Deck 11: Defining and Assessing Learning

Question 1

Two important characteristics of performance changes associated with learning a motor skill are that performance shows improvement and that performance becomes increasingly more ________ as practice progresses.

Answer 1

consistent

Question 2

If fatigue depresses practice performance,but not retention test performance,then fatigue would be classified as a:

A) Learning variable
B) Performance variable
C) Practice variable
D) Performance and learning variable

Answer 2

B

Question 3

As a person learns a new skill the attention demanded by the skill will:

A) Increase
B) Decrease
C) Not change
D) Be impossible to predict

Answer 3

B

Question 4

An individual demonstrates the following performance characteristics - periods of rapid improvement followed by steady state and then improvement.Which term describes the period of steady state?

A) Ceiling effect
B) Floor effect
C) Performance plateau
D) Steady-state performance

Question 5

In the motor learning research literature,which term refers to "observable behavior"?

A) Learning
B) Performance
C) Practice
D) Skill

Question 6

The assessment of changes in coordination dynamics is one of several ways to assess motor skill learning.

Question 7

Results of an experiment show that Condition B performs better than Condition A during practice,but Condition A performs better than Condition B during a retention test.This finding suggests that:

A) Condition A is better for learning
B) Condition B is better for learning
C) Neither A nor B is better for learning
D) No conclusion about learning is possible

Question 8

An important distinction between the terms performance and learning is that learning is relatively permanent but performance is temporary.

Question 9

Two commonly used types of transfer tests that are used to assess motor skill learning involve the performance of a novel skill variation and a novel _______ variation.

Question 10

An essential component of the definition of learning is that it:

A) Can be directly observed.
B) Can be observed during practice.
C) Results in consistently correct performance.
D) Results in relatively permanent improvement.

Question 11

Most researchers agree that a performance plateau is a _______ variable rather than a learning variable.

Question 12

Performing the same skill one week after practice is required for this learning assessment:

A) Performance test
B) Practice observation
C) Retention test
D) Transfer test

Question 13

Two important criteria for determining learning when assessing the dynamics of movement coordination are the consistency and ________ of the coordination patterns.

Question 14

If a person's performance is represented on a graph,the performance measure (such as movement time)is put on the ________ axis.

Question 15

A key term in the definition of learning refers to the potential for a person to perform a skill at a higher level than performed before beginning to practice the skill is

A) Improvement
B) Capability
C) Stability
D) Persistence

Question 16

When using changes in coordination dynamics to assess learning,two important criteria to observe of the developing new coordination pattern are

A) consistency and stability
B) adaptability and persistence
C) change and performance improvement
D) coordination dynamics cannot be used for the assessment of learning

Question 17

To test the "relatively permanent improvement" part of our definition of learning,the preferred type of learning assessment test is a ________ test.

Question 18

Use of a transfer test evaluates this performance characteristic associated with motor skill learning:

A) Adaptability
B) Consistency
C) Improvement
D) Persistence

Question 19

A ___________ curve shows larger increases in performance during early practice trials than in later trials.

A) Linear
B) Negatively accelerating
C) Ogive
D) Positively accelerating

Question 20

The performance of a skill in a new situation or a variation of a practiced skill is the hallmark of a:

A) Performance test
B) Practice observation
C) Retention test
D) Transfer test

Question 21

Research evidence has shown that learning continues during a performance plateau.

Question 22

Requiring a person to perform a skill under stressful conditions,which have not been experienced during practice,is an effective way to give a retention test.

Question 23

In the experiment by Lee,Swinnen,and Verschueren,participants practiced an asymmetrical bimanual coordination task that they did not learn to perform in three days of practice.

Question 24

An important performance characteristic often associated with learning is that the person becomes increasingly more capable of adapting performance of the skill to new performance contexts and situations.

Question 25

To graphically represent a performance curve for a performance outcome measure for a series of practice trials,the trials should be displayed on the y-axis.

Question 26

A retention test typically follows a period of time after practice of a skill has ceased.

Question 27

Practice performance provides a reliable means of determining how well a person will perform in a transfer test situation.