Mcml project
- 1. BLOCKED VERSUS RANDOM PRACTICE Kelly Moberly, Kristen Sanchez, Bryan Duran, Elizabeth Swift, Chelsea Zemmin, Andrew Trevino
- 2. WHAT IS BLOCKED AND RANDOM PRACTICE? Blocked Practice A systematic repetition of a given skill during the practice period A, A, A, B, B, B, C, C, C Randomized Practice A random and usually an unknown order during the practice period A, C, B, B, C, A, B, A, C
- 3. BLOCKED PRACTICE The systematic nature of blocked practice results in better acquisition. When tested for retention (a way to measure learning) the subject will often perform worse.
- 4. RANDOM PRACTICE The variability of randomized practice often appears as “worse” learning in the acquisition stage. When tested for retention, this group typically performs better than there blocked group counterpart.
- 5. SOME THEORIES TO EXPLAIN WHY RANDOM PRACTICE RESULTS IN BETTER LEARNING Contextual Interference/ Forgetting Explanation Schmidt and Wrisenburg believe that by randomizing practice you are increasing contextual interference. Contextual interference occurs when the task is varied. When practice is randomized and contextual interference is introduced the subject must stay cognitively alert to adjust to the changing task demands. Shea and Morgan argue the forgetting explanation also causes the subject to rework the Elaboration Hypothesis Shea and Zimny argue that varying the practice allows the participant to find differences between the skills. When blocked practice is performed the subject does not get the opportunity to differentiate between the skills. This will result in less learning than those who utilize random practice.
- 6. FOR EXAMPLE… Cuddy and Jacoby used this example to show how randomized practice promotes better learning due to contextual interference and forgetting experience: Imagine you are a 10 year old learning to divide (a novel task) You are asked to divide 12 by 4, 21 by 7, and 18 by 2 If the child used blocked practice by repeating the same problem three times in a row, they are really only solving the problem once. The next two responses are likely due to memory. However, if we asked the child to solve the problems in a random order (introducing contextual interference) then they are more likely to have to re-solve the problem instead of relying so heavily on their short term memory.
- 7. OUR HYPOTHESIS Based on the literature we expected the two subjects using blocked practice to perform better in acquisition and worse in retention. The opposite is typically expected in the subjects perform random practice. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Blocked Practice Random Practice
- 8. OUR EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 4 subjects with no previous, extensive basketball experience 3 females, 1 male Outdoor courts on campus (Anschutz Medical Campus) Used the same size basketball for all trials
- 9. OUR EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Blocked Practice Random Practice Subjects 2 subjects 2 subjects Practice trials 2 sets of 50 trials 2 sets of 50 trials Order of trials 10 trials at each location, repeated twice 10 trials at each location, practiced in an unknown order to the subject Visual representation of the 5 locations of the basketball court
- 10. OUR EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Test of Retention 10 shots from the free-throw line Test for Transfer 10 shots from the free-throw line, using a volleyball
- 11. ACQUISITION STAGE Figure 1 shows the number of shots made out of 50 for each participant during two practice sessions. The blue lines represent the subjects who performed random practice, and the red lines represent the group that performed blocked practice.
- 12. RESULTS: RETENTION AND TRANSFER Figure 2 shows the number of free-throws made by each participant during our baseline trial (trial 1), our first retention trial (trial 2), and our second retention trial (trial 3). “Trial 5” is a transfer test of a free-throw with a basketball. Four participants scored a 1/10 and one participant scored a 4/10 on the transfer test.
- 13. BALL SO HARD
- 14. SO WHY DID OUR EXPERIMENT NOT MATCH? More extensive test of retention (did not allow for a warm-up) A more variable scoring system to show more slight improvement (Rim shots, backboard, etc) More feedback from coaches during initial training session due to the range of previous experience Larger sample size
- 15. HOW DO WE MAXIMIZE LEARNING IN PHYSICAL THERAPY? IT DEPENDS Is it a complex and novel skill? Consider Blocked Practice Is it a novel skill with the ability to alter CI? Consider Random Practice Does the patient need to perform a skill with variability? Consider Random Practice Is the skill primarily a target skill (volleyball/golf/ tennis)? Consider Random Practice Helping a patient recovering from a stroke? Consider Random practice, unless contextual interference is too high