Effects of Combined Versus Singular Verbal or Haptic Feedback on Acquisition, Retention, Difficulty, and Competence Perceptions in Motor Learning.

While augmented feedback (AF) is widely acknowledged to affect motor learning, the effects of mode of feedback on motor learning acquisition, retention, and perceived competence has rarely been studied. The present investigation analyzes the effects of verbal, haptic, and combined (verbal and haptic) feedback when learning a novel gymnastic parallel bars task. Forty-eight physical education students and four expert gymnastics teachers participated in the study. We divided the students into three AF groups (verbal, haptic, and combined) and a no-feedback control group (CG). One gymnastics teacher led the learning sessions, while the others evaluated student performances following familiarization, acquisition, and retention learning phases. All sessions were video recoded, and the experts gave blind assessments according to an adapted gymnastic point code. We recorded task perceived difficulty (PD) and students' perceived self-competency throughout the sessions. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant effect of AF mode on acquisition and retention such that combined AF was best for learning stability and retention (19.1% improvement for combined vs. 9.9% for haptic and 6.9% for verbal). Similarly, participants in the combined AF group, relative to the verbal and haptic AF groups, also reported lower perceived difficulty and higher perceived self-competency after the retention phase. PE teachers are encouraged to combine verbal and haptic AF when teaching new motor skills.

Acute effect of stretching modalities and time-pressure on accuracy and consistency of throwing darts among 12- and 13-year-old schoolboys.

BACKGROUND: The present study addressed the lack of data on the effect of different types of stretching on selected measures of throwing accuracy. We hypothesized that the stretching procedures, within pre-exercise warm-up, could affect the accuracy and the consistency in throwing darts performances under different stress conditions. METHODS: Eighteen right-handed schoolboys (13.1±0.4 years, 166±0.1 cm and 54.5±9 kg; mean±SD) completed the Darts Throwing Accuracy Test in free (FDT) and in time-pressure (TPDT) conditions, either after static (SS), dynamic (DS), ballistic (BS) or no-stretching (NS) protocols, on nonconsecutive days and in a counter-balanced randomized order. After performing 5 minutes of light standardized jogging and one of the three stretching protocols for 10 minutes, each participant completed the FDT and TPDT tests. Mean scores, missed darts and variability of scores, were recorded and analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Heart rate (HR), ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and the task difficulty perception (DP), were recorded through each experimental session. RESULTS: There was no effect of the stretching procedures on accuracy in FDT. However, in the TPDT condition, better performances were recorded after NS and SS compared to DS and BS. The accuracy performances decreased in TPDT by 9.6% after NS (P<0.01); 15.3% after DS (P<0.001) and 11.8% after BS (P<0.001); but not after SS (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Static stretching helped reducing the adverse effects of time-pressure on darts throwing performance. Consequently, static exercises are recommended before practicing activities requiring both upper limbs speed and accuracy.