Demonstration and Verbal Instructions Chapter 14 Demonstration and Verbal Instructions Concept: Effective methods of providing instructions for helping a person to learn motor skills depend on the skills and the instructional goals

What is Demonstration? Demonstration (also known as modeling) An instructional strategy that encourages observational learning, which is The learning of a skill that results from the direct observation of a person (or people) performing, or learning to perform, the skill Question of interest: When is demonstration more effective as an instructional strategy than some other means of providing information about how to perform a skill?

What does the Observer Perceive from a Demonstration? Important question to answer to determine when to use demonstration Observer perceives the invariant features of the coordinated movement pattern Two types of research support this view Visual perception of motion Investigation of the influence of demonstration on learning a complex skill

The Influence of Skill Characteristics 2nd issue relevant to determining when demonstration will be most effective Research shows that demonstration leads to better skill learning than other instruction forms when The skill being learned requires the acquisition of a new pattern of coordination

Principles of Demonstration for Skill Acquisition Demonstrator should perform the skill “correctly” Because the observer perceives the invariant movement patterns of a demonstrated skill, these patterns will be observed only with a correctly performed skill The observer also perceives information about the strategy used by the model to solve movement problems

Can Novices Benefit from Observing Other Novices? Research shows that beginners can derive learning benefits from observing other beginners practice a skill Discourages the imitation of a skilled model’s performance Encourages the observer to engage in more active problem solving

Timing and Frequency of Demonstrating a Skill When and how frequently should a demonstration be given? Demonstration should precede practice Instructor should continue to demonstrate during practice as frequently as necessary

How Does Observing Demonstrations Influence Learning? Cognitive Mediation Theory Based on Bandura’s (1986) theory of modeling and social learning When a person observes a model, they translate the observed movement information into a symbolic memory code that forms the basis of a stored representation in memory and uses when the observer performs the skill

How Does Observing Demonstrations Influence Learning? Dynamic View of Modeling Based on J. J. Gibson (1966, 1979) view of visual perception The visual system is capable of automatically processing the observed movement in a way that constrains the motor control system to act accordingly, so that the person does not need to engage in cognitive mediation Which theory is correct? There is no conclusive evidence that one of these two views is more valid that the other

Verbal Instructions and Cues Verbal instructions rank with demonstration as a commonly used means of communicating how to perform motor skills

Verbal Instructions and Cues, cont’d Factors that are important for developing effective verbal instruction: Amount of verbal instructions and attention Focus on movement outcomes, i.e., action effect hypothesis Focus attention on invariant environmental context regulatory conditions Give verbal instructions that influence goal achievement strategies Verbal cues should be short, concise phrases that can direct attention to the purpose