Performance vs. Learning PDF

Performance vs. Learning Performance: behaviour or outcome of a motor skill that we can observe Learning: change in capability of a person to perform a skill. Has to be inferred from a relatively persistent change in performance level reulting from practice or experience Performance var...

Performance vs. Learning Performance: behaviour or outcome of a motor skill that we can observe Learning: change in capability of a person to perform a skill. Has to be inferred from a relatively persistent change in performance level reulting from practice or experience Performance variables Practice performance variables 1. Characteristics of the performer 2. Characteristics of the learning environment 3. Characteristics of the physical environment Performance characteristics of skill learning 1. Improvement 2. Consistency 3. Persistence 4. Adaptability Improvement: Relates to measures of performance changing, usually in a positive way as a result of practice or experience Consistency: similarity between performances. As learning porgresses, performance level stabilises and is consistent in level Persistence: skill performance level being maintained over time, without requiring recent practice Performance will increase with practice and decrease with forgetting, higher levels of skill performance should persist for longer periods as learning progresses Adaptability: ability to successfully adjust the skill to suit different contexts. With learning, the capacity to perform successfully in new contexts improves Performance curves Usual performance trends Linear  Negatively accelerated ; most common ('relates to power of law practice') Positively accelerated S-shaped, sigmoid, ogive Assessing persistence: retention test Administered some time after practice to assess how much skill is retained Length of time is arbitary Assessing adaptability: transfer test Ability of a performer to apply their skill in novel contexts (situations) or to perform a variation of the skill 1. Novel context; feedback, physical environment, personal characteristics 2. Novel skill variations; often induced by varying context Assessing coordination: From dynamical systems perspective, coordination and stability of pattern = important Performance plateaus: period of no apparent learning Individuals appear to stop learning for a period, may restart learning later Plateus occur at different points for different individuals = not observable in average results Reasons Transition between phases of learning different aspects of a skill - requires developing a new strategy Poor motivation, fatigue, inappropriate focus on an aspect of the task Stages of Learning Fitts & Posner Three-stage model (1997) Cognitive Associative Autonomous What to do Associations between environmental Automatic of habitual curs and actions behaviour Large errors with highly variable Fewer or smaller errors with les Can take years of practice performance variability High cognitive load A 'refining' stage Low cognitive load (allows multitasking) Inability to determine Ability to self-correct improves corrections required Gradual shifts between stages Gentiles Two-Stage model; stage related to goal of the learner  Initial stage Later stages Two goals 1. Acquire movement pattern to meet task demands Three characteristics to develop (regulatory conditions) 1. Adaptability 2. Discriminate between regulatory and 2. Consistency non-regulatory conditions 3. Economy of effort (less energy to perform task) Strategies 1. Explore movement possibilities; trial and error 2. Cognitive problem-solving; how to perform task End point Generally successful, but not reliable or efficient, method (still variable) Gentiles later stages and the environment Closed skills Open skills Want to reduce variability, also known as Want diversification of the movement pattern to account fixating the movement pattern for range of regulatory conditions Changes between performances are Changes between performances can be motor program typically in motor program parameters parameters or invariant features (i.e. different programs) Performance is not time constrained Performance is time constrained by the environment Learning should involve: Attending to the environment Anticipating changes Rapidly adapting movement patterns accordingly Dynamical systems and stages of learning Learning is seen as solving the 'degrees of freedom' (DOF) Freezing the DOFs Releasing the DOFs Exploiting the DOFs Beginner level; locking or coupling Adding more DOFs Expert level; using additional DOFs some joints together to move as 1 to take advantage of subtle factors unit that improve performance Inertia, reaction torque, spin… ○ Increased stiffness Developing useful coordinative structures  ○ Lack of (collections of muscles/joints unessential that work together) movement Teachers can: reduce task Teachers can: provide Teachers can: challenge the expert difficultly to require fewer DOFs movement problems to to explore movement options to while maintaining some level of promote learning by perform optimally success discovery Reducing degrees of freedom What changes with learning 1. Changes