HSC Core 2 – Factors Affecting Performance

Course Time: 30% course time

OutcomesH7 explains the relationship between physiology and movement potentialH8 explains how a variety of training approaches and other interventions enhance

performance and safety in physical activityH9 explains how movement skill is acquired and appraised H10 designs and implements training plans to improve performanceH11 designs psychological strategies and nutritional plans in response to individual

performance needsH16 devises methods of gathering, interpreting and communicating information about

health and physical activity conceptsH17 selects appropriate options and formulates strategies based on a critical analysis of

the factors that affect performance and safe participation.

Critical Questions How does training affect performance? How can psychology affect performance? How can nutrition and recovery strategies affect performance? How does the acquisition of skill affect performance?

Quality Teaching:Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria Engagement High expectations Student direction

Intellectual Quality Deep knowledge Deep understanding Problematic knowledge Higher-order thinking Metalanguage

Signficance Knowledge integration Inclusivity Connectedness

Assessment Suggestions: Prepare a flow chart representing the chain of events in the production and use of

aerobic and anaerobic energy. Have students explain their diagrams to other students. (EQ, E, HE, SS, DK, DU, HT, Ml, SC, KI, N)

Demonstrate an understanding of the process of skill acquisition by teaching skills to a group of younger students. (EQ, E, HE, SS, SR, DU, HT, ML, SC, KI, N)

Critically review an article on psychological influences on performance, outlining its relevance to personal application. (EQ, E, HE, DK, DU, PK, HT, ML,KI, C)

How does the Acquisition of Skill

Affect performance?

Stages of Skill Acquisition

Characteristics of the Learner

Cognitive

Associative

Autonomous

Personality

Heredity

Confidence

Prior experience

The Learning Environment

Assessment of skill and performance

Nature of the skill

The performance elements

Practice method

Characteristics of skilled performers

Objective and subjective performance measures

Validity and Reliability of tests

Personal vs prescribed judging criteria

Ability

Feedback

Assessment of Skill and

Performance

The Learning Environment

Characteristics of the Learner

Stages of Skill Acquisition

How does the

Acquisition of Skill Affect Performance

?

CQ: How does Skill Acquisition Affect Performance?

Term DefinitionAbility

Acquisition

Appraisal

Associative stage

Autonomous stage

Closed skills

Cognitive stage

Concurrent feedback

Continuous motor skills

Delayed feedback

Discrete motor skills

Distributed practice

External Feedback

Externally paced skills

Feedback

Fine motor skills

Game-centred approach

Term DefinitionGross motor skills

Heredity

Internal feedback

Kinaesthetic sense

Knowledge of performanceKnowledge of results

Massed practice

Motor skills

Objective performance measureOpen skills

Part practice

Personal criteria

Personality

Prescribed criteria

Reliability

Self-confidence

Self-paced skills

Serial motor skills

Somatotype

Subjective performance measureTraits

Validity

Whole practice

Stages of Skill Acquisition stages of skill acquisition

cognitive associative autonomous

examine the stages of skill acquisition by participating in the learning of a new skill, eg juggling, throwing with non dominant hand

ACQUISITION - is gaining possession of something.

MOTOR SKILLS - are learned skills involving movement to complete a task.

Skill is the ability to consistently perform movements with control and precision.The acquisition of skill is a gradual developmental process that requires that our cognitive (thinking) processes work with our physical abilities to learn how to perform movements that previously were unfamiliar to us.

The process of learning new motor skills can be categorised into three stages:

1 cognitive stage—what to do COGNITIVE – refers to the mental processing of information, thinking and understanding.COGNITIVE STAGE of SKILL ACQUSITION – the early identification and understanding of a skill to be learned.

2 associative stage—how to do itASSOCIATIVE – means connecting or linking ideasASSOCIATIVE STAGE of SKILL ACQUSITION - focuses on practicing the movement patterns of the skill.

3 autonomous stage—doing it automatically.AUTONOMOUS – means being in full control of actions so they become automaticAUTONOMOUS STAGE of SKILL ACQUSITION – revolves around executing a skill automatically without having to think about what to do next or how to do it.

