Tailoring explicit and implicit instruction methods to the verbal working memory capacity of students with special needs can benefit motor learning outcomes in physical education

External versus internal focus enhances motor performance and learning in children with different visuospatial working memory capacities

Research has shown that external focus (EF) instructions-directing attention to intended movement effects (e.g., ball's or dart's path)-are more effective for enhancing motor performance and learning than internal focus (IF) instructions, which focus on body movements (e.g., arm or foot motion). Nonetheless, the impact of visuospatial working memory capacity (WMC) in this context, especially among children, has been less investigated. This research sought to examine the effects of EF compared to IF on the skill acquisition and motor learning of a dart-throwing task among children with both high and low visuospatial WMC. Forty-eight boys aged 9-11 (Mage: 9.67 ± 0.76 years) were grouped by high or low WMC based on spatial span and memory tests, then assigned to receive either EF or IF instructions. The experiment comprised three stages: practice, retention, and two transfer tests, including throwing from a longer distance and a dual-task scenario with added cognitive load (tone counting). Results showed that EF outperformed IF at all stages. While WMC did not affect performance during practice and retention, children with low WMC performed better than those with high WMC during the longer distance test. In dual-task conditions, an EF continued to surpass an IF, whilst the WMC exerted no significant impact. The present findings suggest that an EF relative to an IF promotes more automatic movement and enhanced multitasking, while the impact of visuospatial WMC was less than expected, highlighting the benefits of EF in teaching motor skills to children, regardless of visuospatial WMC.

The effect of implicit and explicit motor learning on a targeting task in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

This study aims to investigate the effect of different implicit and explicit instructions on learning a fundamental motor skill (throwing task) in autistic children with a high propensity for reinvestment. A total of 48 male volunteer students with special educational needs aged between 7 and 9 years old were conveniently selected to practice a novel throwing motor task (slingerball). The study includes a 1-week the acquisition phase with five phases of measurements involving four groups: a) analogy, b) explicit instruction, c) errorless, and d) errorful paradigms. It was conducted in five phases: pre-test, acquisition, retention, transfer, and dual-task, using a quasi-experimental design. The task in this study was to throw a slingerball' towards a horizontal target on the ground. Mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) and LSD post-hoc test performed to determine the interaction and main effects on throwing accuracy. The results indicated that participants in the analogy and errorless instruction groups had higher throwing accuracy in all phases of acquisition, retention, transfer and dual task compared to the explicit and errorful instruction groups (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, both implicit learning groups performed more accurately in the dual task test than the explicit group (P ≤ 0.05). The results of this study support the theoretical framework that implicit practice can improve motor skill learning in children with autism spectrum disorder more than explicit practice. So, the application of errorless learning and analogy instruction is recommended for developing of motor performance and learning as implicit learning methods in educational environments.

The effects of conscious movement investment on inhibiting a golf stroke

Previous studies have suggested an association between conscious movement investment and inhibiting motor actions. However, no within-designs were used in which conscious movement investment was manipulated. The current study compared changes in inhibition after instruction interventions that aimed to expand and limit conscious investment in the execution of a golf putting task. During a baseline and post-intervention test, participants were asked to putt balls in a hole. Randomly, an auditory stop-signal appeared 50 ms after reaching the end of backswing on some trials, signalling them to stop the downswing as quickly as possible. Between the two tests, the participants practiced under different instructions, without the stop-signal. One group (i.e., expanded conscious investment, ECIG) received multiple explicit movement-related instructions along with the internal focus of attention instructions, while the second group (i.e., limited conscious investment, LCIG) received a single analogy instruction paired with external focus of attention instructions. The results did not reveal significant differences in stopping rate and stopping time between the baseline and post-intervention tests and the two groups. However, a mediation analysis highlighted that the ECIG exhibited a greater change in downswing time compared to the LCIG. This change was correlated with a larger increase in stopping rate and stopping time. We conclude that conscious movement investment did not directly influence inhibition. Instead, we discuss how conscious movement investment may indirectly influence inhibition dependent on the putting kinematics.

An external focus promotes motor learning of an aiming task in individuals with hearing impairments

Research has shown that external relative to internal focus (IF) instructions may improve motor performance as well as cognitive function (e.g., attentional stability and task-focus). The aim of the study was to examine the influence of attentional focus instructions on skill acquisition and learning of an aiming task in individuals with hearing impairments. The participants (N = 39, Mage = 17.87 ± 1.88 years) performed a bowling task with their dominant hand to knock down as many pins as possible. On day 1, they were randomly divided into three attentional focus groups; IF (focus on your throwing hand), external focus (EF) (focus on the pins), and control (no-focus) instructions. Each participant performed 36 trials, divided into 3 blocks of 12 trials. Attentional focus instructions were given before each block, with a brief reminder provided after each 3 trials. On day 2, retention and transfer (further distance) tests were performed. Results showed that while there were no significant differences between groups in the pre-test, the EF group outperformed both IF and control groups in retention and transfer tests. No significant difference was found between the control and IF. The findings suggest that the advantages of the external relative to the IF and no-focus instructions may generalize to individuals with hearing impairments.