in the rate of learning Negatively accelerated (most typical pattern) Room for improvement Size of error 1. Changes in coordination and old patterns Freezing and relasing degrees of freedom Initial attempts are guided by previous experience and/or bias 1. Muscle activity and timing Number of muscle being used commonly decreases Timing starts off suboptimally and improves 1. Energy cost Physiological energy (oxygen consumption) Mechanical energy Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) 1. Kinematics 1st; displacement --> 2nd; velocity --> 3rd; acceleration 1. Attention Visual attention; look at fewer irrelevant objects, attend to relevant objects earlier (allows earlier decision making and response planning) Conscious attention (cognitive load); CL decreased/automaticity increases 1. Error deduction and correction Learned dependency on feedback Learn particular type of feedback = dependency on this feedback Become more dependent with learning Motor skill expert Deliberate practice; well designed, and performed for hours a day Expertise = intense, deliberate practice for > 10 years (or = to) Expertise = domain specific, little transfer to other skills Organised and interrelated knowledge of the activity, including decision rules (schema) for how to perform. Organization assists with memory Predicting future achievement Potential for achievement + motivation, training, opportunities = achievement Different abilities at different stages: Ackerman model - for motor predominant skills Transfer of learning Transfer of learning for training Defintions Transfer of learning; the efffect of learning of one skill performance on a different skill Positive transfer: occurs when the learning of a skill imporves another skill Negative transfer: occurs when learning a skill makes another skill harder to perform or learn Zero transfer: occurs when learning a skill has no impact on the performance of learning of anoterh skill Importance for: Sequencing From simple to less simple to complex From fundamental motor skills to more complex skills Instructional design Transfer means we can use alternative training methods and simplification to learn aspects of skills or practice safely Assessment of practice effectiveness Assessment of practice performance can over or underestimate actual learning. Transfer test performance, under the ultimate performance conditions (game time) is a better way to assess learning Positive transfer when: Similarity between two skills  Coordination dynamics Kinematic components Similarity of processing: transfer-appropriate processing theory Requirements: visual perception of teammates, opponents ball; attentional control; rapid decision making Assessing positive transfer: Percentage of transfer = ((Experimental group performance − Control group performance) (Experimental group performance + Control group performance ))× 100% Negative transfer: Less common and can be overcome (is temporary) Occurs when a previously learned environment requires a new response, or when perception-action coupling has to be changed Situations: spatial; timing Relearning; new coach; new level - expectations; switching from self-taught to expert-led Occurs when: cognitive confusion - uncertainty about correct response while relearning Bilateral transfer: positive transfer of learning from one side of the body to the other. (also called cross-transfer or cross-education) Potentially useful for hand-use therapy Occurs; Motor program explanation Motor program (invariant features) --> parameters (variant features --> EMG amplitude Motor irridiation Amount and Distribution of Practice Distribution of practice Massed practice Distributed practice Within a session Short or no intertrial interval (rests) Longer rests between trials Intertrial interval shorter than action duration Between session Sessions are longer and/or bunched Sessions are shorter and/or spaced closely together further apart Inter-trial interval Problems with identification rule 1. Haven't used all retention or transfer trials 2. Different types of skill affected differently Continuous skills = distributed practice best Discrete skills = massed practice best Length/distribution of sessions Given fixed total time to practice, how should time be divided up Benefits of distributed practice Reduce fatigue Increased cognitive effort Time for memory consolidation Blocking consolidation in M1 blocks learning Offline learning and memory stabilisation Massed and distributed practice Choose shorter, more frequent sessions rather than fewer, long ones Trainees may prefer schedules that are not optimal (massed rather than distributed) Make trials short for long actions, and intervals short for short actions Add multiple activities in a training session, then rotate through them (several times) How much practice Establish performance criterion (criterion for 1, criteria for many) When you achieve criterion keep going for certain no. of trials. Overlearning = continuation of practice beyond point required to initially achieve performance level overlearning time expressed as percentage of original learning time Overlearning IMPROVES procedural skill retention Procedural skills comprise a sequence of simple steps, where sequencing is important, so have large cognitive component Overlearning for Dynamic balance: primarily a motor skill Retention tests @ 1wk and 1month Better than 0% overlearning, 50% as good as others More learning is NOT helpful because: Boredom = reduced cognitive effort Motor programme theory: more repetitions of specific task may reduce recall of a program, reduce generalizability/transfer of a program to new contexts. Implementing overlearning For planning: idea of how much practice will be required to achieve the skill More is not better: experimentation may be required to find optimal amount of overlearning. 