Which type of P.E. practice involves the method of distributed practice, and why?

• A. The teacher has the students practice a soccer kick two dozen times in-a-row, because it involves motor repetition
• B. The teacher has the students run one hard lap and then slowly walk one lap in between, because it involves staggering intervals
• C. The teacher has the students shoot a basketball from different parts of the court, because it involves changing the situation.
• D. The teacher has the students practice over and over until they can catch a kickball at the pitcher's mound, because it involves mastering a skill

Answer: (B)

Distributed practice spreads practice over time by including rest intervals between repetitions. The activity of running one hard lap and then walking one lap in between repeats distributes effort and recovery across the session, which aligns with spacing practice to improve learning and performance.

This approach helps with recovery and memory consolidation, reducing fatigue and supporting longer-term retention. In contrast, repeating a task many times in a row with little to no rest is massed practice, which can lead to quicker fatigue and poorer long-term retention. Practicing from different parts of the court changes context rather than spacing the practice, so it’s not about distribution of practice over time. Repeating a single skill until mastery is also massed, not distributed, practice.