As the learner gains a better understanding of the skill, and improves their ability to execute the skill, they are moving through these stages of skill acquisition.

Stage of Skill Acquisition Definition Characteristics of this

stageStrategies to assist

learners at this stage

Cognitive

Associative

Autonomous

Characteristics of the Learner characteristics of the learner, e.g. personality,

heredity, confidence, prior experience, ability describe how the characteristics of the learner

can influence skill acquisition and the performance of skills

The speed with which learners are able to acquire certain motor skills depends on a number of factors, of which most are inherent features. These alter considerably from one person to another. Variations in age, height, muscle fibre composition, sex and weight, to mention a few, mean that any two people will not acquire similar skills at the same pace.

PersonalityPERSONALITY – refers to an individuals characteristic way of behavingTRAITS – characteristics or observable features of a person

Personality develops as a result of the individual’s infinite social interactions and learning experiences throughout life.Athletes’ personalities and behaviours are described in terms of observable traits such as consistency, reliability, level of motivation and ability to express feelings.For the acquisition of skill to occur certain aspects of personality tend to be more favourable with certain learning environments such personal characteristics as cooperativeness, willingness to listen, determination, enthusiasm, dedication, level of motivation, aggressiveness, and willingness to take risks and to learn.Learners whose personality reflects positive ways of behaving are more receptive to instruction and advice, more cooperative in performing set tasks and more helpful in creating a productive learning environment.

HeredityHEREDITY – refers to genetic characteristics inherited from our parents

Heredity refers to those genetic characteristics we inherit from our parents.We are all born with certain features and traits that make us more suited to some types of activities than others. These are factors that cannot be changed and limit the dimensions of our potential.

Even though heredity plays a large part in our success, it will not limit our ability to learn a new skill. It will, however, limit the degree of success we can achieve.

For example, a small and thin young boy will learn the skills to play rugby league, but he may never develop the quality of the skill to be selected in the high grades.

The following important hereditary characteristics influence success or otherwise in specific athletic events.• The relative percentage of fast-twitch to slow-twitch muscle fibres. (Athletes with a higher percentage of fast-twitch fibres are naturally more suited to sprint and explosive events, whereas those endowed with slow-twitch fibres tend to be more successful at endurance events.)

Somatotype. SOMATOYPE – is a person body shape or type

The tendency towards ectomorphy (linearity), mesomorphy (muscularity) or endomorphy (roundness) determines an individual’s suitability for many activities. Ectomorphy is favoured for high jumpers, for example, whereas esomorphy is more favoured for netball centres and lightweight boxers.

• Gender. Higher levels of the hormone testosterone in males give them the potential to make greater increases in strength and power than females. For this reason, most sports have separate competitions for each gender.

• Height. Differences in height (and weight) provide considerable physical and biomechanical advantages to some players and make the learning and execution of required skills a less difficult process.

• Conceptual ability. The ability to visualise a movement and make it materialize is a significant factor, particularly in the first stages of learning.An important point to remember is that the ability to learn a skill may or may not be related to success in competition. For example, a small, stocky person may readily learn to high jump using the correct technique, but may be unsuccessful in competition because other competitors are taller, leaner and better suited to jumping. Thus, skill learning and execution may be successful and rewarding, but may not lead to competitive success.

ConfidenceSELF CONFIDENCE – firm belief in one’s own ability

For any individual learning a new skill, having confidence in their own ability is extremely important. Some level of confidence will be internally generated, based on how a learner or athlete sees themselves. (This refers back to the personality types.) But a significant amount of confidence will be built up or destroyed based on their level of success in acquiring the new skill.It is critical that a coach or teacher provides constructive criticism accompanied by positive feedback to assist the athlete in feeling good about the process. The athlete must remember that mistakes are a part of learning and that we all progress at different rates. This will mean they have a better chance of keeping their confidence levels high.

Prior Experience

It is often easier to learn a new skill if similar movements have already been successfully acquired. This prior experience — an experience linked to the influence of an already learned task on one to be acquired — has the potential to accelerate the learning process.

