title: Practice schedule and acquisition, retention, and transfer of a throwing task in 6-yr.-old children.
abstract: Earlier studies have raised questions about the usefulness of variable and random practice in learning motor tasks so this study was designed to investigate the effects of contextual interference in young children, and specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of variable or random practice structure in 6-yr.-old boys and girls. Participants on a variable practice schedule showed better performances than those on a blocked schedule. The differences between the two groups were significant in the acquisition, retention, and transfer phases. These results support the hypothesis that contextual interference enhances skill learning. Because the study involved groups of young children in the setting of their normally scheduled physical education class, the practical applications of the results are evident.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Didáctica de la Expresión Musical, Plástica y Corporal, Area de Didáctica de la Expresión Corporal, Facultad de Educación y Humanidades, Universidad de Granada, Campus de Melilla, Spain. jgranda@goliat.ugr.es
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Granda Vera
authors.forename: Mariano Medina
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Montilla
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D013997:Time Factors; D014163:Transfer, Psychology