Variability effects on retention of a motor skill in elementary school children

Variability effects on learning, retention, and transfer of motor skills ha ve been a main issue for scientists involved in laboratory and field resear ch. Variable practice is intended as parameter variations of a generalized motor program as well as rehearsal of different motor programs. Although th e benefits deriving from variable practice on motor skill retention appear quite robust in laboratory settings, field investigations have produced mix ed results, Hence, the aim Of this Study was to examine the effects of diff erent variable schedules on the retention of a complex motor skill in a phy sical education setting. 61 elementary school children were assigned to Blo cked/Nonvariable. Blocked/variable, Serial/Nonvariable, or Serial/variable schedules, and practiced two tasks (throwing and hurdle running) and a comp lex skill (jumping) across 14 lessons. Improved performance in the complex skill was found after practice. with the Serial/Nonvariable group outperfor ming all other groups. Therefore, the rehearsal of different motor programs was beneficial for jumping skill retention, whereas parameter variation wa s not.