The influence of stress and muscle fatigue on implicitly and explicitly learned motor skills

According to Beek (2000), disturbing causes at the upper level of action (i.e. stress) and at the lower level of control (i.e. muscular fatigue) might result in different effects on performance when comparing implicit and explicit learning. In the present experiment an errorless/errorfull learning paradigm was used to enable the implicit/explicit acquisition of a dart throwing skill. After a pretest, the errorfull group (N=23) throwed from a progressively decreasing distance (from 317 to 257 cm), while the inverse procedure was used for the errorless group (N=21) (from 157 to 217 cm). One week after the four-day learning period (400 trials) both groups performed a transfer test, a fatigue test and a stress test (all from 237 cm). The fatigue test was preceded by a double Wingate protocol on an arm crank ergometer. At the beginning of the stress test participants were told they could win a significant financial reward in case of a good performance. Retrospective self-report of nervousness was administered under stressed and unstressed conditions. Hitting accuracy of the errorfull group improved from M=5.29 (maximum=15) in the first learning block to M=7.81 in the final learning block, while the errorless group evolved from M=9.67 to M=8.74, which is typical for an errorless/errorfull learning paradigm. In comparison to the scores at the pre-test both groups performed equally (performance increase of 22%) at the transfer test. Performance of both groups decreased at the fatigue test, but this decrease was much less in the explicit group (5%, ns) as compared to the implicit group (18%, p<.005). Stress manipulation resulted in an increase of self-reported nervousness; however stress did not have a differential impact on performance in both groups. Our results of the fatigue test confirmed the hypothesis of robustness of explicit motor learning to physiological fatigue, meaning that success depends on the person’s ability to circumvent the (temporary) impairment induced by muscular fatigue, and thus develop alternative strategies based upon explicit knowledge. The contradiction with the findings of Poolton et al. (2006) may be due to task specificity and the sort of fatigue induced (local vs. global), which calls for further research on this topic. Our results of the stress test do not show the superiority of implicit or explicit learning when performing under stress

Learning opportunities in 3 on 3 versus 5 on 5 basketball game play : an application of nonlinear pedagogy

This study investigates the differential learning opportunities in 5 on 5 versus 3 on 3 basketball game play. Video-analysis of the game performance of thirty basketball players (10-11 years) resulted in significantly higher scores on all game performance components (GPC's: cognitive decision making component (DM), motor skill execution efficiency (MSEfficiency) and motor skill execution efficacy (MSEfficacy) component), indicating more learning opportunities during 3 on 3 game play. The actual game performance level, showed only significantly higher scores for the percentage of positive decisions for cutting actions in the 5 on 5 condition. Future research is needed to indicate to what extent learning results are easier or faster attained when using small sided games, based on the nonlinear pedagogy framework, and second which is the optimal game play situation to assess game performance, and this for players of a different game performance level or for different stages

Dynamics of need-supportive and need-thwarting teaching behavior : the bidirectional relationship with student engagement and disengagement in the beginning of a lesson

Background: According to the classroom ecology paradigm, teachers and students interpret, predict, and respond to each other repeatedly in a reciprocal way. Such a reciprocal relationship is reflected in bidirectional interactions between a teacher’s behavior and student (dis)engagement, an issue that has been confirmed in longitudinal studies including measures at different moments in a school year.Aims: Starting from the perspective of self-determination theory, the aim of the present study was to investigate bidirectional relationships between student (dis)engagement and need-supportive and need-thwarting teaching behavior during the first 15 min of a lesson.Sample & method: The first three 5-minute intervals of 100 videotaped physical education lessons taught by 100 different teachers (51.9% male,Mage ¼ 37.5 + 10.9 years) were observed and coded for need-supportive and need-thwarting teaching behavior, student engagement, and student disengagement. Correlations were calculated to explore relationships between student (dis)engagement and teaching behavior over the first 15 minutes of a PE lesson. Next, path analyses were conducted to analyze 5-to- 5 minute interactions between teaching behavior and student (dis)engagement.Results: Student engagement correlated positively and disengagement correlatednegatively with need support, while engagement correlated negatively anddisengagement correlated positively with need-thwarting over the first 15 minutes of the lesson. There were few significant relationships between student engagement and teachers’ behavior across and between each of the three 5-minute intervals. Only when teachers provided more need support during the first 5 minutes of the lesson, students were more engaged in the third 5 minutes of the lesson. When students were more disengaged during the first 5 minutes of the lesson, teachers displayed less need support in the following 10 minutes of the lesson. In contrast, student disengagement in the second 5 minutes of the lesson related to more need support in the next 5 minutes. Most of the within-interval relationships between student engagement and teachers’ behaviors were inconsistent, but we did find positive relationships between student disengagement and need-thwarting teaching behaviors in the first and third interval, suggesting a rather direct and momentary within 5-minute intervals interaction between teachers and students.Conclusions: Findings of the present observational study suggest that, although overall relationships between student (dis)engagement and teachers’ behavior were in the expected directions, the picture might become more complicated when relationships are investigated according to the timing of the lesson, an issue that has remained uncovered in self-reported studies. While student disengagement was related to less need support and more need-thwarting teaching behaviors, more detailed analyses showed that it was particularly student disengagement in the beginning of a lesson that elicited less positive teaching behaviors. When students display disengagement further along in the first 15 minutes of the lesson, teachers seemed to respond in a more need supportive way to student disengagement. Such findings provide interesting insights to build interventions for teachers around certain critical moments during the lesson, for example when dealing with student disengagement at a specific moment in the lesson

