There is an ongoing, sometimes rancorous, debate in the coaching world as to the relative merits of “instruction” and “discovery” learning.
From, on one side, those who want to line players up behind cones, and have them take turns to replicate skills demonstrated by their coach.
Or those who set up games and leave the players to work it out for themselves.
OK — two grossly inaccurate, “straw-man” descriptions of coaching practice. But not uncommon in the darker spaces on Twitter.
Perhaps more accurately:
- Direct Instruction, which, however it is conceptualised, seeks to inculcate the Instruction.
- Ecological Dynamics and non-linear pedagogy, exemplified by the constraints-led approach, sees the coach creating a learning environment from which movement solutions “emerge”.
But what if the role of the coach was thought of differently. Neither “instructor” nor “environmental designer”.
(more…)
The Teesra 