HOW DOES INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK AFFECT SKILL
DEVELOPMENT?
How feedback is given to athletes influences both their immediate learning of a skill and their
ongoing development as an athlete. Research has primarily focused on two types of feedback provided
by an instructor:
knowledge of results (KR), or information regarding outcome, and
knowledge of
process (KP), or information regarding technique. Initially, most of the research was biased towards
examining KR, and therefore, more evidence has supported the effectiveness of KR for teaching
motor skills.
Zubiaur et.al. (1999) discusses problems in previous research investigating the effect of
feedback on motor skills; particularly, it has been conducted with simple, specific behaviors under
tightly controlled conditions and has primarily focused on KR because KP is more difficult to
manipulate and measure. They examined eight college athletes using a within-subjects design in
which feedback was alternated on a schedule of obtaining baseline, KP, baseline, KR on one day and
baseline, KR, baseline, and KP on the next day. Although the group as a whole did not show
differences between KR and KP, three of the subjects did show superior learning with KP indicating
individual difference effects for feedback. Interestingly, this study found that when KP was
presented first followed by KR it may interfere with retention of the skill.
Other recent research has shown KP to be effective and may have more value in helping an
athlete internally assess his or her performance. KR may cause too much reliance upon external
feedback which hinders the athlete’s ability to assess and correct performance independently
(Swinnen, 1996). Swinnen discusses the guidance hypothesis which refers to the tendency of
students to become dependent upon the feedback from an outside source. Most research had focused
on extrinsic feedback, but it appears than intrinsic feedback can be more important especially
when the student knows the basic skills but is focused on improving performance. This enhances
the student’s ability to correct performance independently of the instructor which creates greater
consistency because performance is not reliant upon the instructor’s presence.
PAGE 3
Copyright © 2002 by Monica A. Frank, Ph.D. and
www.excelatlife.com. Permission to reprint this
article is granted if it includes this entire copyright
and link.
Self-Efficacy Influences Motor
Skills Development--page 1
How Does Instructor Feedback
Affect Skill Development?--page 2
How Does the Type of Instructor
Feedback Affect Skill Development?--page 3
How Does Intrinsic Motivation
Develop?--page 4
How Should Feedback Be Provided
to Athletes?--page 5
Summary of Link Between
Feedback, Self-Efficacy, and Skill Development--page 6
