Movement pattern components and mastery of an object control skill with error-reduced learning

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This paper reports the effects of error-reduced learning on movement components and mastery of overhand throwing in children with and without intellectual disability. Methods: Secondary data analysis was performed on two samples of children (typically developing, TD; intellectual disability, ID) who practiced overhand throwing in either an error-reduced (ER) or error-strewn (ES) condition. Movement pattern components were assessed using a sub-skill of Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Results: In TD participants, ER learners displayed improved follow-through while ES learners did not. Among children with ID, ER learners displayed greater improvements of hip/shoulder rotation and follow-through, than ES learners. Discriminant function analysis confirmed that changes in these components differentiated learning groups. Greater percentage of ER, compared to ES, participants progressed to mastery. Conclusions: With suppressed errors, the follow-through component of overhand throwing is likely to emerge, particularly in children with inferior abilities, and cognitive limitations. Error-reduced learning facilitates mastery.

KEYWORDS:

• Error-reduced learning
• object control
• overhand throwing
• intellectual disability

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Seed Funding Program for Basic Research of the University of Hong Kong, grant number 201405159002.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Seed Funding Program for Basic Research of the University of Hong Kong, grant number 201405159002.