TAGteach and Sports - How to Eliminate Nagging

By Theresa McKeon

“This is the hundredth time I’ve told you…and last time I am going to say it…”

Ah nagging; the most beloved teaching tool in the world. Just keep at ‘em until they fix it, do it, drop it or stop it. In fact, experienced coaches, teachers and parents often use a highly advanced system called, multi-nagging. Hit them with multiple corrections every turn. One of them may stick. This leads us to the question…

How do you amplify the critical feedback athlete’s need, while reducing the amount of language that accompanies it? There is a way.

In a process called TAGteach, (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance) feedback from the coach is transmitted audibly with a simple device that produces a sharp click sound. This sound, called a ‘tag’, marks a single response, action or position called a tag point, and says, “Yes, that’s correct”. No tag means, “Self-assess and try again”. The feedback is positive and students don’t have to interpret verbal instructions or corrections while trying to interpret their own intrinsic feedback.

For example, a gymnast must learn the basic skill of keeping good form while performing a handstand. Instead of repetitive requests that bear a considerable resemblance to nagging, such as “get your feet together”, the coach can establish a ‘tag point’. A tag point is something the coach wants, phrased in a way that can be answered yes or no, such as “the tag point is…feet together”. If the athlete puts her feet together in the handstand, the coach marks the exact moment her feet come together with a ‘tag’. If she hears the tag, she hears success. If the athlete doesn’t hear a tag, she must self assess. No tag? She thinks, “The tag point was… feet together. Mine must still be apart.” The athlete decides on a corrective action, pulls her feet together and receives the tag. Changes are considered and made by the athlete through self-assessment before further feedback from the coach is given. Now the athlete is in charge of her progress with minimal intervention from the coach. This fosters accountability and reduces the need for immediate and constant verbal corrections.

Break it Down

The coach can also decrease nagging and boost the athlete’s chance for success by increasing criteria in manageable increments and limiting unsuccessful attempts. The athlete can only truly focus on improving one aspect of a skill at a time, particularly if it is a new skill. When they receive multiple corrections it’s a coin toss. Legs straight? Back straight? Legs together? Toes Pointed? Which correction is the most important to the coach? Even if they do make a correction, there seems to be a “better, but” that lands them in the “you aren’t concentrating” hole again. With TAGteach, the coach chooses and tags for the point that is sequentially most important to the make-up of the skill. If the athlete does not receive a tag within three tries, it is the coach’s responsibility to create a tag point that is within the skill level of the athlete. In all cases, tag points are addressed one at a time and the student does not receive commentary on other errors. These errors will be addressed in future tag points. Because the criterion for success is the attainment of the single tag point and not the completed, perfected skill, the athlete and coach can learn to appreciate incremental successes on that never ending road to perfection.

The Tag Point Is…

There are several direct benefits of using the phrase “The tag point is…” First, a tag point is always phrased in the positive. This helps both the coach and the athlete to focus on what should happen. “Your toes aren’t pointed”, becomes, “The tag point is…pointed toes.” “Stop bumping the volleyball with straight legs, there’s no power in that” becomes “The tag point is…bent knees”. Now both parties are focused on what should happen instead of what shouldn’t happen.

Secondly, the unique construction of the phrase sets the stage for a balanced relationship between coach and athlete. Jim Mernin works with athletes of all ages and cognitive abilities in the art of horsemanship for the Festina Lente equestrian facility in Wicklow, Ireland. He found his students felt less intimidated when objectives were phrased “The tag point is…” instead of the standard “I want you to ….” The absence of the words “I want” allows the coach to become more of a facilitator and less of a dictator. This leveling of the playing field is not lost on the learner. Jim says the phraseology helps create a relationship with his students based on assistance instead of dominance, opening the door for better communication and respect.

Finally, because tag points are broken down into easily recognizable bits with simple yes or no answers, athletes can become the ‘coach’ and tag each other. We call this ‘peer tagging’. Athletes instantly fill with a sense of responsibility and pride as they are handed a tagger and put in charge of deciding if the tag point was preformed or not. They learn to look for correct actions in their partner, while mentally reinforcing the same points within themselves. The student who teaches learns twice.

For instance, a baseball coach breaks his team members into groups of two. The tag point is… step into the swing. One player is the ‘coach’ and will tag if the tag point is achieved. The second in the pair is the ‘athlete’ and will perform the skill. Each group of 2 is now completely focused on their individual assignment and after a set number of tags can flip flop the coach-athlete role. Each athlete is now getting a mental workout even though they may not be the one currently performing the skill. Bonus- with the athletes tagging each other, the coach is now free to give an individual attention, without halting the rest of the group.

