Quick questions on Motor learning for QCE Physical Education Unit 1

Closed skills are performed in stable, predictable environments (a basketball free throw, a gymnastic floor routine, a golf shot from the tee). The performer can rehearse the same movement repeatedly.

Discrete skills have a clear start and end (a golf swing, a tennis serve, a single jump).

Gross motor skills use large muscle groups (sprinting, swimming, kicking a ball).

Skills vary in complexity based on the number of components, decision-making required, and timing demands. A throw is simpler than a basketball lay-up with defenders.

Externally paced skills are timed by the environment (returning a tennis serve, fielding a hit ball, sprinting from the starter's gun).

Massed practice is long sessions with short rest. Used when limited time is available or for technical blocking close to competition.

Whole practice teaches the entire skill as a unit. Works for highly integrated skills.

Blocked practice repeats the same skill in long sequences (20 forehands in a row).

Constant practice uses the same conditions repeatedly (kicking from the same spot, same distance, same target).

Intrinsic feedback comes from the learner's own sensory experience.

Knowledge of performance (KP) is feedback about technique - "your grip is too tight". KP teaches the learner what to do differently.

Concurrent feedback happens during the movement.

The learner consciously works out what to do. Movement is jerky, errors are frequent and large, and the learner cannot self-correct. A first-time golfer at this stage is consciously thinking through every component of the swing.

The learner has the basic pattern and is refining technique. Errors are smaller and the learner is starting to detect their own errors. The golfer in their second season hits the ball most of the time but distance and direction lack consistency.

The skill is essentially automatic. The learner can perform with minimal conscious attention, which frees attention for tactics, decision-making, and complex demands. An elite tennis player focuses on shot selection because their basic strokes need no conscious thought.