100% more than amount to first achieve the skill is good estimate Practice variations during overlearning rather than same skill repeatedly Whole or part practice Task complexity: determined by no. of components there are in the task and attentional demands on the performance (especially in initial stages) *complexity is NOT same as difficulty Level of organisation of skill depends on how inter-related are its component parts  Complexity and organisation Whole or part practice Part practice Whole practice Skill characteristics Complex Simple Low in organisation High in organisation Serial Discrete or continuous Learner characteristics Beginner Skilled Not yet capable of performing whole skill Capable of performing whole skill Struggling with 1 aspect Has had previous similar experience Strategies for part practice Part practice implementation = support positive transfer between parts and to the whole task Fractionization: separation of individual limbs in a task where the limbs perform asymmetric movements Segmentation: Separation of skill into successive temporal parts than then build up to whole task Simplification Strategy of reducing the difficulty of the whole task (or parts of skill) Fractionisation Default coordination tendency is for arms to move spatially and temporally together Level of organisation: symmetric (high) (prefer whole practice) > asymmetric (low) (prefer part practice) Due to symmetric limbs being more independent Order of practice effect: when overcoming biases, whole practice (at least first) will look more like last practiced part Segmentation: progressive part practice Addresses challenge of reconstructing whole task from parts Forward chaining: start at beginning and build forwards Backward chaining: start form end and builds backwards  Segmentation offers benefits of both whole and part practice: Increases attention to difficult components Development of overall coordination and timing Simplification Applied to whole task or parts Reduce difficulty of objects Reduce attention/complexity demands Providing autitory rhythm with assitive equipment cueing Reducing speed Task progression: increasing difficulty Simulators and virtual Relative timing is preserved - can (progressive part prac.) reality environemtns adjust as parameter Attentional part focus Momentary intentions = intentional control of attention Benefits of part and whole practice *needs more study Implicit vs. explicit task learning Explicit learning: where the rules, steps or techniques required for task are explicitly communicated to learner Implicit learning: when learner works out rules, steps or techniques for themselves while trying task Leads to less declarative knowledge Achieveing implicit learning in field Analogy learning Errorless learning Dual-task learning External focus learning "shoot as if you are Very slowly increase Distract learner with a Instruct the learner to trying to put cookies in difficulty so that errors are second task: limits focus on outcomes of jar on a hgih shelf" low: prevents testing of cognitive analysis of the movements rather than hypotheses performance the movements Implicit benefits Practice variability Variability of practice improves later performance Change the movement Change the context Variable practice: practice of variations of skills I either different movements or contexts Constant practice: practice within single context Intraskill variation: variation of conditions and requirements within a single skill Interskill variaiton: variation between different related skills within a session How to test: Practice 1 skill vs practicing multiple (variations) Transfer test or retention test Variability Variable = more error More error in the practice when you are doing the practice Variable practice (intraskill) and schema A recall schema is the set of rules for choosing the parameters of a motor program for a specific context Context --> select motor programme --> select parameters (context also impacts this) --> movement What variability to provide Work backwards to form contexts for practice variability Gentiles stages of learnings Initial stage - trying to understand what movement is required --> constant practice - until skill can be performed (freezing degrees of freedom Contextual difference Blocked practice: repetitive practice of single skill many times Serial practice: repeated practice of several skills in a fixed order Random practice: practice of several