Dynamics of Skill Acquisition: A Constraints-Led Approach
Description: 2008 hardback, 264 pages
Price: regular price: $66
Authors: Keith Davids, Chris Button, Simon Bennett

Reviewer: Ted Scheck

I remember when I moved the best. My ‘physical best,’ and I’m talking all-around, all-out bodily movement. August, 1986 (I was 23) and had been through Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Infantry Training) at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. Nearly 12 weeks of constant marching in that awful humid weather. We got two minutes to grab breakfast, sit down, and wolf down what I believe were once eggs, smothered in something eerily similar to beef or sausage gravy. We had a name for this dish, but I can’t say the first word, for it would be improper. Let’s call it ‘something-on-a-shingle.’ I don’t remember what we ate for lunch. Dinner was slightly more relaxed. We got five minutes.

We’d march everywhere. We had PT about every day. Guys coming into Basic Training overweight soon watched their excess adipose tissue literally melt away. We did hundreds of push-ups a day. With our caloric intake, and all the aerobic conditioning forced upon our hearts, lungs, and blood vessels, it was an unbalanced equation. We burned much more energy than we were able to take in. I was hungry all the time, and there was no fridge just down the hall or stairs. We were under ‘total control’ and as trainees, were kept to an extremely tight schedule. We were not allowed to ask ‘why’ but were told to follow orders, obey orders.

My ‘best’ came at the End-of-Cycle Physical Training Test. I maxed everything; 62 sit-ups in two minutes, 70 push-ups in two minutes, and two miles in twelve minutes. It was the most difficult and most satisfying thing I’d ever done. I was as skinny and cut as I’ve ever been.

I knew that I moved, and that I moved efficiently. In a generalized sense, I knew that I was both strong and had endurance; I could run both fast and over a long distance. I did not, however, understand anything about the mechanics of movement, or what factors influenced the acquisition of the skills I used to bend, push, and run.

In the preface is an eye-catching phrase, which comes right before the Purpose of the Book. “Performers must coordinate and control movements effectively.” Movement scientists try to understand what happens when human beings move, to understand how coordination patterns are assembled, controlled, and acquired. This is where the ‘constraints’ or ‘limits/limiting factors’ come into play. Models of human movement need to be created. As technology improves, so must the models that define movement.

Dynamics of Skill Acquisition posts such a model, meant to help physical educators, sport scientists, psychologists, physiotherapists, biomechanists, coaches, teachers, physical therapists, and advanced undergraduates. All will benefit from this fascinating book.

Part I consists of the first four chapters. ‘Skill Acquisition Theory’ is introduced in the first chapter. The history and various theories are covered in great detail. The most important thing you’ll take away from the first chapter is the simple relationship between performance and practice. If you are not a lover of science, of research, or of complex theories, then this book will not be for you. A baseline knowledge is necessary to wade through the jargon and techno-speak. Important research topics are ‘spotlighted’ in ‘Spotlight on Research’ which frequently explain important and relevant topics of research.

Chapter Two covers ‘Physical Constraints on Coordination Dynamical Systems Theory.’ Dynamical Systems Theory provides a relevant model of understanding movement coordination and control in neurobiological systems. The performer is an example of a ‘complex system’ much like our weather is in relation to a local region, or climate to the earth. The human body has within it many independent and complex subsystems. The chapter illuminates the fact that the more these subsystems work together, the more refined the movement becomes. On the other hand, the less these subsystems work together, the less refined and less-coordinated the movement is. That is just the tip of the iceberg of the detail gone into in this chapter.

Chapter Three is ‘Informational Constraints on Coordination: An Ecological Perspective.’ It details the relationship between performer and his environment. There exist informational transactions between the performer and objects, obstacles, or surfaces in space (where information) at a specific instant in time (when information). The NFL running back will run differently on the dry, warm turf of a pre-season game at Lucas Oil Stadium as opposed to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in December. He must make constant changes and adjustments to ensure he gains the yardage, and ensure that he doesn’t trip or slip up five yards behind the line of scrimmage. In fantastic detail, the processes going on in the brain of the athlete or performer are laid out.

‘Redefining Learning’ in Chapter Four analyzes motor learning in the context of how learning and practice affect long-term changes in the organization of movement systems. Several global things affect a person’s coordination: genes, perceptions, intentions, physical constraints, surrounding information, and system dynamics. One thing that amazed me was the definition of ‘practice.’ Seeing it in this new light changes how I’ll view teaching the concept of practice to my own students.

From the book: “The purpose of practice is to seek, explore, discover, assemble, and stabilize functional and reliable movement patterns.” There is so much in that one definition it’s like a skill station I want to set up with my students in a couple weeks, when we’ll be doing group fitness. I want to break a movement down to its component parts and put a station at each one, and then film the task from pre-beginning to end.

“Seek” will be the first station. The student will think and cogitate about what they’re about to perform. “Explore” will be the beginning state of that task. “Discover” will be the refinement of better skill acquisition and the discarding of bad skills. “Assemble” will be the gathering of the array of things that worked well (position of feet on ground, ambient light, degree of attention to skill) into one smooth, fluid operation. Final station will be “Stabilize,” which will be refining the skill to the very best that they can perform.

This book is a series of exotic planets strung together in a very large universe. Each concept is as big as a planet, and your mind is the spaceship capable of warp drive. But you’ll have to be patient; some big concepts are introduced here which require a fair amount of scientific background. Armed with that, you’ll be able to zip from planet to planet (chapter to chapter, concept to concept) in no time. I’m not mathematically minded and couldn’t compute my way out of an advanced equation given a side rule, but conceptually, I get this book, and I understand its importance in getting my students to narrow their focus of attention when they’re practicing a skill. It helps to ask ‘why’ I am doing this, and to explore the mechanics and principles that underlie all human movement.

Part II consists of chapters 5-10, going into every minute detail. In part II the constraints-led approach is put into application. Chapter 6, ‘Understanding the Dynamics of Skill Acquisition,’ the learner is encouraged to explore his/her own way of learning skills, given ample time and space to explore and discover appropriate movement solutions for themselves. ‘Old School’ PE would have the teacher, or a student advanced in the skill, demonstrate how to do the skill, and then the rest of the class is expected to follow suit exactly as it was shown. After that the student is evaluated and feedback is given. This technique has been shown to have faults. Instead, we should have a ‘hands-off’ approach. Give them wiggle room to find out what works best for them. We as teachers are still there to monitor, guide, and facilitate the learner’s progress. There is always a time when students need the kind of help prescribed at the beginning of the paragraph; there is also a time for hands-off, let ‘em rip for themselves, to learn for themselves what works.

For the serious coach, teacher, practitioner, or just someone who wants to dive deep down into the concepts of practice and skill acquisition, Dynamics of Skill Acquisition will guide the reader to the complex and fascinating world that few will venture to travel. Full of charts, diagrams, and the latest cutting-edge research, this book is only for the serious-minded student of human movement.