Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Practice Schedules

2. Your Perspective • How do you typically learn a new skill or activity? • Do you like to practice it repeatedly before moving on to a different aspect of the skill or something else entirely? Or do you prefer to prefer to switch from one skill to another?

3. Variable Practice • The learner should be able to generalize a skill to a variety of performance situations. • For example, a shortstop does not field ground balls with the same speed, trajectory, and location each time. • Practice should be varied. • The learner shouldn’t practice the same pass or the same shot over and over.

4. Remember Distinctions Between Learning and Performance • Learning: A relatively permanent change in a person’s ability to execute a motor skill, as a result of practice or experience. • Performance: A temporary expression of a skill. Constant practice has a greater influence on performance, but variable practice has greater influence on learning.

5. Variable Practice GuidelinesHow to Implement Variability • First assess the nature of the skill being learned and the environment in which it’s being performed • Then introduce variations in regulatory/ non-regulatory conditions, or both.

6. Variable Practice GuidelinesWhen to Implement Variability • Initial stages of learning: • Constant practice • After the learner has acquired basic movement patterns: • Variable practice

7. Contextual Interference • Interference from switching from one skill to another or changing the context in which a task is practiced. • Blocked practice: • Low contextual interference. • Random practice: • High contextual interference.

8. Contextual Interference Effect • Blocked practice often produces superior short-term performance during practice. • Random practice leads to greater long-term learning gains. • Possible explanations: • Elaboration hypothesis • Action plan reconstruction hypothesis

9. Contextual Interference in Applied Settings • Some investigations show no difference between blocked and random practice schedules. • Possible reasons: • Nature of the task • Learner characteristics (age and skill level) • Use repeated-blocked schedule of practice • Combines advantages of blocked and random practices.

10. Designing Practice Sessions forContextual Interference

11. Massed vs. Distributed Practice • Massed practice: • Amount of time allocated to rest between practice sessions or attempts is comparatively less than the time the learner is engaged in practice. • Distributed practice: • Rest component between practice sessions or attempts is equal to or greater than the practice component.

12. Distribution Across Practice Sessions (a) and Within a Practice Session (b)

13. Practical Implications for Distributed Practice Recommended for: • New and complex skills • Continuous tasks • Tasks with high-energy requirements • Tasks with some degree of risk • Skills practiced in a therapy setting • Learners who lack needed physical conditioning

14. Practical Implications for Massed Practice • Effective with learners who: • Have acquired basic skills • Are motivated • Are in good physical condition • Have long attention spans • Can enhance physical conditioning/performance in a game situation • Avoid practicing when highly fatigued, however

15. Strategies to Maximize Time on Task • Rest intervals: • Do another activity during a rest period • Equipment substitutions: • Practice on equipment that is available while waiting for other equipment that is currently being used • Drill design: • Ensure the active participation of all learners • Directly target the learning goal

16. Your Perspective • Do you agree or disagree with the statement that the same movement is never performed twice? • Why or why not?