Browsing by Author "Seifert, Ludovic"
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- PublicationOpen AccessBetween exploitation and exploration of motor behaviours: Unpacking the constraints-led approach to foster nonlinear learning in physical education(2019)
; ;Potdevin, François ;Chollet, DidierSeifert, LudovicIntroduction The constraints-led approach (CLA) and more generally a complex systems perspective on motor learning emphasizes the role of perceptual-motor exploration during learning in order to ensure the acquisition of a highly individualized, adapted and adaptable movement pattern. Recent studies have shown that human beings have a strong tendency to exploit already stable patterns rather than looking for new potentially more efficient patterns. In order to shape the amount of exploration, we implemented two learning designs based on a CLA where constraints were used to limit the boundaries of the perceptual-motor workspace of the learners. We sought to highlight how practitioners can play with the perceptual motor workspace boundaries in order to i) promote the use of exploratory behaviours and ii) guide the learner towards task-relevant functional areas.
Method For the experiment, twenty-four beginners in breaststroke swimming were allocated to three groups of learning: a control group receiving only the goal of the learning, an analogy group receiving the goal of learning accompanied by an analogy about “how to perform”, a pacer group receiving information on the goal of learning and the use of a metronome to continuously push them to “perform better”. Based on their assigned group, each learner then followed a learning protocol of 16 sessions with a 10*25m swimming distance per session with the goal of increasing the stroke length for a fixed swimming speed. Both performance (i.e., stroke length) and motor behaviour (i.e., arm-leg coordination) were collected for each session. The arm-leg coordination patterns were computed by the continuous relative phase between knee and elbow angles. Thereafter, a cluster analysis was performed on the coordination in order to get a qualitative label for every cycle performed during the entire process of learning. Based on the use of cluster analysis, an exploration/exploitation ratio was calculated and the increase in performance was determined based on the increase in stroke length.
Results and Discussion With reference to the exploration/exploitation ratio, our results showed that additional temporary constraints led learners to increase both the nature of their exploration and also the quantity of their exploration. In the meantime, the three groups showed an equivalent final performance enhancement. The aim of manipulating the constraints was not only to push the learner out of his comfort zone, but also to provide relevant information about “where” to explore during learning. For this purpose, the use of analogy appeared as the most relevant constraint to encourage the emergence of efficient behaviour. Interestingly the impact of the analogy was modified by adding the metronome, showing an interaction effect of both constraints. The group using the metronome exhibited different behaviours as compared to the analogy group and showed an increase in exploration during learning compared to the control group. However, although the metronome constantly pushed the learner to improve performance, it did not actually lead to a better improvement of performance when compared to the analogy group. The simple assumption that the constraints forced the learner to explore therefore does not seem a mandatory condition to promote an exploratory learning. Rather, the qualitative nature of the constraint seems the most relevant characteristic that can be manipulated to promote an exploratory learning by guiding the learner within the perceptual motor workspace.WOS© Citations 33Scopus© Citations 39 120 447 - PublicationMetadata onlyDynamics of skill acquisition: An ecological dynamics approach(Human Kinetics, 2021)
;Button, Chris ;Seifert, Ludovic; ;Araujo, DuarteDavids, KeithDynamics of Skill Acquisition, Second Edition, provides an analysis of the processes underlying human skill acquisition. As the first text to outline the multidisciplinary ecological dynamics framework for understanding movement behavior, this heavily updated edition stays on the cutting edge, with principles of nonlinear pedagogy and methodologies from the constraints-led approach.27 - PublicationOpen AccessThe ecological dynamics framework: An innovative approach to performance in extreme environments: A narrative review(2022)
;Seifert, Ludovic ;Hacques, Guillaume(1) Background: Uncertainty in extreme sports performance environments, such as climbing, provides considerable psycho-emotional and physiological demands, notably due to the many different environments in which climbing can be performed. This variety of environments, conditions of practice and engagement would challenge the acquisition of perceptual-motor skills; (2) Methods: To better understand how perceptual-motor skills are controlled and acquired in climbing, we proposed a narrative review anchored in the ecological dynamics theoretical framework and showed how this theoretical framework would support a nonlinear pedagogy to skill acquisition and to design safe learning and training situations that are representative of extreme performance contexts; (3) Results: We explained three theoretical pillars and we provide examples for design intervention following nonlinear pedagogy, notably (i) to set a constraint-led approach (in particular task constraint), (ii) to implement conditions of practice (constant vs. variable, imposed vs. self-controlled), (iii) to promote adaptive and creative behavioral variability during practice; (4) Conclusions: The challenge for the extreme sport practitioner is how to set up conditions of practice for efficient exploration in a manner that manages the dangers of performing in uncertain environments. Representing uncertainty within the relative safety of indoor settings may be one approach for preparing climbers for performance in extreme environments.WOS© Citations 2 55 59Scopus© Citations 4 - PublicationOpen AccessExploring to learn and learning to explore(2020)
