SMGT30210

The purpose of this module is to understand the principles underlying skill acquisition. Specifically, students will learn the stages of motor learning, the cognitive processes supporting skill acquisition, how motor skills are acquired, how learning can be enhanced and why skills attempts might fail. Each class will comprise of theoretical and practical components designed to encourage student interaction, curiosity and discussion. Formal lecture time and workshop sessions will be used to foster understanding of the area with a focus on the application of motor learning theories in the "real world". A practical learning laboratory will be used as a vehicle to evaluate and discuss hypotheses presented in the literature. Most often examples from sport will be used to clarify these, however it is important to keep in mind that the principles and concepts introduced in class apply to any situation in which movement is the primary means of achieving a particular goal (e.g. leisure activities, activities of daily living, rehabilitation, & sport).