THE LEARNING PHASES

There are three stages to learning a new skill

and these are:

Cognitive phase – Identification and development of the

component parts of the skill
 Associative phase – Linking the component parts into a smooth
action
Autonomous phase – Developing the learned skill so that it
becomes automatic
 There are a number of different types of
skills:

Cognitive – or intellectual skills that require thought processes

 Perceptual – interpretation of presented information
Motor – movement and muscle control
Perceptual motor – involve the thought, interpretation and
movement skills
MOVING ACTION – controlled by the conscious brain
using a collection of LEARNED movement.
For the movement to progress successfully the brain
requires feedback (information that tells the shape of
the body, the speed of the movement and direction of
its actions)
This information is provided by the senses:
Sight (visual feedback)
Sound (audio feedback)
Touch and feeling from muscles, joint and balance
(kinesthetic feedback)
How do we teach a new skill?:
The teaching of a new skill can be achieved by
various methods:
VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS
DEMONSTRATION
VIDEO
DIAGRAMS
PHOTO SEQUENCES
 TECHNIQUE DRILLS
Identified
Should not be copied slavishly but should be
selected

Drill – must be correct for the required action and should be the
result of careful analysis and accurate observation
 HOW ARE FAULTS CAUSED ?

Incorrect understanding of the movement by the athlete

Poor physical abilities
Poor co-ordination of movement
Incorrect application of power
Lack of concentration
Inappropriate clothing or footwear
External factors eg. Weather condition
ASSESS PERFORMANCE

Are the basics correct ?

 Is the direction of the movement correct ?
Is the rhythm correct ?

Feedback / checklists
WHAT IS A SKILL?
Skill is an athlete’s ability to choose and perform the right
techniques at the right time, successfully, regularly and
with a minimum of effort.
Athletes use their skill to achieve athletic objective
Types of skills:
Cognitive – involves thought processes
Perceptual – involves interpretation of information
Motor – involves movement.
WHAT IS TECHNIQUE?

Techniques are the basic movements of any sport or

event.
We Combine a number of techniques into a pattern of
movement
WHAT IS ABILITY?

Ability is the make up of an athlete. If you of average

height, strong, good coordination and have an abundance
of fast twitch fibres in your legs then you have the natural
ability to be a sprinter.
We inherit ability from our parent

Relationship between skill, ability and technique

SKILL = ABILITY + TECHNIQUE
SKILL CLASSIFICATION:

Motor skills are affected by three factors:

How precise a movement is

Whether the movement has a definite beginning and
end
Whether the environment affects the performance of
the skill
The Gross and Fine Continuum:
This continuum is concerned with the precision
of movement – gross and fine skills
GROSS SKILLS
Involve large muscle movements, where the major muscle
groups are involved.
FINE SKILLS
Involve intricate movements using small muscle groups,
tend to be precise and generally involve high levels of
hand-eye coordination.
 The OPEN and CLOSED Continuum:
This continuum is concerned with the effects
of the environment on skills
OPEN SKILLS
Because the environment is constantly changing and so movement
have to be continually adapted. Therefore, skills are predominantly
perceptual. The skill is mostly externally paced.
CLOSED SKILLS
These skills take place in a stable, predictable environment and the
performer knows exactly what to do and when. The skills are not
affected by the environment and tend to be habitual and self paced.
Movements follow set patterns and have a clear beginning and end.
General points:

Physical preparation
Technical preparation
Tactical preparation
Psychological preparation
Each practice sessions should focus on one or
more of the four mentioned areas.
Emphasis would be given to the:
Physical preparation
Technical preparation
Each practice sessions should begin with a
warm-up session and end with a cooling down.
Session should be organized as a result of
previous work and seen as part of series : a
term, 6 weeks etc.
Assess whether the objective been achieved if
not then ….rectify… and make note immediately
Preparing a session- thought on these areas
Safety
Motivation
Learning goal
organization
"In the beginning humans were created,
and then humans created the criteria for
being human. In the beginning, such
criteria were simple, so simple that
criteria were not important…. The mere
emergence from a woman's belly made
one human.
 "Then humans discovered their hands
and their fingers. Subsequent
discoveries led to the invention of laws,
books, print & multimedia civilization,
science, and attempts to control the
environment.
"And all the while, criteria and new
criteria were invented and stipulated,
first to classify, then to separate and set