Effects of Frequency of Feedback on the Learning of Motor Skill in Preschool Children

Abstract

<strong>Background:</strong> Feedback is one of the most important variables which affect the motor acquisition and the performance of a skill which plays a significant role in motor control as well as the learning of a motor skill. <strong>Objectives:</strong> The present study serves to assess the acquisition and retention of a new motor skill in pre-elementary school students, while presenting them with an additional feedback with different frequencies (0%, 50%, and 100%). <strong>Patients and Methods:</strong> The methodology of the current study is Semi-experimental, with pretests and posttests conducted on children presented with three different frequencies of additional knowledge of results (KR) feedback (0%, 50%, and 100%). The statistical population consisted of all 6-8 year old pre-elementary school students of Ahvaz, of whom 45 were selected through multilevel cluster sampling, and were subsequently divided, in three different groups. The selected task for the subjects consisted of throwing a tennis ball from over the shoulder toward a target depicted on the ground. The subjects performed 60 try-outs within the acquisition phase, in which the 0% group was presented with no feedback at all, 50% group received feedback in 50% of the try-outs, and 100% group obtained feedback in all try-outs. Three days after the acquisition phase, retention tests with 10 throws were conducted. One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Tukey test, and repeated measures test were used on each block for data analysis. <strong>Results:</strong> The results indicated significant differences between all three groups, both within the acquisition and retention tests (P = 0.001). The findings were suggestive that the 100% group performance was significantly superior to the other two groups in the acquisition phase, while the 50% group was significantly superior within the retention phase. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> In short, it can be concluded that children might benefit more from the reduced feedback for learning a skill.