Use of guidance and feedback — AQA A-Level Physical Education

Guidance and feedback are fundamental concepts in the acquisition of movement skills, forming a core part of the AQA A-Level Physical Education specification. Guidance refers to the information given to a performer to help them learn a skill, including visual, verbal, manual and mechanical methods. Feedback is the information a performer receives about their performance, which can be intrinsic or extrinsic, and further classified as concurrent, terminal, knowledge of results or knowledge of performance.

Understanding how to apply guidance and feedback effectively is essential for optimising learning and performance across all stages of learning: cognitive, associative and autonomous. This topic links closely to skill classification, stages of learning, and theories of learning such as operant conditioning and observational learning. Exam questions frequently require students to evaluate the appropriateness of different types of guidance and feedback for specific performers and sporting contexts.

• →Guidance types: visual (demonstrations, videos), verbal (instructions, cues), manual (physical support), mechanical (equipment aids such as harnesses or floats).
• →Feedback types: intrinsic (from within the performer) and extrinsic (from outside, e.g. coach or crowd); concurrent (during performance) and terminal (after performance).
• →Knowledge of results (KR) is extrinsic feedback about the outcome of a movement, while knowledge of performance (KP) is extrinsic feedback about the quality of the movement.
• →The effectiveness of guidance and feedback depends on the learner's stage of learning: cognitive learners need clear, positive, extrinsic guidance and feedback; autonomous learners rely more on intrinsic feedback and fine-tuning.
• →Guidance and feedback must be matched to the skill classification (open/closed, basic/complex, low/high organisation) and the individual needs of the performer.

• Verbal guidance is information given through spoken words, such as instructions, cues or feedback during a practice drill.
• Visual guidance presents the skill to be copied or observed, for example a live demonstration, a video or a diagram of a movement pattern.
• Manual guidance involves the coach physically supporting or manipulating the performer's body, such as guiding a gymnast's hips through a handstand.
• Mechanical guidance uses equipment or apparatus to shape or support movement, such as a float for a swimmer's legs or a harness for a trampolinist.
• The choice of method depends on factors such as the learner's stage of learning, the complexity and risk of the skill, and the learner's age or confidence.
• Methods can be combined, for example a demonstration with a spoken cue and light manual support, to reinforce correct technique.
• Verbal guidance uses spoken words to instruct, cue, encourage or correct a performer, for example a coach saying "keep your head still" during a golf putt.
• It can be given before, during or after a movement, which makes it flexible and immediate for the coach.
• It is most effective when the learner understands the language used and can convert the words into movement.
• Short, precise cues are more effective than long explanations, especially for beginners who may be overloaded by too much information.
• Verbal guidance is often combined with visual guidance, such as a demonstration followed by a key teaching point.
• Verbal guidance can also provide feedback, but guidance and feedback are distinct concepts: guidance supports learning before or during the attempt, while feedback evaluates the attempt.
• Visual guidance is information gained by watching, for example a demonstration, video, diagram or chart.
• It is most effective when the demonstration is accurate, repeated and matched to the learner's stage of learning.
• It is particularly useful for beginners, who can copy a clear visual model more readily than a lengthy verbal explanation.
• A coach can use it to highlight one cue, such as the position of the non-racket arm in a badminton overhead clear.
• Its limitations include the demonstration being misread, being too fast to copy, or failing to explain why a movement works.
• Manual guidance is physical support in which a coach or teacher moves, holds or steers a performer through a movement.
• It is used to build a safe, correct feel for a skill before the learner can perform it independently.
• A coach might support a gymnast's hips through a backward roll, or a swimming teacher might hold a learner's legs during a flutter kick.
• It reduces the risk of injury and can build the learner's confidence.
• It can give the learner the correct kinaesthetic sense of the movement.
• Its limitations include dependence on the support, over-control by the coach, and the need to withdraw the guidance gradually.
• Mechanical guidance uses equipment, apparatus or artificial aids to shape a movement pattern.
