Do you need to know about deliberate play and practice in regards to practice variability?
Hey hamish,
I'm not sure if I understand your question. If you mean "do we have to know about methods of practice (such as part and whole, mass and distributed, blocked and random) and how they are used in relation to a person's developmental stage", then the answer is yes, we have to know about this.
A person's practice variability changes depending on how much experience they have in the skill being measured. So, for example, a person in the cognitive stage would most likely be coached under part, mass and blocked practice (with the least change) in order to concentrate on developing one specific skill, say shooting hoops in basketball, and they would make many errors and be extremely inconsistent in their results. A person in the autonomous stage, on the other hand, would use whole, distributed and random practice (much more change and application of skill) because they have the basic skill/s down pat and their results are consistent. So, people in the lower stages of learning would have to use a much more stable, repetitive and consistent environment whilst people in the higher stages of learning would apply their skills in much more challenging and unpredictable situations.
Please clarify if I have incorrectly answered your question. For now, I hope this helps you!

edit: Oh! And welcome to ATAR Notes.
