A framework for understanding pre-practice conditions and their impact on learning

The purpose of this paper is to describe a framework for delineating those conditions that might affect the utility and effectiveness of practice in training. The framework includes factors that occur prior to, during, and after practice. Pre-practice conditions, such as attentional advice, advance organizers, goal orientation, and pre-training briefs, are designed to make the time spent in practice more efficient and useful. This paper first reviews the existing literature concerning the pre-practice conditions that have been identified. Next, a description of the underlying mechanisms for each pre-practice condition is suggested, and a set of propositions regarding these conditions is offered. Finally, past findings are summarized regarding pre-practice conditions and provide an agenda for future research.