University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2012 Control Over Multiple Forms of Instructional Assistance While Learning the Cascade Juggle David Daniel Laughlin [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Other Kinesiology Commons Recommended Citation Laughlin, David Daniel, "Control Over Multiple Forms of Instructional Assistance While Learning the Cascade Juggle. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2012. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1319 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by David Daniel Laughlin entitled "Control Over Multiple Forms of Instructional Assistance While Learning the Cascade Juggle." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Kinesiology and Sport Studies. Jeffrey T. Fairbrother, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Craig A. Wrisberg, Leslee A. Fisher, Schuyler Huck Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Control Over Multiple Forms of Instructional Assistance While Learning a Cascade Juggle A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville David Daniel Laughlin May 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been extremely fortunate. My journey was not one of overcoming obstacles. It was a journey of being fortunate enough to encounter people at every point who guided me, encouraged me, and even joined me in my endeavors. I have loving parents. I have an older sister who had completed a PhD and offered help when I most needed it. I have a wonderful wife who first encouraged me to come back to school and then worked to support us both while I studied. I have an advisor who allowed me the freedom to pursue questions that interested me and also fought to make sure I had opportunities to best prepare me for the future. I have committee members – Dr. Craig Wrisberg, Dr. Leslee Fisher, and Dr. Sky Huck – who cared enough to help steer my project in the best possible direction. At every point, I have been fortunate to work with people who were willing to set aside their own interests to help me. That is rare and I am grateful. I cannot possibly thank everyone but do want to specifically mention a few who were particularly instrumental. Rachel Laughlin. I owe the biggest thanks to Rachel, my wife. She is my best friend and has supported me in every imaginable manner throughout our marriage. I would never have made it through my program without her and don’t want to imagine where I would be had I not met her. Dr. Jeff Fairbrother. Dr. Fairbrother has been a wonderful advisor. He allowed me to pursue questions that were important to me while providing enough guidance to ensure that I did so effectively. In short, he has provided a great example for me to follow as a professor. Ary, Chris, the Kevins, Trevor, Jacob, Anders, Pete, Phil, Joao, and Rainer. I have studied alongside many great individuals while in Knoxville. Many have become good friends whose influence extends far beyond professional pursuits. iii Dr. Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz. Bonnie is my sister and, unlike myself, she became a scholar on purpose. I am lucky to have her and appreciate her continued willingness to answer when I call and need advice. I also feel lucky to have landed in Knoxville at a time when she and her husband Bill were geographically close and welcoming their son Henry into the world. Jim & Kay Laughlin. I have never had to question whether my parents loved me or whether they would help me if I needed it. I realize that this is not the case for many people and feel very lucky to have had their support throughout my life and education. Azeem Ahmad. Aside from Rachel, Azeem is my best friend. When I was a college graduate who was underemployed and miserable, he told me to go back to school and study sport psychology. So I did. And it worked out quite nicely. Thanks, buddy! iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the juggling performance and self-control behaviors of individuals in a self-controlled motor learning protocol. Of particular interest were behaviors related to how participants used four types of instructional assistance as they learned 3-ball cascade juggling: (a) Instructions; (b) video demonstration; (c) verbal feedback about their most critical error; and (d) verbal timing information about their previous attempt. Additionally the study addressed the potential interplay of performance, self-efficacy, self-control behaviors, and self-regulatory skills such as task clarification, goal generation, and use of learning strategies. Twenty undergraduate students completed practice sessions on four consecutive days. On the fifth day, participants returned for a 10-attempt retention test. They also completed a 10- attempt transfer test requiring them to juggle balls that differed in weight. In addition, participants completed up to four self-efficacy assessments and a post-training interview asking them to rate and describe their preferences for assistance, goal-related behaviors, and use of learning strategies. Juggling performance was assessed in terms of catches per attempt and participants were divided into groups based on performance in retention and transfer testing: Late Learners (n = 6) averaged fewer than 4 catches per attempt in retention and transfer; Emerging Learners (n = 8) averaged between 4 and 20 catches per attempt in retention or transfer; and Proficient Learners (n = 6) averaged greater than 20 catches per attempt in retention or transfer. Regardless of proficiency level, participants demonstrated a tendency to decrease requests for informational forms of assistance throughout acquisition. Requests for KR increased throughout acquisition for those who became increasingly proficient. Participants reported requesting KR after primarily good attempts and utilizing KR to monitor progress and increase confidence. Participants reported requesting KP after both good and bad attempts and utilizing v KP to identify mistakes and monitor their progress in correcting those mistakes. In general, the findings suggest that self-control behaviors may be more complex than previously demonstrated and that participants may use self-control in different ways depending on their preferences and learning needs. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 7 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 8 Assumptions ................................................................................................................................ 8 Delimitations ............................................................................................................................... 8 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................ 11 Review of Literature ................................................................................................................... 11 General Background ................................................................................................................. 11 Feedback. .............................................................................................................................. 11 Self-regulation. ...................................................................................................................... 14 Self-efficacy. ......................................................................................................................... 16 Self-Control and Skill Acquisition ........................................................................................... 17 Feedback presentation. .......................................................................................................... 19 Practice organization. ............................................................................................................ 26 Amount of practice. .............................................................................................................. 27 Model presentation. ............................................................................................................... 27 Physical assistance devices. .................................................................................................