Background/Purpose This study investigates the learning efficiency of tasks with increasing complexity (easy, intermediate, and advanced) based on motor movement divided into three groups: coach-controlled feedback (coach provides performance feedback), self-controlled feedback (feedback given only when asked of the coach) and a control group. An expert badminton coach provided knowledge of performance (KP) feedback.
Method The testing instruments included a standard badminton court, 120 standard feather shuttlecocks approved by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and standard badminton racquets. Participants were 45 college students who were badminton beginners and were randomly assigned evenly into one of the three groups. All participants received video instruction for each of the three tasks before entering the practice phase (30 trials) for each task. The tasks consisted of service or return of shuttlecocks into designated areas. The experiment had two phases: retention and transfer. The participants performed 12 trials for each task in the retention phase and another 12 trials for one task in the transfer phase.
Analysis/Results A 3 x 3 x 2 (Group x Task x Block) factorial ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of group (p < .05) in the retention test. A 3 x 2 (Group x Block) factorial ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of block (p < .05) in the transfer test.
Conclusions The study showed that the acquisition of motor skills is more efficient when expert feedback is provided. Moreover, performance in an innovative skill improved gradually with practice.