• Examples include swimming floats, trampolining harnesses, or stabilisers on a bike.
• It allows the correct kinaesthetic feel of a movement to be experienced safely before the learner can self-correct.
• It is most effective in the early, cognitive stage of learning a new skill.
• Support should be reduced progressively as the learner gains control to prevent over-reliance.
• Risks include over-dependence on the aid, which can hinder the development of intrinsic feedback.
• It differs from manual guidance, which involves physical support directly from a coach or teacher.
• Feedback is information about a performance that guides the performer towards the required technique.
• Intrinsic feedback comes from the performer's own senses and proprioception during or after the movement.
• Extrinsic feedback comes from an outside source such as a coach, teacher or video replay.
• Concurrent feedback is given during the performance, while terminal feedback is given after it.
• Knowledge of results concerns the outcome of the movement, such as whether a shot scored.
• Knowledge of performance concerns the quality of the movement itself, such as the position of the arm during a shot.
• Positive feedback reinforces correct actions, while negative feedback identifies errors to correct.
• The balance of feedback types should change as the performer moves from beginner to expert.
• Knowledge of performance is information about the quality or technique of a movement, not its outcome.
• It can be provided by a coach, teacher, video replay, mirror or the performer's own proprioception.
• It helps a learner compare actual technique with correct technique and adjust the next attempt.
• It is most useful when specific, accurate and given soon after the attempt.
• It is distinct from knowledge of results, which concerns the outcome of the movement.
• Knowledge of results is information about the outcome of a movement, not the quality of the technique.
• It can come from the performer's own senses, such as seeing where a ball landed, or from an external source such as a coach, stopwatch or scoreboard.
• It confirms whether the goal was achieved and can motivate the performer.
• On its own it does not explain how to change technique.
• It is distinct from knowledge of performance, which concerns the quality or technique of the movement.
• Positive feedback confirms success or correctness of a response and reinforces the movement pattern.
• Negative feedback signals that performance fell below the required standard and identifies error to be corrected.
• Negative feedback refers to the information content, not to a harsh or discouraging manner.
• Both types are most useful when specific, accurate and timely relative to the attempt.
• Feedback is normally paired with guidance so the performer knows how to act on the information.
• Intrinsic feedback is information arising from the performer's own sensory systems.
• It includes proprioception plus vision, touch, hearing and balance information.
• It is available immediately and without another person, so it supports self-correction.
• Accurate interpretation of intrinsic feedback develops with practice and experience.
• It can be concurrent during the movement or terminal after the movement.
• Extrinsic feedback is often used alongside it when the performer cannot yet detect error reliably.
• Extrinsic feedback originates from a source outside the performer, such as a coach, teacher, spectator, timing device, scoreboard or video replay.
• It is distinct from intrinsic feedback, which the performer gathers through their own senses and proprioception during or after the movement.
• It can be delivered concurrently, during the performance, or terminally, after the performance has finished.
• It may take the form of knowledge of results, concerning the outcome, or knowledge of performance, concerning the quality of the movement.
• It is particularly useful for beginners whose internal feedback is unreliable, and for refining technique in more experienced performers.
• Guidance shapes learning before or during performance (visual, verbal, manual, mechanical).
• Feedback is information about performance (intrinsic/extrinsic, concurrent/terminal, positive/negative, knowledge of results/performance).
• Positive feedback reinforces correct actions and motivates beginners, while negative feedback corrects errors and is more suited to autonomous learners.
• Visual guidance demonstrates the movement, while verbal guidance uses spoken instructions; manual and mechanical guidance provide physical support or equipment aids.
• Feedback and guidance support skill development by reducing errors, reinforcing correct technique, and gradually building internal feedback.
• Over-reliance on guidance or extrinsic feedback can create dependency, so support should be faded as the learner progresses.

• 💡Read the scenario carefully and name the method that matches the description, rather than choosing the most familiar method.
• 💡Link each method to a specific example from a sport, such as a coach demonstrating a tennis serve for visual guidance.
