Types and uses of guidance
Guidance is the information given to a performer to help them learn or develop a new or previously learnt skill. This is usually given by a teacher, coach or instructor. There are four types of guidance, and it tends to be a combination of the types of guidance that enables a performer to improve.
- Verbal guidance
- Visual guidance
- Manual guidance
- Mechanical guidance
Verbal guidance
Least useful style of guidance when used on its own. Most often it is used with visual guidance. The teacher/coach provides cues to the athlete to inform them of important aspects of the skill/movement "remember to keep your knee over the football" to get a football player to keep the ball on the ground when shooting. Verbal guidance allows tactics to be explained to more advanced performers. If the performer does not understand what is being said, or the performer cannot understand what is being said to them, then the guidance will not be successful. If the verbal guidance being given is too long then the performer may be overloaded with information. It is important to not speak for too long, as the athlete may have a short attention span. Feedback can give positive reinforcement if the movement is correct. You can can and hold the attention of the athlete if verbal guidance is used correctly. Too much verbal guidance can lead to information overload, which can cause confusion. The guidance must be accurate, to enable the performer to develop. Visual guidance Demonstrations are used to help the performer to see (and form a mental image) and reproduce the movement. It is important that the demonstration given is as perfect and realistic as possible, and the demonstration is repeated to give consistency and time is given for mental practice. The demonstration should also focus on few aspects of the skill to prevent information overload. Videos or images may also be used as a form of visual guidance to a performer, where key points are highlighted so that the performer pays attention to them. Where possible giving different angles for the performer to view the performance will also in the learning of the skill. Visual guidance is useful form beginners. It can be used to highlight a weakness to the performer. A teacher/coach can video a performance and play this back to the performer, this allows for the coach to highlight errors in the performance, and for the performer to see where they are going wrong themselves. It can help to create a mental picture of what is required. I can help the skill to be broken down and learnt in stages. It draws the athletes attention to the important cues. If the demonstration is incorrect bad habits could be learnt. The coach may not be able to perform the perfect model of the skill. Manual guidance This type of guidance could come from another person or an object. This is used to help the performer learn the movement nd gain confidence and a sense of how the movement feels. This could br a teacher/coach helping to lift a student when performing a vault in gymnastics or moving the arm of a student through the motion of a forehand in tennis. Manual guidance helps to build the confidence of the peformer, eliminating danger, reducing fear and anxiety and helping to break down complex movements into parts. Although this form of guidance is useful to the performers and getting the player feel the movement. If this is used too often the performer may become dependant on it or loose motivation. Some athletes may also not like a coach being so close to them. Mechanical guidance This type of the guidance is the use of aids/props/device to help performance, for example using an armband in swimming or a harness when trampolining. This can help to build the confidence of the performer, as well as reducing danger to the performer. It also allows the performer to gain an early feel for the skill. Mechanical guidance can be used with disabled athletes. If mechanical guidance is used too much it can effect the feeling that the performer has of the skills (kinasthesis), the performer may also become too dependent on the guidance if used too much. It can give a greater sense of safety to the performer, helping to improve confidence. You are able to isolate different stages/aspects of the skill. The performer may become restricted and reliant on the support given. False sense of kinasthesis could develop - as the performer is not getting the true sense of the movement. |
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