The term Transfer of learning is used to describe when a skill you learned in one situation has helped you to learn a different (but related) skill.

For example, learning how to hit a ball with a cricket bat will be easier for someone who already has the skill of hitting a ball with a baseball bat.

The degree to which prior experience influences skill acquisition and ultimately performance is variable among learners.

AbilityABILITY - the ease with which an individual is able to perform a movement or routine.

Ability is seen in the way in which an individual is able to learn, process and implement new skills. Ability incorporates a range of factors, such as sense, perception, reaction time and intelligence, which combine to allow the individual to do readily what is intended.Abilities’ represents a culmination of all the factors described above. They underpin many skill performances, and assist an athlete to grasp a new skill with ease, moving through the stages of skill acquisition quickly and effortlessly. Examples of abilities include coordination and perception.

The Learning Environment the learning environment

nature of skill (open, closed, gross, fine, discrete, serial, continuous, self-paced, externally-paced)

the performance elements (decision making, strategic and tactical development)

practice method (massed, distributed, whole, part) feedback (internal, external, concurrent, delayed,

knowledge of results, knowledge of performance)

design a suitable plan for teaching beginners to acquire a skill through to mastery. The plan should reflect: appropriate practice methods for the

learners the integration of relevant performance

elements an awareness of how instruction may vary

according to characteristics of the learner how feedback will be used as learners

progress through the stages of skill acquisition

In the previous section, we examined the attributes of the learner and how these characteristics may determine their success in acquiring a new skill.The next factor to consider is that of the external learning environment. This is shaped by the type of skill to be learned, the performance elements, the practice methods and the feedback protocols.

The Nature of SkillAll skills have observable characteristics, so can be grouped according to specific criteria. Skills are commonly classified as:

open or closed; gross motor or fine motor; discrete, serial or continuous; self-paced or externally paced.

Most skills fit a number of classifications.

Open and Closed SkillsOPEN SKILLS - those that occur in an unstable and variable environment.CLOSED SKILLS – those that occur in a stable and predictable environment.

Read p252, Answer the following questions:- Give 3 examples of an open skill- Describe the factors that contribute to making a skill

‘open’.- What factors can assist athletes in performing open

skills?- Give 3 examples of a closed skill.- Describe the factors that contribute to making a skill

‘closed’

- What factors can assist athletes in performing closed skills?

- Explain the idea of a ‘continuum’ when classifying open and closed skills with reference to the diagrams below.

- Place and Justify your placement of the following activities on the continuum:

Putting in golf Tackling in football Surfing Weightlifting Indoor trampoline

Gross and Fine Motor SkillsGROSS MOTOR SKILLS - require the use of large muscle groups for execution.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS - require the use of only small muscle groups to perform the movement.

Gross or fine motor skills can also be considered to fall along a continuum.

Gross motor skills use the larger muscles as the primary basis of movement, while fine motor skills require significant control over the small muscle groups.

Examples of gross motor skills include walking, running and jumping, while examples of fine motor skills include golf putting, billiards and spin bowling.

Go to p254 and complete the ‘Inquiry”Discrete, Serial and Continuous SkillsDISCRETE SKILLS - have a distinctive beginning and end that can be identified.SERIAL SKILLS - involve a sequence of smaller movements that are assembled to make a total skill.CONTINUOUS SKILLS - have no clear beginning or end, e.g. swimming.

Read p254-255 and answer the following questionso Give 2 examples of discrete skillso Explain, using examples, how serial skills are made

up of a number of discrete skillso Discuss how you would teach serial skills to

beginnerso Give 2 examples of continuous skills

Complete ‘Inquiry’ of p255

Self-paced and Externally Paced SkillsSELF-PACED SKILLS - are those in which the performer controls both the timing and the speed/force of an action.EXTERNALLY PACED SKILLS – are those in which another athlete, or the environment, has control over the timing and speed of the skill’s execution.

The word pacing refers to the timing of an action. In terms of skills, timing can be categorised as self-paced or externally paced.

Self-paced skills are those in which the performer controls when to take action and at what speed. A tennis player, for example, decides on the exact second she wants to serve and where on the court she aims; a diver decides on the exact second he wants to leave the platform and with what amount of force.