Positive Reinforcement

Historically coaches are not given many tools to focus on the good. We acknowledge something performed correctly only as long as it takes to consider what still needs to be improved. The key to TAGteach is to increase a correct response, action, or position by pinpointing and reinforcing it. Although studies show that especially in adults, feedback and accomplishment are in themselves reinforcing, the definable and measurable successes of the audible tag can be counted and used in a token economy. As an athlete collects a pre-defined number of “tags,” she may choose to turn them in to “buy” stickers, trinkets, come in late on a Saturday practice, choose the next skill, or even choose next tag point. Groups of athletes can combine their earned tags and turn them in for open gym time, compete in skill contests, or team sleepovers.

Working with Special Needs Athletes

Although TAGteach is being utilized by nationally ranked main-stream athletes, the methodology of marking a predefined response, action, or position (the tag point), utilizing non-threatening language and positive reinforcement also make it perfect for work with the special needs community as noted by the following: Special Olympics: “We saw an almost immediate improvement in skill execution and confidence in our Special Olympics rhythmic gymnasts”, said Debbie Boycott, head coach of the Oakville Butterflies from Oakville, ON Canada. “The athletes were very quick to understand and appreciate this way of teaching and were even able to teach each other using the TAGteach methods”.  [Editor's note: Athlete Emily Boycott won 5 gold medals in Special Olympics rhythmic gymnastics]

Jennifer Golynsky, Special Olympics coach in aquatics and tennis relates, “I have been coaching Special Olympics for 11 years and feel that TAGteach is aligned with the Special Olympics philosophy in that it emphasizes positive reinforcement, athlete confidence and breaking down skills into manageable tasks.

Students with Autism: “Applied Behavior Consultants, Inc., founded in 1986, by Dr. Joseph Morrow and Brenda Terzich, M.A., has provided behavioral services for over 3000 clients worldwide. TAGteach™ allows us to be “language-free” with our reinforcement. This is a tremendous benefit since many of our students have communicative deficits. Once paired with a reinforcer, the “tag” is universal. Preliminary research at ABC, Inc. has shown positive results using TAGteach and positive behavior change. TAGteach™ is not just for competitive athletes and gymnasts; it can be proven functional and invaluable for children with Autism, as shown here at ABC, Inc.”  [Editor's note: visit our website and blog posts for research on TAGteach and autism]

Say Goodbye to Nagging

Like the much loved video game, TAGteach provides instant, positive, audible feedback. It’s easy to use and understand and backed by the science of learning. The methodology described, provides coaches with a tool other than a notional hammer to present feedback in a supportive, productive fashion beneficial to coaches and athletes.

Comments from dance teachers after attending a TAGteach seminar:

Tweet

TAGteach Level 1 Certification in Japan by Webcam

A group of creative TAGteachers got together in Japan to earn their Level 1 TAGteach certification via webcam and Skype link with Theresa McKeon in the US. The participants had previously attended a TAGteach seminar with Theresa in Japan to earn their primary level certification. After practicing their skills they were ready to work towards their next level of certification and demonstrate to Theresa. The webcam and Skype links allowed Theresa to observe and comment on the session. Everyone agreed that this 2 hour session was a great success.

Here is a short video that shows some parts of the session:

Tweet

TAGteacher Tale - Teaching the Teacher

We love to hear of people who learn about the principles of learning and can then apply those in another situation. Thanks to TAGteacher Rebecca Lynch for allowing us to reproduce her story here.

Yesterday was my second session with a very nice couple and their springer spaniel pup. As I was leaving, the husband asked if he could walk me to my car and told me he had a story to tell me. Ron is a 7th grade school teacher. He told me that he had a program in his class where he put the kids in teams and at the end of the week, the team that scored the most points (for doing assignments, bringing their books, etc) would get brownies. The problem he was having was that there were two boys that were trouble-makers. Nobody wanted them on their team because they'd never win.

Ron started thinking about what I had taught him about dog training. Reward the good behavior. He decided to try it out on his kids at school. So he put the two boys on the same team and set out to find something that they could be rewarded for.

It didn't take long. The boys managed to be the first to be seated when class started. Ron started putting check marks by their name on the board. He continued as they remained seated and the other kids were still milling around. After 5 or 6 check marks, one of the other kids remarked, "Mr. Ramage, why do they have all the marks?" He replied, "Because they are sitting quietly at their seats".

By the end of the week, the two boys had done their homework and turned assignments in on time. They brought their books. They quickly sat down when they came to class. AND they won the brownies.

The other teachers were amazed.  I'm hoping that Ron will teach the teachers how to do the same.  Of course, I immediately sent him to www.tagteach.com.

I'm really proud of him for thinking outside of the box and applying the R+ theory to not only his dog, but his students.  I am really looking forward to future sessions with him!

Rebecca is a Karen Pryor Certified Training Partner and owner of K9 Clicking in Mt Juliet TN.

