Introduction to Motor Learning
and Control
Chapter 1
How do people acquire
motor skills?
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Motor learning is the study of the processes
people go through as they acquire and refine
motor skills. One must also consider the
variables that promote or inhibit the acquisition
of these skills.
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What variables might promote or inhibit
acquisition?
Once acquired, what is motor
control?
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Motor control is the neural, physical, and
behavioral aspects of human movement
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Does the brain integrate all sensory messages?
Does arousal influence performance?
Why do we sometimes forget how to do something?
Why do we know how to do something even when
we haven’t done it in a long time?
How do people move?
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Movement is the function of the interaction of
three elements:
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The learner
The task
The environment
Foundational knowledge
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Learner
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Do they possess underlying abilities to perform?
Is the task developmentally appropriate?
Were there previous similar experiences?
Are they motivated?
Might individual differences influence acquisition of
this task?
Foundational Knowledge
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Task
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Is there a high perceptual component to the task?
Is object manipulation required?
What body movements are required?
Must the task be performed under a variety of
conditions or under the same condition each time?
Foundational Knowledge
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Environment
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In what context will the task be performed?
Is that context predictable or unpredictable?
Is there a time limitation?
When assessing performance and making
instructional decisions, you must remember
that none of these elements exists in isolation
What is learning?
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Learning is a relatively permanent change in a
person’s ability to execute a motor skill as a
result of practice or experience doing the skill
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We can’t see learning because the internal
processes can’t be directly observed
So how does a facilitator of learning know if the
client/athlete/student learned?
Role of performance in learning
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While we can’t see learning, we can see
performance
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Performance is the execution of a skill
Through repeated observations of a person’s
performance, we infer whether a person has
learned a skill
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Inferences must be based on changes that occur
over time
Inferences must be accurate
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If a person is anxious, tired, experiencing
equipment problems, does impaired
performance mean a loss of capability to do
the skill?
Could a person be ‘ON’ one day during
practice, and then revert back to previous
levels of ability the next time out?
Practical Application
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Nondominant hand juggling
Two tennis balls in nondominant hand
Toss upward and when reaches peak, toss
second tennis ball; catch first, then toss, catch
second then toss
Continue this pattern for 10 minutes
Record the highest number of successful
catches you make
Questions
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Can you conclude that you learned how to juggle two
tennis balls with your non-dominant hand? Why?/
Why not?
If up until the 9 minute mark you only caught the ball
twice, then you suddenly caught 6, does that mean
you learned how to juggle? Why? / Why not?
What is learning?
What learner, task and environmental factors affected
your performance and learning?
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Answers to these questions due on Friday
Motor Skill
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Goal-oriented
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Body and limb movements required to
accomplish goal
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Voluntary
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Must be learned or re-learned
Which are motor skills?
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Grasping a bottled water
Keyboarding
Drawing back after touching a hot iron
Sewing a button
Playing the drums
The startle reflex
Ways to classify motor skills
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Identify skill characteristics that are similar
Divide into two categories, which represent
extreme ends of a continuum
One dimensional systems
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Size of primary musculature required; precision of
movement
Nature of movement organization; Specificity of
where actions begin or end
Predictability/ Stability of the environment
Precision of Movement
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Fine motor skill
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Involving very precise movements normally
accomplished using smaller musculature
Gross motor skill
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Places less emphasis on precision and is typically the
result of multi-limb movements
Precision of Movement
Fine
Gross
Nature of Movement Organization
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Discrete
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Serial
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Beginning and end points are clearly defined
Composed of a number of discrete skills whose
integrated performance is crucial for goal
achievement
Continuous
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Beginning and ending points are arbitrary
Predictability of the Environment
Closed
Open
Open/closed classification system
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Closed skill
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Environmental context is stable & predictable
(does not change from trial to trial)
Consistency is the objective
Technique refinement is emphasized
Open skill
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Performer must adapt performance to the ever
changing environment
Practice should emphasize responding to the
changing demands
Classify the following motor skills
CLOSED………………….TO……………….OPEN
Unpredictable
Predictable
Semi-Predictable
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Walking a tightrope
Mowing the lawn
Downhill skiing
Swimming in a pool
Playing a video game
Typing
Crossing the street
Gentile’s Multidimensional
Classification System
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Environmental demands
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Regulatory conditions
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Environmental factors that specify the movement
characteristics necessary to successfully perform a skill
1. Is the environmental context stable or in motion?
1. Swimming in an empty pool lane vs. playing water polo
2. From trial to trial, do the regulatory conditions remain
fixed or do they change?
1. Does a pitched ball come in high and inside, then low and
away? Or down the middle with a pitching machine?
Gentile’s Multidimensional
Classification System
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Action requirements
1. Is the performer required to change locations or
maintain body position when performing the skill?
2. Does the task require the performer to manipulate
an object or opponent or not?
