Praise and Corrective Feedback in the Remediation of Incorrect Left-Hand Positions of Elementary String Players

Subjects of the study were five elementary string class students who performed consistently with incorrect left-hand positions. Three teaching procedures were used in an attempt to modify the incorrect hand positions: corrective (negative) verbal feedback and physical prompts in a schedule of twice per minute for two minute training sessions, positive feedback on the same schedule, and increasing the training session from two to ten minutes and the praise schedule from two to four times per minute. Data were collected for two minutes during each training session in all conditions and, to assess generalization effects, during a later period of class each day when the left-hand position was not taught. Results indicated improvement for some subjects during the first and second interventions, although the improvements were not substantial nor enduring. The third intervention resulted in greater response improvement for all subjects and more generalization. Although students varied in response to different teaching styles, praise was always as effective as corrective feedback in changing the left-hand position and more durable in its effectiveness.