Effect of concurrent visual feedback on acquisition of a weightlifting skill

Practice in front of a mirror is a common procedure for activities such as dance, gymnastics, and other sports. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect that performing with concurrent visual feedback from a mirror had on the acquisition of the power clean movement. 18 college-age males who had no prior experience with the power clean movement served as subjects who were assigned to one of two groups. One group had use of a mirror during the practice trials and the other practiced without the mirror. All subjects viewed an instructional videotape and had practice trials. All subjects were evaluated for proper technique on a pretest, a posttest without the mirror, and a posttest with the mirror. Analysis showed a significant difference between pre- and posttest performances for both groups and a significant difference between groups on the posttest performances with the mirror. Evidently the videotaped instruction was sufficient to allow both groups to improve in performance of the power clean. Differences in posttest performances with the mirror reflected the type of feedback (with or without the mirror) available during training.     

A SURVEY OF MANAGEMENT TRAINING AND EDUCATION PRACTICES IN U.S. COMPANIES

A survey was systematically developed to assess issues related to management training and education, and it was sent to 1,000 randomly selected U.S. companies with at least 1,000 employees. Based on a 61% response rate, findings were obtained regarding issues such as needs assessment, management training and development approaches, reasons for selecting particular programs, characteristics of participants, how decisions are made regarding who will participate, preparation and follow-up of participants, evaluation of management training programs, future management training trends, and needed training content. Significant findings by company size and industry type also are reported.