Lesson Plan

Allison Yarborough

EXSC351 001

October 6, 2017

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1. In this lesson plan I will be teaching a young adult female how to apply blush.

The overarching goal of teaching the young girl how to apply blush is to allow her

to achieve a natural look in the shortest amount of time with minimal errors in

order to maybe impress a boy she likes in class. I will be using Gentile’s Model in

order to classify my learner. When I introduce the new motor skill to my learner

she will begin in the Idea of Movement stage of Gentile’s taxonomy where she

will be trying to figure out the best way to hold the brush, the appropriate amount

of pressure to apply to her compact and her face, and the types of brush strokes

she should use (Schmidt, Lee 2014). This motor skill would be classified as a

closed motor skill because she will be performing this skill at her own pace in a

static position. There is also object manipulation of a makeup brush and a

compact in this motor skill, as my learner will be rubbing the brush into the

compact and then using the brush to rub the makeup onto her face (Wulf 2007).

2. Augmented feedback is given to learners by their instructors in many different

forms and its purpose is to provide information about the motor skill being

performed. The content of augmented feedback can be delivered as knowledge

of results or knowledge of performance. Knowledge of results (KR) gives

information on the outcome of a motor skill while knowledge of performance (KP)

gives information on how the motor skill was executed. The role of KR

augmented feedback is to inform the learner of the end result of their motor skill

performance. The role of KP augmented feedback is to describe elements of the

motor skill that was performed (Wulf 2007). A study was conducted with the

purpose of distinguishing which form of augmented feedback, KP or KR, was

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better when teaching a closed motor skill. The experiment examined children

shooting a basketball with their non-dominant hand. The independent variable

was whether the child received KP or KR feedback and the dependent variable

was the performance or baskets made. The study concluded that there was an

increased performance in both groups receiving KP and KR however, there was

a significantly higher level of performance in the group of children that received

KP (Janelle, Singer 1995). These results apply to my learner because she is in

the Idea of Movement phase of Gentile’s taxonomy and the children were as well

when they were asked to learn to shoot with their non-dominant hand. Results of

this study apply to my motor skill because she is learning a closed motor skill and

shooting a basketball in a laboratory setting from a fixed point is also a closed

motor skill. This study involves the object manipulation of a basketball which also

relates to my learner’s object manipulation of a makeup brush. Based on my

research I will be using knowledge of performance (KP) in order to teach my

learner how to apply blush. While my learner is practicing her application of blush

I will most likely give KP augmented feedback on how she is holding her makeup

brush. I may say something like, “Hold the brush firmly just like you’d hold your

pencil because that time I noticed you were holding it loosely and lost control.”

Another form of KP feedback I would give would be on the amount of product she

had on her makeup brush. “Next time when you apply pressure to the compact

with your brush try pressing down lightly to prevent getting too much product on

the brush. This can lead to an unnatural look.” A third example of my

implementation of KP would be commenting on the brush strokes she made with

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 the makeup brush. I would most likely say something like, “I noticed that you

were using vertical brush strokes on your cheek instead of horizontal ones.”

3. Practice microstructure is an important component in teaching a new motor skill.

The amount of time spent practicing a motor skill during a session can effect the

learner’s retention. There are two main types of practice microstructure: blocked

practice and random/variable practice. Blocked practice is defined as practice of

a motor skill to its completion before moving on to another motor skill or variation

(Wulf 2007). The role of blocked practice is to ensure that a learner has mastered

a motor skill before moving forward with different motor skills or variations of that

motor skill. Random/variable practice is defined as practicing different motor

skills or variations at random times during a practice session (Wulf 2007). The

role of random/variable practice is to promote contextual inference which can be

beneficial in promoting long term stability and adaptability of motor skills. In a

research study published by Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 18

undergraduate students were asked to participate in learning to type three

separate six-element keying sequences into a computer. Half of the participants

were taught the sequences using blocked practice and the other half were taught

using random/variable practice methods. The independent variable in this study

was the method of practice used by each group of students and the dependent

variable was the execution of the motor skill. The purpose of the experiment was

to determine which form of practice was more beneficial. After the subjects were

evaluated the results of the study concluded that blocked practice was more

effective than random/variable practice when developing a unique response

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structure (Wilde, Magnuson, Shea 2005). This study applies to my learner

because similarly to the first study in my research, the subjects of this experiment

are in Gentile’s Idea of Movement phase. My learner is beginning in this phase

as well. The study also applies to my motor skill because it involves the fine

motor skill of typing, similar to the fine motor skill of holding a brush to apply

makeup. The subjects of this study are also performing a closed skill with object

manipulation in alignment with my own learner. Based on the experimental

evidence I have found I will be using a blocked practice method to teach my

learner how to apply blush. At the point in her practice where she enters the

Fixation and Diversification stage of Gentile’s two stage model I will take steps to

implement variations of the skill. Some ideas to help her diversify her motor skill

would include, applying blush in the car while a friend is driving. Another situation

where my learner would be using a variation of the skill would be asking her to

apply blush to someone else’s face. Finally, I could ask her to perform the motor

skill without looking in the mirror. Keeping in line with the blocked practice

microstructure, I would only have my learner proceed to practicing one of these

variations of applying blush when she had mastered the previous variation.

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 References

Janelle, C. M., Kim, J., & Singer, R. N. (1995). Subject-Controlled Performance

Feedback And Learning Of A Closed Motor Skill. Perceptual and Motor

Skills,81(2), 627-634.

Schmidt, R. A., & Lee, T. D. (2014). Motor learning and performance. Leeds: Human

Kinetics.

Wilde, H., Magnuson, C., & Shea, C. H. (2005). Random and Blocked Practice of

Movement Sequences: Differential Effects on Response Structure and

Movement Speed. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport,76(4), 416-425.

Wulf, G. (2007). Attention and motor skill learning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.