title: Alternating versus blocked practice in learning a cartwheel.
abstract: This investigation examined the generalizability of contextual interference to learning the cartwheel in gymnastics. 32 participants ages 17 to 26 years completed five stages of practice of two versions of the skill, one in which the left hand led and one in which the right hand led, providing a total of 192 practice trials. Practice of these two versions of the task was completed in either a blocked or alternating order. Tests of retention and transfer were completed 20 min. and 1 wk. after acquisition. Outcome (errors) and form scores were derived from participants' performance. Alternating practice resulted in poorer acquisition, retention, and transfer per-generalize to this task, a finding which is attributed to task complexity and the interference associated with practicing the two tasks together.
authors.affiliation: School of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University, Normal 61790-5121, USA. pjsmit2@ilstu.edu
authors.forename: Peter J K
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Suzanne K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006173:Gymnastics; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills