Effective Communication in Motor Skills Education
Communication in Motor Skills Education
Models of Communication
Communication can be understood from two perspectives:
- Transmitting information: From one person to another, with a sender, a message, and a receiver.
- Sharing information: Between two or more individuals. The sender simultaneously receives a response from the receiver.
Bañuelos Sanchez believes that the information a teacher gives to a student must meet the following criteria:
- Be objective, error-free, and sufficient.
- Be organized, structured, and appropriate for the students’ level of understanding.
Merlo established factors affecting message fidelity:
- Communication ability of the source.
- Attitudes.
- Knowledge level (sender and receiver).
- Local system (slang).
The Message Cycle
The message reaches the receiver, is recorded by their sense organs, and undergoes decoding, interpretation, and storage in memory. The received message will result in a student response, which follows the reverse process to be received by the teacher. The cycle begins with a transmitter communicating a message from the teacher’s information source. The teacher encodes the information and transmits the message through effector organs.
Analysis of Different Communication Channels
Three communication channels are available for teaching motor skills:
- Visual
- Auditory
- Kinesthetic-tactile
The preferential use of a channel depends on the type of information. Different teaching resources are determined by the ways of conveying information. It is usual to use more than one channel at a time, typically one primary and one secondary or support channel.
Information in Motor Learning
Information Before the Action
Initial information occurs before movement and serves as a reference for execution. It sets the objectives of the action. Its contents depend on the performer being properly directed to the task and having enough resources. With this information, we must:
- “Win the attention of the student.”
- Inform them of the objective.
- Explain, demonstrate, or use kinesthetic sensations.
- “Motivate the student to practice.”
Initial information must convey precisely what the student intends to do and how to proceed.
Information Resulting from the Action: Feedback
Information resulting from the action is called feedback. This is information on what is being achieved and how. Any performing action, provided that activation, motivation, and attention are adequate, will search for information on the action as a means to reach the goal.
Types of Feedback
Two types of information occur as a result of the action:
- Intrinsic Feedback: The source is the subject itself.
- Extrinsic Feedback: The source is external to the subject.
Intrinsic Feedback
This is internal source information received during movement execution. Depending on the sensory receptors, intrinsic feedback is divided into:
- Exteroceptive: External information received by the senses.
- Proprioceptive: Information about position and movement.
- Interoceptive: Reports the status of internal organs.
This information is crucial for movement control. The person interprets signals received intrinsically, allowing error detection. The role of this type of information may vary depending on the level of skill acquisition.
Extrinsic Feedback
Extrinsic feedback is any information a subject gets on their performance (during and after completion) that is external to themself.