• 💡When a question asks for the most suitable method, justify it using the learner's stage of learning or the risk of the skill.
• 💡Use a specific sporting example of a spoken cue, such as "bend your knees" before a volleyball dig, to show understanding.
• 💡Explain why verbal guidance suits a particular learner, for example because they can understand technical terms and apply them.
• 💡If a question asks for a limitation, refer to information overload or the need for the learner to understand the language.
• 💡Link the type of guidance to the learner's stage: visual guidance suits cognitive and associative learners who need a clear picture to copy.
• 💡Use a named skill and a specific cue, such as watching the non-racket arm in a badminton overhead clear, rather than a vague example.
• 💡When asked to evaluate, give one strength and one limitation of visual guidance, then state how a coach would combine it with another form of guidance.
• 💡Name the body part being supported and the skill being taught, such as supporting the hips through a backward roll, so the example is precise.
• 💡When evaluating, pair one benefit, such as reduced injury risk, with one drawback, such as dependence on the coach.
• 💡Explain how the coach withdraws the support over time, because progression towards independent performance is the point of the guidance.
• 💡Clearly distinguish mechanical guidance (equipment) from manual guidance (human support).
• 💡Use a named skill and specific equipment, such as a swimmer using a float to isolate leg kicks.
• 💡When asked to evaluate, give one benefit (e.g., safety, confidence) and one limitation (e.g., over-reliance, false kinaesthesis).
• 💡Name the type of feedback and then state its purpose in one sentence, for example terminal knowledge of results tells a javelin thrower the measured distance.
• 💡Use a specific sporting example for each type so the distinction between results and performance is clear.
• 💡When evaluating, match the feedback type to the performer's stage of learning rather than claiming one type is always best.
• 💡Read the feedback description carefully and ask whether it tells the performer about the movement itself or only about the result.
• 💡Look for words such as technique, body position, limb action or execution, which point to knowledge of performance.
• 💡Eliminate options that describe outcome measures such as time, distance, score or win/loss, because these are knowledge of results.
• 💡Read the feedback description carefully and ask whether it tells the performer about the result or about the movement itself.
• 💡Look for words such as time, distance, score, goal, win or miss, which point to knowledge of results.
• 💡Eliminate options that describe technique, body position or limb action, because these are knowledge of performance.
• 💡Anchor each definition to a concrete sporting example so the distinction is unambiguous.
• 💡When a question asks you to classify feedback, state what information the performer receives before naming the type.
• 💡Link feedback to the guidance that follows it, because the specification treats them as a pair.
• 💡Use precise wording such as below the required standard rather than simply bad.
• 💡Name the sense or senses involved when you give an example of intrinsic feedback.
• 💡Contrast intrinsic with extrinsic in one sentence to show the boundary clearly.
• 💡Use a familiar skill so the sensory information you describe is credible.
• 💡State whether your example is concurrent or terminal to show precise understanding.
• 💡Read each option and ask where the information comes from; if the source is outside the performer, the option describes extrinsic feedback.
• 💡Look for cue words such as coach, teacher, video, scoreboard, stopwatch or spectator, which signal an external source.
• 💡Eliminate options that describe the performer sensing their own body position or movement, because those describe intrinsic feedback.
• 💡Check whether the option describes feedback during the action or after it, and whether it concerns the result or the technique, to confirm the match.
• 💡Define guidance and feedback briefly, then use named types such as visual, verbal, manual, mechanical, intrinsic, extrinsic, positive, negative, concurrent and terminal.
• 💡Apply each point to a specific skill, showing how positive feedback motivates a beginner while negative feedback helps an expert refine technique.
• 💡Explain the mechanism of impact, such as reducing errors or building intrinsic feedback, rather than only listing types.
• 💡Always link the type of guidance or feedback to the specific stage of learning and the nature of the skill. Generic answers without application rarely achieve top band marks.
• 💡Use correct terminology consistently: intrinsic, extrinsic, concurrent, terminal, knowledge of results, knowledge of performance, visual, verbal, manual, mechanical.