Tweet

How to Introduce the Tagulator

Here is a video that shows how to introduce the tagulator to increase teaching efficiency. This child has up until now received a reinforcer after each tag. Sometimes it has been stickers, beads or melon pieces, but he is most interested in Skittles. It is often disruptive to the smooth flow of a lesson to stop and eat a Skittle after each tag. The tagulator provides a great way to reinforce without stopping to deal with the primary reinforcer. Lear is 4 and this is his introduction to the tagulator. Notice that he has no problem with the drastic reduction in the number of Skittles he is getting. Formerly he was getting 1 Skittle per tag, now he is getting 1 Skittle per 10 tags. Clearly it is more about the game than about the candy for Lear now.

He sometimes wants to stop and count remaining beads to see how far he still has to go to get a Skittle, but he does not object to the the 10X reduction in Skittles. The tagulator is fun too.

Note how matter-of-fact the teacher is here. She doesn't cajole or ask him if he wants to use the tagulator, she just tells him that this is what we are doing now and then she does it. She has a good history of reliability with Lear and he likes and trusts her. He also respects her because she sets the expectations, she is clear and she is consistent. Lear is tag savvy and is very clear on the concept of TAGteach.



If you want to know more about tagulators and see a video showing how to make one, please see our previous blog post. You can also buy them in the TAGteach store.

Note: the teacher in this video is Joan's daughter Anne Wormald who has been tagging and been tagged since 2002 and is our newest Level 1 certified TAGteacher. This video is part of her Level 1 project.

Tweet

TAGteacher Tale - I Changed the Way I Teach!

Thanks to Marcia Nelson who tells us how learning about TAGteach has changed the way she teaches...

I have turned my teaching style upside down from my old ways when I was introduced to the TAGteach system complete with taggers for my students a few years back at the Clicker Convention in LA.

I've used it now for several years with children in their horsemanship and riding lessons. I use it when I see something they do extraordinary in remembering something they were taught. I use it to set up a challenge for them that either they set up or I set up and I use it for other kids in the class to watch for something that their classmate is working on.

I find that children can only hold a small amount of instruction without being discouraged because coaches like me that are perfectionists tend to find what still needs fixing and forget how much is going well!! Especially when they are riding a horse because there are sooo many elements. I let them know we're picking only one thing to tag, the rest of the things can be whatever, we're only looking at one thing. What a mind blower it is for kids that think they have to get it all right or nothing!! It helps me to keep it age & maturity appropriate for each child this way too. The funny thing is that once we have positively worked with them on something and go to another item when it is good is that they stay pretty darn good on the previous thing we worked on and so we build them up while only focusing on one item at a time!

I have a very bright young one that is succeeding very steadily with this process as I shape her a bit at a time and don't worry that it is not all being fixed in one setting. I'm jazzed to see where she has come in just two weeks of working the tagger system. Prior to that she was good the first few lessons when it was all new and then she knew it all and was like a greased pig to keep in line and heading in a steady direction which is an absolute necessity around horses.

Finding a balance with each personality is sure a necessity and it has to be shaped over and over as you go. Who says we aren't creative artists?? This is incredibly artistic to sort out and keep moving in a forward positive direction.

Marcia Nelson
www.horsemanshangout.com

 

Tweet

TAGteach with Toddlers

In a previous post we talked about some reinforcers for toddlers and today we will hear from two mothers of toddlers who are also accomplished clicker trainers and TAGteachers. How lucky are these kids to grow up with positive reinforcement-based parenting right from the start?

From Keri Gorman - Getting Started

I've been tagging my 2 year old son since he was about 16 months old. Hopefully I can add some ideas that worked for us, but as I'm quickly learning, human animals do not seem to be as straight forward as non-humans :)

When I was just introducing tag, I would do it when we were engaged in a fun game and would only do it for a few minutes and then bring it out again a few days later. This seemed to help keep his interest, it was a novelty to him. I would tag him for doing something I knew he would be successful at and had fun with. For him at that age it was a little sorting cube. He already liked putting the shapes in the cube and was good at it so I would tag him for the correct responses followed by my praise.

We did the same game with sign language. I started with his favorite signs and signs he knew really well. I would tag him for signs that he really liked and had a 100% chance of getting right. I gave him the tagger for this game and would ask him, "Is this the sign for 'more'?" (i would do the sign for 'milk' and he would shake his head no) I would then ask him "Is this the sign for 'more'?" and then do the correct sign for 'more' and he would tag me. it was a great way for him to learn that tagging meant "yes, you did it right"and that incorrect answers didn't get a tag. I was really structured when I gave him the tagger and made the session short and sweet so he couldn't get carried away with it. I would give a very clear "all done" sign and quickly move onto another game or toy.

