Learning and Motor Learning Foundations

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Learning and Motor Learning Foundations
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Learning

• Def Any change in behavior brought about by
  experience.
  
• (A change brought about by accident, random
  chance, or maturation would not be classified as
  learning, but just about any other change would
  be.)
• Learning is generally a permanent change
  (admittedly, learning can be unlearned or
  forgotten). Therefore, there must be some kind of
  internal change in the brain whenever any
  learning occurs. Just what this change is,
  however, is unknown.

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Some very important background concepts

• Mental Model of the World
• How this is done is currently unknown, but
  clearly the human memory maintains what may be
  described as a mental model of the world.
  
• This refers to the fact that we can remember how
  things are. Our memories may, of course,
  maintain an inaccurate model of the world.
  

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The Holographic Model of Memory

• A true hologram is a type of photograph. Viewed
  with a laser bean, the result is a
  three-dimensional image. One can actually walk
  around a true holographic image and view it from
  any angle.
• If the glass plate containing a true holographic
  photograph is cut in half, it can still be used
  to make a hologram. The hologram produced will be
  an image of the entire object photographed, but
  will be less sharp or detailed.
• The holographic theory says that the memory is
  something like a hologram.
  
• It says that
• Every memory is somehow distributed over the
  entire part of the brain used for memory, not in
  a specific place. Thus damage to any part of the
  memory results in a loss of detail of all
  memories, but not in a loss of any specific
  memories.
• Remembering any part of a specific memory tends
  to trigger additional remembering of associated
  memories.
  
• Discuss How can this theory be useful to someone
  trying to learn or remember things.

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Self-reinforcement of Learning

• It has recently been recognized that the brain is
  a very active producer and consumer of drug-like
  chemicals that produce feelings such as
  pleasure, pain, elation, depression, anger, love,
  arousal, and others.
• Having an experience such as a sudden insight,
  new understanding, and so on may release
  chemicals that cause pleasure. If you feel good
  when you make a discovery it is because such
  chemicals have been produced.
• This has two extremely important effects.
• 1. It causes the feeling of elation to be
  associated with learning. This, in turn, tends to
  make us want to repeat the experience by learning
  more.
• 2. It may cause the memory of the knowledge
  gained to become stronger, thus making it more
  likely to be remembered. This may also occur, of
  course, with learning associated with other
  feelings, such as pain. We tend not to touch a
  hot stove twice.

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Teaching

• Def Anything that facilitates learning in
  another person.
  
• This includes such practices as
• lecturing
• guiding students toward instructive experiences
• directing students toward instructive
  experiences
  
• demonstrating and correcting
• giving feedback
• doing anything that causes learning (in another)
  to proceed more rapidly
  
• There is clearly no one method of teaching that
  is best, nor any method that is worst. The best
  method always depends on many factors, including
  talent in the learner, personality of the
  teacher, overall life environment, and others.

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Three Stages of Learning

• Cognitive Stage
• Beginner level of ability
• Basic concepts and ideas
• Higher levels of brain involved. Performance
  dominated by higher centers of control.
  Performer is thinking about performance too
  much.
• Associative Stage
• Intermediate level of ability
• Performer is aware of errors but not yet able to
  eliminate them.
  
• Skills being refined, errors reduced but still
  occur.
  
• Autonomous Stage
• Advanced level of skill
• Lower levels of brain have taken control
• Performance is automatic

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Thorndikes Law of Readiness

• A learner must be physiologically,
  psychologically, and developmentally ready to
  learn a skill if learning is to take place.
  
• In physical education, especially, there is a
  concept that says PE activities must be
  developmentally appropriate.
  
• Discuss On which side do we err. Do we push
  children too fast, or do we dumb-down the
  curriculum.

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Thorndikes Law of Effect

• People tend to repeat behaviors for which they
  are rewarded and to not repeat behaviors that are
  not rewarded or that are punished.
  
• Note, however, that what appears to be a
  punishment may not really be.

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Thorndikes Law of Exercise

• Learning is strengthened by repetition.
• Of course, this means that repetition of a poor
  technique may mean strengthening of that poor
  technique.
  
• However, this does NOT mean that exactly correct
  technique must be used from the beginning.That is
  often impossible.

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Input is important to learning

• Learning should be improved by anything that
  improves input. Such as
  
• Accurate demonstrations
• Attention directed toward relevant input and
  away from irrelevant input
  
• Elimination of distractions, discomforts.
• Full attention by learner to input
• Avoidance of mental fatigue during
  instruction
  
• Repetition of input
• Use of terms the learner understands

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Processing of input is also very important

• Learning is an active process than takes place in
  the learner. It is not something done to the
  learner. Ideally, learning should be directed by
  the learner, not the teacher. Learning should be
  improved by anything that improves or increases
  processing. Such as
• Study, reading, repeating input out loud, taking
  notes, copying notes, converting the form of
  notes, doing exercises, asking questions, and,
  perhaps, even THINKING.
• Using more parts of the brain in processing
• Reading aloud may be better than reading
  silently.
  
• Reading and writing is better than just reading,
  or just writing.
  
• Speaking added to the above is even better.
• Seeing and hearing is better than just hearing.
• Seeing, hearing, and doing are even better. One
  reason for laboratory exercises, practica, etc.
  
• Any form of processing combined with genuine
  motivation, esp. intrinsic

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Motivation

• Motivation That which drives behavior.
• Extrinsic motivation Motivation from an
  external source. For example, when a student
  studies because of the desire for a high grade.
  Even though the desire for a grade is in the mind
  of the student, a grade is really an external
  reward.
• Intrinsic motivation Motivation from within.
  For example, when a student studies because of a
  desire to know the subject matter.
  
