1. GCSE Physical Education Revision Session Skill in Performance

2. You Should Understand the Following: Skill Acquisition Definitions of Skill/Ability/Learning/Performance Types of skill – Basic/complex; Open/Closed continuum Information Processing Memory – short term/long term Motivation – intrinsic/extrinsic Goal Setting Methods of Guidance – verbal/visual/mechanical Types of Practice Presentation

3. SKILL Which hockey players look more skilful? Why? From your observations can you come up with a definition for skill?

4. Characteristics of Skill Efficient – no waste of energy; effortless Co-ordinated – flowing and fluid movement Controlled Good technique Consistent Learned Pre-determined Skill is learned. It requires practice and has an end result. It is:

5. TYPES OF SKILL BASIC SKILLSBASIC SKILLS – These are learned when we are young. They form the basis of more complex movements, e.g. running & jumping. Basic skills are common to many sports. COMPLEX SKILLSCOMPLEX SKILLS – These are usually specific to one sport, e.g. a tennis serve, the high jump. They are harder to learn.

6. OPEN AND CLOSED SKILLS OPEN SKILLS – here the movements are constantly changing depending on what is happening around the performer i.e. it is affected by the environment CLOSED SKILLS – do not depend on the environment, so are usually pre-learned patterns of movements. Can you give an example of each type of skill?

7. THE SKILL CONTINUUM Most skills are neither completely open or closed but combinations of the two. So a continuum is used to reflect this. Can you place the following skills on the open/closed skill continua? openclosed openclosed open closed A cricket shot A goalkeeper saving a shot at goal An athlete performing a shot putt

8. ABILITY What is ability? It is a general characteristic of the performer and can be used in a variety of skills. More importantly it is the foundation for skill learning. Ability is innate i.e. we are born with our abilities – they are inherited. For example, some children can pick up skills such as catching a ball, hitting a tennis ball or riding a bike quicker than others

9. LEARNING Learning is a lifelong process. Even top class sportspeople will claim that they are still learning about their sport and aiming to improve. When learning a new skill you pass through three definite stages. STAGE 1 – Cognitive Stage – characterised by lots of mistakes STAGE 2 – Associative Stage – the practice phase where lots of improvements are seen STAGE 3 – Autonomous Stage – the expert phase

10. PERFORMANCE Performance is a temporary measurement, which alters from time to time. It differs from learning, in that learning is relatively permanent.

11. INFORMATION PROCESSING When you are learning are playing a sport, you use your information processing system. This system has FOUR parts. Your brain is in control of it. INPUT FEEDBACK DECISION MAKING OUTPUT

12. INFORMATION PROCESSING 2 Your brain then processes this information and makes a decision.  First it interprets information(perception)  Next it decides on a response  For this it has to search your memory  Then it tells your muscles what to do Input is all the information you receive from your senses.E.g. you hear how hard your opponent Hits the ball; you see it moving towards you; you feel the grip of your racket

13. Output is the action you take as a result of your brain’s decision. If your memory is well stocked with skills through coaching and practice, your output is more likely to be successful Feedback is the response you get to your output. It tells you whether it was successful. For example  You may see your opponent miss the ball  Your coach may tell you where you went wrong  This feedback affects your next decision

14. MEMORY Your memory has two parts: short term and long term SHORT TERM MEMORY  This is your ‘ work room ’  All the information you receive goes in here.  It stays only a short time, about 2 minutes at most. If you ignore it, it fades much quicker.  To move information from short-term to long-term memory you need to ‘ rehearse ’ it (practice or concentrate on it)  Only stores small amounts of information 5 – 9 pieces. SHORT-TERM MEMORY LONG-TERM MEMORY REHEARSAL RETRIEVAL

15. LONG-TERM MEMORY  This is your ‘ library ’. It holds images,tastes, sounds and smells.  It also holds all the sports skills you have learned.  It is able to hold limitless amounts of information permanently.  To improve transfer of information from STM to LTM information should be meaningful and ‘ chunked ’.  If you learn your sport well and practice a lot, your LTM will have everything the brain needs to make a good decision.

16. PRACTICAL SITUATION OF INFORMATION PROCESSING In badminton, the player who is to receive serve uses his/her STM to remember the position of the opposing player as the serve commences. This information is ‘retrieved’ from LTM. This enables the player to ‘read the game’. The more experienced you are the more information that is stored in your LTM.

17. MOTIVATION Motivation is the driving force that makes you decide what to do, and how much effort you put in. It is the personal drives to achieve a set goal.E.g. an athlete wanting to win a gold medal The more motivated you are the harder you work at an activity, and the more likely you are to succeed.

18. MOTIVATION There are two types: Intrinsic – this comes from the activity itself e.g. enjoyment of the performance; personal pride. Extrinsic – comes from outside the activity e.g. rewards,prizes, trophies, praise from coaches. Which do you think is better – Being intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?

19. METHODS OF GUIDANCE When learning a skill, you need guidance from a teacher, coach or friend. There are THREE types. VISUAL – Demonstrations by the coach or another performer, videos, wall charts etc. This is especially useful as you can see how the skill should look.

20. VERBAL – The instructions can be repeated as often as you need, and can be changed to suit you. MECHANICAL – Where the coach or teacher takes hold of you and guides you through movements e.g. supporting a vault ….or it can be a device that is used to restrict your movements and keep you safe e.g. ropes when climbing

21. TYPES OF PRACTICE The best way to practice a new skill depends on the skill being learned. Where possible break a complex skill into parts, and practice each part separately. This is called PART PRACTICE. Then put the parts together to make the WHOLE. With a simple skill, or one that is difficult to break down, practice the whole skill. This is called WHOLE PRACTICE.

22. Practice OPEN skills in conditions that vary. This is called VARIABLE PRACTICE. It matches the changing situations found in games. You should practice a CLOSED skill under the same conditions every time. This is called FIXED PRACTICE. Remember, closed skills do not change with the environment. TYPES OF PRACTICE E.g. Gymnastics E.g. skills practices for games

23. PRESENTATION To optimise skill learning teachers and coaches must create the best possible practice conditions. This means considering the following factors: The type of skills to be taught How complex the skill is The environment The ability of the performer The motivation of the performer The previous experience of the performer

24. GOAL SETTING Example: A golfer sets a target of shots to be played around a course, this may well motivate him to play well. Goal setting is the setting of future performance targets.

25. GOAL SETTING Goal setting can improve motivation and can control stress/anxiety Goals can be: Short-term – e.g. set over the period of a day or week or so, and lead on to …… Long-term-e.g. set over a period of a month, year or several years. What are your goals?

26. Guidelines for Goal Setting S pecific and clear M easurable A chievable but also challenging R elevant T imed – they need to progress from short to long term and have target dates They should also be flexible, written down and evaluated. Goals appear to be most effective when they are: