Learning Curves

Learning curves are used to mesaure and record our performance over a period of time. 

They are used to track our rate of learning a skill. 

Typical learning curves are not smooth:

• Plateaus – periods of little improvement

• Troughs – a decrease in performance

In learning a new skill, consistency is important

4 types of learning curves

Select a testing process, eg. number of successful shots in 10 attempts

Test yourself at least once per session

Apply practice methods for the rest of the session – eg.  distributed, massed, whole, part

Keep a log of your results and experiences.

Your test measures correctly what it is supposed to measure

If testing performance for basketball layup, a valid test would use basketball hoop and backboard

Invalid test would use netball hoop.

Your test is set up in exactly the same way each time to ensure consistent results are produced

If testing successful shots at the basket, shots must take place from the same position and distance from the basket each time test is conducted.