Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer

What Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer covers

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer is examined in Component 02, Psychological factors affecting performance. It covers classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing, classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation, whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice, massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice and transfer of learning between skills.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacingSkill continua and why coaches use them, simple and complex skills, open and closed skills, self-paced and externally paced skills, justified with a rugby pass, a sprint, a tennis serve, a golf drive and a badminton return.Open →
• Classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisationGross and fine skills, discrete, serial and continuous skills, and low- and high-organisation skills, justified with snooker, spin bowling, a floor routine, front crawl, a golf swing and breaststroke.Open →
• Whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practiceWhole practice and the cartwheel, part practice and breaststroke, whole-part-whole practice for a tennis serve, and progressive part practice for the triple jump, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.Open →
• Massed, distributed, fixed and varied practiceMassed practice for free throws, distributed practice for a beginner swimmer, fixed practice for closed skills and varied practice for football passing, with the advantages and disadvantages of each.Open →
• Transfer of learning between skillsPositive, negative, proactive, retroactive and bilateral transfer, how coaches optimise positive transfer through realistic practice and reinforcement, limiting negative transfer between tennis and badminton, and fundamental motor skills.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Open skill vs Closed skill

  Open skill: a movement strongly affected by a changing environment. Closed skill: a movement unaffected by the environment and performed the same way each time.

• Self-paced skill vs Externally paced skill

  Self-paced skill: a movement whose timing and rate the performer controls. Externally paced skill: a movement whose timing and rate the environment controls.

• Gross skill vs Fine skill

  Gross skill: a movement using large muscle groups. Fine skill: a movement using small muscle groups for precision.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Why are skills classified on continua rather than into fixed categories?

   Model answer

   Most skills show features of both ends of a classification. A continuum lets a coach place a skill according to how strongly it shows each feature.

2. 2

   Why is classifying a skill useful to a coach?

   Model answer

   Classification helps a coach choose the most suitable type of practice for a skill. The coach can also plan a learning environment that matches the skill's demands.

3. 3

   What is a simple skill?

   Model answer

   A simple skill needs little information processing and few decisions. A simple skill has few subroutines to coordinate.

4. 4

   What is a complex skill?

   Model answer

   A complex skill needs a great deal of information processing and many decisions. A complex skill often has many subroutines and demands high attention.

5. 5

   Justify placing a rugby pass in open play towards the complex end of the difficulty continuum.

   Model answer

   The player must process information about teammates, defenders and space before passing. Many decisions are made quickly under pressure.

6. 6

   Justify placing a 100 m sprint towards the simple end of the difficulty continuum.

   Model answer

   The sprinter repeats a well-learned running action with little information to process. Few decisions are needed once the race is under way.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer revision questions

What does Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer cover in OCR A-Level Physical Education?

5 subtopics: classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing, classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation, whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice, massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice and transfer of learning between skills. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer organised?

By the OCR H555 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.