Analogies can speed up the motor learning process

Abstract

Analogies have been shown to improve motor learning in various tasks and settings. in this study we tested whether applying analogies can shorten the motor learning process and induce insight and skill improvement in tasks that usually demand many hours of practice. Kinematic measures were used to quantify participant's skill and learning dynamics. For this purpose, we used a drawing task, in which subjects drew lines to connect dots, and a mirror game, in which subjects tracked a moving stimulus. After establishing a baseline, subjects were given an analogy, explicit instructions or no further instruction. We compared their improvement in skill (quantified by coarticulation or smoothness), accuracy and movement duration. Subjects in the analogy and explicit groups improved their coarticulation in the target task, while significant differences were found in the mirror game only at a slow movement frequency between analogy and controls. We conclude that a verbal analogy can be a useful tool for rapidly changing motor kinematics and movement strategy in some circumstances, although in the tasks selected it did not produce better performance in most measurements than explicit guidance. Furthermore, we observed that different movement facets may improve independently from others, and may be selectively affected by verbal instructions. these results suggest an important role for the type of instruction in motor learning. Using analogies in the acquisition of a motor skill has been shown to improve motor learning in various tasks and settings, from throwing a basketball to performing a high jump, and in populations ranging from young children to older adults 1-4. Analogies in the case of motor learning combine various task-relevant rules into a single biomechanical metaphor, usually given to the learner as a verbal instruction. A survey study among researchers and practitioners 5 defined analogy learning as follows: "Learning facilitated by metaphors. The complex structure of the to-be-learned skill is integrated into a simple metaphor that the learner is provided with". Two examples of this method are given: "reach for an apple up in the tree" (for a jumping pattern) and "putting your hand into the cookie jar" (for a basketball shot). The use of analogies in motor learning has been shown to be beneficial both during the learning process and in maintaining performance under pressure 2,6. Most of the research in this field has been done under the implicit/explicit knowledge paradigm. Researchers have defined explicit motor learning as conscious control of a motor task. This type of knowledge structure relies on working memory and is characterized by learning rules that govern the movement and being able to explicitly state such rules. In contrast, implicit knowledge of a motor task doesn't necessitate conscious awareness of specific rules and isn't as demanding on working memory 7. Experiments show that explicit knowledge can hinder performance during the learning process, although this occurs mostly under stressful con...

Improving high school students’ conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism using scaffold analogy instructions

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Body-based units of measure in cultural evolution

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Diseño y validación de un cuestionario de percepciones de estudiantes sobre la enseñanza a través de analogías en docentes de ciencias del deporte. (Design and validation of a questionnaire of student perceptions of teaching through analogies in sports science teachers.)

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