Motor Skill

Motor Skill

1.

The motor skill involves the movement of muscles to perform a particular task. These skills are effective when the individual feels what the muscles are doing when performing the actions. Classification of motor skills involves grouping of skills according to different actions. Swimming is an example of a task that needs to be classified according to environmental predictability, task organization, and the importance of motor and cognitive elements (Winkelman, 2020). The environment is the object an individual is acting on to perform a task. In swimming, the environment can either be a river or a swimming pool. In environmental predictability, the task can be classified as open skills if swimming on a river with unpredictable factors. A swimming pool is a predictable environment because many challenges are eliminated, making the individuals use closed skills.

Classification through task organization involves identifying the begging and end of the task. Skills in task organization can either be discrete, serial, or continuous. Discrete skills are readily detectable initially, and in the end, serial skills involve a series of discrete actions, while continuous skills cannot be easily identified. Swimming is a discrete skill because one can easily recognize the beginning and the end of the task. The beginning is identified when one enters the water, while the ending is identified when one gets out of the water.

Motor skills get classified according to requirements in terms of motor and cognitive needs. Motor skills that emphasize the movement are motor skills, while those that require thinking when performing are cognitive skills. The success of any task depends on either their needs in motor and cognitive skills. Swimming is a motor skill because it requires little thinking when performing. The success of the task depends on the body’s movement, such as the hands and the legs.

Classification is important in identifying the demands that are required in conducting particular actions. In environmental predictability, knowing the differences between the predictable and unpredictable environments determines the attention one should employ in various activities (Edwards, 2010). The success of the performance depends on the knowledge of the requirement of the tasks. In task organization, classification is important to enabling one to identify the stages of their movement activities. When individuals identify the beginning and end of their activities, they can effectively plan how they conduct the activities. Classification in teaching is important in influencing the learner’s ability to use their bodies and minds in activities.

2.

Breathing is the most basic skill in swimming which can influence the success of swimming activity in sports. Swimmers need to be comfortable while in and out of the water by regulating their breathing. Learning how to breathe effectively requires learners to develop effective adoption techniques for different situations.

Schema is the psychological ability to understand things because you have experienced them before. Schema helps individuals organize knowledge to help them conduct particular activities. New information gets related to the things individuals know and have experienced to form a brain structure that guides their activities. Motor learning involves the organization of ideas that learners experience to create a mental structure to operate effectively. Practice variability helps individuals to connect new knowledge with what they know. Practice variability helps learners to organize knowledge and information by experiencing the real environment.

According to schema theorists, practice variability allows the individuals to form relationships between their skills and their environments to enable them to react effectively. The response is triggered by practicing in the environment you wish to train and to expect to act according to that environment (Rivière et al., 2019). Practice in schema helps individuals develop knowledge of the initial conditions of the environment and the task. Training allows the learners to vary their information sources to develop an abstract cognitive structure to inform the execution of movements and actions. The schema also helps individuals develop sensory feedback of various tasks connected to the environment and information that emerge during training. The knowledge developed through these factors influences individuals to create objectives to control the outcome of their tasks.

Stroking skills in swimming help individuals pull their bodies through the water to enable them to move forward. The schema of practice variability, in this case, is to enable the learner to use the strokes in different situations to manage how they breathe. The learner is breath progressively after a few strokes to allow them to swim faster. The learner will experience different situations that require them to move faster. With effective training and practice, the learner develops knowledge on the tasks they should execute to influence their performance in a competition. The learner developed a cognitive structure that will enable them to decide when to control their breathing and apply it according to the environment (Caramiaux et al., 2018). In this case, the conditions vary from the temperature of the water, nature of competition, and expectations.

3.

Tasks require both speed and accuracy when they are performed. Speed determines how fast a task is completed, while accurate emphasizes how right the task has succeeded in achieving its purpose. In most cases, the two factors cannot be applied to the same task. In most cases, speed does not include accurate execution of a task because individuals are more concerned about completing a task rather than executing the task rightly. When determining whether to use speed or accuracy, the task’s purpose is the most crucial consideration.

