PDFE #13 "Feedback Observation and Functional Categorization"

Setting:
I once again observed Coach Williamson's lacrosse class on Monday November 22. 2010 at 9 am out on the intramural fields. The purpose of the class is to teach Berry students the basic skills and rules necessary to play lacrosse.By this point in the semester, Coach is letting the players perform drills that simulate game play.

Observations: (feedback examples)

• The coach corrects the way a player is holding their stick while explaining why the player was unable to throw accurately. 
• The coach says, "Nice shot" after a player scores. 
• Coach tells one player to cradle closer to their body after the ball get checked out of the player's stick.  
• The coach times the team on sprints and tells them their time.
• Players say, "good job" after one player blocks a shot.
• A player smiles after making a goal.
• Coach tells the team that keeping their sticks up high will increase their chance of an interception. 
• The coach encourages more talking among defense players so that the attack does not pass them. 
• Two players successfully quick-stick longer than the rest of the players and congratulate each other.
• Coach yells that he will make the players run laps if they do not hustle after the ball.
• Coach tells a player to stop throwing the ball so high. 

Categorization:
Intrinsic:

• Player sees the ball scored after a shot.
• Two players see themselves quick-stick longer than the other players.

Extrinsic:

• Coach threatens to make players run laps if they do not hustle. 
• Teammates say, "good job," after one player blocks a shot. 

KR:

• Coach tells players their time for running sprints.
• Two players see themselves quick-stick longer than the other players.

KP:

• Coach tells one player to cradle closer to their body after the ball get checked out of the player's stick.
•  Coach tells the team that keeping their sticks up high will increase their chance of an interception. 

Descriptive:

• Coach tells a player to stop throwing the ball so high. 
• Although this was not recorded, another example of descriptive feedback would be the coach telling a player that their stick pocket is illegal and making the player figure out how to fix it. 

Prescriptive:

• The coach corrects the way a player is holding their stick while explaining why the player was unable to throw accurately.  
•  Coach tells one player to cradle closer to their body after the ball get checked out of the player's stick.   

Discussion:
Motivation:

• Ex: Coach tells the team that keeping their sticks up high will increase their chance of an interception. 
• This moment during practice exemplifies motivation due to the nature of the incentive. Lacrosse player love getting interceptions during games. Therefore, when a coach tells a player how to increase their chance of getting an interception, the player is now motivated to continue the behavior of holding their stick up high. 

Reinforcement:

• Ex: Coach yells that he will make the players run laps if they do not hustle after the ball.
• This example is a negative reinforcement because, by hustling after the ball, the players are avoiding the punishment of running laps. 

Information:

• Ex: The coach corrects the way a player is holding their stick while explaining why the player was unable to throw accurately. 
• This example shows informational properties of the coach's practice. By showing the player how to properly hold their stick, the coach is providing the player with information about their patterns of action that will teach them how to perform the action in a way that will effectively obtain their goal. This step is extremely important when learning a sport. 

Dependence:

• Ex: The coach says, "Nice shot" after a player scores.
• Although the players clearly thrive on the encouragement of the coach - as seen in the smiles on their faces after comments such as "nice shot", the players are not dependent upon the coach's remarks for their performance. The coach did not give enough frequent remarks for the players to become dependent upon his encouragements. Even though the players enjoyed the approval of the coach, their success did not depend upon it.