Effects of verbal corrections on student attitude and performance

The present study was designed to compare the effects of negative feedback statements and specific directives in music performance instruction. Twenty-five college undergraduates and 25 fifth- and sixth-grade students were taught by rote to play on soprano recorder an accompaniment part to the theme to Sesame Street. All subjects were taught in individual lessons by the same teacher. In approximately half the lessons at each age level, the teacher communicated corrective information through negative feedback statements. In the remaining lessons, the teacher communicated corrective information through specific directives. Results indicate that subjects' attitudes and performance achievement were unaffected by the experimental conditions. All subjects expressed positive attitudes about the experience, and the time required to reach the final performance goal and the quality of student performance were not different between the group receiving negative feedback and the group receiving directives.