July 11, 2014

Principles of motor learning

I have been on leave the last two weeks. During this time, I have had a lovely time skiing with my family and have been revising the draft manuscript of the text book Elise Baker and I are writing. Yesterday morning I was reading the chapter outlining the principles of motor learning - then went to the ski slopes. While watching children learn to ski the principles of motor learning were evident (e.g., principles relating to the conditions and structure of learning, attentional focus, and feedback). For example, the ski school instructors began with part-practice of relevant skills (e.g., learning to make a pizza wedge with their skis in order to stop), then moved to whole-task practice on the slopes. Children are fast learners!
A child putting the principles of motor learning into practice