Download What is Golf Skill Learning?

Understanding Golf Skill
Learning
Dr. Bob Christina, Professor Emeritus
Assistant Men’s Golf Coach
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The Pinehurst Golf Academy
Precision Golf School
[email protected]
“Teaching Without
Knowing How Students
Learn is Like Practicing
Medicine Without
Knowing How the Body
Functions”
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What is Golf Skill
Learning?
The process of finding
solutions to movement
problems
Finger Sequence Skill
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What Happens as a Result of
Learning a Golf Skill?
•Movements reliably change
•Shot outcomes reliably change
•A new solution (motor program) is
developed and stored in memory
•Neural networks and biochemical
substances reliably change
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Computer Program and Motor
Program Analogy
C0MPUTER PROGRAM
(Sequence of Instructions)
MOTOR PROGRAM
(Sequence of Instructions)
CPU, CIRCUITRY
CENTRAL NERVOUS and
MUSCULAR SYSTEM
OUTPUT
GOLF SKILL MOVEMENTS
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How Does the Motor
Program for a Golf Skill
Come About?
• From the interaction of a
student repeatedly
performing the skill in one or
more learning environments
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Process of Learning a Motor
Program
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How Do You Know if Golf
Skill Learning Has
Occurred?
•It is inferred from reliable
movement and shot outcome
changes that are the result of
physical practice
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“Can Learning Be Taking
Place in the Absence of
Observable Changes in
Golf Skill Movements or
Shot Performance?”
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Does Learning Always Lead
to Correct Technique and
Improvement?
• No---Practice of incorrect golf
skill movements can be learned
just as well as practice of
correct movements
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Golf Skill Learning is a
Continuous Process
But Students Appear to Learn
Golf Skills in Three Distinct
Phases
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Students Return to the Early Phase
When Learning Major Swing
Changes
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Learning Desirable Swing
Changes Requires
Physical practice (with relevant
feedback) to
• develop a new or modified
motor program and
• change neural networks and
biochemical substances
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The Amount of Physical Practice
Needed Depends on Factors Such as
• The student’s motivation to learn the
swing changes
• The influence of the old swing on
learning the new swing
• The capabilities of the student to learn
the swing change movements
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The Amount of Physical Practice
Depends on Factors Such as
• How effectively the swing changes
are taught
• How effectively the swing change
movements are practiced
• How complex the swing change
movements are to learn
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How Complex the Swing
Changes Are to Learn
• Depends on how complicated it is for
the brain to develop a motor program
capable of controlling the lower levels
of the central nervous system (CNS) so
that the swing change movements can
be performed
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Finger Sequence Skill
You Know What I Want You to
Do, But You Just Can’t Do It!
Why Not?
“Could it be that Your Brain
Doesn’t Yet Know How to
Control the Lower Levels of
Your CNS so that Your Fingers
Can Perform the Skill?”
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Executive Role
• Overall responsibility
• Motor program
Subordinate Role
• Carry out the details of the
motor program
Golf Skill Movement
Executive Role
• Overall responsibility
• Motor program
Executive Role
• Overall
responsibilityRole
Subordinate
• Motor program
• Carry out the details of
the motor program
Golf Skill
Movement
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Motor Neuron Pools at Segment
Levels of the Spinal Cord
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Motor Unit
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Why Can’t You Do the Finger
Sequence Skill?
• Your brain hasn’t learned to
control the lower levels of
your CNS so that the Finger
Sequence Skill can be
performed
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How Does the Brain Learn to
Control the Lower Levels of the
CNS?
One hypothesis holds that:
“Learning is largely the progressive
inhibition of unwanted motor
neurons until the desired
movements are achieved”
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How Does the Brain Learn to Control
the Lower Levels of the CNS?
One hypothesis holds that:
“Learning is largely the progressive
inhibition of unwanted motor
neurons while activating the
wanted motoneurons until the
desired movements are achieved”
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Unwanted Motor Neurons are
Selectively Inhibited
Early Learning
Later Learning
Too many motor
neurons fire (wanted
and unwanted)
Wanted motor
neurons fire;
unwanted inhibited
Golf swing with
movement errors
Golf swing with no
movement errors
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WHAT THE BRAIN LEARNS
• IS THE INHIBITION PATTERN TO SETS
OF UNWANTED MOTONEURONS AND
THE “ACTIVATION PATTERN” TO THE
SETS OF MOTONEURONS THAT
GENERATE THE DESIRED MOVEMENTS
• THESE PATTERNS ARE CENTRAL TO
THE MOTOR PROGRAM
CONTINUED PRACTICE TO
IMPROVE A GOLF SKILL
“IS SIMPLY A PROGRESSIVELY MORE
SUCCESSFUL REPRESSION OF
UNWANTED MOTONEURONS
WHILE THE WANTED
MOTONEURONS ARE ACTIVATED”
A STUDENT’S GOLF SKILL
LEVEL
“REFLECTS THE LEVEL OF
INHIBITION LEARNED UP
TO THAT TIME”
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PERFORMANCE OF A WELLLEARNED GOLF SKILL
“IS PREDETERMINED BY SETS
OF MOTONEURONS THAT
ARE PERMITTED TO FIRE”
IN SUMMARY
“GOLF SKILL LEARNING LARGELY
INVOLVES THE PROCESS OF
PROGRESSIVELY INHIBITING
UNWANTED MOTOR UNITS UNTIL
ONLY DESIRED MOTOR UNITS ARE
ALLOWED TO FIRE”
Learning Styles
Belief:
• Learning is more effective if a
student is taught in the way(s)
he or she likes to learn
Evidence:
• Research evidence supporting
this belief is weak, at best
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2009 STATEMENT ABOUT LEARNING
STYLES
“ . . . at present, there is no adequate
evidence base to justify incorporating
learning-styles assessments into general
educational practices.”
Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer & Bjork (2009). Learning styles:
A review of concepts and evidence. Psychological Science
in the Public Interest
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Learning Styles
• Are the various ways students
prefer to learn new golf skills if
they were in charge of the
teaching
• Students can learn in different
ways, but prefer to learn in a
certain way or ways
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Learning Styles
• Can flex and adapt to different
contexts, and change as each
student learns and develops
• The way a student prefers to
learn may not be the best way
to promote the most effective
learning
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Concluding Recommendations
• Discover each student’s learning
style or balance of styles
• Adapt your teaching in relation to
the student’s style(s) when it
--is important to make the student
feel comfortable
--is the best way to promote the
most effective learning
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THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION
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