Chapter 2 (Rink)

• For a child to learn a motor skill they must first have prerequisites of easier related skill or abilities that tie into the larger skill being taught. Then after this it is necessary for the child to have a clear understanding of what is being taught. If they do not have a clear understanding of the task being taught then the mind will send the wrong information to the body resulting in failure, even though the body of the child can perform the task. This mind to body information is called motor programs. The students must also be motivated to perform the given task. Motivation is a directly correlated as to whether the student cognitively understood the original task. This is so because if the student did not understand they may get confused, and discouraged to perform the task. This is the teachers job to make sure the student understands the task, and what they are asking so the students can be motivated to perform the task. Once the student has understood the task and is able to complete the skill then they must practice that skill repetitively. This helps to develop the motor programs necessary to do the certain skill properly, and in doing so increase the percentage of its effectiveness. During this practice phase it is the teachers job to give the students feedback as to whether or not they are doing the skill properly. Having this external feedback allows for a decrease in error of the skill being performed. 
• I believe open skills should be taught in a dynamic setting where the environment is always changing. This is because during the open skills no two scenarios may be the same, so the learner must be able to accommodate for all possible outcomes of the environment. Closed skills on the other hand are static in nature and I believe would be best taught with the constant repetition of a skill in a set environment. I believe this would allow for the development of better motor programs. Discrete skills are like closed skills in the manner that they too are developed by constant repetitive actions. These are the building blocks of larger skills. When you put multiple discrete skills together you get a serial skill. An example of this would be a double-leg take down to a half, as performed in wrestling. It is key though that as a teacher discrete skills are first mastered before going on to more complex serial skills.