Feedback has a big effect on the learning of a skill, when a person is trying to learn a new skill then if the feedback they get back is positive then they are more likely to learn the skill more quickly. This is so because it is proven that if a person enjoys what they are learning then they learn the skill faster. A good coach gives positive information feedback first, followed by error correction and finally some information to motivate the person or persons. To do this the person giving out the feedback needs to make sure what they are saying is accurate and well informed. Also they have to have knowledge of the result and they need to be specific and selective with the information. They need to do this so the person does not get over run with feedback, if there is too much it could confuse the performer. The coach would also have to keep the feedback interesting and easy to understand because if its boring or hard to understand then the performer will lose interest and starts not to listen. It is usually good to give the feedback straight after the performance so the person knows what the coach is talking about, the player can forget what he/she did and become de-motivated if he/she is being criticised for no reason from the point of view of the performer. The coaches are advised to encourage intrinsic feedback because if the player is confident then they would be comfortable and relaxed, this makes a player perform to the best of their ability.
A skill is something you are born with and can be improved over time and practice. There are four different types of skill, they are:
Cognitive skills
This type of skill involves the person to have to process thoughts to be able to do it well. E.g. judges adding up scores in ice-skating.
Perceptual skills
This type of skill involves the person to interpret the information in his or her own way.
Motor skills
This type of skill involves the muscular system and concerns movement and muscular control. E.g. walking and running.
Perceptual motor skills
This is an extremely complex process; it does not just involve one type of skill. Most skills are known as perceptual motor skills as they involve thought, interpretation and movement.
‘Learning is a more or less permanent change in performance brought about by experience’. Learning is a complex process, but it is agreed that learning skills are in stages, they are:
Cognitive learning- finding out how to perform the skill, and then when learnt and reinforced they can go onto the next stage. To make sure it is do correctly they need to be shown the perfect model. E.g. when trying to learn how to pass a ball in hockey a teacher or coach will demonstrate how to do it.
Associative learning- practicing the skill at this point intrinsic and extrinsic feedback is good. The coach detects errors made by the players and corrects them, usually a lot of improvement. At this stage some players are at their peak and can’t improve any more. E.g. the performer will practice and the teacher will give feedback.
Autonomous learning- the skill is now performed without much conscious control. Only the very skilful players are in this stage and usually motor programs are used. E.g. a hockey player can pass a good ball every time without conscious effort.
To conclude I think that feedback has a very important role in the learning of skills because when I play football I find when we go on a winning run the feedback we get is very positive. This makes our player confident and we take are time and play good football. If we lose a few games we start to get more bad feedback and our confidence levels drop and we begin to make bad passes and the motivation of our team is poor. This stops us from performing to the best of our ability and less effort is put in and we carry on losing. So I think if extrinsic feedback is positive and intrinsic feedback is positive then the player or players are going to perform better. I also think that if someone else says you have done well (extrinsic feedback) it make me more confident. If you think you’ve done well and know one says anything you have some doubt about weather it was good, but if someone does say something then it helps you know it was good. Another way of getting positive feedback is to make yourself fitter and if people say you look good then you feel good about yourself and you are more positive in your play. On the other hand if all the feedback you get is positive then you can get complacent and this can also make you play bad because you try taking it past players or shooting instead of passing to other player because you think your better than them. This makes other players begin not to pass the ball to this player because if the person does not pass to you why should the other person expect to be passed to.
A good way of receiving feedback is off a friend or a teammate because you are more likely to listen to a friend rather than a stranger or a person you don’t like very much.
