title: Interaction of feedback frequency and task difficulty in children's motor skill learning.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Providing adults with knowledge of results (KR) after each practice trial (100% KR) usually is found to be detrimental to motor skill learning compared with conditions in which feedback is less frequently provided. The effect of 100% KR on children's learning is less clear, with research showing that children with cerebral palsy benefit from less frequent KR, whereas children with typical development do not.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to examine the interaction of KR frequency and task complexity on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of a novel throwing skill in fourth- and fifth-grade children with typical development.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children threw beanbags for accuracy at an unseen target while walking or while standing still. These 2 levels of task complexity were crossed with 2 frequencies (33% and 100%) of KR provision. Following practice, retention tests without feedback were performed 5 minutes later and then 1 week later along with transfer tests to assess the generalizability of learning.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses revealed that learning was improved on the easy version of the task when a 33% KR frequency was provided during practice. In contrast, in the difficult version, learning was facilitated by provision of a 100% KR frequency during practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Structuring practice conditions for children should take into account task complexity and feedback frequency in determining the cognitive challenge necessary for optimal skill learning. More generally, the findings suggest that practitioners teaching motor skills should design practice conditions in accordance with the cognitive processing capacity of the learner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Husson University, Bangor, ME 04401, USA.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sidaway
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Occhiogrosso
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlagenhaufer
authors.forename: Delany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wilkes
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D005246:Feedback; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis