Chapter 8 - Intro to Motor Learning

Question 1

does improved performance define learning and why

Answer 1

no, improved performance is an indication that learning MAY have occured

Question 2

define motor learning

Answer 2

set of processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent gains in the capibility for skilled performance

Question 3

when measuring learning, what are we interested in and why

Answer 3

their underlying capability/capacity for performance
-on any given occasion, the learner might not for various reasons perform up to their capability/skill level

Question 4

what factors improve the capability for skilled performance when it comes to learning give an example that would not be considered one of these factors

Answer 4

factors related to practice or experience
-performance capabilities of children increase as they mature and grow, but this is no evidence of learning cause it is not related to practice

Question 5

is learning directly observable

Answer 5

no but its products are

Question 6

during practice there are many alterations to what nervous system and what do some refer to this as and explain

Answer 6

Central nervous system
“brain plasticity”
-plasticity refers to a brain that is changeable under various conditions which helps establish relatively permanent changes in movement capability (practice will continue to maintain neural pathways)

Question 7

because the changes in learning are not directly observable, what must we do

Answer 7

infer its existence from the changes in performance they presumably support

Question 8

difference between learning and performance

Answer 8

performance is something we can observe, whereas learning is something we must infer from some characteristics of being a skilled performer

Question 9

performance does not necessarily equal what and why

Answer 9

capability
-beginners luck
-performance not reliable or consistent

Question 10

what are 4 things thing can influence our performance at any given time

Answer 10

capability
fatigue
environemnt
arousal

Question 11

learning is not what 2 things but is what

Answer 11

NOT
-improved due to growth/maturation
-improvement due to cardiovascular fitness
IS
-relatively permanent

Question 12

describe short-term plasticity

Answer 12

when first start practicing something
-neurotransmitters involved
-increase with lots of use and decrease with little use

Question 13

what is long-term plasticity and what leads to this

Answer 13

structural changes to neurons which leads to more permanent change due to repeated practice

Question 14

what is the general idea of neuroplasticity and what 2 ways can this occur

Answer 14

changes in neural pathways
-can occur through changes in neurotransmitters
-can see actual strucutre changes (neural pathways) with repeated practice

Question 15

what 3 areas of the conceptual model improve with learning

Answer 15

-information processing
-motor program
-comparator

Question 16

difference between expert and beginners motor program

Answer 16

-beginners motor program contains more noise
-experts motor program is more consistent because they are able to make corrections and adapt to changes quickly due to their memory of what a movement is supposed to feel, look, and sound like

Question 17

what are 4 ways to measure motor skills

Answer 17

• time to complete
• measure/quantifying
  -movement quality (smooth)
  -if goal is met

Question 18

briefly describe the learning continuum

Answer 18

beginner
-may perform well but cant reliably repeat
-beginners luck
AVERAGE
–may not perform in a way that reflects their capability
EXPERT
-most likely to perform close to their capability
-consistent

Question 19

learning results from what 2 thigns

Answer 19

practice and experience

Question 20

how can we observe learnign

Answer 20

indirectly

Question 21

learning changes are inferred from what

Answer 21

certain performance changes because this can be observed directly

Question 22

learning involves a set of processes in what

Answer 22

the central nervous system

Question 23

learning produces what

Answer 23

an aquired capability for skilled performance

Question 24

learning changes are relatively what and not what

Answer 24

permanent and not transitory (brief)

Question 25

better at assessing (perceiving) what play is happening is an improvement with practice in what parts of the conceptual model

Answer 25

stimulus identification and response selection

Question 26

being able to execute movment as planned is an improvement due to rpactice for what part of the conceptual model

Answer 26

motor program

Question 27

being better able ot make corrections to movement is an improvement due to practice of hwat part of the conceptual model

Answer 27

quality of feedback and comparator

Question 28

what is the performance curve and what is this used for

Answer 28

performance/time -used to infer if learning has occured (but does not measure learning)

Question 29

what are 3 limitations of the performance curve

Answer 29

1. performance curve does not = learning curve 2. between-subject effects are masked 2. iwthin-subjects variability are masked

Question 30

the shape of the performance curve depends on what

Answer 30

how you measure performance

Question 31

what is the law of practice

Answer 31

improvement is steep at first and more gradual later -performance curve -rapid improvements at beginning but eventually slows down -still learning but changes in performance are decreasing

