Behavioral research to enhance sports performance has been conducted in numerous sports domains and often involves feedback from the coach to the student. One promising form of feedback is the use of an acoustical stimulus such as a clicker to provide more immediate feedback. Similar to clicker training with animals, acoustical stimuli are used with humans to reinforce desired behavior in a procedure called TAGteach, which involves using a clicker as a conditioned reinforcer in training. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of TAGteach, implemented by dance teachers, to increase the fluency of 3 dance movements in a multiple baseline design across behaviors with 4 students of dance. Target behaviors included a turn, kick, and leap. The targeted dance movements remained at relatively low levels of performance during baseline and improved for each participant after the introduction of the TAGteach intervention. Implications for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate auditory feedback for dance students on a competition team in which one peer provided auditory feedback to another peer for a selected dance movement. Some peers switched roles during the study, and increases in their performances were evaluated both as the receiver and deliverer of auditory feedback. All participants demonstrated increases in their respective target behaviors when they received auditory feedback. Several participants also displayed increases in their movements when they provided auditory feedback to their peer partner, although these increases were not as substantial as those who received feedback.

This study evaluated the use of video modeling and video modeling plus video feedback to enhance four adolescents' performance of a dance movement. Intervention was evaluated in a multiple baseline across participants design. This study found that video modeling enhanced performance from baseline, but the addition of video feedback produced further increases. For one participant, improvement was dependent on the perspective of the video model. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study evaluated an intervention package that used public posting and feedback to enhance dance movements for adolescent dancers on a competition team. Four dancers each performing two or three dance movements (a turn, kick, and/or leap) had their scores posted on a bulletin board at their studio. Dance movements were scored as a percentage correct by using a 14-to 16-step task analysis checklist. Intervention was evaluated in a multiple baseline across behavior design. The students received graphical feedback on their performance from the previous weeks and saw the scoring sheet that reviewed the incorrect and correct aspects of their performance. This study found that this treatment package including public posting and feedback enhanced each of the dance movements for all participants.

Dance instructors have limited access to training and professional development in behavioral coaching. Manualized interventions have the potential benefits of being readily accessible and affordable to dance instructors wanting to implement evidence-based behavioral coaching procedures. This study examined the potential efficacy of a manualized behavioral coaching intervention, the POINTE Program, to improve student dance performance. Four dance instructors and 4 students, ages 6 to 13 years participated. A multiple baseline design across skills was used to evaluate the student outcomes. The instructors successfully used the POINTE Program to identify target dance skills and select behavioral coaching procedures, and implemented selected coaching procedures with fidelity. Their implementation of behavioral coaching procedures (e.g., auditory feedback, video modeling with video feedback) resulted in improved target dance skills for all students. The results offer initial evidence of the efficacy of using a manualized behavioral coaching program designed to increase dance performance.