Learning from the experts: Gaining insights into best practice during the acquisition of three novel motor skills

MSL research field: 
Skill acquisition
Expertise
TitleLearning from the experts: Gaining insights into best practice during the acquisition of three novel motor skills
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2011
AuthorsHodges, NJ, Edwards, CL, Luttin, S, Bowcock, A
JournalResearch Quartely for Exercise and Sport
Volume82
Issue2
Pagination178-188
Abstract

The amount and quality of practice predicts expertise, yet optimal conditions of practice have primarily been explored with novice learners. Ten expert musicians and ten novices practiced disc-throwing skills under self-regulated conditions. A third novice group practiced with the same schedule as the music experts (yoked). The groups did not differ in terms of the amount of contextual interference, only in terms of when in practice interference was introduced. The music experts progressed from a more blocked to random schedule which was opposite to the novices. This resulted in more accurate performance in retention for the experts in comparison to both novice groups (self-scheduled and yoked). The music expert and yoked groups showed higher form scores than the novice self-scheduled group, which might be related to the greater frequency of augmented information for these groups. There was no evidence that non-task domain experts choose a more random practice schedule than novices, but in accord with good practice principles, they gradually introduced high amounts of interference into their practice. This strategy was associated with lower error in retention for the experts. Because the yoked group showed more error than the music experts, the advantage of this schedule was also performance dependent.

URLhttp://www.tandfonline.com/toc/urqe20/82/2#.UijcNn-wW2U
DOI10.1080/02701367.2011.10599745
Refereed DesignationRefereed
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