological makeups
and appearances, so too do individuals
differ widely in terms of how quickly and
easily they learn new motor skills.
Acquisition of Motor Skills
• Gallahue (1993) proposes that children move
through a developmental progression in the
acquisition of motor skills.
–
–
–
–
reflexive movement phase
rudimentary movement phase
fundamental movement phase,
specialized movement phase
• The sequence of the appearance of these
phases is universal, although the rate of
acquisition of motor skills varies from child to
child.
Acquisition of Motor Skills
• reflexive movement phase ranges from birth to about 1
year of age. In this phase the infant engages in reflexive
movements.
• rudimentary movement phase includes the basic motor
skills acquired in infancy: reaching, grasping and releasing
objects. Form the foundation for the fundamental phase.
• fundamental movement phase ranging from ages 2-7.
Increased control over their gross- and fine-motor
movements. First learn skills in isolation from one another
and then are able to combine them with other skills as
coordinated movement.
• specialized movement phase begins at about 7 years of
age and continues through the teenage years and into
adulthood.
Stages of Motor Learning
• Fitts and Posner’s “classic” stages-of-learning model
• Gradual changes between stages (not sudden shift)
• Cognitive Stage
– Come to basic understanding of task; learner commits
relatively large errors and may need specific instruction
on how to improve
• Associative Stage
– Learners begin to refine skill; develop some awareness
of mistakes being made; effort becomes more consistent
• Autonomous Stage
– Skill becomes “automatic”; not much time spent thinking
about basic fundamentals; aware of mistakes and how to
correct them
Factors Affecting Skill Development
Reasons for errors and faults in skills:
• incorrect understanding of movement
• poor physical abilities
• poor coordination of movement
• incorrect application of power
• lack of concentration
• inappropriate equipment, clothing, or footwear
• External factors (eg. Weather)
Can you think of anything else?
Teaching and Learning a Skill
• In many cases, people are unable to learn
complex skills on their own
Singer’s Five-Step Process
• University of Florida Psychologist Rober
Singer published a series of papers in the
1980’s on skill development
• Five building blocks to teaching and
learning a skill
Five-Step Process to Teaching and Learning
Skills
• Readying
– Preparatory; work to attain ideal mental and
emotional state
• Imaging
– Develop “picture” in mind of correct skill execution
• Focusing
– Block out external and internal distractions; “zero” in
on skill
• Executing
– Learner attempts skill after completing first three
stages
• Evaluating
– Assess which aspects of skill were successful and
which need improvement
Think of a Skill
• Think of a skill that you learned. How did
you use the (some) of the Five-steps to
learn it?
• Take 5 minutes and discuss with class
Motor Learning and Feedback
• Feedback - information to performers about the
proficiency with which they move
• Intrinsic Feedback - internal feedback received during
and after the execution of a movement
- the normal sensory information received during and
after hitting a baseball
• Extrinsic Feedback - external feedback received after
the movement is completed
- coaches, teachers, experimenters are sources of
extrinsic feedback to the performer
KP and KR Feedback
• Knowledge of Results (KR)
- information received concerning the extent to which a
movement accomplished the intended goal
- if you attempt to kick a football through the center of the
goal posts, KR is the information you receive concerning
your success
• Knowledge of Performance, aka kinematic (KP)
- information received about the actual execution of the
movement
- Was the movement performed correctly or the way it
was intended to be performed?
- the information provides a basis on which to assess the
correctness of the movement
• How might one use KR And KP feedback
in improving golf swing?
Skill Transferability
• Skills learned for one sport can often be
transferred to another sport
• Hand-eye co-ordination in hitting a
baseball can be used to catch a fast
moving football