There are different tradeoff that accompanies the use of speed and accuracy. When individuals are faced with tasks with limited time, individuals trade accuracy with speed; the tradeoff does not mean that the task’s goal is achieved and can consequently lead to more consumption of time. Sometimes individuals may also favor accuracy over speed, especially when they wish to develop a particular skill (Beilock et al., 2008). Emphasizing accuracy over speed means individuals are more concerned about the process of accomplishing a task rather than the completion. In movement skills, individuals are more concerned more about different steps taken to complete the action to influence the performance’s accuracy. The learner should consider these tradeoffs when performing different tasks. The learner should classify different tasks according to expectations and activities involved to determine the success in different factors.  Speed and accuracy can be applied to different aspects of life. In typing, speed and accuracy are applied in developing a movement skill. Typing involves creating words that need accuracy, and speed determines how fast the words are created.

Emphases on speed or accuracy depend on different factors, including the individual, task, and task’s objective. In hockey, an individual is more concerned about making a shot at making a goal. The task in this task requires fast action and an accurate shot to perform positively. Soccer, on the other part, includes making a goal by kicking the ball accurately (Cardis et al., 2018). Despite the speed and strength applied, the task is only significant if the footballer scores. Therefore, the tradeoff depends largely on the task executed, and the rewards of the result gained after the task’s execution. If individuals are rewarded after completing a task, then speed is best applicable to those particular tasks. However, if the task is rewarded for accuracy, individuals should develop effective movement skills to influence success.

4.

Drawing is a motor skill that involves the movement of hands to create images or figures on a paper. Fitts and Posner developed a strategy that helps learners develop movement and understand different patterns to enable coordination. Drawing skills learning would get adopted in Fitts and Posner stage in the following ways. The first stage of motor skill learning includes cognitive in which involves slow movement, inconsistency, and inefficient (Winkelman, 2020). Learners in this stage include understanding the movement they must make to achieve particular results. In writing, the learners learn the movements of the hand consciously to achieve the desired image. In this stage, the learner did not understand the essential elements needed in the drawing. The stage involves information processing in which individuals are given new information and process it to acquire the needed mental picture. In the drawing, individuals are given information on drawing activities to achieve the required images. Images not aware of drawing as a task develop the idea needed.

The second stage of learning is known as the associative stage, which involves less cognitive activities. Movements at this stage include more reliable and fluid movement, which connects performance and results. The stage includes less verbal information as individuals gain more experience through awkward movement, although they take more time to complete. The stage involves learning how to perform particular skills by translating the information they gained at the first stage (Edwards, 2010). The learner translates declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge and develops knowledge on how to do the tasks. The stage does not entire avoid the cognitive part since individuals are influenced to perform some tasks by controlling them consciously and others automatically. Conditions at this stage are varied to ensure the learner effectively develop the right knowledge. Drawing elements at this stage have developed but without consistency. Drawing skills at this show regular satisfactory level since the images drawn are identifiable and relatable.

The third stage of the learning process is the autonomous stage, which includes more accurate movements with no cognitive activity. Movements at this stage are controlled automatically since the learner has developed the required skills and knowledge. Attention at this stage focuses on the tactical choices the learner makes to influence the task’s accuracy (Gupta & Sawane, 2012). This stage requires a continuous training period because both the good and bad results depend on how effective they are performed. Drawing skills at this level include comfort and reinforcement to ensure that automatic activities are executed correctly. Drawing skills at this level appear more accurately and above the required level because the level focuses on motion, speed, and acceleration. The degree of freedom fits in this stage because it involves individuals trying to perform tasks automatically without the teacher’s help. The learner at this stage has developed drawing skills and knowledge to execute various activities.

Fitts and Posner’s learning stages relate to the Schema theory because it identifies the stages through which individuals develop knowledge concerning particular actions. Schema theory includes the development of knowledge is the creation of cognitive structure through which individuals relate environments to existing knowledge and skills to influence performance. The learning stages include acquiring knowledge through the cognitive process and development of skills through the third process. The second process includes variation through practice to help the learners cope with different situations to influence their success. Schema enables the learners to reach the last stage through which they utilize their cognitive and automatic skills to achieve perfect performance.

5.

Different machines have emerged in learning motor skills, which determine how individuals perform different tasks. Technology has been developed to enhance learning through VR, which allows individuals to experience different environments (Santos, 2016). The world has developed to influence the time people utilize to perform various tasks. Technology has influence individuals to develop strategies to avoid disruption when conducting particular activities to influence success. Technology has provided athletes with motor learning and coordination opportunities. Virtual environment technologies allow individuals to control the environment for variability. The tools influence how movements change with the training tools and determine which environments lead to the best results in a good performance in the real world.

