This document discusses several theories of motor learning: 1. Fitts and Posner's three-stage model of motor learning involving cognitive, associative, and autonomous stages. 2. Gentile's two-stage model involving understanding task dynamics and refining movements. 3. The systems three-stage model involving constraining degrees of freedom as a novice, releasing constraints as advanced, and optimal efficiency as an expert. 4. Schmidt's schema theory involving recall and recognition schemas updated through practice. 5. Ecological theory framing motor learning as coordinating perception and action based on task and environmental constraints. The document provides examples and clinical implications of applying each theory.

1. THEORIES OF MOTOR
LEARNING
Dr. Shweta Kotwani; Pediatric Physical Therapist
BPTh (MUHS); MPT (Neuro,MUHS); LASHS-U.K. Fellowship Dip.(Peds.Rehab.; Clinical
Neuro.Sc.)

2. OBJECTIVES
• Theories related to stages of motor learning skills
1. Fitts and Posner Three Stage Model
2. Gentile’s Two-Stage Model
3. Systems Three-Stage Model
• Schmidt’s Schema Theory
• Ecological Theory

3. Fitts and Posner Three-Stage Model
• Cognitive stage
• Associative stage
• Autonomous stage
Cognitive Associative Autonomous
Levelofattention
The changing attentional demands
associated with the three stages of
motor skill acquisition outlined by
Fitts and Posner (1976)

4. Fitts and Posner Three-Stage Model
• Clinical Implications-
• Mrs. J learns to reach a glass in the following way-
1. First learning to reach for the glass- task requires great deal of attention
and conscious thought. Initially Mrs. J would make a lot of errors and spill
a lot of water, while she experimented with different strategies to
accomplish the task.
2. Second stage- her movements towards the glass would become refined
as she developed an optimal strategy. The task would not require full
attention.
3. Third stage- able to reach for glass while carrying on a conversation or
being engaged in other tasks.

5. Gentile’s Two-Stage Model
• Gentile (1972, 1987) describes the goal of the learner in each stage
1. Goal of the learner is to develop an understanding of the task dynamics.
At this stage they are just getting the idea of the requirements of the
movement. Understanding the goal of the task, developing movement
strategies appropriate to achieve goal. Important feature of this stage is
learning to distinguish relevant or regulatory, features of the
environment from those that are non-regulatory
2. Second stage-fixation/diversification stage- goal of the learner is to
refine the movement. It includes both developing the capability of
adapting the movement to changing task and environmental demands
and performing task consistently and efficiently.

6. Gentile’s Two-Stage Model
• Open vs Closed Skills
• Closed skills- minimal environmental variation, require a consistent
movement pattern with minimal variation. Closed skills require
refinement of a single or limited number of movement patterns
(movement consistency)
• Open skills- changing environmental conditions and therefore require
movement diversification. Open skills require a diversity of movement
patterns (movement diversity)

7. Gentile’s Two-Stage Model

8. Systems Three-Stage Model
1. Novice Stage- Learner simplifies the movement in order to reduce the degrees of freedom. It
is accomplished by constraining or coupling multiple joints, so they move in unison and fixing
the angles of many of the joints involved in the movement. There are at the cost of efficiency
and flexibility in response to changing task or environmental demands.
2. Advanced Stage- Performer begins to release additional degrees of freedom, by allowing
movements at more joints involved in the task. Simultaneous contraction of agonist and
antagonist muscles at a joint would be reduced and muscle synergies across a number of
joints would be used to create a well coordinated movement. That is more adaptable to task
and environmental demands.
3. Expert Stage- Individual has now released all the degrees of freedom necessary to perform
the task in the most efficient and coordinated way. The person uses passive forces
increasingly in movement control, allowing less expenditure of active forces and more
efficient use of energy, thus reducing fatigue. Individual has learned to take the advantage of
the mechanics of the MSK and ENVT and to optimize the efficiency of movement.