Task Examples for Gentile’s
Multidimensional System
REGULATORY CONDITIONS
ACTION REQUIREMENTS 
Neither body
Object
transport nor manipulation
object
only
manipulation
Body
transport
only
Both body
transport and
object
manipulation
Stationary
and fixed
Doing a sit up
Moving a
chess piece
Climbing a
ladder
Shot put
Stationary
and variable
Writing ABC’s
with foot for
ankle
rehabilitation
“Round the
clock” in darts
Following a
dance pattern
that has been
placed on the
floor
With a partner,
following a
dance pattern
that has been
placed on the
floor
Moving and
fixed
Floating on a
river in an
inner tube
Yo-yo
Running down
a hill
Walking on
crutches in a
clear hallway
Moving and
variable
Riding in a
tube pulled by
a speedboat
Playing Fooze
Ball
Skating on a
crowded ice
rink
Skiing a
downhill
slalom course
How to apply this
classification system
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When you know the level of complexity of a
skill, you can design learning experiences that
build from simple to more complex
Ultimately, you lead to practice conditions that
simulate the conditions under which the skill
will be performed
Practical Application
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Determine a progression of learning
experiences from simple to more complex
within your area of study.
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Because each learner is unique, not all
instructional strategies are effective for all
learners
Individual Differences
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Individual differences are relatively stable and enduring
characteristics that make each of us unique
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Examples:
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Body configuration
Physiological make-up
Learning styles
Type and amount of previous movement experience
Developmental level
Cultural background
Psychological make-up
Abilities
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Genetic traits that are prerequisite to the
development of skill proficiency
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Existence of a single, general motor ability?
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Can a person be born an ‘all around athlete’?
Specificity hypothesis?
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Do we develop specific abilities rather than all
around abilities? Research does not support a
single, general motor ability
Fleishman’s Taxonomy
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Groups motor abilities into two categories of
fundamental abilities:
1. Perceptual motor abilities
2. Physical proficiency abilities
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These abilities are stable and genetically determined
Perceptual Motor Abilities
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Control precision
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Manual dexterity
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Multi-limb coordination
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Finger dexterity
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Response orientation
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Arm-hand steadiness
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Reaction time
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Wrist finger speed
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Speed of limb movement
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Aiming
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Rate control
Physical Proficiency Abilities
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Static strength
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Dynamic flexibility
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Dynamic strength
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Gross body coordination
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Explosive strength
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Gross body equilibrium
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Trunk strength
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Stamina
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Extent flexibility
Thinking about your abilities
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List three movement activities for which you
feel particularly skilled.
What abilities do you think you possess that
allow you to perform these skills so well?
Are any of these abilities important to the
performance of more than one of the tasks
listed?
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See abilities on pp. 13 & 14
Motor Abilities
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People tend to perform motor tasks well
according to their motor abilities
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Abilities limit the ultimate level of performance
proficiency of an individual
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For example, body type will influence the ability to become
an elite sprinter or a sprinter ‘wanna be’
However, avoid making final judgement on a person in
early stages of practice. As experience and practice
increase, performers may become more successful at
using their underlying abilities to become more skilled
What should practitioners remember
about abilities?
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We should expect to see differences in
patterns of abilities
We should identify patterns before providing
instructional assistance
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One tennis player may demonstrate more consistent
contact with ball while another player may cover the
court better
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Abilities of player one? Abilities of player two?
What should practitioners remember about abilities?
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Create practice opportunities that challenge the
person to work on those aspects of
performance for which their abilities are not
well suited
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The challenge will come when the performer must
work on their weakness, when they would rather
work on things they do well
What should practitioners remember about abilities?
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Abilities are not the only contributing factor
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Previous experiences
Body configuration
Personal characteristics
Performance success will most likely result
from a combination of factors: abilities, age,
experience, practice, motivation, mood
A way to use abilities in motor
performance
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Task analysis approach to determine which
movement components to emphasize during
instruction
Task Analysis
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The breaking down of a skill into its
component parts and corresponding
underlying abilities
Through task analysis, we can understand
skill requirements better
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Then we can identify a learner’s strengths and
weaknesses and modify instruction to help them
acquire the skill
Task Analysis Example
Practical Application
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For a skill of your choice, perform a task
analysis to determine the critical elements of
the task and the underlying abilities required
for proficient performance
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How would you use this information to design
learning experiences?
Summary on abilities
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People differ in their abilities
Research supports fundamental abilities
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There exists a number of independent fundamental
abilities
Different combinations of these abilities underly
motor performance
Some abilities play dominant roles in task
performance while others are secondary
Some abilities may be important for a number of
different tasks
Putting it all together
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Practitioners can:
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Perform a task analysis to determine the
requirements of a task
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Then identify the important abilities necessary to meet the
requirements
Design learning experiences to capitalize on
strengths and practice activities to work on their
weaknesses
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Look at progression of skills according to the skill
classification systems for appropriate difficulty
Practical Application
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A frequent challenge is finding ways to assist people
who must compensate for deficiencies in their abilities
when they are learning or relearning a skill. What
factors might be considered to assist each of the
following?
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A 10 year old who consistently misses a pitched ball
A 60 year old with paralysis of the preferred hand caused by
stroke who is trying to relearn the task of opening a bottle of
wine
A 30 year old with a loss of vision in one eye who is trying to
learn how to play a musical keyboard
Exit Slip
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What is the relationship between learning and
performance?
Briefly summarize each classification system.
What role do motor abilities play in individual
performance?
What factors should practitioners be aware of
when trying to predict someone’s future
performance success?