• Both are powerful, but research shows that for
  humans, intrinsic sources are the most powerful
  motivators for most forms of achievement.
  
• Discuss How can a teacher, coach, leader, etc.
  influence the motivation of the pupils, athletes,
  or followers.

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Reinforcement

• Reinforcement Anything that tends to encourage
  the repetition of a behavior. E.g. praise,
  reward, joy of accomplishment, etc.
  
• Positive reinforcement Giving a reward for a
  desired behavior
  
• Negative reinforcement
• Tangible reinforcement A reward in the form of
  something that is a real object. (Money, food, a
  prize, etc.)
  
• Intangible reinforcement A reward in the form
  of something that is not a real object. (Praise,
  applause, cheering, respect, a smile, etc.)
  
• Tangible-symbolic A reward that is tangible but
  in which the value is purely or mostly symbolic.
  (Blue ribbon, trophy, gold medal, gold star,
  etc.)
• (More on reinforcement)

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Reinforcement

• Timing of reinforcement is important
• Concurrent during performance
• Concurrent, out of phase during performance but
  with a slight delay between the part being
  reinforced and the reinforcement
  
• Immediate right after performance
• Delayedafter a more than trivial amount of time
  has elapsed following performance.
  
• The pacing of reinforcement is important
• Reinforcement of every instance of a desired
  behavior is 3rd best.
  
• Reinforcement in a predictable pattern (every
  2nd, every 3rd, etc) of instances of a desired
  behavior is 2nd best.
  
• Reinforcement in an unpredictable pattern is
  best, unless the reinforcement becomes very
  rare.
  
• The appropriateness of reinforcement is
  important
  
• Pupils will quickly recognize the fact if they
  receive reinforcement that is not deserved.
  
• Reinforcement of trivial progress, in a pupil
  who is capable of more, is likely to produce
  continued trivial progress.

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Feedback

• Def Information about the quality of a
  performance.
  
• Feedback is information, not reinforcement.
  Positive reinforcement may imply that a
  performance was good, but is considered different
  from feedback. As a rule, the term feedback
  means more than just knowledge of the result or
  outcome. It includes knowledge of the performance
  itself, which is often different from the
  result.
• Intrinsic feedback Through ones own senses.
• Extrinsic feedback Through external channels,
  such as a coach, video tape, etc.
  
• Delayed feedback After a more than trivial time
  has elapsed since the end of the performance.
  
• Concurrent feedback Simultaneous with
  performance.
  
• Out of phase Concurrent with overall
  performance but not with the specific part of
  performance for which feedback is received.
  
• (more about feedback)

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More about feedback

• Concurrent is better than delayed or terminal.
• Longer delays are worse than short ones.
• Feedback must be accurate to be effective.
• Feedback must be understood.
• E.g. You need more dorsiflexion is useless if
  the term is not understood
  
• Ambiguous feedback of feedback that is in
  conflict with other feedback leads to
  confusion.
  
• E.g. Good level swing, Johnny. when Johnny
  missed the ball, lost the bat, and fell down.
  

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Distributed vs Massed Practice

• Distributed spread out over a longer period of
  time
  
• More effective for long-term retention.
• More effective for most kinds of skills.
• Less popular with learners in some experiments.
• Massed concentrated over a shorter period of
  time
  
• More effective for short-term retention. May also
  be more effective for certain kinds of skills,
  such as learning a language.

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Transfer of Learning

• Refers to the question of whether or not learning
  of one skill leads to ability in or more rapid
  learning of other skills.
  
• Research suggests that very little transfer takes
  place, although there is some between or among
  skills that are very similar. E.g. Ability to bat
  in baseball may transfer somewhat to swinging a
  club in golf.

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Anxiety

• Trait anxietyLevel of anxiety that is a general
  characteristic of an individual.
  
• We tend to refer to people with a low state of
  trait anxiety to be laid back.
  
• Low trait anxiety may be a desirable
  characteristic for certain activities.
  
• State anxietyLevel of anxiety at a particular
  point in time.
  

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Arousal vs performance

• For many types of skills (not all) the
  relationship between arousal (situational
  anxiety) looks like the following graph.

Optimal performance
Level of performance
Poor performance
Anxiety level
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Whole vs Part Learning

• Whole skill A skill that is useful by itself, in
  the understanding of the learner.
  
• Part skill A skill that the learner sees as only
  a component of a more complex skill, and not
  useful except as a component of or step to
  learning that larger skill.
• Whole method Teaching an entire skill all at
  once, without breaking it down into parts.
  
• Part methodTeaching a skill by breaking it down
  into parts, having pupils learn each part
  separately, and then combining the parts, perhaps
  in stages.
• As a general rule, the whole method is much
  superior, except when the whole skill becomes too
  complex.

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Closed vs Open Skills

• Open skillA skill that takes place in an
  environment that changes. Most basketball skills
  are open - one must keep adapting to changes in
  the position and tactics of the opposition.
• When teaching an open skill, emphasize
  recognition of cues and adaptation. Make the
  practice conditions vary as they will in
  performance. The use of closed skill practice
  conditions may help initially but will tend to
  slow subsequent progress.
• Closed skillA skill that takes place in an
  environment that does not change. The basketball
  free-throw is closed, except to the extent that
  the visual and auditory background may change.
• When teaching a closed skill, emphasize
  consistency and repetition. Keep practice
  conditions constant.
  
• Probably no skill is totally open or closed.
  However, skills can be classified as open or
  closed based on their predominant nature.
  

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The Concept of the Learning Curve

• A learning curve may be understood as a graph of
  the quality of performance over time during the
  process of learning it, or as the relationship
  between time spent trying to learn and
  performance.
• For many skills learning follows different
  curves. Different curves may also result from
  different approaches to teaching or learning.