Due to the high cognitive involvement many gross errors are made when executing actions, which is a reason for inconsistency and variable performances. This is because a lot of actions are jerky and uncoordinated. Errors such as those of a badminton player who may miss hit the shuttlecock. A basketball player may dribble the ball but due to their stiff movements and uncoordinated actions they may run in to the ball or miss dribble.
A good practise session for cognitive learners must be well structured by the coach. A warm up should be performed to start things off, and get the muscles in working order. A simple skill to pick up for a learner would be the side-foot pass in football. The learner must view the coach performing the pass, and the coach should talk through the actions so that the mental image of the skill is imprinted in the learners mind.
Once the learner thinks that they have the correct mental picture, they must practice the skill with a partner, who will give feedback as to where the learner is going right or wrong. Closed drills are very helpful here as they have low pressure with a consistent environment, such as in football a player may do shuttles or dribble a ball around a cone, at their own pace. Once this phase has been completed, the performer can move on to the next phase.
The next phase a learner moves on to is the associative stage. This is where the learner practices a skill with verbal feedback and guidance from a coach. At this phase the learner shows a lot more consistency and their coordination improves rapidly. Also improvements such as timing are shown. Here the learner will produce basic mechanics of the skill and make associations with previously learned material, allowing a small degree of transfer e.g. the skill of a netball shot transferred to be used in a basketball shot.
The help from the coach is a very important part as they must identify the exact problem and instruct the learner as to how to correct it. One method used by a coach is the whole- part- whole method where you play a game, stop play, focus on an error, and then improve this area in a match situation again. An example of this would be in a football match if part of the play needs correcting then the game will be stopped and the problem will be focussed on e.g. corners and then will be put back in to the game again.
The learner should watch professionals perform the skills in match situations so that they can see how the skill can be adapted in different situations. From this the learner may start to recognise and correct errors that they previously would not have noticed. E.g. a discus thrower may miss throw the disc due to the wrong positioning of their feet, the discus thrower would realise this and improve on it.
Associative learners should still have their practice controlled by a coach, but shouldn’t need as much help as a cognitive learner. In these training sessions, the coach should take the learner through a warm up, and begin to introduce some more skills that would link in with the one they are currently learning at a cognitive level. The coach can then tell the learner what aspects of the skill they need to practice more, so that they can improve and perform a skill correctly. Linking skills together is important e.g. n hurdles mixing running with jumping.
The final stage of learning is the autonomous stage. It is called this because the performer is capable of producing skilled actions automatically with little or no conscious control to movement production. Not all performers will reach this level, but those that do have a good understanding and are able to analyse their own performance of a skill, so that they know how to correct themselves when they do something wrong. By now, the skill should have been perfected, but cognitive aspects must be included so that modifications to the skill can be made depending on the weather or environmental conditions. Even when the autonomous skill has been learnt, there is always room for improvement; also a skill can always be partly or totally forgotten. If so the previous stages will need to be re-learned.
Autonomous learners should be able to practice and learn without the need of a coach, although training with a coach will still be helpful. These individuals can devise their own warm ups which concentrate on the specific parts of the body needed for the particular skill that they wish to practice, and should be able to use a skill in various situations. E.g. passing a football to a friend or using the same skill in a match situation where there are an unlimited number of options in which to play the ball to beat the opposition and complete a pass to a teammate. The performer therefore should use variable, but realistic practices such as passing, shooting and movement drills in netball, to make this possible.
In this phase movements are smoother and more efficient, therefore more attention can be given to relevant cues and signals from the environment, as less mental capacity are needed to carry out the skill itself. The performer by now also recognises their own mistakes and errors and is capable of correcting them themselves with little or no help. A coach will be there to help the performer and to improve aspects of the skill.
In conclusion, Fitt's and Posner’s phases of learning can be considered as important for structuring any sporting practice. All learning seems to develop through these phases. As you progress through each stage you improve in ability, skill and awareness. During these stages to help you improve there are also certain drills and factors such as videos and the use of role models that are so vital in the progression of learning and improvements.
However, Fitt and Posner fail to realise that some learners may already have the ability to perform the first stage of learning. Therefore, practices should take this into account, and these individuals used as demonstrators.
Word count – 1233
Bibliography
- Advanced PE for Edexcel, Heinemann
- The Oxford Modern English Dictionary, Ted Smart
- www.cs.queensu.ca/home/ roel/publications/MPhilThesis94.ps
