Teachers and coaches draw from personal experience,
wisdom, technical skill and a wide variety of tools to address the
individual needs of each student. TAGteach™ is a powerful tool
that has its basis in the laws of learning and a key focus on breaking
skills down and shaping using positive reinforcement.
TAG stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance and uses a sound
marker to indicate correct performance.
The TAG refers to the distinctive sound made to mark or “TAG” a
moment in time. This sound becomes an acoustical binary message, a sort
of “snapshot” that is quickly processed by the brain.
A TAG means “yes.” Absence of a TAG means “try again.”
The student no longer has to perform a time-consuming language analysis
while attempting complicated movements. The immediacy and clarity of
the feedback allows the student to form a mental picture of the
movement or position.
“The TAG helps me make a picture in my brain so
I can find the right position on my own.”
—11-year-old dance
student
TAG points are the individual pieces of a desired
response action or position. Students receive a TAG (the click sound)
when the points are correctly performed.
The TAG points may vary from teacher to teacher and from student to
student depending on the teaching style and the needs of the student.
The teacher sets the student up to succeed by setting attainable TAG
points and by increasing criteria in manageable increments. Because the
criteria for success is the attainment of the TAG point and not the
completed perfect skill, the student achieves many small successes and
this reduces frustration and increases confidence, satisfaction and
happiness for both teacher and student.
In all cases, only one TAG point is worked on at a time and the
student does not receive correction for errors. The absence of the TAG
tells the student that the TAG point was not executed. Verbal
correction is not needed and in fact impedes the learning process. The
coach is relieved from the pressure to make numerous corrections and
can work in a systematic way toward the ultimate goal.
For example
The set up for a golf swing may have TAG points for
grip, body position, foot placement, and club placement. The swing
component may have TAG points for hand, arm, and club position at the
top and end of the swing, TAG points for leg position, arm position, and
weight transfer during the swing. With a beginning golfer a limited set
of key TAG points are defined and executed individually. With an
experienced golfer a diagnosis is performed and TAG points are
identified based on technique errors requiring
correction.
Positive please! TAGteach utilizes a method of
phrasing that presents exactly what the teacher/coach is asking of the
student in a clearly positive manner. Remember, the TAG
tells the student what they did right! “The TAG point is: touch your ear.” As the student touches her ear, she
hears the TAG.
Phrases like “OK, NEXT time” and "that was better, but...” are
omitted. Students rush to their parents proclaiming, “I got 37 TAGs.
That’s 37 times I did something right!”
“Coaches may tell you what you’re doing wrong, but
the TAG always tells you what you’re doing right!”
—8-year-old
gymnast
Positive reinforcement and reward systems
Perhaps the most enticing
part of TAGteach is the power of reinforcement. While the information
supplied by the TAG is often reinforcement enough for adults, counting
and “collecting” the TAGs to trade in for trinkets, can add excitement
for the younger students. Older students may want to trade their TAGs
in for a pass to “leave workout early for the Friday night football
game.” The idea is to bring creativity and fun back
into the learning process.
TAGteach is interactive
Within the TAGteach methodology, students
play more than a receptive role in their own education. They are a
crucial and creative part of the process: defining and developing
breakdowns and progressions, designing reward systems, observing, and
reinforcing their peers.
“TAGteach helps me understand a skill; it’s like a light bulb goes off
in my head.”
—Lacey, 2003 All-around State Gymnastic
Champion
Peer TAGing
Tagging also provides a framework in which athletes can
TAG each other, allowing for mental training and a class management
strategy for the coach. Because TAG points are broken down into easily
recognizable bits with simple yes or no answers, students can “become” teachers and TAG each other. They learn to look for correct actions in
their partner, while mentally reinforcing the same points within
themselves. Students instantly fill with a sense of responsibility and
pride.
There is an added bonus to this type of TAGing. While students TAG
each other, the teacher is free to give individual attention to
students who needs you most, without halting the rest of the group.
“I’ve been coaching soccer for nine years and I’ve never
seen them pay this close attention without me yelling and blowing the
whistle.”
—Soccer coach, Canada
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TAG points must be
phrased in the positive “The TAG point is…”
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TAG points should be
clear, concise, and have a yes or no answer as to its completion.
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TAG only one movement
element at a time—do not try to combine TAG points.
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Ignore mistakes—resist
the urge to give helpful suggestions about elements of a skill that are
not the active TAG point. Keep track of these suggestions and note them
for future TAG points.
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Let students TAG the
teacher or each other.
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You can pump up the
motivational power of the TAG by allowing the students to receive an
additional reward for the TAG or “collect” their TAGs and redeem them
later for stickers, stamps, candy, free playtime, or whatever is
motivational to the individual.
- Stop before fatigue or boredom sets in—if you go
past this point—switch to an easy TAG point. Let the
athlete have success and then end the session.
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