AlevelPE_SkillAcq

Identify key characteristics (learned, efficiency, goal-directed, follows technical model but distant from technique, fluent, aesthetic).

Place and justify examples of movement skills on a variety of comtinua, to include: muscular involvement (gross - fine); environmental influence (open - closed); continuity (discrete - serial - continuous; pacing (externally paced - self paced; difficulty (simple - complex) organisation (low - high). These examples should be included in the Personal Performance Portfolio.

Identify key characteristics (innate underlying and enduring traits). Knowledge of gross motor abilities and psychomotor abilities. Awareness of those abilities that are important in practical activities should be included in the Personal Performance Portfolio.

Knowledge of the progression from motor abilities > fundamental motor skills (FMS) > sport-specific skills. Awareness of influences of early experiences and environmental exposure, with an understanding of key stages in motor skill development.

Candidates should examine a number of movement skills in the practical activities that they have experienced. These skills should be classified on continuity and analysed to determine the underlying abilities present. These should be included in the Personal Performance Portfolio.

Understand a basic model of the memory process. Awareness of the interaction of memory with the perceptual process (selective attention). Definition of short term sensory store (STSS), short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM). Knowledge of strategies to improve the mechanisms of information retention and retrieval.

Definitions of reaction time (RT), movement time and response time. Awareness of the importance of a short reaction time. Identify the factors affecting response time in practical activities. These should be included in the Personal Performance Portfolio. Knowledge of the psychological refractory period, choice reaction time (Hick's Law), and the role of anticipation.

Knowledge of the importance of feedback. Identify the functions of feedback. Identify different types of feedback. To include: intristic feedback and extrinsic feedback; terminal feedback and concurrent feedback; positive feedback and negative feedback; knowledge of results and knowledge of performance. Justify how feedback may br used effectively in practical activities.

Definition as a generalised series of movements and knowledge of the creation of programmes in long term memory. Awareness of the major programmes/subroutes of a number of a number of movement skills.

Understanding as a way of modifying the motor programme by use of schemes or rules of information. Identify the sources of information, namely recall schema and recognition schema to include: knowledge of initial conditions; knowledge of response specification; sensory consequences; movement outcomes.

Definition of motivation and knowledge of Drive Reduction Theory (Hull). Knowledge of intristic and extristic mothods of motivation. Basic understanding of arousal. Knowledge and application of DriveTheory (Hull, Spence) and Inverted U Theory (Yerkes and Dodson). Justify the effective use of motivational strategies.

Description and application of these theories. Associationalist/connectonist theories (operant conditioning); cognitive theories related to the work of Gestaltists (wholeness/insight learning); social/observational learning theories, including knowledge of Bandura's model (demonstration, attention, retention, motor reproduction, matching performance), and the factors which affect modelling.

Definition of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and punishment. Knowledge of methods of strengthening the stimulus-response (S-R) bond through repetition, satisfaction/annoyance (emotional intensity) and through physical and mental preparedness. Justify the appropriate use of reinforcement

Idetiify cognitive, associative and autonomous phases of learning (Fitts and Posner). Knowledge of the characteristics of these phases and awareness of the practical implications for improving the candidate's learning and performance.

Identify different types of transfer that occur in practical performance including: positive transfer (and knowledge of ways of optimising its effect); negative transfer (and knowldge of ways of limiting its effect); proactive transfer; retroactive transfer; bilateral transfer. Knowledge of stimulus generalisation and response generalisation. Awareness of links with Schema Theory.

Understanding the importance of demonstrations (link to observational learning and guidance). Knowledge of methods of manipulating skills to facilitate learning and to improve performance. Knowledge of part and whole practice methods (including progressive part and whole-part or whole) Awareness of links with transfer of learning.

Knowledge of setting up of practice/training sessions to maximise effectiveness. Justify the appropriate use of massed and distributed practice methods (for different ability levels and for different activities). Awareness of the importance of variability of practice. Appraisal of the role of mental practice (vs. physical practice). Guidlines for the organisation of a candidate's practice session should be included in the PPP.

Identify types of guidance including: visual (knowledge of the link with early phases of learning); verbal (knowledge of the link with later phases of learning); manual and mechanical (knowledge of safety uses and to develop kinesthetic awareness). Justify the effective use of and limitations of these types of guidance.

Identify the characteristics of a variety of styles (Moston and Ashworth) including: command; reciprocal; group; problem solving; discovery. Justify the effective use and limitations of these styles.

Definition and Characteristics of Motor Skills, Perceptual Skills and Cognitive Skills

Understand a variety of models and their key components including: Schmidt (stimulus identification, response selection, response programming); Welford (display, sensory information, sense organs, perceptual mechanism, effector mechanism, response and feedback)

Candidates should analyse the information processing requirements of the movement skills experienced in their practical activity experience. They should identify the perceptual requirements of the factors affecting response time together with the types of feedback available and its effective use. These should be included in the Personal Performance Portfolio.

Candidates should analyse how movement skills are controlled and co-ordinated. A number of motor programmes and the relevant sub-routines should be identified from the candidates' practical activity experience. An analysis of the factors affecting the development of schema for movement skills should also be undertaken. These should be included in the PPP.

Candidates should analyse the methods by which performers can most effectively learn movement skills. An awareness of factors such as motivation, arousal and transfer which affect the learning process should be demonstrated as part of the candidates' practical activity experience. This should be included in the PPP.

Candidates should develop a series of guidelines to optimise the teaching of movement skills. An examinetion of effective demonstration techniques, practice conditions, guidance and teaching styles might be used in the candidates practical activity exprience to improve performance. This should be included in the PPP.

OCR Specifications 2000. Module 1. Section B: Acquiring, Performing and Teaching Movement Skills