ERIC Number: EJ1183159
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jul
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
EISSN: N/A
Children Show Limited Movement Repertoire When Learning a Novel Motor Skill
Lee, Mei-Hua; Farshchiansadegh, Ali; Ranganathan, Rajiv
Developmental Science, v21 n4 Jul 2018
Examining age differences in motor learning using real-world tasks is often problematic due to task novelty and biomechanical confounds. Here, we investigated how children and adults acquire a novel motor skill in a virtual environment. Participants of three different age groups (9-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and adults) learned to use their upper body movements to control a cursor on a computer screen. Results showed that 9-year-old and 12-year-old children showed poorer ability to control the cursor at the end of practice. Critically, when we investigated the movement coordination, we found that the lower task performance of children was associated with limited exploration of their movement repertoire. These results reveal the critical role of motor exploration in understanding developmental differences in motor learning.
Descriptors: Children, Preadolescents, Adults, Psychomotor Skills, Age Differences, Skill Development, Computer Simulation, Task Analysis, Perceptual Motor Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1654929