Does Narrative Feedback Enhance Children's Motor Learning in a Virtual Environment?

ABSTRACT

Augmented feedback has motivational and informational functions in motor learning, and is a key feature of practice in a virtual environment (VE). This study evaluated the impact of narrative (story-based) feedback as compared to standard feedback during practice of a novel task in a VE on typically developing children's motor learning, motivation and engagement. Thirty-eight children practiced navigating through a virtual path, receiving narrative or non-narrative feedback following each trial. All participants improved their performance on retention but not transfer, with no significant differences between groups. Self-reported engagement was associated with acquisition, retention and transfer for both groups. A narrative approach to feedback delivery did not offer an additive benefit; additional affective advantages of augmented feedback for motor learning in VEs should be explored.

KEYWORDS:

• augmented feedback
• narratives
• motor learning
• motivation
• engagement
• children

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful for the assistance of Andrea Sheldon in data collection, Chelsey Meyer in narrative development, and Coen de Woerd and Benjamin Soper in virtual environment programming. Thank you to the children and families who participated in this research. Thank you to Heitor Gama for assistance with statistical analyses.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by a Northeastern University Tier 1 Seed Grant to Danielle Levac and Amy Lu.