Evaluate Instructional Feedback

Evaluate how instructional feedback from a teacher of Physical Education can serve as a source of motivation, reinforcement and error information for pupils within a physical education lesson.

Learning is a procedure in which an individual increases their knowledge in a certain area. Whether behavioural or skill based, the action that an individual takes in a particular situation can be changed in a variety of ways. I am concentrating on the effect of feedback in this process. The information processing theory explains behaviour in terms of nervous system activity and is supported by many slightly varying models. These models seem to agree on at least three major compulsory stages. These are, the perceptual mechanism,
the decision-making mechanism and the feedback information. Every part of the process is essential to the eventual outcome but feedback is the section in which information allowing a change in behaviour is received. Feedback is vital because it includes a consequence and therefore an altering factor in an individuals future action. An example of a simple information processing system is detailed below:

The process begins with the sensory input received by the central nervous system during an action. This is recovered by the sensory organs and sent to the brain where an interpretation of the data take places dependent upon previous experience and other feedback gathered from similar situations. The individuals perception of given stimuli varies greatly from person to person because of differing memory stores and schemas. After the appropriate decision-making and eventual motor output, feedback is received based on the resultant action. This is the area I will concentrate on. Feedback is available after all ‘closed loop' controls of movement and an example of this is present in the above diagram.
Adam's (1971) ‘closed loop theory suggests that feedback is the essential difference between closed and open loop movement and is only present when there is time for a message to be sent back to the brain. If a movement is performed too quickly it is said to be ‘open-loop' and without feedback. Much research supports this theory such as Thorndike's (1913) laws of effect. He believed that rewarded behaviour would be repeated; in this circumstance, the reward is positive feedback. Whether positive or negative, feedback is generally divided into two categories, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic feedback refers to all information retrieved by the individual themselves. It is largely kinaesthetic feelings with which the performer realises how well a movement has been performed and how close it felt to the perfect model. This is sometimes expressed as ‘knowledge of
performance'. In contrast to this intrinsic feedback is extrinsic feedback or ‘Knowledge of results'.
Magill (1998) described knowledge of results as being ‘Information provided to an individual after the conclusion of a response that is related to either the outcome of the response or the performance characteristics that produce outcome'. Extrinsic feedback encompasses everything from a specific score or result achieved by the movement performed to verbal reaction from a coach or trainer. Without knowing what the results of our actions have been we will be unable to modify them in order to produce the precise movements needed for the correct performance of a skill. Informational feedback essentially points out errors and provides information to correct those
faults. It has been suggested by research that intrinsic an extrinsic feedback have varying importance depending heavily upon a learner's performance level. Fitts & Posner (1967) articulate three main stages in their ‘Phases of learning' model where reliance on feedback type changes with skill level.

The cognitive first phase in this model is described as almost entirely relying on verbal feedback from a teacher or coach. This is the stage that all novice performers will be at and their lack of skill knowledge means there is little or no self-analysis. The end result is the only indication the individual has that the skill has gone well or badly. This stage is only left when the learner begins to realise the kinaesthetic feeling and its relationship to a successful movement. Errors begin to decrease and a schema is formed in its most basic form. The individual can begin to use sensory reference to correct their actions. This is the stage that many amateur sportspeople find themselves in before they get to the high levels of the sport.