26-08-2014, 10:36 AM
The Effect of a Period of Feedback Training on Learning Shooting Skill among
Inexperienced Shooters SEMINAR REPORT
The Effect of a Period.pdf (Size: 47.18 KB / Downloads: 23)
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to study the effect of a period of feedback training on
learning hooting skill among inexperienced shooters. Methodology: The present research was semiempirical
and included three experimental groups and a control group. The population of this research
consisted of 60 male students of Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katool Branch, who were
randomly chosen from physical education students of this university and were divided into four
feedback groups: knowledge of results (KR), knowledge of performance (KP), combined (KR and
KP) and a control group. First, a trainer familiarized subjects with the rifle and shooting. Then, they
all took the pretest which involved shooting 10 shots toward the target. The training period consisted
of eight weeks and three sessions per week. Each subject performed 20 shots and the score of each
shot was recorded. At the end of the training period, subjects took the posttest. They also took the
retention tests at the intervals of 48 hours, 10 days and one month afterwards. Results/Findings: The
results of ANOVA test and Tukey’s post-hoc test showed that performing feedback exercises had a
significant effect on performance and learning and there was a significant difference between the
experimental groups and the control group. Moreover, combined feedback training which included
both KR and KP exercises had a greater and more significant effect on leaning and performance in
comparison with each of these exercises alone. These results also held for the retention tests (p<0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: The results of the present research suggest the positive effect of feedback
exercises on performance and learning as well as the better and more significant effect of combined
feedback training on performance and learning.
INTRODUCTION
The ability to learn is vital for living organisms. Learning enables living organisms to adjust themselves to
certain aspects of their environment. Human beings have a greater ability to learn in comparison with other
living organisms and this ability is more crucial for them. Assuming that human beings only had to live with the
congenital capabilities they were born with, what difficulties they would face. Learning motor skills plays an
important role in daily functions. Motor learning experience can range from relearning to walk after a stroke to
acquiring a complicated sports skill.
It appears that learning motor skills is almost a constant process. However, it often refers to exercise
conditions which involve conscious attempts for improving performance or special skills. Most learning
activities are performed by practice; whether general courses such as physical education course in high school
or private sessions such as private ski tutoring or physiotherapy treatments. Usually, and not always, there is a
teacher, a therapist or a trainer who guides the exercise and activity of the individual, assesses learner’s progress
and makes decisions about future the activity for achieving maximum success in performance. Emphasizing on
the role of the trainer and training conditions is considered as an important factor in educational activities and
implies the necessity for carrying out research on various factors such as the nature of education, evaluation,
exercise planning, etc.
The word learning is used in everyday conversations and has numerous definitions; thus, providing a
proper definition for learning is rather difficult. That is why we encounter various definitions of learning in
books on psychology. The most exhaustive and comprehensive definition of learning that encompasses a broad
range of activities from memorizing a poem to progressing in a sport skill is: “a process in which behavior
develops or changes as a result of practice and experience.”
It is widely recognized that task performance improves with practice (Fitz ,1964; Adams ,1987; Schmidt
& Lee, 1999; Magill, 2001). Thus, not only the amount of exercise, but also its condition and quality can have
an important effect on learning and final performance (Schmidt & Lee, 1999). One of the essential determinants
Statistical Population and Sample of Research
The population of this research consisted of 60 male students of Islamic Azad University, Aliabad Katool
Branch who were studying in the period of 2009-2010. Forty subjects were selected from this population and
were divided into three experimental groups (knowledge from performance feedback, knowledge from result
feedback and a combination of these feedbacks) and a control group.
Test Procedure
After selecting subjects and organizing research groups, an introduction session was held with the
presence of all the subjects and administrators of the research where research procedure was explicated in detail
and necessary explanations were made about the time and place of tests and at that very session personal
characteristics questionnaires were distributed among subjects. Then, all subjects simultaneously participated in
a session where the principles of shooting with air rifle were instructed in theory and practice by an experienced
trainer. After the explanations of the trainer about the principles of shooting and when subjects became familiar
with shooting equipment, each subject shot ten shots as practical acquaintance; then all subjects performed the
shooting pretest involving ten shots to a standard target sheet and the results were recorded as a score from 0 to
100. The training period consisted of four weeks and three sessions per week. Thus, the training period included
12 sessions. In each session, according to the planned protocol, subjects of each group exercised shooting skill
with 30 shots. During the training period, independent variables of the research including KR and KP feedbacks
and a combination of these two were applied respectively to each group. The subjects who received KR
feedback were allowed to observe the result of their performance after each trial and generally in each session,
subjects in the first group were able to observe their performance 30 times. Subjects in the KP group received
feedback about their performance from an experienced trainer. It must be noted that the trainer was responsible
for the frequency of feedback and the time of providing a feedback was decided at his own discretion. The
fourth group, that is the control group, received no feedback about their performance and they just shot thirty
pellets during an exercise session without observing the result of their performance. At the end of the training
period, the performance test was conducted exactly like the pretest involving a trial of ten shots toward a
standard target sheet and the results were recorded as a score between 0 and 100. At three intervals – i.e. 48
hours, 10 days and one month of detraining – the retention test was conducted similar to the pretest and the
performance test involving ten shots toward a standard target sheet and the results were recorded to assess the
stability of retention.
Statistical Tests
In the present research, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to describe
the characteristics of research variables. Moreover, ANOVA for repetitive measurements were used to compare
the means of the research groups. Furthermore, Tukey’s post-hoc test was applied to determine the point of
difference
Discussion and Conclusion
The purpose of the present research was to study the effect of a period of feedback training on the
performance and learning of shooting skill among inexperienced shooters. The subjects were divided into the
four feedback training groups of knowledge of result (KR), knowledge of performance (KP), a combined
feedback group (KR & KP) and a control group. The results suggested the effect of feedback training on the
performance and learning of subjects. The results were consistent with the studies of (Behrman et al., 1992;
Swanson & Lee, 1992, Lai & Shea, 1998, Blandin & Proteau, 2002), and (Guadagnoli et al. 2002) who found
the positive effects of feedback presentation on the performance and learning of subjects in various sports skills.
From the practical perspective, the interesting finding of this research was that a period of feedback
training facilitates and improves learning of subjects. Learning shooting skill is not a rather complicated skill
and as the results of the present research reveal, there is not much difference between KP and KR groups and
that difference is not significant. But this difference may be due to the nature of shooting skill and that KP
feedback, due to displaying the precision scores of subjects, helps more to improve performance and to facilitate
learning.
Moreover, considering the results of the present research, the combined feedback group demonstrated a
better and more significant performance in comparison to other experimental groups indicating the greater
effect of presenting both KP and KR feedbacks on shooting skill.
The results of this research support the idea that KR and KP feedbacks in shooting skill are effective for
improving performance and facilitating learning (Mononen et al. 2003). Yet more studies are needed in this area
to investigate various feedback training conditions and various frequencies during training which may help to
improve performance and facilitate learning among subjects and to provide clearer results in this area.