THE LEARNING

ENVIRONMENT
Nature of the skill (open, closed, gross, fine,
discrete, serial, continuous, self-paced, externally
paced.
The Performance Elements (decision-making,
strategic and tactical development)
Practice Method (massed, distributed, whole, part)
Feedback (internal, external, concurrent, delayed,
knowledge of results, knowledge of performance)
THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The learning environment affects the acquisition of the skill. The learning
environment is not so much the natural environment in which the skill is
learnt, but refers to the variables around skill acquisition, many of which
can be managed or adapted by the coach to ensure the skill is acquired
quickly and to a high degree.
The learning environment refers to the nature of the skill and whether it
is an open or closed skill, gross or fine skill, discrete, serial or continuous
skill and if it is self-paced or externally paced. The nature of the skill
affects how the skill should be taught and and which practice method is
best suited to the skill.
The performance elements will also influence skill acquisition and are
part of the environment in which skills are learnt. These performance
elements are essentially skills themselves, but are more skills of the
mind then of the physical sense. Finally, the nature of feedback,
including the speed at which it is given are part of this learning
NATURE OF THE SKILL
A skill can be: open or closed, gross or fine, discrete, serial or continuous,
and self or externally paced. Each classification sits along a continuum,
with skills varying in their degree of any selection. Skills are classified by
selecting one from each choice.

An open skill is performed in a constantly changing environment

(weather, opposition, surface), such as kicking a goal in Australian
Rules Football.
A closed skill is performed in the same conditions every time, such as
weight lifting. Open skills take longer to learn than closed skills.
 A gross skill requires large muscle groups (legs, back, chest), such as
running.
A fine skill uses small or isolated muscles (wrist flexors, bicep), such
as shooting. Fine skills are easier to learn than gross skills.
A discrete skill has a clear beginning and end, such as a flip in
gymnastics.
A serial skill combines a number of separate smaller skills to perform
the larger more complex skill, such as a lay up in basketball, which
combines dribbling, catching, jumping and shooting.
A continuous skill repeats a specific movement over and over again,
such as running. Serial skills are harder to learn than discrete skills,
which are often harder than continuous skills because continuous skills
are repeated all the time.
 A self-paced skill has its timing and speed
determined by the performer, such as a tennis
serve.
An externally paced skill has its timing and speed
determined by external factors like opposing players
or music, such as rhythmic gymnastics or batting in
baseball. Externally paced skills are harder to learn
than self paced.
THE PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS

It is vital for performance that an athlete can perform their skills under pressure and
respond to their environment. Decision making, strategic and tactical development are
performance elements that enhance an athletes ability to perform.

Decision-making refers to the various decisions made by any athlete during a

performance. These include where to hit the ball, who to pass to and when, where to
kick the ball and where to stand defensively.
Decision-making can be improved by demonstrations or good decision-making,
asking questions of the players such as how do we create space here?, practicing
in game like scenarios, being allowed to explore various scenarios by changing
oppositional tactics or strategies, and encouraging creativity in the athlete.
The more opportunity athletes have to make decisions in games, the better they will
get at it.
 Strategy is the overall method used to achieve the goal,
normally winning the competition and includes where an
athlete should be at a particular time and what they should
do, while tactics are about gaining an advantage over the
opposing player normally connected with game sense and
decision making.

Tactics include things like: moving into space, marking a

particular player or using a cut out pass.

Strategic and tactical development comes through

technical efficiency, understanding the game, and good
execution.
 Players who have good technical skills are more likely to make a
successful pass or shot while under pressure and making decisions.

Players who understand how the game works and which strategies or
tactics are better in various situations, are more successful in
executing the strategy or tactic and selecting the right one for success.

The strategy or tactic must then be practised to ensure timing is

correct and execution is smooth and successful. This often requires the
strategy to be clear, each individual player to know their role within
the strategy and then learning to execute the strategy using various
tactics through practice in various situations, which will also develop
good decision-making.
PRACTICE METHODS

Practice methods can either be massed or distributed,

andwhole or part.

Massed practice is a continuous practice session, with

smaller rest periods than practice intervals and works well
for skilled and motivated athletes.

Massed practice suits skills that are exciting or frequently

used in performance, such as uneven bar transitions, or
passing in football.
 Distributed practice has short periods of practice with
longer breaks from the skill rehearsal, which can be
rehearsal of another skill or a break for feedback.

It is often used for less skilled and less motivated athletes

and is helpfulin teaching boring skills, such as passing a
basketball.

Thispractice method can also be used for the more difficult

skills that need to be broken up, or when lots of feedback is
necessary.
 Whole practice is when the skill is practiced in its entirety
and is often used for discrete and continuous skills.

This practicemethod is good for teaching swimming or

running.

Part practice is when the skill is broken down into its

smaller parts and each part is practiced in isolation before
being joined together.

It is often used for teaching serial skills that have smaller

skills that make up the larger skill, such as a basketball
layup.
FEEDBACK

Feedback is important for the acquisition of skill bythe

athlete. It provides direction, goals and helps the athlete to
adjust their performance and skill execution as they progress
through the stages of skill acquisition.

Feedback can be internal or external, concurrent or delayed,

and knowledge of results or performance.
 Internalcomes from the performer and how the
movement felt, and relies on proprioception. A
soccer player feeling that they did not connect with
the ball correctly is internal.

Externalcomes from outside the body and

includes sounds, videos or a coach. An AFL player
scores a goal from 40m out.
Feedback can be concurrent or delayed.

Concurrentoccurs during the execution of the

skill, such as a coach stopping a golfer mid-swing to
correct their grip on the handle.

Delayedis received after the skill is completed,

such as video analysis of a baseball pitchers
performance.
 Knowledge of results is feedback that provides
information about the outcome of the skill
execution, such as scoring a goal or hitting a six.

Knowledge of performance is information

provided about the process of movement normally
provided externally after its completion, such as a
coach giving technical advice on the tennis serve,
telling the player to drop their shoulder later.
Plan to teach Basketball Lay-up

The layup is an open, gross, serial, internally paced skill. The

athlete will first need this serial skill broken into its sub-skills;
dribbling, catching, jumping and shooting. During this early
stage, the athlete will require lots of demonstration of the skills
and given a change to mass practice each one. Feedback will
be external and focus on performance, not results. Feedback
will also need to be both concurrent and delayed. The
cognitive learner does not know what the skill is meant to feel
like and need to develop good technique before worrying
about outcomes.
Once each of these skills is learnt in isolation and performed at
the associative stage, they should begin to be pieced together,
joining two-step jumping and shooting, and dribbling to the
catch and two steps. Again feedback will be external and focus
on knowledge of performance, while utilising both concurrent
and delayed feedback. These would then be joined together
and taught as the one skill. With feedback becoming
progressing to be more results based and delayed as the
athlete improves. Massed practice would be best used once the
skill is combined.
Finally the skill will begin to be used in game situations to
develop the athletes decision-making, strategies and tactics
regarding when to do a lay-up and when to use a jump shot or
pass the ball. Feedback will become much more internal and
results based as each layup will either score a basket or not.
Feedback will also progress to focusing on the performance
elements rather than the performance of the layup.
The layup is a complex serial skill and takes much time to
master. If the athlete is determined and focused then more
massed practice can be used. If they are intelligent and
confident, then they will respond more swiftly to feedback
provided by the coach. If the athlete does not have much
motivation, distributed practice should be used, which will
delay the development of the skill. If the athlete is less
determined and is not reliable in turning up to training this
will also slow the acquisition of this skill.