Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations

Mian, Maliha Naushad; Beder, Hannah; Marcus, Nadine; Ayres, Paul

doi:10.3390/educsci14090949

Open AccessArticle

Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations

¹

School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

²

School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 949; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090949

Submission received: 22 July 2024 / Revised: 23 August 2024 / Accepted: 26 August 2024 / Published: 28 August 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive Load Theory: Emerging Trends and Innovations)

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Abstract

In two experiments, we compared the effects of practice (real and imitative) with no practice on the observational learning of hand motor skills from animated videos. Experiment 1 investigated learning to play a series of piano clips of varying complexity. Results demonstrated improved learning efficiency with imitative practice compared to no practice. Experiment 2 featured a paper-folding task, and results indicated that real practice led to significantly greater learning than no practice. Furthermore, a significant interaction was found with gender and practice, where females learned best with both real and imitative practice, but males did not benefit from these interventions. However, males outperformed females in the no practice condition. Overall, we found benefits of practice versus no practice for both tasks. However, the most effective type of practice was dependent upon the task: imitative practice for piano playing, and real practice for paper folding. Task complexity and gender were also found to be moderating factors.

Keywords: cognitive load theory; embodied cognition; observational learning; practice; gender; instructional animations

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mian, M.N.; Beder, H.; Marcus, N.; Ayres, P. Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations. Educ. Sci. 2024, 14, 949. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090949

AMA Style

Mian MN, Beder H, Marcus N, Ayres P. Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations. Education Sciences. 2024; 14(9):949. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090949

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mian, Maliha Naushad, Hannah Beder, Nadine Marcus, and Paul Ayres. 2024. "Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations" Education Sciences 14, no. 9: 949. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090949

APA Style

Mian, M. N., Beder, H., Marcus, N., & Ayres, P. (2024). Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations. Education Sciences, 14(9), 949. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090949

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Comparing Real and Imitative Practice with No Practice during Observational Learning of Hand Motor Skills from Animations

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