Motor skills

It is hard to imagine any functional routine that does not involve some motor
activity. Whether playing a game at home with friends, dining in a restaurant, or stapling
newsletters in an office, participation involves numerous motor skills. Although motor
skills traditionally have been viewed in relation to the normal motor development of a
young child, it is useful to consider the functions that motor skills serve.

Motor skills are movements and actions of the muscles. Typically, they are
categorized into two groups: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills
are involved in movement and coordination of the arms, legs, and other large body
parts and movements. They participate in actions such as running, crawling, swimming,
etc. Fine motor skills are involved in smaller movements that occur in the wrists, hands,
fingers, and the feet and toes. They participate in smaller actions such as picking up
objects between the thumb and finger, writing carefully, and even blinking. These two
motor skills work together to provide coordination.

Types of motor skills

 Gross motor skill - requires the use of large muscle groups to perform tasks like
walking, balancing, crawling. The skill required is not extensive and therefore are
usually associated with continuous tasks. Much of the development of these
skills occurs during early childhood. The performance level of gross motor skill
remains unchanged after periods of non-use.
 Fine motor skill - requires the use of smaller muscle groups to perform tasks that
are precise in nature. Activities like playing the piano and playing video games
are examples of using fine motor skills. Generally, there is a retention loss of fine
motor skills over a period of non-use. Discrete tasks usually require more fine
motor skill than gross motor skills.
Examples of gross motor skills;

1. Running

2. Swimming

3. Climbing

4. Walking
5. Jumping

6. Dancing

7. Crawling

8. Punching
9. Kicking

10. Cartwheeling

Example of Fine motor skill;

1. Blinking

2. Picking up objects
 3. Writing

4. Combing

Furthermore, a motor skill is a function, which involves the precise movement of

muscles with the intent to perform a specific act. Most purposeful movement requires
the ability to "feel" or sense what one's muscles are doing as they perform the act.
Motor difficulties occur when an individual lacks the ability to move in the way he or she
originally intended. This can have a significant effect on classroom performance and
motivation in school.

Motor difficulties can be addressed in variety of ways. Some motor skills

difficulties can be overcome through development and maturity. In education, a
frequent response to motor difficulties is to refer the child to special education services.
This is not always necessary or appropriate. Some students just need to be taught a
simple activity or strategy, which they practice to remedy the problem. Others, whose
difficulty is more involved, may require the intervention of a professional in special
education.
 When we think about the ways we typically perform these functional routines, it
seems that participation requires an extensive repertoire of sophisticated motor skills. If
we concentrate on the functions that motor skills serve in the activities, however, we
can see many more possibilities. We know that the mobility function of walking can be
fulfilled by crawling or driving a wheelchair. We know that positioning can be assisted
through a variety of adapted equipment. And we know that participation can be elicited
through systematic prompts, partial participation, and adaptations. Focusing on the
functions of motor skills allows us to see how students with even the most severe
physical disabilities can participate in activities. This does not suggest that students do
not need to learn or improve motor skills.

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING MOTOR SKILLS

In addition to a thorough knowledge of the motor development process, physical

education instructors must understand the principles of learning and information
transfer to facilitate student progress. Important concepts include practice, feedback,
observational learning, and self-assessment.

 PRACTICE

Frequent, structured practice of motor skills enhances skill development in

children. Without practice and instruction, natural ability and talent dictates the extent
of motor skill development.

 SELF-ASSESSMENT

Self-assessment is a powerful tool in motor skill development. Requiring

students to assess their own skills and abilities encourages students to reflect upon their
current skill level and take control of the development process.

 FEEDBACK

Feedback, or input from the tutor or educator, forms an extremely vital part of
any learning process. Just as positive feedback works as a motivator enabling an athlete
to improve and surge ahead with renewed interest, negative feedback also helps an
athlete recognize and correct his or her mistakes.

When performers learn a skill, the skill goes into their short-term memory and
receives positive feedback. The skill may eventually go into their long-term memory,
creating memory that is more permanent. That is how positive feedback works to
encourage the performer and helps in making the performer remember every aspect of
the performance.

Negative feedback helps athletes, whether novice or experienced, become

conscious of their mistakes. They can use this negative feedback to improve their
shortcomings. Without feedback, an athlete is not likely to improve his or her technique
and will lose motivation.

There are different types of feedback and it is always important for the
performer to receive the right type. Some examples of feedback include the following:

1. Intrinsic feedback – information received by the athlete as a direct result of

producing a movement through the kinesthetic senses – e.g. feeling from
muscles, joints, and balance.

2. Extrinsic feedback – information not inherent in the movement itself but which
improves intrinsic feedback (this is also known as augmented feedback). There
are two main categories: knowledge of performance and information about the
technique and performance. The coach can provide extrinsic feedback verbally
or visually via video. Extrinsic feedback enables the athlete to establish a
kinesthetic reference for the correct movement.

