In this paper we re-visit and elaborate-on the theoretical framework of learning as searching within the perceptual-motor workspace for a solution to the task. The central focus is the nature of search strategies to locate and create stable equilibrium regions in the perceptual-motor workspace and how these strategies relate to the emergent movement forms in the acquisition of coordination, control, and skill. In the ecological theory of perception and action, the enhanced stability of performance occurs through the attunement of the perceptual systems to the task dynamics together with modifications of action as task and intrinsic dynamics cooperate and/or compete. Thus, through practice in this search process, individuals adapt to the pick-up of task relevant perceptual variables and change their movement form according to the stability of the performed action and its outcome in relation to the task demands. Contemporary experimental findings have revealed features of the search process given the interaction of individual intrinsic dynamics in the context of task requirements and principles that drive the change – e.g., exploitation of more tolerant task-space solutions and emergence of compensatory mechanisms. Finally, we outline how the search strategy framework relates to traditional learning-related phenomena: including the dynamical pathways of learning, learning curves, factors of learning, individuality, motor development, and sport and rehabilitation interventions.

Practice has been conceptualized in terms of a search process through an evolving perceptual-motor workspace. The experiment was set up to examine whether the inherent variability of the system would influence perception of the relevant properties of the task space. We reanalyzed the data from Hsieh, Liu, Mayer-Kress, and Newell (2013) in which participants performed a speed-accuracy aiming task and feedback emphasized either temporal or spatial accuracy in different conditions. The maximum variability in spatial error during practice differentiated individual's best performance in the fast speed-accuracy conditions. Additionally, we found that a threshold of variability predicted discontinuities during practice within individuals. The findings support the proposition that inherent variability affords perception of the relevant dimension of the task. The search motion through the perceptual-motor workspace was continuous or discontinuous depending on the constraints of the movement speed-accuracy condition.

The idea that proficiency in the fundamental movement skills (FMS) is necessary for the development of more complex motor skills (i.e., the proficiency barrier) and to promote health-enhancing physical activity and health-related physical fitness levels is widespread in the literature of motor development. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study assessing whether children presenting proficiency below a specified proficiency barrier would demonstrate difficulty in improving performance in more complex skills—even when subjected to a period of practice in these complex skills. The present study tested this. Eighty-five normal children (44 boys) aged 7 to 10 years participated in the study. The intervention took place during 10 consecutive classes, once a week, lasting 40 min each. Six FMS (running, hopping, leaping, kicking, catching and stationary dribbling) and one transitional motor skill (TMS) (speed dribbling skill) were assessed. The results showed that only those who showed sufficient proficiency in running and stationary dribbling before the intervention were able to show high performance values in the TMS after intervention. In addition, in line with recent propositions, the results show that the basis for development of the TMS was specific critical components of the FMS and that the barrier can be captured through a logistic function. These results corroborate the proficiency barrier hypothesis and highlight that mastering the critical components of the FMS is a necessary condition for motor development.