C.2.1.1 Learning as a process leading to a relatively permanent behavioral change Notes

Skill

1. Goal-Oriented: Skills are performed to achieve a specific outcome (e.g., typing a letter, making a golf putt, or saving a goal in soccer).
2. Performed with Maximum Certainty: A skilled performer can consistently achieve success (e.g., maintaining balance while cycling or making 90% of basketball shots).
3. Efficient Use of Energy: Skilled actions are performed with minimal energy expenditure (e.g., steering a car, maintaining streamlined form in swimming, or skiing smoothly downhill).
4. Learned Through Practice: Skills require experience, repetition, and feedback from a teacher or coach to develop proficiency.

Types of Skills

1. Motor Skill: Focuses on movement with minimal cognitive involvement.
   1. Examples: weightlifting, sprint racing, wrestling.
2. Cognitive Skill: Requires significant thinking and decision-making rather than movement.
   1. Examples: playing chess, understanding rules and strategies in soccer and field hockey.
3. Perceptual Skill: Involves interpreting sensory information to make decisions.
   1. Examples: reading the green in golf, assessing a rock face before climbing.

Ability vs. Skill:

1. Ability is innate and inherited (perceptual & motor attributes).
2. Skill is learned through practice with a specific goal.
3. Types of Abilities:
   1. Perceptual-motor abilities: helps process information on movement (e.g., tennis player’s coordination for a forehand).
   2. Motor abilities: relate to physical movement (e.g., speed & strength for a 100m sprint).
4. Key Formula:
   1. To perform skillfully, one must possess the necessary abilities and select the correct technique for the situation, represented in the formula:
      1. Formula: Skill = Ability + Selection of the Correct Technique

Principles of Skill Learning

1. Performance is transitory, meaning it varies from attempt to attempt.
   1. Example: A beginner golfer may sink a putt by chance, but this does not indicate mastery.
2. Learning is evident when a skill can be performed consistently and accurately.
   1. Example: An experienced golfer's putts are clustered around the hole, demonstrating learned precision.

Factors Contributing to Inter- and Intra-Individual Differences in the Rate of Learning

1. Physical Demands

1. Some skills require a certain level of physical ability that individuals may not have yet.

2. Physical Maturation

1. An individual may be physically mature but still lack the fitness level required for a task.
2. In such cases, physical training is needed before skill acquisition

3. Motivation

1. The most important factor affecting learning.
   1. A learner must have a desire to improve.
   2. Motivation is closely linked to physical maturation, as individuals tend to learn when they feel ready.

4. Readiness for Learning

1. Learners generally recognize when they are prepared to acquire a new skill.

Approaches to Motor Learning

Competing Models of Motor Learning

1. Information Processing Model: Based on schema theory, which emphasizes cognitive processing in learning motor skills.
2. Ecological Model: Rooted in ecological dynamics theory, focusing on how individuals interact with their environment to learn movements.

Traditional Linear Pedagogy

1. Follows the information processing theory of learning.
2. Learning progresses linearly through cognitive stages (cognitive → associative → autonomous).
3. As movement proficiency improves, cognitive processing demands decrease during performance.
4. Skills should be broken down into simple components for effective learning.
5. Characterized by a teacher-centered approach, where instruction is structured and guided.

Non-Linear Pedagogy: A Flexible and Adaptive Approach to Motor Learning

1. Developed based on ecological dynamics approach.
2. Encourages exploratory learning and individualized movement solutions.
3. Skills should be practiced in realistic performance contexts to capture dynamic learning.
4. Teachers modify constraints (individual, task, environmental) to facilitate learning.
5. Involves a learner-centered approach, allowing athletes to develop skills through exploration.

Key Concepts of Non-Linear Pedagogy

1. Ecological Systems Theory

1. This theory views learning as a dynamic interaction between the individual and their environment.
2. It emphasizes the role of perception-action coupling, where athletes continuously adapt their movements based on environmental cues.

2. Dynamical Systems Theory

1. This theory explains how complex systems (like the human body) self-organize to produce coordinated movements.
2. It highlights the concept of degrees of freedom, referring to the many ways the body can move.

3. Performance Variability

1. Unlike traditional approaches that seek consistency, non-linear pedagogy values variability as a tool for learning.
2. Practicing under different conditions helps athletes develop adaptable skills.

4. Self-Organization

1. Athletes naturally find efficient solutions to movement challenges without explicit instructions.
2. This process is influenced by personal, task, and environmental constraints.

5. Constraints-Led Approach

1. Coaches manipulate constraints to guide learning:
2. Individual constraints: Height, strength, or fatigue.
3. Task constraints: Rules, equipment size, or goals.
4. Environmental constraints: Weather, surface type, or crowd noise.

Practical Applications of Non-Linear Pedagogy

1. Designing Representative Learning Environments

1. Practice should mimic real-game conditions to enhance skill transfer.

2. Encouraging Exploration and Problem-Solving

1. Athletes are given freedom to discover solutions, fostering creativity and adaptability.

3. Emphasizing Contextual Learning

1. Skills are taught within the context of the sport, rather than in isolation.