Research also indicates that the stage when an athlete receives feedback is as
important as the content of the feedback. Negative feedback might be boring for the
beginner. However, if a performer is elite, then knowledge of results is very important.
In addition, during the cognitive stage, positive feedback is essential to make sure that
the athlete learns a skill successfully. Thus, feedback plays an extremely important role
in any learning process, as it facilitates learning to a great extent.

 SELF-ASSESSMENT

Self-assessment is a powerful tool in motor skill development. Requiring

students to assess their own skills and abilities encourages students to reflect upon their
current skill level and take control of the development process.

 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

Many physical education instructors believe that observational learning is the

most effective method of learning motor skills. Visual observation of proper skill
performance by an instructor or peer is generally more effective in promoting skill
development than verbal instructions.

STAGES OF MOTOR LEARNING

The development of motor skills in children is a sequential process. We can

classify motor skill competency into stages of development by observing children
practicing physical skills. The sequence of development begins with simple reflexes and
progresses to the learning of postural elements, loco motor skills, and, finally, fine
motor skills. The stages of development consider both innate and learned behaviors.

Stage 1 – Children progress from simple reflexes to basic movements such as sitting,
crawling, creeping, standing, and walking.

Stage 2 – Children learn more complex motor patterns including running, climbing,
jumping, balancing, catching, and throwing.

Stage 3 – During late childhood, children learn more specific movement skills. In
addition, the basic motor patterns learned in Stage 2 become more fluid and automatic.
Stage 4 – During adolescence, children continue to develop general and specific motor
skills and master specialized movements. At this point, factors including practice,
motivation, and talent begin to affect the level of further development.

CONCEPT OF BODY AWARENESS APPLIED TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

Body awareness is a person understands of his or her own body parts and their
capability of movement.

Instructors can assess body awareness by watching students play a game of

“Simon Says” and asking the students to touch different body parts. You can also
instruct students to make their bodies into various shapes, such as, from straight to
round to twisted, to fit into different sized spaces.

In addition, you can instruct children to touch one part of their body to another
and to stamp their feet, twist their neck, clap their hands, nod their heads, wiggle their
noses, snap their fingers, open their mouths, shrug their shoulders, bend their knees,
close their eyes, bend their elbows, or wiggle their toes.

CONCEPT OF SPATIAL AWARENESS APPLIED TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

Spatial awareness is the ability to make decisions about an object’s positional changes in
space (i.e. awareness of three-dimensional space position changes).
Developing spatial awareness requires two sequential phases: 1) identifying the location
of objects in relation to one’s own body in space, and 2) locating more than one object
in relation to each object and independent of one’s own body.

Plan activities using different size balls, boxes, or hoops and have children move towards
and away; under and over; in front of and behind; and inside, outside, and beside the
objects.

CONCEPTS OF SPACE, DIRECTION, AND SPEED RELATED TO MOVEMENT CONCEPTS

Effort Awareness is the knowledge of balance, time, and force and how they
relate to athletic movements and activities. Research shows that space, direction, and
speed are interrelated with movement concepts. Students who understand these
concepts will move with confidence and avoid collisions.

A student or player incorporates movement concepts such as space, direction,

speed and vision to understand and perform a sport. For instance, a player will
determine the appropriate personal space while playing soccer or basketball.

For a player, the concepts are all interconnected. The player has to understand
how to maintain or change pathways with speed. This means the player has the ability
to change motion and perform well in space or the area that the players occupy on the
field.

Analyze the impact of various factors on motor development and relate

developmental changes to motor performance.

A variety of influences affects a student’s physical performance and fitness level:

 Societal – We cannot separate students from the societies in which they live. The
general perceptions around them about the importance of fitness activities will
necessarily have an effect on their own choice regarding physical activity. We
should consider the “playground to PlayStation” phenomenon and the rising
levels of obesity among Americans negative societal influences on motor
development and fitness.

 Psychological – Psychological influences on motor development and fitness

include a student’s mental well-being, perceptions of fitness activities, and level
of comfort in a fitness-training environment (both alone and within a group).
Students experiencing psychological difficulties, such as depression, will tend to
be apathetic and lack both the energy and inclination to participate in fitness
activities. As a result, their motor development and fitness levels will suffer.
Factors like the student’s confidence level and comfort within a group
environment, related to both the student’s level of popularity within the group
and the student’s own personal insecurities, are also significant. It is noteworthy,
 though, that in the case of psychological influences on motor development and
fitness levels, there is a more reciprocal relationship than with other influences.
While a student’s psychology may negatively affect their fitness levels, proper
fitness training has the potential to positively affect the student psychologically,
thereby reversing a negative cycle.

