The Teesra

Category: pedagogy

_how_ we coach: theory, practice & philosophy

  • Learning Types & athlete-centred coaching

    I mentioned in a previous post that I had been introduced to Diana Laurillard’s Learning Types (LTs). (1)

    Laurillard’s LTs define a range of ways in which learning can be facilitated within a “conversational framework“ i.e. a dialogue between teacher and student, between coach and player, subject and learner.

    This concept of learning dovetails neatly with the idea of athlete-centred coaching, where coaching is not (only) about what the coach can teach.

    Rather, learning (athlete development) occurs as a collaborative process between coach and athlete, intended to empower the athlete.

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  • I’m coaching…but are they learning?

    I taught my dog to whistle…he just hasn’t learnt, yet!

    Too often, the assumption in coaching is that players learn by being coached. But that ignores other ways that people learn, and also the motivation that drives learning.

    I have had plenty of time to reflect on my coaching, recently (haven’t we all?), and I wonder if my “live” (face-to-face) coaching has always been delivering effective learning i.e. leading to the acquisition and retention of new skills and knowledge by the players.

    So, with time on my hands, I wanted to re-consider activities to include more opportunities to utilise learning types other than “Acquisition”.

    (more…)

  • Follow-up: The coaches toolkit revisited (3): deliberate practice vs. deliberate play

    Many thanks to @ImSporticus for including this post in his weekly round-up of re-posts — it generated quite a few comments.

    This, from Phil Kearney: “As a means to move away from a “versus” mentality, I really like Whitehead’s description of freedom (play) and discipline (practice) as “…two rhythms, now one of which is louder, now the other, but both have a place at all stages in development”

    https://twitter.com/kearney_phil/status/922801656957493248?s=21
    Collected in “The Aims of Education and Other Essays” Alfred North Whitehead, 1929