Feedback is the information that comes back to us updating our performance. Recognizing the factors that influence a performance is a debate that has been going on for years. Instructors and coaches use, in different ways, feedback in the acquisition and improvement of movements and actions of their learners and athletes.
Feedback is essential for learning the technical elements of skiing. Ski pros’ feedback is generally given after the performance. The success or failure of the last few runs influence the perception of our own skills, so receiving some feedback can enhance subsequent performance.
Feedback can follow both good and poor performance. Some studies suggest that receiving feedback after a good performance is more effective because it generates motivation by confirming that a particular movement or action has been performed correctly, as well as promoting better motor retention. After a poor execution, feedback would be more oriented towards errors in execution and progress.
Augmented feedback has been the subject of numerous scientific articles with the aim of clarifying its potential benefits and reducing its possible negative effects. It is one in which feedback is received from the instructor/coach and augments the learner/athlete’s self-reflection. It is divided into performance knowledge (knowing what happened to some part of our body during our performance) and outcome knowledge (knowing objectively how our performance was and why).
Self-feedback
Self-feedback is the frequent application of our own assessment of motor performance and usually occurs at advanced levels. To be effective, we must have a minimum knowledge of the correct execution or an accurate movement image.
When adapting to terrain conditions or a slalom course, self-feedback is essential to correct errors. For this, we turn to our internal references. For example, if our skis are skidding more than usual, we will execute the correction to recover the glide according to the values of our execution patterns and our intentions.
According to several authors, our own estimation of errors benefits our learning because it promotes attending to internal feedback and comparing it with the external feedback from the instructor/coach, in addition to promoting independence from the external source of information.
Self-controlled feedback
According to some studies, self-controlled feedback by the learner/athlete benefits learning because it is tailored to one’s own needs, rather than externally controlled by the instructor/coach.
Self-controlled is understood as the freedom to decide when to receive performance feedback, i.e., to determine whether to receive it before or after each execution, or after a good or a bad descent. In general, the frequency and mode is decided externally, i.e., controlled by the facilitator who defines when and what feedback is given to the learner/athlete.
In contrast, in self-controlled feedback, we decide whether or not to receive it. This type of feedback is presumed to increase self-efficacy and motivation. The ski pro sets the performance conditions, terrain, technical and tactical instructions; and we decide when to receive feedback and thus become involved in our own improvement.
Feedback and internal reference values
Feedback, along with internal reference values, is important not only in technical performance; it also influences our psychological condition. Many psychological states are caused by an inappropriate evaluation of the situation when compared to internal reference values. These reference standards are criteria that we use to compare our present internal state with the ideal or imagined situation and state, and thus apply the necessary adjustments. Internal values are acquired through experiences with the environment in which the body, emotions, and feelings are involved.
There are several types of feedback that depend on different factors:
- According to the moment at which it is provided can be at the end of the execution (terminal feedback), or during the execution (concurrent).
- According to the time elapsed since the end of the execution, it can be applied as soon as the execution is finished (immediate), or leave a time lapse (delayed).
- According to the number of executions reported, it can be used on a single execution (separate), or on several (cumulative).
- According to the variation of the information, it can be alternated in each body segment (serial), or repeated in several (in blocks).
- According to the success or failure of the execution (knowledge of results), or on its development (knowledge of the execution).
- According to the focus of attention, it can be on the body (internal focus), or on the skis/ poles (external focus).
- According to the degree of precision, it can be applied on the achievement or not of the goal (qualitative), or on the direction and/or magnitude of the error (quantitative).
