Intrinsic and External feedback

In this next blog entry I am going to discuss feedback. In coaching there are two types of feedback, these are; Intrinsic and Extrinsic. The first of these forms of feedback occurs from our senses, This happens when we do anything such as reaching for a hold whilst climbing learning to climb, or swimming 50m freestyle with a perfect technique. Our senses inform us if we have doing it correctly or incorrectly and then we get negative or positive feedback. The second type of feedback in extrinsic. This is feedback which comes from an external source such as a teaching or a coach. External feedback can then be split into two. These are Knowledge of Results (KR) and Knowledge of performance (KP).

Knowledge of Results (KR) is used because the student can see the results of their performance, such as how accurate their bearing was whilst walking. This result then allows the student to adjust their performance and try again.

Knowledge of performance (KP) comes watching your own or another’s performance to see what you or they are doing correctly or incorrectly. With the advances in technology it is also possible to use technology to see muscle movements, heart rate, hydration levels and a lot more. However the role of a coach will always be the most effective way for beginner and intermediate students to receive feedback. There are a few main reasons for this;

è A coach is able to focus on specific points of what needs improving.

è  Coach is able to limit the information that is given to the student to just allow them to work on one issue at a time.

è A coach can use different methods to give feedback to student, such as verbal and visual feedback.

When helping a group of people or an individual on the mountain I have found feedback to be a vital tool to help them reach a higher level of performance. When teaching a group how to utilise dead reckoning the forms of feedback I used to start with were external, I verbally and visually showed the group their mistakes or successes. I did this by using methods such as group discussions about each members individual performance (Knowledge of performance) and also discussed with each member separately after they had finished an activity I had given them (Knowledge of results). After a while I would start to ask the student how they felt they were doing, was their bearing was accurate? Was their timings on? Was their pacing’s were correct? By asking them what they think of their performance it allows them to start receiving intrinsic feedback and therefore learn to recognise their own mistakes and correct them without my aid. By the end of the session I had used both forms of external feedback (KP and KR) and also taught the students in the group to give themselves internal feedback on their performance.

Tuckman's Group Dynamics

In this entry I want to discuss group dynamics, The theory I have chosen to look at is Tuckman’s theory of groups (1965). This theory states that a group will go through four stages, these stages are;

è Forming

è Storming

è Norming

è Performing

The first stage is when the group meet for the first time and start to bond and form a hierarchy of order within the group.  As the group start to work together conflictions in ideas will occur and needless to say friction between certain team members will start to rise. This friction will at some point trigger an argument and the group will begin to argue. These arguments can led to a change in the structure of the hierarchy within the group, and in some cases a member of the group leaving. After the storming stage Tuckman’s theory states that the group will start to improve and start working better together with the results of the group also improving. This is the norming stage of the group. The order of the group has been sorted out and every member has a role to do within the group. The group generally starts to work together to produce reasonable results. The final stage is the ‘performing’ stage. Each member in the group performs their role well and this allows the group to work like a well-oiled machine. The Target of the group starts to be hit consistently at a high standard and this makes the group work harder to keep improving.

            In the mountain environment when a group is told to work together these four stages are regularly seen, Especially in groups of school children where the status quo can be mixed up to allow different children to work with fellow school members from different social groups. As a coach there are certain roles you can play within the group to help ease through the first three stages and allow the group to get to the performing stage with relevant ease.

            The group will have to find its own leaders and leadership style and there is not much you as the coach can do there except for choose a leader. However in the storming stage it might be necessary for the coach to step in to help resolve the issues that have arisen within the group as quickly and effectively as possible whilst allowing each member of the group to feel like a valued member. Once the group is in the norming stage the coaches role changes again to helping each member of the group to start achieving their potential within the group. This is can be done in all different manner of ways but personally I prefer the use of Socratic irony. This way the student learns to solve their own problems and that will help them remember it better. The final stage of performing is really down to the group. The coach in this stage will normally allow the group to just proceed with what they are doing and allow the group to thrive in what they are doing.