Preparing for the Learning Experience

1
Preparing for the Learning Experience

• Chapter 7

2
Objectives

• Discuss the concept of the learning experience
• Explain the role of the movement practitioner in
  defining learning experiences
• Describe several learner characteristics of which
  practitioners should be aware

(continued)
3
Objectives (continued)

• Explain how movement practitioners can evaluate
  the progress of learners
• Assist someone in developing a blueprint for a
  motor learning experience

4
Preview

• In Lewis Carrolls classic childrens story
  Alices Adventures in Wonderland, Alice and the
  Cheshire cat have the following exchange

(continued)
5
Preview (continued)

• Alice Could you tell me which way I should go
  from here?
• Cheshire cat Well, that depends a good deal on
  where you want to go.
• Alice Oh, I dont much care where.
• Cheshire cat Then it doesnt matter which way
  you go.

(continued)
6
Preview (continued)

• Does it matter which way you go?
• Why do you go where you go?
• What does it take to get there?

7
Overview

• Concept of learning experience and some of the
  factors that movement practitioners consider when
  preparing to assist learners
• Goal setting
• Transfer of learning
• Learner characteristics
• Performance assessment
• Conceptualizing learning using everyday conditions

8
Goal Setting

• Set targets for performance improvement
• Encourage all learners to set goals
• Know what the learners goals are
• Individualize goals
• Make sure people have a vested interest in goal
  setting

(continued)
9
Goal Setting (continued)

• Understanding the purpose of specific activities
• Challenging, measurable, achievable, realistic,
  specific, and beneficial goals
• Performance-based goals
• Sufficient time to accomplish a goal
• Proper apparatus

10
Types of Goals

• Outcome goals target performance improvements
  that focus on the result of the activity (winning
  a tennis match).
• Performance goals focus on improving on a
  previous performance (improving percentage of
  good first serves).
• Process goals target the quality of movement and
  skill execution (tucking body during forward
  roll).

11
Targeted Goals

• Target skills are the skills a person wants to be
  able to perform.
• Target behaviors are the actions a person needs
  to be able to produce to accomplish target
  skills.
• Target context is the environment in which the
  person will produce the target skill.

12
Locus of Control

• A persons perception of who or what controls
  what happens to him or her
• Internal vs. external
• Stable vs. unstable

13
Transfer of Learning

• The gain or loss of a persons proficiency on one
  task as a result of previous experience
• What a person learns during practice vs. what he
  or she can do in the target context

(continued)
14
Transfer of Learning (continued)

• Generalization is the transfer of learning that
  occurs from practice to target context (piano
  recital).
• Near transfer is the type of learning that
  transfers from one task to another under very
  similar tasks or situations.
• Far transfer occurs from one task to another
  under very different tasks or settings.

15
Motivation

• Motivatedpractice longer, more dedicated, more
  conscientious
• Not motivatedhalf-hearted efforts
• Achievement motivationthe effort a person uses
  to reach a goal for mastery, for learning, or to
  surpass others
• Must see the relevance to be motivated to perform
  specific tasks

16
Past Experience

• Tasks that share many similar elements are
  expected to transfer to a greater extent than
  those that do not.
• Movement elements are motor patterns associated
  with correct performance.
• Perceptual elements are task-related stimuli that
  people interpret for successful performance.
  

(continued)
17
Past Experience (continued)

• Conceptual elements are similar strategies, rules
  critical to performance.
• Specificity of learning holds that the more
  similar the movement components and environmental
  conditions to the target skill, the better the
  learning experience.

18
Stages of Learning

• Verbalcognitive stage
• Motor stage
• Autonomous stage

19
VerbalCognitive Stage

• A lot of time talking
• A lot of time thinking
• Self-talk
• Verbal guidance
• Large gains
• Rapid gains

20
Motor Stage

• Solved cognitive problem
• Refining skill
• More effective movement
• More consistency
• Strategies
• Need precise feedback

21
Autonomous Stage

• Some never get here
• Little or no attention
• Longer motor programs
• Higher-order cognition

22
Valid Indicators to Assess Skills

• Outcome measures are performance observations
  that indicate some aspect of the result as it
  relates to time, distance, frequency, and
  accuracy.
• Process measures indicate something about the
  quality of movement being produced.

23
Error Measures

• Constant error is the measure of a persons
  deviation from a target with respect to the
  amount and direction.
• Variable error is the inconsistency of results of
  several movements with respect to the average
  constant error of the movement.

24
Observable Products of Learning

• Knowledge of concepts
• Control and coordination
• Muscles used
• Movement efficiency
• Attention
• Error detection and correction