 Economic – The economic situation of students can affect their motor

development and fitness because lack of resources can detract from the ability
of parents to provide access to extra-curricular activities that promote
development, proper fitness training equipment (ranging from complex exercise
machines to team sport uniforms to something as simple as a basketball hoop),
and even adequate nutrition.

 Familial – Familial factors that can influence motor development and fitness
relate to the student’s home climate concerning physical activity. A student’s
own feelings toward physical activity often reflect the degree to which caregivers
and role models (like older siblings) are athletically inclined and have a positive
attitude towards physical activity. It isn’t necessary for the parents to be
athletically inclined, so much as it is important for them to encourage their child
to explore fitness activities that could suit them.

 Environmental and Health – Genetic make-up (i.e. age, gender, and ethnicity)
has a big influence on growth and development. Various physical and
environmental factors directly affect one’s personal health and fitness. Poor
habits, living conditions, and afflictions such as disease or disability can impact a
person in a negative manner. A healthy lifestyle with adequate conditions and
minimal physical or mental stresses will enable a person to develop towards a
positive, healthy existence. A highly agreed upon motor development theory is
the relationship between one’s own heredity and environmental factors.
RELATIONSHIP OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT TO PHYSICAL, COGNITIVE, PSYCHOSOCIAL,
AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Instructors should place students in rich learning situations, regardless of

previous experience or personal factors, which provide plenty of positive opportunities
to participate in physical activity. For example, prior to playing a game of softball, have
students practice throwing by tossing the ball to themselves, progress to the underhand
toss, and later to the overhand toss.

Studies show that physical activity leads to improved motor development in

children. Physical activity also enables various other progressions that shape the mind
and personality of an individual. Such developments, which are the result of physical
activity, include cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional growth.

Very often, we ignore the close relationship shared by motor development and
the other aspects of development. Motor development, which starts with the proper
nutrition, deeply affects the other aspects of development in an individual. Children
acquire a vast range of motor development skills such as grasping, crawling, walking,
running, and even speaking during the early stages of their lives. Gradually, such motor
skills further develop leading to participation in sport and play activities that promote
confidence in children and allow them to develop responsibility, deep emotions, and
social etiquette. Through participation in sports, children learn to cooperate and
develop competitive skills that will aid them in adulthood.

Studies reveal that the different types of play in childhood link motor
development with the other aspects of development. Different kinds of play or physical
activity such as cognitive play, social play, physical play, and emotional play, help in the
overall development of a child.

Simple motor skills such as repeatedly hitting the ground with a shovel or
building sand castles help in developing thinking and cognitive skills. Social play helps
children to play with their peers cooperatively, to develop their motor skills, and to
develop a sense of social togetherness. Motor activities greatly influence physical
development as well. They help in providing the foundation for a normal and healthy
physical education program suitable for all children. Research also shows that free play
among peers leads to significant cognitive developments (such as improvement of
reasoning abilities).
 The manner in which children hop, jump, skip, run, climb, and play greatly
facilitates their motor and physical development and helps to build other aspects of
their personality. Children accomplish this development through their constant
interaction with surrounding elements, environments, and persons.

Thus, motor skill development, which encompasses all motor movements by

children, is strongly related to the physical, social, and emotional development of
children.

ERRORS IN SKILL PERFORMANCE

Because performing a skill has several components, determining why a

participant is performing poorly may be difficult. Instructors may have to assess several
components of a skill to determine the root cause of poor performance and
appropriately correct errors. An instructor should have the ability to identify
performance errors by observing a student’s mechanical principles of motion during
the performance of a skill. Process assessment is a subjective, observational approach
to identifying errors in the form, style, or mechanics of a skill.

APPROPRIATE OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENTS OF FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS

Instructors should use product assessments, quantitative measures of a

movement’s end result, to evaluate objectively fundamental skills. How far, how fast,
how high, or how many are the quantitative measures of product assessments.

A criterion-referenced test (superior to a standardized test) or a standardized

norm-referenced test can provide valid and reliable data for objectively measuring
fundamental skills.

SKILL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION USED TO CORRECT ERRORS IN SKILL PERFORMANCE

Instructors can use criterion-referenced standards to diagnose weaknesses and

correct errors in skill performance because such performance standards define
appropriate levels of achievement. However, instructors can also use biomechanical
instructional objectives. The following list describes the skill assessment criteria in
several representative activities:

• Archery - measuring accuracy in shooting a standardized target from a specified

place.

 Bowling - calculating the bowling average attained under standardized

conditions.

• Golf - the score after several rounds.

• Swimming - counting the number of breaststrokes needed to swim 25 yards.

After assessing student skill performance, the instructor should design drills or
tasks that will develop the weakest component of the student’s performance. For
example, an instructor notices that a group of students attempting to shoot basketball
free throw shots cannot get the ball to the basket because they do not use their legs to
add power to the shot. The instructor should use this observation to construct drills that
encourage leg use and develop strength.