Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Motor learning; Transfer of training;

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer of learning between fine and gross motor skill after practice on similar mirror reversal tasks. Transfer of learning would seem to imply that the learning of either type of skill, fine or gross, may facilitate the learning of the other. This study utilized a quasi-experimental, pre-post, three group design, Subjects were male and female volunteers from junior and senior high schools in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Sixty subjects were used in the analysis of the data with twenty-one in each experimental group and eighteen in the control group. Analysis of covariance was used as the statistical tool to interpret the results. All groups had three pretests in both the fine and gross motor tasks. Experimental group one practiced the fine motor task and post tested 1n the gross motor task. Experimental group two practiced the gross motor tasks and post tested in the fine motor task. The third group was the control group which post tested three trials in both tasks with no intervening practice. Practice was over a four day period, six trials a day. Two star tracing tasks were selected as instruments for this study. By using visual baffles to obstruct direct vision, subjects were required to look into mirrors to execute both tasks. The fine motor task required the subjects to trace the star pattern on paper. The gross motor task required subjects to walk through a star pattern that was put on the floor. Both tasks were scored identically for the total time taken to complete the task and the total number of errors committed, Speed and accuracy were judged to be of equal importance in this study. This study tested the following null hypotheses :

1. There is no significant difference between pretest and posttest performance of a gross motor skill after learning by fine motor performance, when scored for time.

2. There is no significant difference between pretest and posttest performance of a gross motor skill after learning by fine motor performance, when scored for error.

3. There is no significant difference between pretest and post test performance of a fine motor skill after learning by gross motor performance, when scored for time.

4. There is no significant difference between pretest and post test performance of a fine motor skill after learning by gross motor performance when scored for error. None of the null hypotheses were rejected since none of the F ratios were significant at the ≤ ... 05 level. Since all groups improved significantly between pretest and post test performance, it appears that learning occur under both experimental and control group conditions Inferences, therefore, that the learning of fine or gross motor tasks facilitated each other were inconclusive.

Year of Submission

1974

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services

First Advisor

Wilhelmina McFee

Second Advisor

Lyle Schwarzenbach

Third Advisor

Roger A. Kueter

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1974

Object Description

1 PDF file (92 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Kinesiology Commons

Share

COinS