Information Processing and Action Preparation Paper

It is preferable to base the assessment of learning on retention and/or transfer test rather than performance during skill acquisition. Skill acquisition, and more specifically, motor learning, hinges upon the concept of long-term learning of skills that can be recalled and demonstrated regardless of performance variables (Magill & Anderson, 2017).

These performance variables include relative alertness of the individual; state of an individual’s anxiety in the context; unique nature of the context; and an individual’s level of fatigue (Magill & Anderson, 2017).

These performance variables can also impact performance. If an individual’s level of learning is being based on performance, that performance could be impacted by anxiety or fatigue, thus giving a false reading on a test.

Research has shown that “performance is often an unreliable index of whether… long-term changes that constitute learning have taken place” (Soderstrum & Bjork, 2015).

Retention and/ or transfer tests are a better way to judge learning. In a retention test, the individual takes a break between practice and the retention test. The individual also takes the retention test under different conditions than practice.

For example, a long-distance runner who trains on a treadmill in a climate-controlled environment would be taken to an outdoor track in the cold for a retention test. On the other hand, the transfer test tests generalisability of the learned skill with a similar skill. For example, the tennis player would play racquetball or badminton during a transfer test. Both of these tests address permanence.

Permanence is a concept central to motor learning. A task that is considered learned must be “accessible in various contexts” (Soderstrom & Bjork, 2015). Another way to describe this is generalisation of learning. That is, “the degree to which newly acquired skills can be produced… in a new workspace or under new modes of movement” (Seidler, 2010).

Reference:

Magill, R. A., & Anderson, D. (2017). Motor learning and control: Concepts and applications (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 9781259823992 URL: https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/mcgraw-hill/2017/motor-learning-and- control_concepts-and-applications_11e.ph

Seidler, R. D. (2010). Neural correlates of motor learning, transfer of learning, and learning to learn. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews, 38(1), 3-9.

Soderstrom, N. C., & Bjork, R. A. (2015). Learning versus performance: An integrative review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 176-199.

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