Training protocols that follow an easy-to-difficult schedule produce superior skill acquisition
Training protocols that progressively increase in difficulty, or curriculum-based learning, consistently enhance motor skill acquisition and performance compared to constant or unadjusted practice.
Multiple empirical studies and trials investigating motor skill learning demonstrate that gradually increasing task difficulty (progressive practice or curriculum learning) leads to superior performance, enhanced learning rates, and greater neuroplasticity compared to non-progressive or constant training regimens.
Lasse Christiansen, Malte Nejst Larsen, Mads Just Madsen, Michael James Grey, Jens Bo Nielsen, Jesper Lundbye-Jensen. Long-term motor skill training with individually adjusted progressive difficulty enhances learning and promotes corticospinal plasticity. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-72139-8
Progessive practice with individually adjusted difficulty enhanced motor skill learning and corticospinal plasticity compared to constant difficulty.
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Keya Ghonasgi, Reuth Mirsky, Sanmit Narvekar, Bharath Masetty, A. Haith, P. Stone, A. Deshpande. Capturing Skill State in Curriculum Learning for Human Skill Acquisition∗. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS51168.2021.9636850
Curriculum-based training theory and experiments suggest that sequenced task difficulty is key to efficient human skill acquisition.
Ankur Kamboj, R. Ranganathan, Xiaobo Tan, Vaibhav Srivastava. Expediting human motor learning in high-dimensional de-novo tasks via online curriculum design. 2025. https://doi.org/10.23919/ACC63710.2025.11107860
A model-based online curriculum design for task scheduling expedited human motor learning and improved performance in novel tasks.
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