Chapter 17

1. Chapter 17 The Amount and Distribution of Practice

2. Overlearning and Learning Motor Skills • Overlearning: Continuation of practice beyond the amount needed to achieve a certain performance criterion • Research has shown that overlearning can have a positive influence on retention performance for motor learning skills (Driskell et al., 1992)

3. Examples of Overlearning Strategy Applied to Types of Motor Skills • Procedural skills • Skills that include a combination of cognitive and motor components and require performance of a series of relatively simple movements, e.g., assembling a rifle • U.S. Army sponsored research found 100% overlearning strategy effective for long-term retention • Dynamic balance skills • Research has found point of diminishing returns for amount of extra practice • 50% as effective as 100% and 200% • Physical education class setting • One study reported student-determined extra practice resulted in better learning than teacher-determined extra practice these settings

4. Examples of Overlearning Strategy Applied to Types of Motor Skills • Procedural skills • Skills that include a combination of cognitive and motor components and require performance of a series of relatively simple movements, e.g., assembling a rifle • U.S. Army sponsored research found 100% overlearning strategy effective for long-term retention • Dynamic balance skills • Research has found point of diminishing returns for amount of extra practice • 50% as effective as 100% and 200% • Physical education class setting • One study reported student-determined extra practice resulted in better learning than teacher-determined extra practice these settings

5. Examples of Overlearning Strategy Applied to Types of Motor Skills • Procedural skills • Skills that include a combination of cognitive and motor components and require performance of a series of relatively simple movements, e.g., assembling a rifle • U.S. Army sponsored research found 100% overlearning strategy effective for long-term retention • Dynamic balance skills • Research has found point of diminishing returns for amount of extra practice • 50% as effective as 100% and 200% • Physical education class setting • One study reported student-determined extra practice resulted in better learning than teacher-determined extra practice these settings

6. Overlearning Strategy Can Lead toPoor Learning • Research has shown situations in which learning deficits resulted from excessive practice, i.e., too much overlearning • See experiments by Shea & Kohl (1990, 1991); Travlos (1999) • What would account for these types of results? • Extended practice of relatively simple skills resulted in learners not continuing to engage in appropriate amounts of cognitive effort (Lee et al., 1994) • Extended practice of the same relatively simple movement results in decreased capability to remember the movement as well as to transfer to a movement variation • Indicates need for practice variability

7. Overlearning Strategy Can Lead toPoor Learning • Research has shown situations in which learning deficits resulted from excessive practice, i.e., too much overlearning • See experiments by Shea & Kohl (1990, 1991); Travlos (1999) • What would account for these types of results? • Extended practice of relatively simple skills resulted in learners not continuing to engage in appropriate amounts of cognitive effort (Lee et al., 1994) • Extended practice of the same relatively simple movement results in decreased capability to remember the movement as well as to transfer to a movement variation • Indicates need for practice variability

9. Overlearning Strategy Can Lead toPoor Learning • Research has shown situations in which learning deficits resulted from excessive practice, i.e., too much overlearning • See experiments by Shea & Kohl (1990, 1991); Travlos (1999) • What would account for these types of results? • Extended practice of relatively simple skills resulted in learners not continuing to engage in appropriate amounts of cognitive effort (Lee et al., 1994) • Extended practice of the same relatively simple movement results in decreased capability to remember the movement as well as to transfer to a movement variation • Indicates need for practice variability

10. Distribution of Practice The practice distribution problem: You have a specific amount of time to practice [or for rehab] for a future “test.” What is the best way to schedule the available time in terms of: • The length and frequency of the practice sessions? • The length of rest intervals between trials during each practice session?

11. Two Types of Practice Distribution Schedules Massed Practice • Sessions • Longer and fewer • Between-Trial Rest Intervals • None to very short Distributed Practice • Sessions • Shorter and more • Between-Trial Rest Intervals • Longer than massed practice length

12. Distribution of Practice for Practice Sessions • Research shows that practice sessions can be too long and infrequent to lead to optimal learning • Better learning results when people practice skills in more frequent and shorter practice sessions • See experiments by: • Baddeley & Longman (1978) • Dail & Christina (2004)

13. Practice Schedule #hours 1 hr/session – 1 session/day (12 weeks training) 55 1 hr/session – 2 sessions/day (6 weeks training) 75 2 hr/session – 1 session/day ( 6 weeks training) 67 2 hr/session – 2 sessions/day (3 weeks training) 80+

14. Why Distributed Practice Sessions Are Better for Learning • Three hypotheses • Fatigue hypothesis • Cognitive effort hypothesis • Memory consolidation hypothesis

15. Distribution of Practice for Intertrial Intervals Practice distribution schedule that is best for learning depends on type of skill (Lee & Genovese, 1988, 1989) • Continuous motor skills • Distributed schedules more effective than massed • Discrete motor skills • Massed schedules more effective than distributed