Fundamental Concepts
What is Development
continuous
constantly happening
age related
approx. a 10 yr old should do this
sequential
things build on one another
stand before you walk
Definitions
motor development
the continuous, age related process of change in movement as well as the interacting factors that drive these changes
motor learning
the relatively permanent gains in motor skill capability associated with practice and experience
motor control
the neural, physical, and behavioural aspects of human movement
physical growth
quantitative increase in size and body mass
physical maturation
qualitative advance in biological makeup
cell, organ or system advancement in biomechanical composition
aging
process occurring with passage of time, leading to loss of adaptability or full function and eventually death
Newell's Model of Constraints
constraints
characteristics of the individual, environment or task that encourage some movements while discouraging others
individual
a person or organisms unique physical and mental characteristics
structural
relate to body structure
change slowly over time
funtctional
relate to behaviour
change over much shorter period of time
environmental
related to the world around us
properties of the environment that exist outside the body
physical
physical characteristics of the environment
sociocultural
social or cultural characteristics of the environment
task
relate to tasks or skills
goals and rule structure of a movement or activity
exist outside the boyd
not related to the individual
Research Designs in Motor Development
longitudinal
an individual or group us observed over time
requires lengthy observation
takes a while, most accurate
cross sectional
an individual or group is observed over time
change is inferred, not actually observed
sequential/mixed longitudianl
mini longitudinal studies with overlapping ages
can examine cohort effects
Meta-analysis
statistical technique that integrates the effects observed in many studies into one or more generalizable estimate of an effect
review paper
many studies on a topic are compared and contrasted