Externally paced skills are those in which another athlete, or the environment, has control over the timing and speed of the

skill’s execution. For example, a pitcher decides when to pitch while the batter waits anxiously; a gymnast waits in anticipation for her music to start and must listen intently to the music for her timing.

Identify three self-paced skills, providing reasons for your choice.

Identify three externally paced skills, providing reasons for your choice.

Performance Elements

GAME-CENTRED APPROACH - aims to focus on the whole game and all components, rather than a sequence of basic skills assembled within a game format. The emphasis is on integrating thinking and learning rather than skill development in isolation.

Read p256 and answer the following questions:o Identify the 3 performance elementso Explain how the ‘concept’ of performance elements

in teaching learners differs from teaching skills to learners

Decision Making

Read p257 and answer the following questions:o What parameters does decision making need to be

appreciated within?o Briefly describe the 5 ways to achieve productive

decision making in athletes.

Strategic and Tactical Development Read p 257 – 258 and answer the following questions:

o Explain the difference between strategic understanding and tactical awareness.

o Explain the 3 principles of strategic and tactical development.

Practice MethodsThe learning environment is also influenced by the structure of the practice sessions. It is very important to consider what type of practice method best suits the situation to ensure positive outcomes for the athlete and the coach.Coaches need to consider a range of factors when deciding on the practice methods to use with an athlete, such as:

the type of skill to be learned the amount of technical information the learner will need

to decipher the experience of the learner environmental issues previous knowledge individual characteristics of the learner.

Massed and Distributed Practice MASSED PRACTICE - involves a continuous practice session, with the rest intervals being shorter than the practice intervals.DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE - involves a broken practice session, with the intervals of rest or alternative activities being longer than the practice intervals.

Whole and Part Practice WHOLE PRACTICE - is a practice method in which the whole skill is practiced at the same time.PART PRACTICE - is a practice method in which parts or subroutines of a skill are practiced individually.

Read pages 259 – 260 and then complete the following table:

Practice Method Explanation

When this method works

best

List 5 examples of skills best

suited to this method

Massed

Distributed

Whole

Part

Feedback

FEEDBACK - is the information provided to the learner about the nature or result of their performanceFeedback is a critical component in the successful acquisition and development of a skill, regardless of the skill level of the learner. It provides the learner with knowledge about how the task is being performed, and how to improve the performance.

The many types of feedback include internal, external, concurrent, delayed, knowledge of results and knowledge of performance.

Internal (intrinsic) and External (extrinsic) FeedbackINTERNAL FEEDBACK - is generated from within an athlete, allowing them to correct their own mistakes.EXTERNAL FEEDBACK- - is generated from outside an athlete, e.g. from coaches, crowds and results.

Some feedback is experienced during execution of the skill. Called internal feedback, this information is received through the body’s proprioceptive mechanisms (senses).

Some feedback is derived from outside sources during performance of a skill. Called external feedback, this information may take the form of a comment from the coach, applause from the crowd or the result of a game.

Observe Figure 8.23 p262 – Explain the process demonstrated in this figure in relation to the importance of both internal and external feedback.

Concurrent (continuous) and Delayed FeedbackCONCURRENT FEEDBACK – is received from the body during the performance.

DELAYED FEEDBACK – is received after the performance of the skill is complete.

Knowledge of Results and Knowledge of PerformanceKNOWLEDGE OF RESULTS – is feedback about the outcome or success of an athlete’s performance.KNOWLEDGE OF PERFORMANCE - is feedback given on how well the skill was executed.

Read p263 and answer the following questions:o When and how is concurrent feedback obtained?o Provide an example of delayed feedback.o Explain how knowledge of results plays a part in

feedback to a performer.o Identify the sources where performers obtain

knowledge of results feedback.o What information do performers get from knowledge

of performance?o Discuss the best type of feedback for performers?o When can giving feedback lead to frustration in

athletes?

TASK:For the sport of Basketball, outline examples during a game of when each type of feedback (internal, external, continuous, delayed, knowledge of results, knowledge of performance) is evident.