skills where the order is not predictable by the learner, they do NOT practice same skill several times in a row Contextual interference: interference (negative effect) that results from doing different activity between repetitions of the skill Poorer practice performance from contextual interference leads to improved transfer and retention performance Effect at different skill levels: Beginners: alternating = higher performance than blocked Advanced: random = higher performance (so does blocked by compared to control but random higher in transfer test) WHY? 1. Elaboration hypothesis Alternating practice allows comparison and contrasting of different skills, making richer memory representations that are easier to retrieve More attention and cognitive effort is required leading to greater learning 1. Action-plan reconstruction hypothesis Interference requires the action plan to be recreated from scratch each time, whereas blocked practice the same plan each time Recreating plan induces more learning of the problem-solving and plan-creation stages Scheduling practice implications Task-station or circuit training creates interskill variability Intraskill variability comes by changing context (regulatory and/or non-regulatory) between trials Serial practice can be easier to schedule than truly random practice Benefits of immediate practice performance make blocked practice preferable Feedback Categories Intrinsic feedback: Naturally arises for performing the task. Comes in different modalities Augmented feedback Provided extra to intrinsic feedback as part of practice environment Augmented feedback Classification of augmented: Knowledge of results (KR) Augmented feedback that communicates outcome of performance Little as success/failure or more detailed e.g. distance to target *this does not count intrinsic feedback about outcomes Knowledge of performance Augmented feedback about performance characteristics that occurred during task performance Essential for: Tasks where intrinsic feedback isn't present Performers with disabilities who don’t receive important information Inadequacy of sensory feedback Can make worse when: Little or difficult to interpret intrinsic feedback When feedback is given during the skill (concurrently) Feedback is given too often *wrong feedback makes things worse even when redundant What to report: Error-based augmented feedback is critical for learning. Corrective not negative Error = stimulates change Positive = Motivational KR better when: Intrinsic feedback is inadequate to assess outcome Allow learner exploration Motivation KP better when: For specific movements and coordination patterns Where KR is redundant Type of information Qualitative feedback: Describes quantity of the performance characteristic without using numbers Quantitative feedback: Includes numbers to describe performance Types of KP Verbal KP - skills analysis Identify components of skills Prioritise in terms of importance for skill performance Give KP first about most important component (don’t overload with too much information) Descriptive KP: describes performance or error (better for SKILLED performers as they know how to improve) Prescriptive KP: suggest approach to improve the performance (better for EARLY STAGE learners who need additional information Video Usefulness depends on skill level: beginners need more help to attend to important features, but also for skill performers Other forms: Kinematics, EMG biofeedback Concurrent feedback: given while person is performing skill Best when intrinsic feedback is unhelpful or insufficient Concurrent unhelpful when it replaces intrinsic feedback, in transfer tests where augmented feedback is withheld Helpful when encourages relating intrinsic feedback to movement characteristics; if it draws attention away = negative effect Terminal feedback: given after action has been completed Useful most situations KR delay interval Time between end of trial and delivery of next terminal augmented feedback Post KR interval Time from feedback to start of next trial KR delay ≠ 0, don’t give immediately Don’t do similar interfering tasks during this period Do actively evaluate performance or outcomes Feedback frequency Reduced frequency benefit for some motor skills Attentional overload or too much guidance Lower frequency of feedback allows learner to problem-solve and motor plan by themselves Regulate frequency (frequency reduction techniques) Fading: gradually reduce KR Performance bandwidths: range of acceptable performance error Feedback only give for errors greater than that range BW often percentages % Fixed BW works as well as tapering one Self-selected frequency: leaner ask for feedback when they want it Results in reduced frequency Summary feedback: No optimal summary length (varies with skill) Longer summaries for simple skills Shorter summaries for more complex skills Demonstration and instruction Instructions: descriptions of how to perform motor skill Demonstrations: teacher performs/acts out action with the learner observing Verbal instructions: teacher uses words to describe the performance Demonstration; modelling or related process of