• 💡When evaluating, provide both strengths and weaknesses of the guidance or feedback method, and suggest how it could be adapted for different performers or contexts.

• Confusing manual guidance with mechanical guidance: manual guidance is the coach's direct physical contact, whereas mechanical guidance uses equipment such as a harness or float.
• Assuming verbal guidance alone is best for beginners: beginners often need visual demonstration and physical support before spoken cues become effective.
• Treating guidance as only for beginners: advanced performers still use verbal and visual guidance to refine technique and tactics.
• Believing guidance guarantees learning: guidance supports practice but the learner must still repeat and process the skill to retain it.
• Thinking verbal guidance means any talking by the coach: it must be guidance aimed at improving the performer's movement or understanding.
• Giving long technical explanations to beginners: short cues linked to a demonstration are more effective because they reduce information overload.
• Assuming verbal guidance works equally for all learners: its success depends on the learner's understanding, attention and stage of learning.
• Confusing verbal guidance with feedback: guidance is information to shape the next attempt, while feedback is information about what has already happened.
• Thinking visual guidance means any guidance a learner can see, including written instructions. Correction: visual guidance is information taken in by watching a demonstration, video, diagram or chart, not by reading text.
• Assuming a demonstration must always be performed at full speed. Correction: a slow, repeated demonstration is often more effective for a beginner because it gives time to copy the movement.
• Believing visual guidance alone is enough to teach a complex skill. Correction: it is usually combined with verbal guidance and feedback so the learner understands what to watch and why.
• Confusing manual guidance with verbal guidance. Correction: manual guidance is physical support in which the coach moves, holds or steers the performer, whereas verbal guidance is spoken.
• Thinking manual guidance should continue until the skill is fully mastered. Correction: it must be withdrawn gradually, or the learner becomes dependent on the support and does not take responsibility for the movement.
• Assuming manual guidance is only for safety. Correction: it also builds confidence and gives the learner the correct kinaesthetic feel of the movement.
• Conflating mechanical guidance with manual guidance: manual guidance is physical support from a person (e.g., holding a gymnast), whereas mechanical guidance uses equipment (e.g., a harness).
• Assuming the aid should stay in place permanently: support must be faded as control improves, or the performer becomes dependent on it.
• Believing mechanical guidance suits elite performers refining technique: it is mainly for beginners in the early stage of learning, when the correct feel of the skill is being established.
• Confusing knowledge of results with knowledge of performance: results describe the outcome, such as a goal scored, while performance describes how the movement was executed.
• Treating concurrent and terminal feedback as the same thing: concurrent feedback arrives during the performance, whereas terminal feedback arrives after it has finished.
• Assuming negative feedback means harsh criticism: it simply identifies an error to correct and can be delivered constructively.
• Believing beginners should rely mainly on intrinsic feedback: beginners usually need extrinsic feedback because their kinaesthetic awareness is not yet developed.
• Confusing knowledge of performance with knowledge of results: KP describes how the movement was performed, while KR describes the outcome such as time, distance or score.
• Assuming KP must come from an external source: the performer's own proprioception can also provide KP.
• Thinking KP is only useful after a failed attempt: it can improve technique after successful attempts too.
• Believing KP should be vague to avoid overloading the learner: specific, accurate KP is more useful for technique correction.
• Confusing knowledge of results with knowledge of performance: KR describes the outcome such as time, distance or score, while KP describes how the movement was performed.
• Assuming KR must come from an external source: the performer's own senses can also provide KR.
• Thinking KR is always enough to improve technique: it confirms the result but does not explain how to change the movement.
• Believing KR is only useful for beginners: performers at all levels use outcome information to monitor progress.
• Believing negative feedback means criticism delivered unkindly; correction: it means information that performance was incorrect or below standard, and it can be delivered calmly and constructively.
• Assuming positive feedback always improves learning; correction: praise that is vague or unrelated to the movement gives little information, so it should identify what was done well.
