Upper Hutt College
PED
Level 3
Learning Intentions
1. To understand what is meant by the term
skill.
2. To understand the three phases of
learning and their role in skill development.
3. To recognise the classification of skill and
apply it in a practical setting.
Key terminology
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


Skill
Perceptual
Motor
Cognitive
Associative
Autonomous
 Reinforcement
 Feedback
 Continuum
What is Skill ?
 ‘The learned ability to bring about pre-determined
results with maximum certainty, often with minimal
outlay of time or energy’
Knapp 1963
 ‘An act or task that has a goal to achieve and that
requires voluntary body or limb movements to be
properly performed’
R. Magill
Characteristics of Skill
?????
Fluent
Goal directed
Follows technical model
Efficient
Learned
Aesthetically
pleasing
Pre-determined
Types of Skill
 Cognitive – requiring mental powers.
 Perceptual – interpreting and making sense
of information.
 Motor Skills – physical movements and
responses.
 Perceptual Motor and Psychomotor skills –
the collective term for the above.
Stages of learning
 Learning is a very complex process and the
stages (or phases of learning) only give us a
guide.
 Fitts and Posner developed the phases of
learning as an aid to understanding how
people learn.
 It is very important to understand the phases
if we are to create a successful learning
environment.
Phase 1 - Cognitive
 The COGNITIVE phase is the first phase of
learning, and is when the performer has an
understanding of what needs to be done.
 This stage is characterised by trial and error, the
learner may be successful but often will fail.
 In order to develop, it is important that the
performer is reinforced when the correct behaviour
occurs.
 If failure occurs it is important not to dismiss the
effort, as the saying goes “we learn from our
mistakes”
Phase 2 - Associative
 This phase is also known as the motor phase of
learning.
 In this phase the performer practices and
compares (associates) the movements that they
produce with the mental image.
 During this stage feedback occurs and the learner
becomes more aware of what they are doing.
 This stage is characterised by dramatic
improvements in the quality of performance.
Phase 3 - Autonomous
 The final phase.
 Movements now become almost automatic
with little concious thought.
 Any distractions are ignored and
concentration is focussed on the
performance.
 Many performers will never reach this stage
of learning.
Why classify skills?
 It is very rare to perform the same skill in
exactly the same environment every time.
 There will always be factors that will effect
the skill.
 Different skills can be classified using a
continuum.
 A continuum allows skills to be placed either
at, or between extreems.
Classification of movement skills
Muscular involvement
Gross
Fine
Classification of movement skills
Environmental Influence
Open
Closed
Classification of movement skills
Continuity
Discrete
Serial
Continuous
Classification of movement skills
Pacing
Self
External
Classification of movement skills
Organisation
Low
High
Classification of movement skills
Difficulty
Simple
Complex