Acquiring Movement Skills

Classification of Motor Skills

Learning Objectives

• Classify movement skills by placing them on a variable continua

Skills• We all have skills that we use everyday• In PE, you must focus on motor skills that are essential in

sport.• To have a balanced, active and healthy lifestyle by taking

part in physical activity, we must learn and master these motor skills.

• You will examine;– The classification of skills (to enable us to analyse and

understand the best way to learn and teach each skill)– Different ways that skills can be learned and the best

types of practice for different skills.

What is Skill?

• With a partner, make a list of the following:– Five skills that you use daily– Five skills commonly used in many sports

(generic skills)– Five skills required fro a specific sport

What is Skill?

• The word skill can be used in two different ways...

• Referring to an act or a task e.g??

• A rugby player converting a penalty

• But also used as an indicator of quality e.g??

• Comparing two hockey players, one player is skilful, and the other is not.

Skill

• Skill has been defined as:

‘ The learned ability to bring about predetermined results with maximum certainty, often with the minimum outlay of time or energy or both.

(Guthrie, 1956)

• a skill is something you learn, you can (eventually) do consistently and you can perform efficienctly.

Skill

• Learned Ability – It is something you learn, you are not born with it

• Pre-determined result – You have an aim that you are trying to achieve e.g. Serving into the service box

• Maximum certainty – You are very likely to succeed. You can do the skill over and over successfully.

• Maximum efficiency – Perform the movement smoothly, not wasting energy.

• http://www.peshare.co.uk/videos/view/20136/

Skill: An Act or Task

• Denotes to an act or task, which has a specific aim or goal;

A Gymnast performing a vault

Skill: An Act or Task

Tennis Serve

Netball ShotCricket Bowl

Skill: An Act or Task

• Players achieving a high percentage of success, would be considered a skilled player.

• Skill is the movement, action or task the person is doing and so can be seen as a goal directed behaviour.

Skill: Indicator of Quality Performance

• This is more ambiguous...

• Normally the word ‘well’ is added to describe a judgment made on someone.

• E.G. ‘That was a well performed hockey pass (skill), it was much better than her’s’

• What you need to know is what makes it a WELL PERFROMED SKILL.

CLASSICATION OF SKILLS• Analysis of movement skills enables us to understand their requirements and decide on the

best ways to teach, practise and improve them.

• To analyse movement skills psychologists have identified a range of characteristics.

• It is difficult to be precise about classification as skills may have elements of all the characteristics or may change depending on the situation in which the skill is performed.

• The use of continua allows us to show that skills have characteristics to a greater or lesser extent depending on the situation.

• A continuum is an imaginary scale between two extremes and is usually represented in linear form, eg.

• Freezing Cold Warm Hot Boiling

Classification of Motor Skill

Classification of Motor Skills

• It is difficult to be exact when classifying skills, so;

• Continua (plural or continuum) are used

• You need to be able to use the continua, but also explain how you arrived at your decision.

• In the exam – you should be able to apply a practical activity to each theory.

Classification of Motor Skills• You need to know the following classification

continua:– Muscular involvement (Gross – Fine)– Environmental influence (Open – Closed)– Continuity (Discrete – Serial – Continuous)– Pacing (Externally paced – Self paced)– Difficulty (Simple – Complex)– Organisation (Low – High)– http://www.peshare.co.uk/videos/view/20138/

Muscular Involvement• This entails the precision of the movement:• Gross Skills: • Large muscles movements• Little regard for precision... E.G.??• Running, Swimming, Hammer throw• Fine Skills:• More intricate movements, small muscle groups• Involve accuracy and emphasise co-ordination... E.G.??• Finger action of a spin bowler, Snooker shots Gross motor Fine

motor

Gross – Fine Motor Skills

Environmental Influence• This classification involves the influence of the

environment E.G.??

• Team mates, opponents, surface, weather...

• Open

• Affected by the environment

• Normally involve decision making, adapted to suit the situation... E.G.??

• Pass in football, rugby, netball...

Environmental Influence

• Closed

• Not affected by the environment

• The skill is the same in all situations

• Self paced and habitual... E.G.

• Swimming stroke, tennis serve, Golf tee shot...

Closed Open

Closed Skill

Characteristics

Self-paced

Fixed Environment

Spatial Control

Highly Predictable

Open Skill

Characteristics

Externally-paced

Changing Environment

Spatial & Temporal control

Closed to Open Skills

Continuity• How clearly defined is the beginning and end of the

movement skill.• Discrete• Clear beginning and end. If it is to repeated, it must start

again… E.G.??• Catching a rounders ball, penalty in football, high serve in

badminton• Serial• Number of discrete elements, put together in an order...

E.G.??• Gymnastic sequence, triple jump

Continuity• Continuous

• Have no defined beginning or end

• End of one cycle is the start of the next

• Usually has to be repeated several times for it to be meaningful... E.G.??

• Running, cycling, swimming

Discrete SerialContinuous

Discrete – Serial - Continuous

Pacing

• Level of control has over the movement

• Can relate to when the movement is started or the rate at which its performed.

• Self (internally) paced

• Performer determines when and how fast

• Normally closed skills... E.G.??

• High jump, tennis serve

Pacing

• Externally paced

• Not determined by the performer

• Environment determines pace... This can eb the opponent

• Normally open skills... E.G.??

• Receiving a pass in hockey or football, receiving a tennis serve

Self (Internal) - External

Difficulty• How complex the movement is, determined by:

– Perceptual load + degree of decision making

– Time available

– Quantity of sub-routines + their speed and timing

– Speed/power needed

– Use of feedback

What is perceptual load?

The amount of info the performer has to process.

What is a sub-routine?

Movements usually have a number of parts – breast stroke: body position, arm action, leg action ect…

Difficulty

• Simple

• Low levels of the aspects identified

• Little info to process/few decision to make etc...

• Movement skills are simple, but difficult to learn + perform E.G.??

• Swimming, Sprinting

Difficulty• Complex

• High levels of the identified aspects

• High perceptual load, so many decisions E.G.??

• Somersault, Tennis serve

SimpleComplex

Organisational

• How closely linked the sub-routines are

• Low organisational

• Sub routines are easily separated and practised by themselves... E.G.??

• Swimming strokes, trampolining, gym sequences

Organisational

• High organisational

• Sub routines are closely linked

• They cannot be easily separated and so are practiced as a whole. E.G.??

• Golf swing, Cartwheel

Low – High Organisational

Analysing Movement Skills• Why analyse movement?

– Appreciate the requirements of the skill– Adopt the best approaches for;

• Teaching

• Practising

• Improving

• Placing the skill on the continua and justifying it will help decide on how it can be practiced and improved

Task

• http://www.teachnet-uk.org.uk/2007%20Projects/PE-Skills_Development/skills-development/games-quizzes/SKILLS%20CONTINUA%20pots.htm

FLASHCARDS

• A revision tool

Task• Explain what continua are.

• What is the gross/fine continuum?

• What is a gross skill?

• If discrete is at one end, what should be at the other end?

• What is meant by an externally paced skill?

• How can a skill be a closed skill in an open situation?

• Why would a teacher split a skill into sub-routines?

• How could knowledge of skill classification help a coach of a disable athlete.

Task• Select 3 skills from practical activities and put these

on the six continua.

• Identify the situation in which each skill is being performed and explain the reasons for the position.