ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of how we define motor learning because our definition determines, to a great extent, how we study and assess it. It addresses several concerns about how some scholars have approached the study of motor learning. The chapter then discusses the measurement and experimental design issues and difficulties typically encountered when we attempt to provide convincing evidence to support the position that the performance changes observed are due to learning. Some researchers have made the mistake of thinking that retention-performance measures are measures of motor learning when in fact they are indirect measures of the retention of motor learning. Compared to incomplete transfer designs, a complete design puts us in a better position to make an inference about the effect of massed and distributed practice on motor learning. This chapter concludes with recommendations for studying and assessing motor learning.