Implicit motor learning in children with autism spectrum disorder: current approaches and future directions

Motor dysfunction is increasingly being viewed as a core characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. In particular, children with ASD have difficulty in learning new motor skills and there is a need to develop effective methods to improve this. Previous research has found that children with ASD may retain the ability to implicitly learn motor skills in comparison to their explicit learning of motor skills, which is typically impaired. This literature mini review focuses on summarizing the study of implicit learning in the acquisition of motor skills in children with ASD. First, we briefly introduce several common implicit learning methods in children's motor skill learning. Second, we focus on the role of two important implicit learning approaches in motor skill learning, namely, an external focus of attention and analogy learning. Finally, based on our review of the existing studies, we present an outlook for future research and the areas that need to be improved in the practical teaching of implicit learning in the acquisition of motor skills in children with ASD.

Attentional Focus Strategies for Promoting Children's Motor Learning: A Scoping Review With a Learner-Task-Environment Framework

There is emerging evidence that attentional focus instructions and feedback may help children with motor learning. However, information relevant to learner characteristics, settings, and contexts in which attentional focus strategies can be used has not been synthesized. Therefore, in this review, we adopted a learner-task-environment framework to map the evidence to date related to attentional focus strategies in children's motor learning. We adapted the framework for scoping reviews put forth by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and the enhanced protocol recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute (Peters et al., 2021). Two researchers (a) identified the research question, (b) identified relevant studies, (c) selected studies, (d) charted the data, and (e) collated, summarized, and reported these results. We included 30 papers, all of which used an experimental or quasi-experimental design. Most studies have focused on typically developing children and those in middle childhood as learners. The movement tasks in these studies included isolated fundamental movement skills and sport-related tasks. All but one study were situated in non-clinical settings (i.e., school, laboratory). We found limited use of attentional focus strategies for learning movement tasks in early childhood, especially among children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Movement tasks were mostly isolated skills, and there was extremely limited application to clinical settings.

Peer Verbal Encouragement Enhances Offensive Performance Indicators in Handball Small-Sided Games

Objective: This study aimed at assessing the effects of two verbal encouragement modalities on the different offensive and defensive performance indicators in handball small-sided games practiced in physical education settings. Methods: A total of 14 untrained secondary school male students, aged 17 to 18, took part in a three-session practical intervention. Students were divided into two teams of seven players (four field players, a goalkeeper, and two substitutes). During each experimental session, each team played one 8 min period under teacher verbal encouragement (TeacherEN) and another under peer verbal encouragement (PeerEN). All sessions were videotaped for later analysis using a specific grid focusing on the balls played, balls won, balls lost, shots on goal, goals scored, as well as the ball conservation index (BCI), and the defensive efficiency index (DEI). Results: The findings showed no significant differences in favor of TeacherEN in all the performance indicators that were measured, whereas significant differences in favor of PeerEN were observed in balls played and shots on goal. Conclusions: When implemented in handball small-sided games, peer verbal encouragement can produce greater positive effects than teacher verbal encouragement in terms of offensive performance.

Individual differences in working memory capacity and conscious processing do not explain explicit and implicit learning outcomes in physical education

This study examined the effects of explicit versus implicit learning methods on motor learning and self-efficacy of 11-to 14-year old students (n = 81) practicing the basketball layup during physical education. The main aim was to test the effects of students' verbal working memory capacity (WMC) and propensity for conscious motor processing (CMP) on explicit and implicit learning outcomes. The students practiced basketball layups for three weeks (one session/week) during regular PE classes under practice conditions that either promoted explicit or implicit learning. Verbal WMC and CMP propensity were measured separately. At the posttest, students had significantly improved their layup performance and technique, and self-efficacy, but no differences were noted between the intervention groups (explicit vs. implicit). Students' verbal WMC and CMP propensity did not differentially predict the learning outcomes for the explicit or implicit learning groups. Therefore, in this PE setting, both explicit and implicit learning methods seemed to similarly improve movement skill. Further study is needed to examine under which conditions individual constraints such as verbal WMC and propensity for conscious processing influence the effects of explicit and implicit learning.

Motor sequence learning in a goal-directed stepping task in persons with multiple sclerosis: a pilot study

Motor sequence learning in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and healthy controls (HC) under implicit or explicit learning conditions has not yet been investigated in a stepping task. Given the prevalent cognitive and mobility impairments in pwMS, this is important in order to understand motor learning processes and optimize rehabilitation strategies. Nineteen pwMS (the Expanded Disability Status Scale = 3.4 ± 1.2) and 18 HC performed a modified serial reaction time task by stepping as fast as possible on a stepping tile when it lit up, either with (explicit) or without (implicit) knowledge of the presence of a sequence beforehand. Motor sequence learning was studied by examining response time changes and differences between sequence and random blocks during the learning session (acquisition), 24 h later (retention), and in three dual-task (DT) conditions at baseline and retention (automaticity) using subtracting sevens, verbal fluency, and vigilance as concurrent cognitive DTs. Response times improved and were lower for the sequenced compared with the random blocks at the post- and retention tests (P's < 0.001). Response times during DT conditions improved after learning, but DT cost improved only for the subtracting sevens DT condition. No differences in learning were observed between learning conditions or groups. This study showed motor sequence learning, by acquisition and retention, in a stepping task in pwMS with motor impairments, to a similar degree as HC and regardless of learning conditions. Whether automaticity increased remains unclear.