;Hacques, Guillaume; ;Dicks, MattSeifert, LudovicIn respect to ecological psychology processes of attunement and calibration, this critical review focusses on how exploratory behaviors may contribute to skilled perception and action, with particular attention to sport. Based on the theoretical insights of Gibson (1966) and Reed (1996), exploratory and performatory actions have been differentiated in numerous experiments to study the perception of opportunities of action. The distinction between exploratory and performatory actions has informed the study of infant behavior in developmental psychology, however, in the current article, we highlight limitations with this distinction in the study of sport performers. We propose that a dynamic view of exploratory behavior would reveal how individuals develop exploratory activity that generates information about the fit between environmental properties and action capabilities. In this aim, practitioners should: (i) give learners the opportunity to safely develop exploratory behaviors even when they act outside their action boundary; and (ii) guide learners to search for more reliable information to develop exploratory behaviors that would enhance the transfer of skills to various performance contexts.WOS© Citations 36 305 285Scopus© Citations 33 - PublicationOpen AccessLearning and transfer of perceptual-motor skill: Relationship with gaze and behavioral exploration(2021)
;Hacques, Guillaume; Seifert, LudovicVisual and haptic exploration were shown to be central modes of exploration in the development of locomotion. However, it is unclear how learning affects these modes of exploration in locomotor task such as climbing. The first aim of this study was to investigate the modifications of learners’ exploratory activity during the acquisition of a perceptual-motor skill. The second aim was to determine to what extent the acquired perceptual-motor skill and the learners’ exploratory activity were transferred to environments presenting novel properties. Seven participants attended 10 learning sessions on wall climbing. The effects of practice were assessed during pretest, posttest, and retention tests, each composed of four climbing routes: the route climbed during the learning sessions and three transfer routes. The transfer routes were designed by manipulating either the distance between handholds, the orientation of the handholds or the handholds shape. The results showed that the number of exploratory hand movements and fixations decreased with practice on the learning route. A visual entropy measure suggested that the gaze path in this route became more goal-directed on posttest, but some search was necessary on the retention test. The number of exploratory movements also decreased on the three transfer routes following practice, whereas the number of fixations was higher than on the learning route, suggesting that, with learning, participants relied more on exploration from a distance to adapt to the new properties of the transfer routes. Analyses of the individual performances and behaviors showed differences in the development of skilled exploratory activity.WOS© Citations 10 86 84Scopus© Citations 10 - PublicationOpen AccessNarrowing the coordination solution space during motor learning standardizes individual patterns of search strategy but diversifies learning rates(2023)
; ;Seifert, Ludovic ;Vergne, NicolasNewell, Karl M.Constraints on practice can benefit motor learning by guiding the learner towards efficient coordination patterns, but can also narrow the potential solution space of coordination and control. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether narrowing the solution space through more restrictive task constraints limits the expression of potential exploratory behaviours during the learning process, identified using Drifting Markov Models. In a breaststroke swimming task, the change in interlimb coordination of 7 learners practicing for 16 lessons over 2 months was analysed to quantify motor exploration and identify periods of metastable regimes of coordination. Results showed that the observed exploratory dynamics were highly individual both in terms of range of exploration and in the patterns of search. The more restrictive task constraints did not impair the amount of exploration but rather channelled the exploration around a few selected patterns. In addition, restraining the nature of the exploratory process increased the inter-individual differences of the learning rate. Although manipulating the task constraints during learning can help learners to escape from the behavioural consequences of their intrinsic dynamics, maintaining a broad solution space for a diversity of coordination patterns to emerge was key to fostering effective exploration of individual coordination solutions.46 35Scopus© Citations 2 - PublicationOpen AccessThe role of nonlinear pedagogy in supporting the design of modified games in junior sports(2021)
; ; Seifert, LudovicNonlinear Pedagogy has been advocated as an approach that views acquisition of movement skills with a strong emphasis on exploratory behaviors and the development of individualized movement skills. Underpinned by Ecological Dynamics, Nonlinear Pedagogy provides key ideas on design principles to support a teaching and learning approach that accounts for dynamic interactions among constraints in the evolution of movement behaviors. In the context of junior sports, the manipulation of task constraints is central to how games can be re-designed for children to play that are age and body appropriate so that the games can still capture the key elements of representativeness as compared to the adult form of the game. Importantly, these games offer suitable affordances that promote sensible play that could be transferable to other contexts. In this paper, we provide an in-depth discussion on how Nonlinear Pedagogy is relevant in supporting the design and development of modified games in the context of junior sports. Practical implications are also provided to share how games can be modified for meaningful play to emerge.WOS© Citations 9 82 161Scopus© Citations 12 - PublicationOpen AccessVisual control during climbing: Variability in practice fosters a proactive gaze pattern(2022)
;Hacques, Guillaume ;Dicks, Matt; Seifert, LudovicIn climbing, the visual system is confronted with a dual demand: controlling ongoing movement and searching for upcoming movement possibilities. The aims of the present research were: (i) to investigate the effect of different modes of practice on how learners deal with this dual demand; and (ii) to analyze the extent this effect may facilitate transfer of learning to a new climbing route. The effect of a constant practice, an imposed schedule of variations and a self-controlled schedule of variations on the gaze behaviors and the climbing fluency of novices were compared. Results showed that the constant practice group outperformed the imposed variability group on the training route and the three groups climbing fluency on the transfer route did not differ. Analyses of the gaze behaviors showed that the constant practice group used more online gaze control during the last session whereas the imposed variability group relied on a more proactive gaze control. This last gaze pattern was also used on the transfer route by the imposed variability group. Self-controlled variability group displayed more interindividual differences in gaze behaviors. These findings reflect that learning protocols induce different timing for gaze patterns that may differently facilitate adaptation to new climbing routes.WOS© Citations 4Scopus© Citations 5 28 85