Augmenting Motor Skill Acquisition
In an attempt to describe the augmentation of motor skill acquisition I am going refer to the work of Schmidt and Lee (2014) throughout this assignment and inform my comments around a skill used in basketball; the free throw. A free throw is a skill that is generally unaffected by environmental factors, such as opposition. This results in a stable and highly predictable environment throughout performance. These characteristics of a free throw describe a closed skill. The basketballer can assess the environment during performance, preventing the need to suddenly and unexpectedly alter movements; thus a more accurate shot can be achieved. Taking a free throw can also be described as a discrete skill as it has a clear beginning and end. Abilities underpin skills and individuals with strong perceptual abilities, such as hand-eye co-ordination, are likely to be good at this skill.
Motor learning describes the acquiring of motor skills. In order for a basketballer to improve their …show more content…
In order to see whether motor learning has been achieved a retention test must be completed. It is inevitable that a learner will somewhat forget how to perform the skill effectively if they stop practicing for a period of time. It is suggested that the motor skills of discrete tasks, such as the free throw, are not retained for as long as continuous tasks. A retention test can decipher how much information has been retained by the performer. They will perform the skill again after a set period of time, i.e. one hour, one month or even one year. Discrete skills tend to signify an increased loss of retention with increased time between attempts. Autonomous performers, who have achieved motor learning, will have acquired a set of schemas and a motor program for the skill and are thus more able to perform the skill effectively after a prolonged period of time than would a cognitive or associative
In an attempt to describe the augmentation of motor skill acquisition I am going refer to the work of Schmidt and Lee (2014) throughout this assignment and inform my comments around a skill used in basketball; the free throw. A free throw is a skill that is generally unaffected by environmental factors, such as opposition. This results in a stable and highly predictable environment throughout performance. These characteristics of a free throw describe a closed skill. The basketballer can assess the environment during performance, preventing the need to suddenly and unexpectedly alter movements; thus a more accurate shot can be achieved. Taking a free throw can also be described as a discrete skill as it has a clear beginning and end. Abilities underpin skills and individuals with strong perceptual abilities, such as hand-eye co-ordination, are likely to be good at this skill.
Motor learning describes the acquiring of motor skills. In order for a basketballer to improve their …show more content…
In order to see whether motor learning has been achieved a retention test must be completed. It is inevitable that a learner will somewhat forget how to perform the skill effectively if they stop practicing for a period of time. It is suggested that the motor skills of discrete tasks, such as the free throw, are not retained for as long as continuous tasks. A retention test can decipher how much information has been retained by the performer. They will perform the skill again after a set period of time, i.e. one hour, one month or even one year. Discrete skills tend to signify an increased loss of retention with increased time between attempts. Autonomous performers, who have achieved motor learning, will have acquired a set of schemas and a motor program for the skill and are thus more able to perform the skill effectively after a prolonged period of time than would a cognitive or associative