• Thinking feedback and guidance are the same thing; correction: feedback is information about performance, while guidance is the means of directing the performer towards the correct response.
• Treating the two types as a personal judgement of the performer; correction: they describe the accuracy of the response, not the worth of the individual.
• Confusing intrinsic feedback with feedback given by a coach; correction: intrinsic feedback comes from within the performer, while coach feedback is extrinsic.
• Restricting intrinsic feedback to feeling alone; correction: it also draws on vision, hearing, touch and balance information.
• Assuming beginners interpret intrinsic feedback accurately; correction: novices often need extrinsic feedback to learn what correct feels like.
• Treating intrinsic feedback as only occurring after the movement; correction: it can also be concurrent, gathered during the action itself.
• Confusing extrinsic feedback with intrinsic feedback: the misunderstanding is that any feedback felt by the performer is extrinsic, whereas the correction is that feedback generated by the performer's own senses is intrinsic and only external sources make it extrinsic.
• Assuming extrinsic feedback is always given verbally by a coach: the misunderstanding ignores written, visual, electronic and mechanical sources, whereas the correction is that a stopwatch reading, a video replay or a scoreboard is also extrinsic.
• Believing extrinsic feedback must always be given after the performance: the misunderstanding overlooks concurrent feedback, whereas the correction is that extrinsic feedback can be provided during the action as well as after it.
• Treating knowledge of results and knowledge of performance as the same thing: the misunderstanding is that both describe the outcome, whereas the correction is that knowledge of results concerns the result and knowledge of performance concerns how the movement was executed.
• Treating guidance and feedback as the same thing: guidance shapes learning before or during the attempt while feedback describes what has already happened.
• Omitting positive and negative feedback: students often forget to include these when discussing types of feedback, whereas they are crucial for motivation and error correction.
• Assuming more guidance always produces better learning: guidance should be reduced over time so the performer develops their own intrinsic feedback.
• Thinking negative feedback is always detrimental: negative feedback is essential for autonomous learners to refine technique and eliminate errors.
• Students often think that knowledge of results (KR) is the same as knowledge of performance (KP). Correction: KR is about the outcome (e.g. whether a shot went in), while KP is about the technique or movement quality (e.g. the follow-through of the shot).
• Many students believe that manual guidance should be used for all beginners. Correction: manual guidance is best for dangerous or complex skills, but overuse can create dependency and hinder the development of kinaesthetic awareness.
• Students frequently assume that extrinsic feedback is always better than intrinsic feedback. Correction: as performers progress to the autonomous stage, intrinsic feedback becomes more important for self-correction and refinement.

1. 1Day 1-2: Create a table summarising each type of guidance (visual, verbal, manual, mechanical) with definitions, strengths, weaknesses, and sporting examples.
2. 2Day 3-4: Do the same for feedback types (intrinsic, extrinsic, concurrent, terminal, KR, KP), ensuring you can distinguish KR from KP with clear examples.
3. 3Day 5-6: Practise applying guidance and feedback to each stage of learning. Write short paragraphs explaining what you would use for a cognitive, associative and autonomous learner in a specific sport.
4. 4Day 7-8: Complete past paper questions on this topic, focusing on 6-mark evaluate questions. Use mark schemes to identify where you lost marks and refine your structure.
5. 5Day 9-10: Create flashcards for key terms and test yourself using active recall. Then attempt a timed essay question under exam conditions.

• 📋Definition and identification questions: e.g. 'Define knowledge of performance' or 'Identify two types of guidance a coach could use.' These require precise terminology and concise answers.
• 📋Application questions: e.g. 'Explain how a coach could use guidance and feedback to improve a beginner's tennis serve.' These require linking theory to a specific sporting context and stage of learning.
• 📋Evaluation questions (6 or 9 marks): e.g. 'Evaluate the use of manual guidance and extrinsic feedback for an elite gymnast.' These require balanced arguments, strengths and weaknesses, and a justified conclusion.