It was only after he bought into the game did I attempt to use it for washing his hair or changing his diaper. He was in the bathtub and we were having the usual struggle of rinsing his hair and I just stopped and said, "do you want me to tag you?" and he nodded his head. I didn't have a tagger or a reinforcer, but just did a tongue click followed by praise and that was totally enough. As for diaper changing, a hair rubber band turned out to be a perfect reinforcer. He likes shooting rubber bands (you could use a ball or something else to throw) the great thing is that the item leaves their hands and you have to go pick it up and hand it to them again, which sets you up to tag them again right away.

Toddlers are SO smart and I'm not sure I could ever "train" mine to do something. I think letting them feel control over situations is more powerful than anything. I don't think I would be successful with Max if I just said, "I'm going to tag you for..." I think our success has been in making it a game first off, and then giving him the option if he wants to play the game or not. If he says no, I'm respectful of that.

This is just my experience and every kid is so different, so take it for what it's worth.

From Denise Lacey - Some Toddler Tag Points

Owen's first  tag point was "Open fingers" - a wide open hand. Worked great  because I did not want to cut my hair and he wanted to grab it. He had this one mastered by seven months because I was bragging about him at ClickerExpo after  his birth. It has been very handy for lots of things - petting our cats and dogs, getting things out of his hand that he should not have (although now asking him to hand it to me works for that).

We also use "bottom down" for lots of stuff: getting in the car seat, sitting down to brush teeth or eat. He loved doing bottom down in the tub so much that he'd stand up again and crash down to make a big splash so I stopped asking for it there.

"High five" is a great targeting skill. I've used this with other toddlers as well to get them to come back instead of running off.

Many of my reinforcers are strange noises, silly faces and laughing. Toddlers seem to love doing things that cause a reaction so those all work instead of me having to carry a tangible reward around. Owen beams when I say "I LUV IT!" very expressively.

Mostly I just find that I phrase things in terms of what I want not what I don't want or what he can't do. I don't say stay out of the road, instead it is "hold a hand to go in the street." This afternoon he had dad's hand but wouldn't go in the road until he had mine too. I was not planning on crossing the street but with toddlers plans change all the time and I crossed the road.

We had three other little boys over in the sandbox this morning. What started as three moms saying "Don't throw sand" ended up with four moms saying "put the sand in the sand box." I am more than willing to talk to moms about what I'm doing if they ask but just like with my relatives, I tend to just try to be an example and let them choose what they want to do. And I do find that I repeat some tag points over and over and over and over...alternative behaviors can be self reinforcing.

Even after I had started tagging Owen, another mom mentioned an article she read that said toddlers grab things from other toddlers because that is how their parents interact with them - if they have something we don't want them to have or that we want/need we just take it without asking. That just really solidified for me how I wanted to interact with my son. Of course, there are things he can't do. I won't let him play with the stove regardless of whether or not it is on. If I give him a behavior and he chooses to persist in going for the stove, I physically move him (I am bigger and he is not a dolphin :) ). He gets very mad for a brief moment and then I can get him to do something acceptable. Seems that sometimes he is so fixated on his goal that he can't process my requests. Makes me think of "squirrel!" Mostly, he is pretty easy to redirect with a positive request for another behavior and is really getting to be quite the helper around the house.

Tweet

Upcoming TAGteach Seminars

"Just how do you adjust what you know about clicker training an animal to make it successful with human learners?" was the question asked by Janet Velenovsky in her article for the July/August issue of APDT's Chronicle of the Dog. Her answer was, "attend a TAGteach seminar!".

Now you can build on your clicker training knowledge and turn it in to an advantage in every field imaginable: teaching, business, parenting, physical therapy and of course animal training. Experience how an audible marker, strategic reduction in language, and a preset point of focus is transforming the human learning experience.

Register now for an open TAGteach Certification Seminar or contact Theresa at t@tagteach.com to schedule a personalized seminar for your group.

Upcoming Seminars

Brisbane, Australia (9/11-12/2010) 

Christchurch, New Zealand(9/18-19/2010)

Hamburg, Germany (10/16-17/2010)

Los Angeles, CA (11/6-7/2010)

Tampa, FL (12/3-4/2010)

Franklin, IN (2/12-13/2011) 

Glastonbury, CT(3/11-12/2011)

Comments from a recent TAGteach seminar:

"The response from all attendees was unanimously positive. It is rare that professionals from different educational disciplines (teachers, OTs, consultants) all feel that the information from the training will be useful professionally. I clearly saw the benefits that can result from using TAGteach for both teachers and students. "
Maureen Bradshaw, MS-Director, ARLearn-Arkansas Department of Education

"It truly was one of the best trainings I have ever had the opportunity to attend. Thanks so much!"
Sheila Smith-Behavior Intervention Consultant

"Definitely was one of the best 2 days of training in 15 years." Laura McKenzie Cooke-Arkansas Department of Education

More info and to Register

Tweet