9. Systems Three-Stage Model
• Eg. A person first learning to use a hammer may co-contract agonist
and antagonist muscles at the wrist joint to stiffen this joint and
primarily control hammer movement at the elbow.
• Learner can perform the task reasonably accurately at this stage, but
the movement is not energetically efficient, and the performer is not
able to deal flexibly with environmental changes.
• As the task is gradually mastered, the learner begins to release the
degrees of freedom at the wrist and learns to coordinate the
movements at the two joints, which allows for more movement
efficiency, freedom, and skill.

10. Schimdt’s Schema Theory
• The term schema originally referred to an abstract representation
stored in memory following multiple presentations of a class of
objects.
• Eg. After seeing many different types of dogs, it is proposed that we
begin to store an abstract set of rules for general dog qualities in our
brain, so that whenever we see a new dog, no matter what size, color
or shape, we can identify it as a dog.
• The information is stored in STM only long enough to be abstracted
into two schemas, the recall schema (motor) and a recognition
schema (sensory)

11. Schimdt’s Schema Theory
• The recall schema- used to select a specific response.
• Each time a person makes a movement with a particular goal in mind,
he or she uses a particular movement parameter, such as a given
force and then receives input about movement’s accuracy.
• Each new movement adds a new data point to the internal system to
refine the rule.
• After each movement, the sources of information are not retained in
recall schema, but only the rule that was created.

12. Schimdt’s Schema Theory
• The recognition schema is used to evaluate the response.
• The sensory consequences of previous similar movements are
coupled with the current initial conditions to create a representation
of the expected sensory consequences.
• This is then compared to the sensory information from the ongoing
movement in order to evaluate the efficiency of the response.
• Thus, according to this theory, learning consists of the ongoing
process of updating the recognition and recall schemas with each
movement that is made.

13. Schimdt’s Schema Theory
• Clinical Implications-
• Mrs. J is learning a new movement task such as reaching for a glass of milk with
her affected limb, optimal learning will occur if this task is practiced under many
different conditions.
• This will allow her to develop a set of rules for reaching (recall schema) which
then could be applied when reaching for a variety of glasses and cups.
• As she practices reaching and lifting, sensory information about the initial
conditions and consequences of her reaches will be used to form a recognition
schema, which will be used to evaluate the accuracy of future reaches.
• Mrs. J will become more capable of generating appropriate reaching strategies for
picking up an unfamiliar glass, with less likelihood of dropping or spilling the
drink.

14. Ecological Theory
• Newell suggests that motor learning is a process that increases the
co-ordination between perception and action in a way that is
consistent with the task and environmental constraints.
• According to this theory, perceptual information has a number of
roles in motor learning. In a prescriptive role, perceptual information
relates to understanding the goal of the task and the movements to
be learned.
• Another role of perceptual information is as feedback, both during
the movement-knowledge of performance and on completion of
movement-knowledge of results.

15. Ecological Theory
• Perceptual information can be used to structure the search for a
perceptual/ motor solution that is appropriate for the demands of the
task.
• Thus, in this approach, motor learning is characterized by optimal
task-relevant mapping of perception and action, not by a rule based
representation of action.

16. Ecological Theory
• Clinical Implications-
• Mrs J is relearning a movement with her affected arm, such as reaching for
a variety of glasses that contain a variety of substances within them results
in learning to match the appropriate movement dynamics for the task of
reaching.
• Perceptual cues such as the color of the glass, are non-regulatory cues,
which are not essential to the development of optimal movement
strategies for grasping.
• If a perceptual cue suggests a heavy glass, she will need to grasp with more
force. If the glass is full, the speed and trajectory of the movement must be
modified to accommodate the situation.
• If Mrs J is unable to recognize these essential sensory cues, a motor
strategy that is less than optimal will be generated.
• That is, she may spill the fluid within the glass or the glass may slip.

17. References
• MOTOR CONTROL, Translating Research into Clinical Practice; Fourth
Edition; Anne Shumway-Cook, Marjorie H. Woollacott.

18. •THANK YOU!!