Question 32

what is the ceiling affect in the performance curve

Answer 32

test is so easy that everyone does well

Question 33

what is the floor affect in the performance curve

Answer 33

most/none will have any success

Question 34

what are the ceiling and floor affect useful for in the performance curve when it coems to measuring learning

Answer 34

help adjust assessment based on skill level

Question 35

what is the most common and traditional way to evaluate learning progress during practice

Answer 35

performance curves

Question 36

what are performance curves

Answer 36

plots individual or average performance against practice trials to evaluate learning progress

Question 37

what is one of the main reasons for suing performance curves and what is te drawback of this

Answer 37

they average out the discrepan performances of different learners - this hides any differences between people (individual differences) -gives impression that all subjects improve at same rate or way (which is not true)

Question 38

describe the within-subject variability in performance curves

Answer 38

-performance fluctuations within a single person tend to be obscured by the averaging process -easy to assume that the learning process is going smoothly and gradullay however for each point on the curve represents an average of x amount of trials which is another average of the participants

Question 39

what are the 3 effects practice can have on the learner

Answer 39

-relatively permanent effects that persist across many days, even years -temporary effects that vanish with time or a change in conditions -simultaneous temporary and relatively permanent changes that can noticeably influence performance

Question 40

whenever learners practice and especially when they get instructions and feedback, what is important to have

Answer 40

a way to separate the relatively permanent practice effects from the temporary effects (example if you can use a tool to help practice but cannot use during performance, important to practice without that tool at some point)

Question 41

why does our performance on a given day, not necessarily equal our capability to perform a skill

Answer 41

because performance will still fluctuate due to performance variables -alertness -fatigue -motivation

Question 42

what are 4 defining features of performance

Answer 42

-observable behaviour -may or may not be due to learning -temporary -may be influenced by performance variables

Question 43

what are 5 key features of learning

Answer 43

-improvement -consistency -stability -persistence -adaptability

Question 44

performance improves over what

Answer 44

time

Question 45

what are 3 ways you can define improvement in learning

Answer 45

-speed -accuracy -movement quality

Question 46

experts are able to _____ execute their skills at a high performance level

Answer 46

reliably

Question 47

stability in performance refers to what and give examples

Answer 47

resistance to perturbations (May be internal or external) INTERNAL -distractions -choking EXTERNAL -wind -weather

Question 48

persistance in performance refers to what and how can measure this

Answer 48

improved performance lasts over longer and longer periods of time -retention test

Question 49

adaptability in performance is also known as what and what does this refer to, how can this be measured

Answer 49

generalizability -performer can adapt to a variety of contexts and maintain skill improvement -transfer tests (measure performance on related test to show what youve learned)

Question 50

adaptability is related to what other key factor of learning

Answer 50

stability

Question 51

retention and transfer tests help us measure what in learning and performance

Answer 51

infer if have persistance and adaptability

Question 52

what is the idea behind transfer designs

Answer 52

can analyze whether a change that improves performance in practice also improves learning by separating the relatively permanent and temporary effects of a variable

Question 53

what does transfer test refer to

Answer 53

a change of task conditions

Question 54

what does retention test refer to

Answer 54

a test given after an empty period without practice

Question 55

what is the logivce behind a transfer or retention test

Answer 55

if temporary effects have dissipated by the time of the test and any temporary effects are not allowed to reappear, then any differences observed in the delayed test should be due to the relatively permanent effects aquired through training (learning)

Question 56

when there is an increase risk during performance what is needed

Answer 56

an increase for simulations -med students -firefighters -pilots

Question 57

what is the idea behind the saying, never truly a blank slate, when it comes to learning

Answer 57

past experiences are always relevant and can be used in the learning process

Question 58

what helps the increase of transfer between skills

Answer 58

similarity

Question 59

what is transfer of learning

Answer 59

when practice on one task contributes to performance capability on some other task ex; rollerblading, ice skating

Question 60

transfer learning can be helpful for what type of skills and not so helpful for what

Answer 60

HELP -serial or continuous skills -can be broken down intor elements for practice NOT -discrete -too fast

Question 61

what are the different types of transfer learnign

Answer 61

specific and generalized