Freeze Framing

Freeze Framing is clicker training for people. We use an acoustic marker signal, a click, to help take learning straight to a student's muscle memory. The sharp sound of the click freezes an image in the student's mind of what she was doing when the click happened. The click, often called a "tag," simplifies the learning process so students don't over-think and so words don't get in the way of muscle memory. Freeze Framing is awesome for teaching detailed skills like hand position. No more frustration over bouncing hands or short releases!

Another benefit of Freeze Framing is that it is non-confrontational. If the student does not hear a click, she simply tries again. A click is concrete. It says, "correct." Better yet, it makes it so that the teacher can only comment on one thing at a time so the student knows what exactly was correct!

When a teacher talks continually at students, it splits their attention between their minds and their muscles so it's harder for them to learn timing and feel. Plus, students often fall apart when they trainer is not there to narrate their every move for them. Freeze framing puts a "picture label" on what the student's muscles are feeling. These picture labels make recall faster and improves retention.

Coaching with freeze framing is actually much more difficult than traditional coaching because you have to be able to develop tasks that are small enough that students can earn a click in fewer than three tries. But, if you use guided discovery to set up your lesson plan, the payoff is so huge that the extra effort is worthwhile.

Frustration in freeze framing lessons is a non-issue, whereas in most traditional programs the frustration level is high. The more frustrated you are, the harder your coach thinks you're trying, so frustration becomes a learned pattern. We believe frustration gets in the way of learning. People work harder to earn a reward than they do to avoid punishment- it's a simple fact of life.

Students learn MUCH faster with freeze framing and have more fun. The click makes sure the student gets the positive reinforcement she wants and needs.

Our techniques for teaching horsemanship with an acoustic marker signal are unique to us. We are, however, certified by TAGteach International ([T]eaching with [A]coustical [G]uidance). One of the techniques that sets us apart is that we use a click to help a student feel certain parts of a movement. For example, if a student is working on shoulder-in, we click the moment the horse's inside hind steps under, helping the rider to know exactly when her aid was effective to the horse.