Representative learning design refers to the arrangement of conditions and constraints of a training or testing environment so that the conditions or constraints represent the performance environment to which the results are intended to apply.

Representative learning design  does not imply that coaches and practitioners have to design practice tasks that incorporate all features of competition  all the time. It is a fundamental misconception that successful application of constraints involves learning under full competitive performance conditions all the time. An important challenge for coaches and practitioners is to understand how to design representative learning environments, by manipulating task constraints, that each learner needs at that moment in his/her development.

 

Pinder, R. A., Davids, K., Renshaw, I., & Araújo, D. (2011). Representative learning design and functionality of research and practice in sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 33(1), 146-155.

Araujo, D., Davids, K., & Passos, P. (2007). Ecological validity, representative design, and correspondence between experimental task constraints and behavioral setting: Comment on. Ecological psychology, 19(1), 69-78.

Hendricks, S., Lambert, M., Masimla, H., & Durandt, J. (2015). Measuring skill in rugby union and rugby league as part of the standard team testing battery. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 10(5), 949-965.

Renshaw, I., Davids, K., Newcombe, D., & Roberts, W. (2019). The constraints-led approach: Principles for sports coaching and practice design. Routledge.