Skill, skill continuums and transfer of skills: Bilateral.

The idea

Bilateral transfer describes the effect of learning or performing a skill with one limb on the same skill performed with the opposite limb. A common method is to practise a task such as dribbling or throwing with the dominant arm or leg and then measure performance with the non-dominant limb; improvement in the non-dominant limb indicates bilateral transfer. The transfer can be positive, where the second limb improves, or negative, where it is hindered, and it can also be zero if no change occurs. In an AQA A-Level Physical Education multiple-choice question, you may be asked to identify bilateral transfer from a description or to distinguish it from other transfer types such as proactive and retroactive transfer, so read the stem carefully for the words limb, hand, foot or side.

What earns the marks

• Defines bilateral transfer as the effect of learning or performing a skill with one limb on performance of the same skill with the opposite limb.
• Recognises that bilateral transfer can be positive, negative or zero depending on whether the second limb improves, worsens or is unchanged.
• Applies the concept to a practical example by comparing performance of the same skill with dominant and non-dominant limbs.
• Distinguishes bilateral transfer from proactive and retroactive transfer, which concern the order in which skills are learned rather than which limb is used.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing bilateral transfer with proactive or retroactive transfer.

  Put it right: Bilateral transfer concerns opposite limbs, whereas proactive and retroactive transfer concern the sequence of learning different skills.

• Assuming bilateral transfer is always positive.

  Put it right: It can be negative or zero, so check the stem for the direction of any change.

• Describing transfer between two different skills rather than the same skill performed with the opposite limb, which is the defining feature of bilateral transfer.

• Overlooking the word same in the definition.

  Put it right: Bilateral transfer refers to the same skill performed on the other side, not a different skill.

Exam tips

• Look for limb words such as hand, foot, arm, leg or side in the stem to identify bilateral transfer.
• Check whether the stem describes the same skill on the opposite side, because that is the key feature of bilateral transfer.
• Eliminate options about the order of learning different skills, as those describe proactive or retroactive transfer instead.