1. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Skill, what is it?
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

2. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Skill Acquisition
Skill acquisition depends depends on learning. Motor skill learning involves a reorganisation of basic movement patterns. The coach tries to guide their athlete from the beginner stage through to skilled performance.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

3. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Skill
An action or particular movement
How well an action or a particular movement is performed
Coursework
List 5 examples of skilled performers.
Define the word skill in your own words
Select a skilled performer in a sport you are familiar with and describe why you would refer to them as skilled.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

4. Skill vs ability
Skill is a learned ability to bring about predetermined results with maximum certainty of results
Ability is the capacity of an individual to perform a variety (many) skills or actions

5. Stages of Skill learning
The 3 stages of learning are:
COGNITIVE (understanding)
ASSOCIATIVE (practice)
AUTONOMOUS (automatic performance)
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

6. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Cognitive Stage
Need to learn what is needed in order to perform a skill
Must identify the subroutines involved and their correct sequence
Exploratory stage
Beginner will make many errors
This stage usually takes a short time
The coach must;
Provide demonstrations or videos
Give a few clear instructions
Provide specific feedback
The learner must experience the ‘feel’ of the correct action
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7. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Associative Stage
Practice phase
Refine accuracy of performing the skill
Amount of practice will depend on the complexity of the skill, the player’s ability, past experience and motivation
Errors will decrease
Performer can recognise errors and make adjustments
This stage usually takes a long time
Some players may never reach the autonomous stage.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

8. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Autonomous Stage
Skill becomes much easier to perform
Players level of anxiety is reduced
Sequencing and timing of subroutines becomes automatic
Less likely to be distracted
Less cognitive control required
Speed and efficiency of action is increased
Performer can devote attention to other tasks
Can use feedback precisely
Relies more on internal feedback.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

9. Classification of skills
Motor skills can be classified into 3 types:
Discrete
Continuous
Serial
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10. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Discrete skills
A discrete skill has a distinct beginning and end.
Eg. A football kick
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11. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Continuous Skills
A continuous skill has no distinct beginning or end.
Eg. Dribbling in basketball, driving a car.
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12. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Serial Skills
Serial skills string together several discrete tasks to form a continuous performance.
Eg. The steps making a up a dance routine, performing a dive off a 3 metre diving board.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

13. Classification of skills
Fine skills: involve intricate movements using small muscle groups, tend to be precise and generally involve high levels of hand-eye coordination. A snooker shot or playing the piano are examples fine skills.
Gross skills: involve large muscle movements, where the major muscle groups are involved. The movements are not very precise, and include many fundamental movement patterns such as walking, running and jumping. The shot putt is an example of a primarily gross skill
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

14. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Open and Closed Skills
The Open and Closed Continuum
This continuum is concerned with the effects of the environment on skills - Barbara Knapp's open and closed skills also known as open and closed loop control.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

15. The Open and Closed Continuum
Open skills: sports such as Netball, Football, and Hockey usually involve open skills. This is because the environment is constantly changing and so movements have to be continually adapted. Therefore, skills are predominantly perceptual. The skill is mostly externally paced, for example a pass in football.
Closed skills. These skills take place in a stable, predictable environment and the performer knows exactly what to do and when. Therefore, skills are not affected by the environment and tend to be habitual. Movements follow set patterns and have a clear beginning and end. The skills tend to be self-paced, for example a free throw in Basketball, and serving in Squash or Tennis.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

16. The Open and Closed Continuum
Batting tee
Pitching machine
Batting thrown by a pitcher 1
Closed 5 10
Open
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17. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Open Skills
OPEN SKILLS ARE;
Performed in an unpredictable environment
Externally paced
Timing Depends on factors external to the performer
Decision making process usually occurs quickly
Team sports are generally more open skills
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

18. Examples of Open skills
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19. Examples of Closed skills
CLOSED SKILLS ARE:
Performed in a highly predictable environment
Internally paced
Performer controls timing of the movements
Pre-learned motor programs are required
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

20. Examples of closed skills
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

21. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
3 Questions
Define the term "skill"
Using examples, discuss the difference between Fine and Gross motor skills.
Explain the difference between Discrete, Serial, and Continuous skills.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

22. Learning Open and Closed Skills
Skills are rarely purely open or closed
Closed skills can be learned more easily because mastering of a specific movement pattern is required and repeated over and over in practice
Open skills not only require good technique but also flexible responses
Timing is externally paced and requires the performer to do the right thing at the right time.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

23. Learning Open and Closed Skills
When teaching open skills it is best to close the skill down first and then gradually open up the environment once the technique has been mastered.
Sequential skill-building and varying the conditions of practice are vital for learning both open and closed skills.
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

24. Information Processing
Central
Nervous
System
Interprets, processes
and stores
Information.
Makes
decisions
DISPLAY
All the
Information (cues)
in the environment.
SENSES
Receive
Information
the display
including feedback
on performance.
FEEDBACK
Information about
your performance
Neuromuscular System
Executes and coordinates the
Performance of the skill
Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education

25. Receiving Information
Information from the external environment is received through the 5 senses and proprioceptors (sense of bodily movement)
Pieces of information received from the environment are called CUES
Irrelevant information is called NOISE
A performers ability to filter out irrelevant information and attend only to relevant cues is referred to SELECTIVE ATTENTION
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26. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Signal Detection
Determining whether or not a signal (that is ,a cue or stimulus is present
The ability of the sense organs to receive a signal or stimulus depends on the intensity of the signal or stimulus and the effectiveness of the sense organs
Intensity of the stimulus can be improved in the following ways:
Larger size
Brighter Colour
Slow object
down
Background
Colour
Different
Length of
time object
seen
Louder signal
Take away
interfering
Noise
More pressure
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27. Maribyrnong College VCE Physical Education
Selective attention
The ability to filter out irrelevant cues
This cuts down the amount of information that has to be processed
The ability to select only relevant cues depends on:
Experience
Quality of instruction
Arousal level
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