Virtual reality technology is the type of technology that involves changing the visual and the physical environment to conduct experiments. Learners use virtual reality to change how they perceive different environments and movements during the execution of tasks. With robotics’ help, learners can learn the force and energy needed to perform tasks that need speed and accuracy (Pravat & Dhal, 2019). Technology helps individuals develop skills faster since the process is shorter and flexible. Technology is applied by individuals with just technology experts’ help to ensure the application is applied effectively. Technology has both negative and positive effects on the development of motor skills. Technology is not widely applied because it needs individuals to understand the effective application of the tools to achieve particular results.

Adoption of technology in motor learning influences how individuals learn by influencing their experience. Unlike actual activities, virtual reality does not include the exhaustion that comes with actual training and practice, thus making it easier to influence their performance. Technology is, therefore, motivating and engaging to the learner (Renshaw et al., 2010). The learner feels more motivating in motor learning because they feel connected to technology trending aspects, making them feel more fulfilled. The technology applies strategies through which distance is minimized through flexibility in application and execution. An individual can utilize virtual reality tools even in the comfort of their homes, making it more effective than any other training strategy.

Technology in motor learning activities reduces the teachers’ burdens by making them more flexible and accommodative. Instead of physical meetings, the teachers can only provide instructions through which they effectively. The teachers create their own pace of learning according to various factors making the learning more effective since communication is enhanced and activities are more coordinated. Technology makes the activities more possible and makes them better understand the tools available for effective learning outcomes.

References

Rivière, É., Asselin, M., Lafleur, A., & Chiniara, G. (2019). Simulation for Procedural Tasks. In Clinical Simulation (pp. 387-406). Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128156575000279

Beilock, S. L., Bertenthal, B. I., Hoerger, M., & Carr, T. H. (2008). When does haste make waste? The speed-accuracy tradeoff, skill level, and the tools of the trade. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 14(4), 340. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/853e/aa9c2eebbcd6e8afcd75e8e927d9976a2126.pdf

Winkelman, N. C. (2020). The Language of Coaching: The Art and Science of Teaching Movement. Human Kinetics Publishers. https://books.google.com/books%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26id%3DgQHeDwAAQBAJ%26oi%3Dfnd%26pg%3DPP1%26dq%3DUNDERSTANDING%2BMOTOR%2BLEARNING%2BSTAGES%2BIMPROVES%2BSKILL%2BINSTRUCTION%250A%250A%250ATHIS%2BIS%2BAN%2BEXCERPT%2BFROM%2BAPPLYING%2BEDUCATIONAL%2BPSYCHOLOGY%2BIN%2BCOACHING%2BATHLETES%2BBY%2BJEFFREY%2BHUBER

Gupta, S. S., & Sawane, M. V. (2012). A comparative study of the effects of yoga and swimming on pulmonary functions in sedentary subjects. International journal of yoga, 5(2), 128. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3410192

Caramiaux, B., Bevilacqua, F., Wanderley, M. M., & Palmer, C. (2018). Dissociable effects of practice variability on learning motor and timing skills. PloS one, 13(3), e0193580. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193580

Edwards, W. H. (2010). Motor learning and control: From theory to practice. Cengage Learning. https://books.google.com/books%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26id%3DqeYHAAAAQBAJ%26oi%3Dfnd%26pg%3DPR5%26dq%3DFitts%2B%2526%2BPosner%2BStages%2Bof%2BMotor%2BSkill%2BLearning%26ots%3DS3LZ_-2BT7%26sig%

Renshaw, I., Chow, J. Y., Davids, K., & Hammond, J. (2010). A constraints-led perspective to understanding skill acquisition and gameplay: A basis for integrating motor learning theory and physical education praxis?. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 15(2), 117-137. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17408980902791586

Santos, Olga, C.. (2016). Training the Body: The Potential of AIED to Support Personalized Motor Skills Learning. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. 26. 10.1007/s40593-016-0103-2.

Cardis, M., Casadio, M., & Ranganathan, R. (2018). High variability impairs motor learning regardless of whether it affects task performance. Journal of Neurophysiology, 119(1), 39-48. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00158.2017

Pravat, P & Dhal, P. (2019). Enhancing Learning With Emerging Technology Enhancing Learning With Emerging Technology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335609464_enhancing_learning_with_emerging_technology_enhancing_learning_with_emerging_technology/