Fitts and Posner (1967) are quoted at saying that there is a three stage model of skill learning involving a cognitive stage, an associative stage and an autonomous stage. These stages will be clear to most experienced teachers as descriptive of the various stages that the learners that they see in front of them go through. Langendorfer, German and Kral (1988) identify similar stages under slightly different names; the extension stage (getting the idea of the movement), the refinement stage (practicing the skill until it can be performed consistently) and the automatic mastery stage (when the skill has been mastered and can be used in different situations).
The cognitive stage is the learners' first encounter with the activity or the skill at which point they are getting an idea of the main movement pattern involved and the main features of the skill. As it is all new they are trying to process great amounts of information of a perceptual and sensory nature about what they see, hear and feel directly from their performance and what they are told in the way of feedback. There are inevitably a lot of errors and a lot of adapting in these initial attempts. At this stage there is little fine detail of technique, as this will come at a later stage of learning.
I would start of by using very simple tasks, in the example of football I would start with side foot passing. This would be done over a small distance; this would be done so that the performers can get a feel for the technique, the ball and also the distance. As they are beginners I would let them use their own techniques but still making sure that they were getting the general idea. I would not use any negative feedback, because this would demotivate them, I would use extrinsic feedback, telling them the good points they were doing. I would do this because by pointing out their good points they feel happy and confident doing the skill.
The associative stage begins when the learner has a greater appreciation of the form of the skill and the anticipated perceptual and sensory information involved. There will be less errors and the learner will be able to begin to focus on points that could be termed 'refining the technique' as opposed to learning the basics. In terms of swimming this can be getting the performer to do the arm and leg/kicking action together. Once they had developed this I could think about incorporating the breathing into this. As they are still learning to put their own technique together, I would not use negative feedback still, but I would use constructive criticism, to make sure they know that they can still improve but I would do a lot of this. I think the best way to get feedback at this level would be intrinsic. By getting the feedback from the performer themselves, it is meaning that they have to think about their own performance and what was good and bad.
By the autonomous stage the performance is almost automatic. The learner will not have to pay a great deal of attention to the perceptual and sensory feedback and the skill will remain consistent. In sprinting situations this frees them to focus their attention on other aspects such as bringing their knees up higher, using their arms, increasing the speed or pacing the race. As an automatic response to their relevant stimuli’s, their technique should be of a high standard and are able to carry out the skill to a high standard in many different situations. As it’s likely that they perform the skill correctly every time, little feedback may need to be given, instead of feedback, as such, as a coach you should ask how it felt and gather information this way.
If the coach is covering new content (the cognitive stage) or in the early stage of attempting to make changes to existing movement patterns initially they will need short spells of practice with frequent intervention from the teacher to give further information and feedback. Once past that stage, when they have a basic knowledge of the skill or change they are attempting to master (the associative stage), they will need structured extended practice to allow them time to repeat content.
When it comes to planning a lesson, the teacher has to consider a number of aspects regarding what he can and cant achieve in that lesson. He has to base the lesson on the ability and the stage of development of the individuals in the class or group. Once they know what is achievable, he can break the lesson down into small time scaled lessons. In the example of rugby, the lesson can be started with passing; the people of a lower ability can just get used to passing and do it over a small distance, whereas the higher ability people can start doing it over a longer distance with spin on the ball. The coach can then spend time of getting positions correct for situations. E.g. a scrum, he can have the pack and get the attacking line positioned correctly, and making sure that each player knows where they are running to. In the beginning I would have them all running straight forward. Once they have done this the coach can alter it slightly, this would be a natural progression, and can be done simply, by introducing a full back who can join the line at any position. This would get the players thinking about the play and concentrate about what is going on around them.
The coach could spend the lesson on attack and then start thinking about the next few lessons, defence, attack vs defence, keeping/recycling the ball. The only aspect the coach would had to think, is not to push them too far to soon, they have to make sure that all players are progressing.
Based on my research on Fitts and Posners theory, I think that you can structure a practise for all sport using their theory. They do not have a complex theory; they have just broken down how to be thought into smaller phases. You can take any sport that is played and use “Fitts and Posners” theory of learning to create a good performer at that sport (as long as they had the correct gene types-obviously you can take anyone). I think that I or anyone who knows/plays a specific sport could structure a training session for any specific level. As long as they have a clear understanding of what they want to achieve. I have shown in the above paragraph that it can even be done with a group of mixed ability.
I think their theory works well because it is so easy to apply. It can easily be taken to any sport and used. Some people don’t believe it works because it depends on the way the feedback is applied and the activities used to teach the performer the skill. If the skill is taught badly then they will not be able to progress to the next stage of learning. If the skill is taught for too long the performer will lose interest and may not wish to learn the skill correctly and therefore will not be able to move on. Like in gymnastics, if the performer is taught how to do the movement for too long, then it’s more then likely that they will lose interest in the routine and if made to perform it, will not be of a high standard. The coach has to learn the tedium threshold of the performer and make sure this is not reached.
If the correct feedback is not used then the performer can get confused about what they should be doing and not be able to complete a certain component of the skill and therefore will not be able to complete the overall skill, meaning they can’t move on, e.g. the serve and volley in tennis. They may be able to complete the serve component, they then may be able to drive towards the net and get in the position to volley and they may be able to volley well when at the net, but they may be taught wrongly how to do it all together. And so they always lose the point on passing shots etc. so if they are not given the correct feedback about where it’s going wrong then they will never be able to improve that overall skill and will be a lesser player because of it.
Word Count 1465
Bibliography
P.E-A.S Level-Acquisition of Skill booklet
Edexcel
Internet-Google Search-“Fitts and Posner”
“The Theories of Learning” chapter in book by Hodder & Stoughton
Quotes by Hogarth 1998 (came from internet search, but can not remember website)
