Citation

Chan JS, Luo Y, Yan JH, Cai L, Peng K. Hum. Mov. Sci. 2015; 42: 261-272.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.humov.2015.06.002

PMID

26112404

Abstract

Motor skills can be learned by practicing the whole or part of a movement. In whole practice (WP), a skill is acquired by practicing the movement in its entirety, whereas in part practice (PP), a task is learned by practicing its components before combining them. However, the effectiveness of WP and PP in children is unclear. We, therefore, examined the effects of WP and PP on the learning of juggling among first-, third-, and fifth-graders. Children of each grade were pseudo-randomly assigned to the WP or PP group to learn cascade juggling in 6days. After baseline assessments, the WP learners practiced three-beanbag juggling. The PP learners practiced one-beanbag juggling on the first 2days, two-beanbag juggling on the following 2days, and three-beanbag juggling on the last 2days. Practice consisted of 40 trials each day. Skill retention and transfer trials (juggling in the opposite direction) were measured 24h after training (number of catches). There was no significant difference between WP and PP in skill retention (WP: 1.28±0.73; PP: 1.42±046, p=.40) and transfer (WP: 1.31±0.78; PP: 1.37±0.55, p=.49). However, a time×grade×group interaction (p<.001) was observed in retention. Children of different grades received differential benefits from the WP and PP regimens. The fifth-graders learned better using WP, whereas the first- and third-graders showed better learning with PP. We discuss the three possible explanations for the results (neural maturity, explicit learning, and coordination capabilities).

Language: en