observation learning Seeing = taking in visual information; conscious or subconscious People are not god at reporting what about a demonstration that saw that helped learn task Invariant features of the coordinated movement patter: no single kinematic variable; ratio of duration Demonstration for new patterns of limb coordination; not for new parameters for already known patterns Observers of skilled individuals Best for demos to be done by highly skill individuals Good examples of interlimb coordination and movement strategy Observations of other beginners Watches practice Encourages more active problem solving  Beginners who observe other beginners will perform at higher level than those they observed A coach providing feedback benefits both performer and observer A checklist of key skill characteristics can also guide the observer to provide feedback Timing of observation Gentile recommends 1. Demonstrate a skill before practice begins 2. Continue demonstrating during practice as long as required More observation = more improvement Attention & cognitive integration Error correction ability (cognitive capability) improves equally with observation or actual practice Auditory modelling Verbal instructions and attention 1. Limit verbal instructions to number that can be attended to 2. Instructions direct attention to particular features of motor skill Action-effect hypothesis: actions are best controlled by their intended consequences = want to draw attention to OUTCOMES Approaches Learn about outcome & let learner discover a good movement strategy Describe a mental image of the outcome Directing attention to environment Learning environmental cues to movement is important part of initial stage of learning Learn cues implicitly Negative effect: drawing attention to cue unhelpful if watching cues get in way of main task performance Verbal cues Short instructions during practice to direct attention Useful for; prompting movement, directing attention Skill athletes self-cue  Cues shouldn't distraction form coordination pattern of task Verbal instructions for goal bias Group instruction Day 1 Day 5 Accurate Most accurate Most accurate and fastest overall Fast Fastest Fast and accurate Fast but less accurate Mental practice and imagery Skill learning Physcial practice is best Mental practice is better than no practice Small to moderate effect of mental practice Better for high cognitive load tasks - optimum duration 20.8mins Proportions More physcial always better Mental practice alone gets you >50% of the improvement 5-step learning strategy 1. Readying 2. Imaging 3. Focusing 4. Executing 5. Evaluating *For medium-low cognitive demand Mental practice for performance Imagery type/use Purpose Example Motivational specific I can do this task Motivational general-mastery I can cope with this challenge Motivational general-arousal Calming down/psyching up Cognitive specific How do I perform this action of the task Cognitive general How do I respond to bigger picture elements Kinaesthetic imagery Imagination of the feel of the task, as well as its visual appearance Feelings of movement and sensations of force or effort *Associated with higher performance in rowing/rock climbing Mental practice at different learning stages *imagery has to be correct (and positive) to be useful Skilled performers = more useful for as Skill helps make it correct Internal imagery; creates image from performers perspective External imagery; imagines the action being performed by another person or by the self-viewed from outside the body Form based skills benefit from external perspective, providing additional information on form Mechanisms Neuromuscular theory Imagery induces realistic muscular activation No mechanism for learning identified and imagery seems to help cognitive tasks more than purely physical ones Cognitive theory Imagery helps develop a cognitive plan for performing the task Fails to explain why imagery helps experienced performers Functional equivalence Brain activity looks similar between motor imagery and real movement Imagery abilities Vividness: clarity or 'lifelikeness' of the imagery Controllability; the ability to direct imagery where they intend Observational learning; learning by observing others performing a task Relates to demonstration but is broader in that demonstrations deliberatly teach 3 benefits: 1. Skill 2. Strategy 3. Performance OL more used for COGNITIVE than motivation uses, like MI, more useful for those with HIGHER SKILL LEVELS Neurophysiology  Mirror neurons in the brain that activate when another performing a skill and when actually performing the task More experience with performing the skill means more activation of the mirror system Tips for using mental practice and imagery Use it regularly and systematically Make the images as realistic, vivid, and controllable as possible Practice over the same duration as the task’s real performance Use both internal and external imagery Useful for all experience and skill levels Observational learning can be more useful than motor imagery for cognitive aspects of skill learning Combine observation and motor imagery for the biggest benefit