Types of Practice/learner
• Massed practice (almost continuous, all at
once)
• Distributed practice (with rest breaks)
• What type of learner is massed practice
suitable for?
• Experienced, older, fitter, more motivated.
• What type of learner is better for
distributed practice.
• Beginner, less experienced, limited
physical/mental preparation.
Types of practice/task
• Massed practice better for which type of
tasks?
• Discrete or brief in nature e.g. golf shot
• Simple
• Distributed practice better for which type
of tasks?
• Continuous, requiring repetition of gross
skills. E.g. swimming, running, cycling
• Complex /precision orientated tasks.
• dangerous
Variability of Practice
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Skills practiced in in new/different situations.
Useful for open skills
Helps development of schema
Helps performer successfully adapt to meet the
demands of the situation.
Practice should be realistic to ‘real game’
situation.
Practice should be meaningful.
Variety of massed and distributed practice
Will maintain motivation.
When to use different methods
of practice (task determined)
Whole
method
Part method
Progressive
part method
•Low complexity or
simple task
•High level
organisation
•Interrelated
subroutines
•Discrete skill
•Short duration
•Lacks meaning in
parts
•Allows co-ordination
of important spatial or
temporal components
•High level of
complexity
•Low level of
organisation
•Independent subroutines
•Serial tasks
•Slow tasks
•Lengthy duration
•Dangerous skills
•Complex task
•Helps chaining of
complex skills
learned independently
•Allows for attention
demands to be limited
•Allows for coordination of
spatial/temporal
components to be
experienced.
•Helps with transfer to
whole
When to use different methods
of practice (performer)
whole
Part
Performer is:
•Experienced
•High level of
attention
•Later stages of
learning
•Older
•Highly motivated
•Using distributed
practice
Performer is:
•A beginner
•Someone with limited
attention span.
•Early stages of
learning.
•Having problems
with a specific aspect
of a skill
•Limited motivation
•Using massed
practice
Part
progressive
Advantages of whole and part
method
Whole method
Part method
Waste no time assembling parts.
Allows serial tasks to be broken down
and learned in components e.g. gym
Good for quick discrete skills where a
single complete action is required
Reduces the demands on the learner
attempting complex skills
Better for time synchronised tasks if
learner can cope with level of skill e.g.
swimming stroke.
Helps provide motivation to continue
if progress can be seen to be made
Learner can appreciate the end
product/movement.
Very important for skills which have a
dangerous element.
The movement retains a feeling of
kinaesthetic sense
Can reduce fatigue in physically
demanding skills
Movement easier to understand.
relationship between subroutines
Allows teacher to focus on particular
element of skill and remedy problem.
Learner can develop own schema
through trial and error
Provides stages of success
Transfer to real situations from
practice likely to be positive
Good for low organisation tasks
which can be broken down
Disadvantages of whole and
part method
Whole method
Part method
Ineffective with complex tasks
Transfer from part to whole may
be ineffective
Not appropriate for dangerous
tasks
Highly organised skills are
difficult to break down in parts
Not always appropriate if
group/performer of low
experience
Can have demotivating effect
when not doing a full movement
May overwhelm a performer
and produce little success at
first
Loss of continuity / feel of flow
Could lead to learner losing
confidence
Loss of kinaesthetic sense
Time consuming
Loss of awareness of end product