Social
7
Observational learning is learning a skill by copying or modelling ourselves on another person.
In demonstraction we wish the learner to copy or model their behaviour on what they see demonstrated. this therefore means that observational learning is also called modelling.
for demonstration to be affective a number of factors need to be considered:
- the attributes and characteristics of the models
- the physical and psychological readiness of the learner
- the motivation of the learner to attend to the model and to practise
There are four stages to the process of modelling or observation learning which link the initial observation to the performance.
ATTENTION - the perofmrer must attend to the demonstration
RETENTION - the visual model must be retained otherwise performance is not possible. the learner must be able to create a mental picture of the skill by using imagery. Imagery can be enhanced by using mental rehearsal.
MOTOR PRODUCTION - the learner must of reached a stage og sufficient physical development so that they can actually perform the skill.
MOTIVATION - the learner will not perform the skill unless they are motivated to do so. external rewards may help.
For this process to be successful the coach or teacher ust ensure that the characteristics of the model and the situation are appropriate. The appropriateness of the demonstration or model is determinded by:
- the relevancy to the learner
- the accuracy of the demonstration
- the status of the role model
POINT OF OBSERVATION - can the learner see the relevant and key points.for example the teacher or coach may ask a learner to look at the arm during a demonstration of shott putt and may use words such as extension. However too much verbal guidance can put the learner off and it is more important that they pay the demonstration full attention.