Course Syllabus

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KIN 370 Motor Learning and Development

Sponsoring Institution: Lewis-Clark State College

3 Credits

Instructor Information

Course Instructor: Dr. Michael Collins 

• Email: mcollins@lcsc.edu

• Copy the ISI office at indepst@uidaho.edu on all communications. 

Your course developer and instructor is Dr. Michael Collins, a professor in the Kinesiology department at Lewis-Clark State College located in Lewiston, Idaho. Dr. Collins is also the head cross country and track coach at the college, where he applies many of the theories and techniques talked about in this course. As a coach, he has been named Conference Coach of the Year ten times and has produced over 100 All-Americans in the sports of cross country and track & field. He has been at Lewis-Clark State College since 1997 and has taught a variety of courses for the college. In his spare time, he enjoys fly fishing, participating in triathlons, and reading. He is married and has two daughters.

Course Description

In this course, you will study motor behavior and the conditions and factors that influence the learning of motor skills. Human movement is a complex phenomenon. For practitioners concerned with movement enhancement, that complexity presents a constant challenge. The key to meeting this challenge lies in understanding how people learn.

In general, the course will follow the textbook chapter by chapter. There will be at least one assignment for each chapter topic, including exploratory activities, exercises, and chapter review questions. You are encouraged to read the entire chapter before beginning the assignments. Depending on the topic, there may be websites to reference for additional information. When completing assignments, be sure to include the question prior to your answer.

Course Learning Outcomes

This course is designed to help bridge the gap between research and practice by providing students with the necessary tools to build a solid foundation for assessing performance, such as effective instruction and designing practice, rehabilitation techniques, and training experiences that will optimize skill acquisition and performance.

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of biomechanics.
• Identify critical elements for basic motor skills and develop appropriate sequences.
• Demonstrate with competence basic motor skills, rhythms, and physical activities (sport and games, lifelong leisure activities, and dance).
• Describe and demonstrate concepts and strategies related to skillful movement and physical activity.
• Incorporate interdisciplinary learning experiences that allow learners to integrate knowledge and skills from multiple subject areas.
• Describe and apply disciplinary knowledge (concepts and principles) to skillful movement, physical activity, and fitness.
• Analyze current physical activity issues based on historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological perspectives.
• Describe the organic, skeletal, and neuromuscular structures of the human body, identify how these systems adapt to skillful movement, physical activity, and fitness and analyze their contributions to motor performance.
• Employ concepts, assumptions, and debates central to inquiry in the study of physical activity.
• Create and use appropriate instructional cues and prompts for basic motor skills, rhythms, and physical activity.
• Support and encourage learner expression through movement.
• Use a variety of developmentally appropriate practices to motivate learners to participate in physical activity inside and outside of school.
• Use strategies to help learners demonstrate responsible personal and social behaviors that promote positive relationships and a productive environment.
• Use strategies to promote mutual respect, support for others, safety, and cooperative
• Use managerial and instructional routines which create smoothly functioning learning
• Organize, allocate, and manage resources (e.g., time, space, equipment, activities, and teacher attention) to provide active and equitable learning experiences.
• Use strategies to help learners become self-motivated in their learning.
• Describe strategies to teach learners various behavior management techniques.
• Design and implement learning experiences that are safe, appropriate, realistic, relevant, and based on principles of effective instruction.
• Use demonstrations and explanations to link physical activity concepts to appropriate learning experiences.
• Use a variety of formal and informal assessment techniques to assess learner performance, provide feedback, and communicate learner progress.

Required Materials

Both the 4^th and the 3^rd edition of the textbook will work for the course.

•  Coker, Cheryl A., Motor Learning & Control for Practitioners. 4th Ed. 2018. ISBN-13: 978-1138737013. ISBN-10: 1138737011

 OR        

•  Coker, Cheryl A., Motor Learning & Control for Practitioners. 3rd Ed. Scottsdale: Holcomb Hathaway, 2013. Print. ISBN: 9781934432846

Course Rules and Requirements

Assignment guidelines

• Students may begin the course upon registration
• Students may submit up to 3 lessons at once and up to 6 lessons in a one week.
• Wait for grades on lessons prior to submitting subsequent lessons.
• Keep a copy of every lesson submitted. Write your name and V Number on every submission.
• Students may submit lessons via Canvas. Students will receive graded lessons via Canvas.
• You will typically receive graded lessons within two weeks after the date of the receipt by the instructor.
• An Assignment Tracking Log is provided so that you can make a schedule that will help you meet your goals for completing this course.

Grade Information

The course grade will be based upon the following considerations:

• Chapter 1 Introduction to Motor Learning = 40pts
• Chapter 2 Understanding Movement = 50 pts
• Chapter 3 Behavioral Theories = 50 pts
• Chapter 4 Neural Mechanisms = 45 pts
• Chapter 5 Stages of Learning = 25 pts
• Chapter 6 Pre-Instruction Considerations = 25 pts
• Chapter 7 Skill Presentation = 40 pts
• Chapter 8 Principles of Practice Design = 30 pts
• Chapter 9 Practice Schedules = 50 pts
• Chapter 10 Diagnosing Errors = 10 pts
• Chapter 11 Correcting Errors = 25 pts

390 total points possible

The final course grade is issued after all assignments and exams have been graded.

Acts of academic dishonesty, including cheating or plagiarism are considered a very serious transgression and may result in a grade of F for the course.

Course Policies

Refer to the ISI Policies for the most current policies and procedures, including information on setting up accounts, student confidentiality, exams, transcripts, course exchanges, refunds, academic integrity, library resources, disability support and other services.