Using vocal consequences with TAGteach™ to teach novel dance movements to adults

Two adults wanted to learn new dance moves. The team used TAGteach: a click sounded when a move was right.

They also tried adding short praise like “great” or “not quite.” The study checked if the extra words helped.

A multiple-baseline design across dance steps showed when each part was added.

TAGteach alone made both dancers hit the steps far more often.

When the praise was added, scores stayed flat—no extra gain at all.

The clicks worked; the words didn’t.

Fabio et al. (2014) also used TAGteach, but with a preschool boy with autism. Clicks plus correction cut toe-walking. Same core method, new group—good sign the click is the key piece.

Capio et al. (2013) taught high-school football players to tackle better. They mixed short verbal cues with the click and saw big gains. Their words were short cues, not generic praise—so the cue may help, but “good job” does not.

McIntyre et al. (2002) tried adding praise to reading lessons. Some kids read faster, others did not. Mixed results match this study: extra words are hit-or-miss.

If you use TAGteach, let the click do the work. Skip vague praise like “nice” or “try again.” Save your voice for clear, brief cues before the move, not after. Test it yourself: run one dance step, one sport skill, or one staff procedure with clicks only, then add praise and chart the difference. You may find you can drop the chatter and keep the learning.