A patient with a left middle cerebral artery stroke has limited movement on the right and difficulty moving in bed. Which strategy is MOST useful when initially teaching the patient to roll from supine to left sidelying?

• A. Provide detailed verbal cues
• B. Use part-practice
• C. Avoid knowledge of performance feedback
• D. Provide feedback on 100% of the practice trials

Answer: (B)

Part-practice is most useful when teaching a rolling movement to the left sidelying after a left MCA stroke because the task is multi-segmented and the patient has hemiparesis on the right. Breaking the roll into smaller, manageable components—getting into a safe sidelying position, initiating a weight shift to the left, and then completing the roll with the upper and lower limbs working together—lets the patient practice each element with focused control and feedback. This reduces cognitive and motor load, helps establish the correct sequencing, and supports stability and safety as the movement is learned. As each part is mastered, the components can be gradually integrated into a complete roll.

While cues or feedback can be helpful, relying solely on detailed verbal instructions is unlikely to yield durable motor learning in this context, and providing feedback on every trial can create dependency. A balanced approach that uses part-practice with concise guidance and selective feedback promotes independent problem-solving and better transfer to the full task.