PDFE # 14

This lab assignment was conducted in order for us to understand the differences, benefits, and drawbacks of part practice and whole practice. Part practice is the practice of a complex skill in a more simplifed form, and with this form there are three parts: fractionization, segmentation, and simplification. Whole practice is when a task is practiced as one entire form. In the lab that we performed we learned to juggle; one person used the part practice method and the other used the whole practice method. I took part in the part practice method, while Caitlin did the whole practice. The part practice person began by taking one ball and throwing it into the other. The second part was holding one ball in each hand and throwing the ball in the right hand in an arc towards the left hand and when it reaches its peak you throw the ball in the left hand. You then catch the two balls. The third part was holding two balls in your right hand and one in your left, we threw the first ball in the right hand, then the left hand, and finally the last ball in the right hand. During this step we do not catch any of the balls. The final step we complete the step before, but we catch the balls this time.

In our lab test, My retention average was 2.14, and I performed the part practice, while Caitlin's retention average was 1.71 and she performed the whole practice. In our test the part practice worked better than the whole practice. This information shows that part practice works in some areas, but it is not always the correct form of practice. The lab reading shows us that part practice is not always effective becasue when one part of the skill is highly dependent on another part that comes before it there can be problems. It also is not always effective for rapid, discrete actions. But, the information given in the reading did not match our results because we had a higher retention average for the part practice.

Other factors that could have influenced the results could be that one person could have better hand eye coordination, could have developed the skill of juggling more than the other, or one person could have developed more catching/throwing skills at an earlier age. Overall, the lab we performed was very helpful with allowing us to understand both part practice and whole practice. We understand now which tasks can be learned easier with part practice and which work best with whole practice.