Associations among elementary school children's actual motor competence, perceived motor competence, physical activity and BMI : a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Positive associations between motor competence and physical activity have been identified by means of variable-centered analyses. To expand the understanding of these associations, this study used a person-centered approach to investigate whether different combinations (i.e., profiles) of actual and perceived motor competence exist (aim 1); and to examine differences in physical activity levels (aim 2) and weight status (aim 3) among children with different motor competence-based profiles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children's (N = 361; 180 boys = 50%; Mage = 9.50±1.24yrs) actual motor competence was measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and their perceived motor competence via the Self Perception Profile for Children. We assessed physical activity via accelerometers; height through stadiometers, and weight through scales. Cluster analyses (aim 1) and MANCOVAs (aim 2 & 3) were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The analysis generated two predictable groups: one group displaying relatively high levels of both actual (M TGMD-2 percentile = 42.54, SD = 2.33) and perceived motor competence (M = 3.42, SD = .37; high-high), and one group with relatively low levels of both (M percentile = 9.71, SD = 3.21; M PMC = 2.52, SD = .35; low-low). One additional group was also identified as having relatively low levels of actual motor competence (M percentile = 4.22, SD = 2.85) but relatively high levels of perceived motor competence (M = 3.52, SD = .30; low-high). The high-high group demonstrated higher daily physical activity (M = 48.39±2.03) and lower BMI (M = 18.13±.43) than the low-low group (MMVPA = 37.93±2.01; MBMI = 20.22±.42). The low-high group had similar physical activity-levels as the low-low group (M = 36.21±2.18) and did not significantly differ in BMI (M = 19.49±.46) from the other two groups. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of high actual and perceived motor competence is related to higher physical activity and lower weight status. It is thus recommended to expand health interventions in children with components that foster the development of both actual and perceived motor competence. Health professionals should furthermore pay sufficient attention to endorsing children's actual and perceived motor competence

Configurations of actual and perceived motor competence among children : associations with motivation for sports and global self-worth

Objectives: Positive relationships among perceived motor competence (PMC), motivation for sports and global self- worth have been identified in previous studies by means of variable-centered analyses. However, it remains unclear how actual motor competence (AMC) relates to both correlates. To gain more insight into the role of both AMC and PMC in terms of motivation and self-worth, the present used a person-centered approach aiming at a) investigating if different combinations of AMC and PMC exist, and b) exploring how children with different types of MC-based profiles might differ in terms of quality of motivation for sports and global self-worth. Methods: 161 children (40% boys; age=8.82 ± 0.66y) completed validated questionnaires to assess PMC and global self-worth (SPPC), and motivation for sports (BREQ). Children’s AMC was assessed with the KTK. Person- centered analyses were used to identify different MC- based clusters. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to investigate differences between clusters in terms of motivation and global self-worth. Results: Four clusters could be retained: two groups were characterized by relatively high or low levels of both AMC and PMC (i.e. high-high, low-low), in addition we also identified children with relatively high AMC but relatively low PMC (high-low), and children with relatively low AMC but relatively high PMC (low-high). Children with relatively low PMC displayed significantly lower levels of autonomous motivation for sports (β0=3.88; SE=.15 and β0=4.07; SE=.15 respectively) than children with relatively high PMC; (β0=4.55; SE=.12 and β0=4.43, SE=.12), independent from whether these low levels of PMC were combined with high levels of AMC or not. A similar result was found for global self-worth. Conclusion: The results show that children with low PMC are less motivated for sports and have a lower global self-worth than children with high PMC, even if they have high AMC. These findings emphasize that developing children’s PMC seems crucial to stimulate their motivation for sports and their global self-worth

Effects of two instructional approaches for basketball on decision-making and recognition ability

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