Innovative Approaches in Coach Education Pedagogy

Abstract

We know that coach education programmes continue to be criticized for their largely didactic methods of delivery and rather superficial engagement with the complex reality of practice and we understand that innovative approaches in coach education pedagogy means moving somewhat away from the competencies based approach and it has been increasingly argued that the aim of coach education should be to develop in practitioners a 'quality of mind' so that they are better equipped to deal with the problematic and dynamic nature of their work. The skills of coach educators in facilitating the learning of student coaches are crucial to the effectiveness of the pedagogies. Coach educators, therefore, must be committed to the approaches outlined in this article and invest the time and work necessary to learning new skills if they are to be successfully implemented. We found that teaching in this way resulted in a raised degree of responsibility on behalf of the tutors, not so much in relation to their content delivery, but for the subsequent student interaction and learning (JONES et al., 2011). In this sense tutors took greater care to listen and react to group interactions, recognising that their (non) interventions at (in) appropriate times could genuinely affect and frame ensuing students' discussions and perceptions. A further area of research, therefore, could be to explore the issues surrounding the training and support of coach educators in implementing such pedagogical innovative approaches to coach education. KEYWORDS: Innovative approaches; Coach education; Coach skills; Pedagogical practice. RESUMO: Sabemos que os trabalhos de orientação de técnicos/professores são muito criticados por seus métodos pouco se aproximarem de práticas inovadoras. No entanto, práticas pedagógicas inovadoras devem se aproximar da realidade prática e avançar aos métodos tradicionais, considerando que uma pedagogia inovadora deve mover alguém do lugar onde se encontra para conhecer novas possibilidades. As habilidades dos técnicos/professores devem ser trabalhadas no sentido dos mesmos se constituírem facilitadores do processo de aprendizagem dos estudantes para se pensar numa pedagogia inovadora. Entendemos que uma concepção pedagógica construída nessa direção possibilita o desenvolvimento tanto de técnicos/professores, assim como os estudantes e pesquisas educacionais 1 This paper is re-printed from a chapter in the 'Handbook of Sports Coaching' (2012; edited by Dr. P.Potrac et al., and published by Routledge). Hence, it is published here with their appreciated permission.

Research review on coaches' perceptions regarding the teaching strategies experienced in coach education programs

“…The worldwide movement for coaching recognition and legitimacy has resulted in changes to large-scale programs and increased numbers of university-based programs. 10,11 Although not all the studies were clear in stating the educational approaches adopted, we highlight that all of the CEPs investigated presented a trend towards the use of learner-centered strategies and constructivist principles. Therefore, it appears that the calls for coaches' integration in the learning process through CEPs 10,16,17 have been heeded by sports stakeholders and researchers.…”

“…In fact, considering the aforementioned complexity related to the sports coaching practice environment, 10,12 developing cognitive skills such as decision-making and problem-solving is imperative. 55,56 Hence, reflective practice appears to be a key strategy for coaches to explore their own experiences (i.e.…”

“…7–9 Indeed, findings have tended to suggest that the prescriptive teaching strategies, the decontextualized delivery of content, and the lack of opportunities for coaches to interact and reflect with both instructors and peers are among the main reasons. 7,10,11 These aspects do not meet with previous suggestions for developing coaches' “quality of mind”, that is, considering the complexity of the coaching activity and preparing them for the problematic situations that may arise in their practice. 10,12 Therefore, in order to improve upon the traditionally didactic methods involved in CEPs and to provide contextualized content and strategies to develop coaches for real-world needs, shifting from an “instruction” to a “learning” paradigm seems to be a required step to take.…”

“…Subsequently, specific literature related to coach education began offering important directions for coach developers and sports stakeholders, particularly in relation to learner-centeredness. 10,16,17…”

“…Supported by the underlying learning processes captured by constructivist principles, learner-centered approaches have inspired the adoption of “innovative approaches,” 10 such as problem-based learning, 24,25 flipped classroom, 26,27 bottom-up approach, 28 and Socratic case method teaching, 29 amongst others. So despite the potentially increased relevance of constructivist approaches, and although it seems that a paradigm shift is already occurring in CEP, it is still unclear how far the adoption of learner-centered approaches has spread.…”