Effective Strategies for Teaching Motor Skills

Posted on Feb 19, 2025 in Physical Education

Learning Factors for Teachers

A) Practice Strategies

Sometimes, the objective of learning motor skills is so complex that they cannot be learned all at once. They must be learned in parts, matching the pace of student learning. The way you split a skill to be learned is what we call a learning strategy. To determine the strategies to use, consider:

  1. The characteristics of the skill to teach: Differentiate between a simple skill and a comprehensive, complicated skill (analytical strategy).
  2. The capabilities of the students: Consider their stage of development. With younger children, it is more convenient to use global strategies to reduce difficulty. For older children, you can use analytical strategies for complex movements.
  3. The objectives of education: Learning a skill does not occur in isolation but in relation to other skills that are learned sooner or later.

Regarding the division into global and analytical strategies:

Global strategies are used when the skill can be executed as a single unit. They save time and maintain the meaning of the activity. They are classified as:

  1. Pure Global: When the intention is to practice the skill as it is.
  2. Global Polarization of Attention: When, during the performance of the skill, the student’s attention is focused on a specific part.
  3. Global with Modification of the Real Situation: The skill is performed, but with reduced demands.

Analytical strategies are used when the skill is learned in parts and then integrated into the full execution. They offer faster success and enable the learning of complex motor skills. Analytical strategies are classified as:

  1. Analytical Hierarchy: When following the order established by the teacher.
  2. Analytical Sequentially: Exercises are performed in the order they will be executed in the full skill.
  3. Analytical Progressive: Parts are added once the previous part is mastered.

B) Distribution in Practice

Learning is based on repetition, but the number of repetitions must be distributed over time to avoid physical and mental fatigue. Two types of distribution are recommended:

  1. Intensive Practice: When subjects have a high level of skill in the task being learned.
  2. Fractionated Practice: When participants are children or have a low level of skill in the task.

C) Knowledge of Results

Learning is enhanced when the teacher indicates whether the exercise was successful or not. This is called Supplementary Knowledge of Results. This knowledge provides new information after execution and informs about achieving the objective. Knowledge of the outcome directly affects learning because exercising without knowing the outcome does not produce learning.

D) Environmental Conditions for Practice

One of the teacher’s main functions is preparing the environment in which the learning objectives will be achieved. To do this:

  • Avoid distractions: Use a room with minimal decorations and keep materials hidden and tidy.
  • Simplify: Reduce the difficulty from a perceptual standpoint, but do not stray too far from reality (e.g., climbing gym).
  • Facilitate: Adjust the quantitative requirements of execution, such as using aids to facilitate turning.