Question

Shira is a senior in high school and is struggling with her swim times. She goes to every practice offered, works hard, listens to her coaches, and makes the appropriate adjustments, yet she is making no improvements, meet after meet. For two years, Shira has been struggling with her times and continues to get frustrated. Before her meets, she is anxious, and after her meets, she beats herself up over her performances. Create a goal and explain how you will help Shira obtain it through practice and feedback schedules. Be very specific about practice and feedback schedules, and include a rationale for each based upon motor learning principles.

Answer 1

Goal: Help Shira acheive perfection in swimming

Key areas that we need to be aware of when planning our interventions are

1. Task

2. Environment

3. Shira

Things we can do

1. change the environment, or the task

2. consider learning solutions based on the interaction between the patient

Now, check the task that Shira is doing. Notice exact details about all the tasks, note them down.

Think about the part of the tasks which can be changed. Think whether Shira can go at different timings to practice.

Make Shira believe that she is doing good. Divide the main tasks into pieces.

Then, use this changed environment and changed tasks. Make Shira work harder. Practice more. More practice will lead to perfection. Make Shira repeat the smaller tasks again and again. Make her perfect in smaller tasks first.

Find for the errors and try to make the improvements. Make Shira focus on smaller processes. Make Shira perform same sub task in different conditions, may be under observation, may be when alone etc. Give her some tasks which can help this outcome, to do at home, when not at swim, like skipping or running.

Keep checking for errors, keep noting them, keep working on those errors to minimise them. Provide feedbacks to Shira at various points. Make her subconcious mind to learn these small processes. Then at the end, when she learns these smaller tasks, bring back the initial task and ask Shira to do that. Now, most probably Shira should be able to do it.