Efficacy of TAGteach Interventions: Comparing the Effects of Verbal and Audible Feedback on Skill Acquisition of Volleyball Skills

Abstract

TAGteach® (based on principles of teaching with acoustical guidance) is an emerging behavioral coaching strategy that utilizes verbal instructions, visual models, and audible feedback to promote skill acquisition of a variety of skills (e.g., sports, activities of daily living, and occupational skills). Extending the findings of previous research, the current study compared the effects of audible feedback (inherent in TAGteach and verbal feedback on the skill acquisition of two volleyball skills. Five female adolescents participated in the study. Results indicated that, for all participants, implementation of TAGteach procedures (regardless of the topography of feedback), produced increases in task analysis steps performed correctly, and those increases maintained for up to two weeks. Results further indicate that performance inconsistently generalized to the natural setting (i.e., inclusion of a volleyball). Results are discussed in terms of crucial components of TAGteach and the analysis of efficient behavioral instruction. Keywords: TAGteach, sports, behavioral instruction, feedback