Captain Psychology

by

Skills

I have had a guitar for many years. Not the same one but the same problem: I’m not a very skilled guitar player. In addition to short fingers, I don’t practice and never did. Consequently, not very skilled.

There are a few genetic advantages we can be born with but most skills are acquired by consistent, persistent practice. There is no general skill for balance or coordination. But there is a lot of variation in the amount of time people devote to practicing a specific skill.

Terms

  • AAA BBB CCC
  • ABC ABC ABC
  • ACB ABC BAC
  • artificial ventilation
  • autonomous stage
  • block practice
  • certainty
  • classification dimensions
  • closed environments
  • complex skills
  • continuous movements
  • declarative stage
  • delayed retrieval
  • differentiation
  • discrete movements
  • discrete skills
  • discriminative-contrast hypothesis
  • distributed practice
  • economy of motion
  • environmental factors
  • environments
  • experiential learning
  • experts
  • explicit knowledge
  • external-paced
  • fine motor skills
  • flow
  • fluency
  • fluid movements
  • general ability
  • grace
  • gross motor skills
  • hecklers
  • hobbies
  • implicit knowledge
  • improvisations
  • Increased effectiveness
  • interleaved practice
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Kahneman, Daniel
  • maximum certainty
  • maximum fluency
  • minimum energy
  • minimum time
  • mixed skills
  • motor stage
  • movements
  • muscles
  • open environments
  • pacing
  • performance characteristics
  • practice
  • practice exercises
  • practiced behavior
  • productive failure
  • proficiency
  • randomized order
  • retrieval-practice hypothesis
  • self-pacing skills
  • serial skills
  • series
  • simple skills
  • simplicity
  • small gains
  • speeded tests
  • stages of learning skills
  • start with a guide
  • talk your way through it
  • target behaviors
  • target contexts
  • target skills
  • targets
  • task specific
  • Thinking Fast and Slow
  • timed events
  • tips
  • track your progress
  • uniqueness
  • variation
  • when matters
  • working memory

Quiz

The first stage of skill development is:

  • a. interleaved
  • b. declarative
  • c. expressive
  • d. implicit

 

2. Component actions needed to perform target skills are:

  • a. maximally fluent
  • b. target behaviors
  • c. predictable
  • d. discrete

3. Playing jazz is an:

  • a. elaborated environment
  • b. inverted environment
  • c. aligned environment
  • d. open environment

4. A signer who is neither flat or sharp is demonstrating:

  • a. maximum certainly
  • b. maximum fluency
  • c. minimum energy
  • d. minimum time

5. Skills are:

  • a. not a general ability
  • b. open or closed
  • c. practiced
  • d. all of the above

Answers

1. The first stage of skill development is:

  • a. interleaved
  • b. declarative
  • c. expressive
  • d. implicit

2. Component actions needed to perform target skills are:

  • a. maximally fluent
  • b. target behaviors
  • c. predictable
  • d. discrete

3. Playing jazz is an:

  • a. elaborated environment
  • b. inverted environment
  • c. aligned environment
  • d. open environment

4. A signer who is neither flat or sharp is demonstrating:

  • a. maximum certainly
  • b. maximum fluency
  • c. minimum energy
  • d. minimum time

5. Skills are:

  • a. not a general ability
  • b. open or closed
  • c. practiced
  • d. all of the above

 

 

 

 

Here are 5 things we’ll cover:

  • What are skills
  • Skill acquisition stages
  • Practice
  • Fast & Slow
  • Tips

are my notes on this topic:

1. What are skills

  • Not a general ability
  • Test-taking skill
  • Performance characteristics
    • maximum certainty
    • maximum fluency
    • minimum energy
    • minimum time
  • Classification Dimensions (six)
    • environment
    • muscles
    • target
    • movement
    • simplicity
    • pacing
  • Behavior classifications
  • Target behaviors & contexts
  • Discrete, Continuous, Serial, & Mixed

2. Skill acquisition stages

  • declarative
  • motor
  • autonomous

3. Practice

  • Rehearsal
    • substantial (orchestra)
    • some rehearsal (wedding)
    • none (Noh therater)
    • mental rehearsal
    • expanded rehearsal strategy
  • Blocked Practice (normal)
    • Review basics
    • Complete practice exercises
    • Acceptable level of proficiency, move on
    • AAA
    • BBB
    • CCC
  • Interleaved Practice
    • Also called: varied practice or mixed practice
    • Work on multiple skills in parallel
    • Series: ABC ABC ABC
    • Randomized: ACB ABC BAC
    • NOTE: can’t work on same type of problem back to back
  • Two groups
  • Blockers (block practice)
    • Given one tutorial
    • 4 related practice problems
    • Move on from spheres to cones, etc.
  • Mixers (interleaved practice)
    • given all four tutorials
    • completed 16 practice problems
    • mixed
    • 1 of each in every cluster of 4
  • Both groups
    • Two practice sessions
    • Test one week later
  • Results
    • Blockers did better on practice sessions
    • ~29% better
    • Mixers did better on tests
    • 43% better
  • Theories
    • Retrieval-practice hypothesis
      • First problem retrieves needed info
      • Remainder of problems; only use working memory
      • Practicing retrieval makes a path from LTM to working memory
    • Discriminative-Contrast Hypothesis
      • Practice one skill over and over; doesn’t differentiate between them
  • Johns Hopkins
    • manipulate computer cursor
    • device you squeeze
  • Three groups
    • Group 1
      • practice exercise
      • 3x over course of two days
    • Group 2
      • two slightly different practice routines
    • Group 3
      • Control
      • 1 practice session
  • Results
    • Variety works best
    • Slightly modified versions
    • Learn more
    • Learn faster (2x faster)
  • Notes
    • Not radically alter your practice
    • too different, no gain
    • Not switching from batting to fielding
    • hitting a different sort of pitch
    • Hobbies can help your work
  • Massed Practice
  • Distributed Practice
  • Deliberate Practice

4.  Fast & Slow

  • Daniel Kahneman
  • Thinking Fast and Slow, says that, “…acquisition of skills requires
    • regular environment
    • adequate opportunity to practice
    • rapid and unequivocal feedback
  • Start with a guide
    • YouTube
    • Tutorials, guides
    • Books about fishing
  • Explore on your own

5. Tips

  • Post-Op Analysis
    • incident: assess chain of events that took place
    • football game
    • after-action review: debriefing of what happened, why it happened and how it can be done better (US Army)
  • Study the material
    • know how to solve problem or perform the skill
  • Avoid flow
    • When you feel the sensation, switch
  • Review
    • Mix in old material
    • Mix up your practice material
  • Track your progress
    • Particularly for long-term strategies
  • Interleaving or distributed practice
    • Baddeley’s typing
    • might just be too hard to implement
  • Small gains
  • Fail
    • Push a button and see what happens
    • Experiment: “productive failure”
    • Learning by doing
    • Experiential learning
  • Distributed Practice
    • Spread Out Learning Over Time
    • 1 hr per day
  • Quiz yourself before test
    • Not underling or rereading
  • When matters
    • when you study or practice is important
    • internal clock
    • learn best when we do so before sleep
    • night or naps
  • Be unique: whatever works for you

 

        • witching from batting to fielding
          • hitting a different sort of pitch
        • Hobbies can help your work
  • Tips
    • Study the material
      • know how to solve problem or perform the skill
    • Avoid flow
      • When you feel the sensation, switch
    • Review
      • Mix in old material
      • Mix up your practice material
    • Track your progress
      • Particularly for long-term strategies
      • Interleaving or distributed practice
      • Baddeley’s typing
      • might just be too hard to implement
    • Small gains
    • Daniel Kahneman
      • Thinking Fast and Slow, says that, “…acquisition of skills requires
        • regular environment
        • adequate opportunity to practice
        • rapid and unequivocal feedback
    • Start with a guide
      • YouTube
      • Tutorials, guides
      • Books about fishing
    • Explore on your own
      • Fail
      • Push a button and see what happens
      • Experiment: “productive failure”
      • Learning by doing
      • Experiential learning
    • Distributed Practice
      • Spread Out Learning Over Time
      • 1 hr per day
    • Quiz yourself before test
      • Delayed retrieval
      • Not underling or rereading
    • When matters
      • When you study or practice is important
      • internal clock
      • learn best when we do so before sleep
      • night or naps
    • Be unique
      • Whatever works for you

 

 

‘There are two great principles of psychology: people have a tremendous capacity to change, and we usually don’t.”   Ken Tangen