Questioning - From Criticalthinking.org

Just like teachers , coaches responsibility is to teach or inform , develop and enhance a players abilities in all aspects of life. Coaches often don't realize but they take on more of a responsibility than they bargained for developing the minds of the participants , players and athletes around them. As well as the basic jobs of a coach to teach technical and tactical skills and understanding , they all so have the job of challenging players mentally , getting them to think about what they are doing and understanding why they are doing it. There is no better way of doing this than to actually question the players themselves in order to get them to  think about what they have just done , ways that it could be done differently and the reasons for this. As a coach you must always find ways to reflect on what you have done , question yourself and get others opinions of yourself , so that you are continually learning and adapting your styles and approaches to become more and more effective. How you question the participants is equally as important , asking for simple yes or no answers is not going to really produce any level of reflection or analysis on their part to think about what they have just done. Challenging them for more in depth answers and then answers on top of that is going to produce more beneficial thought processes. Below is a good article from The Critical Thinking Community , available at http://www.criticalthinking.org/ which explains the importance of the styles of questions used to open up ideas and thoughts from participants. As a coach you should not be the controller of information , but instead the source of thought. The Role of Questions in Teaching , thinking and learning. One of the reasons that instructors tend to overemphasize "coverage" over "engaged thinking" is that they assume that answers can be taught separate from questions. Indeed, so buried are questions in established instruction that the fact that all assertions-all statements that this or that is so-are implicit answers to questions is virtually never recognized. For example, the statement that water boils at 100 degrees centigrade is an answer to the question "At what temperature centigrade does water boil?". Hence every declarative statement in the textbook is an answer to a question. Hence, every textbook could be rewritten in the interrogative mode by translating every statement into a question. To my knowledge this has never been done. That it has not is testimony to the privileged status of answers over questions in instruction and the misunderstanding of teachers about the significance of questions in the learning process. Instruction at all levels now keeps most questions buried in a torrent of obscured "answers". Thinking is Driven by Questions But thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation for a field-for example, Physics or Biology-the field would never have been developed in the first place. Furthermore, every field stays alive only to the extent that fresh questions are generated and taken seriously as the driving force in a process of thinking. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate our thought. Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought. Only when an answer generates a further question does thought continue its life as such. This is why it is true that only students who have questions are really thinking and learning. It is possible to give students an examination on any subject by just asking them to list all of the questions that they have about a subject, including all questions generated by their first list of questions. That we do not test students by asking them to list questions and explain their significance is again evidence of the privileged status we give to answers isolated from questions. That is, we ask questions only to get thought-stopping answers, not to generate further questions. Feeding Students Endless Content to Remember Feeding students endless content to remember (that is, declarative sentences to remember) is akin to repeatedly stepping on the brakes in a vehicle that is, unfortunately, already at rest. Instead, students need questions to turn on their intellectual engines and they need to generate questions from our questions to get their thinking to go somewhere. Thinking is of no use unless it goes somewhere, and again, the questions we ask determine where our thinking goes. Deep questions drive our thought underneath the surface of things, force us to deal with complexity. Questions of purpose force us to define our task. Questions of information force us to look at our sources of information as well as at the quality of our information. Questions of interpretation force us to examine how we are organizing or giving meaning to information. Questions of assumption force us to examine what we are taking for granted. Questions of implication force us to follow out where our thinking is going. Questions of point of view force us to examine our point of view and to consider other relevant points of view. Questions of relevance force us to discriminate what does and what does not bear on a question. Questions of accuracy force us to evaluate and test for truth and correctness. Questions of precision force us to give details and be specific. Questions of consistency force us to examine our thinking for contradictions. Questions of logic force us to consider how we are putting the whole of our thought together, to make sure that it all adds up and makes sense within a reasonable system of some kind. Dead Questions Reflect Dead Minds Unfortunately, most students ask virtually none of these thought-stimulating types of questions. They tend to stick to dead questions like "Is this going to be on the test?", questions that imply the desire not to think. Most teachers in turn are not themselves generators of questions and answers of their own, that is, are not seriously engaged in thinking through or rethinking through their own subjects. Rather, they are purveyors of the questions and answers of others-usually those of a textbook. We must continually remind ourselves that thinking begins with respect to some content only when questions are generated by both teachers and students. No questions equals no understanding. Superficial questions equals superficial understanding. Most students typically have no questions. They not only sit in silence; their minds are silent at well. Hence, the questions they do have tend to be superficial and ill-informed. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not thinking through the content they are presumed to be learning. This demonstrates that most of the time they are not learning the content they are presumed to be learning.

If we want thinking we must stimulate it with questions that lead students to further questions. We must overcome what previous schooling has done to the thinking of students. We must resuscitate minds that are largely dead when we receive them. We must give our students what might be called "artificial cogitation" (the intellectual equivalent of artificial respiration

Sourced from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/the-role-of-questions-in-teaching-thinking-and-learning/521

TGFU

TGFU - Teaching Games For Understanding.

TGFU is a learning process based on problem solving. Using the TGFU model places an emphasis on the players devloping game appreciation , understanding the game to a greater extent than simply being able to perform a list of skills. Many coaches simply do not appreciate the importance of game appreciation and instead focus mainly on the development of skills and techniques. Without the right knowledge of a game though, what use is a skill without the ability to use it it at the right moment ?

Having proper game appreciation and an understanding of what skills to use , when and why , allows players that are not perhaps technically brilliant to be good players because of how well the read the game. Top defenders are often a good example of this , they may not be able to control a ball as well as their center forward team mate , or hit a target from 30 yards , but their ability to assess problems quickly and spot danger allows them to be in the right place at the right time with no need for skills.

In the process of TGFU then it woulld usually mean that you start by coaching simple pitch or court dynamics. Letting the players get an appreciation for the size and distances of the court , maybe the playing surface even , how much grip it offers to turn etc. In this case I will use tennis as the example , when coaching a player , starting with the dynamics of the court , basic positioning would be the first part. Where to stand at service or when taking service. Then basic court movements , coming too the net and moving back into postion quickly , developing an appreciation of the distance left to right on the court and when using one side of the racket or the other is more appropriate.

When the player has gathered more of an understanding and an appreciation of the court dynamics , is more spatially aware of their surroundings then you can begin to move on to other basics such as the stance and holding of the racket (remembering to allow them to hold the racket how they feel is comfortable and effective). It does not matter if they make a number of mistakes as long as they begin to develop an understanding of why those mistakes occurred , allowing them to solve their own problems and adapt new ways around it.

TGFU is essentially a reversal of what is considered normal procedure , usually children would come to a session and expect to be taught a skill , which they then learn and are then expected to perform in a game situation. Instead what TGFU offers is the understanding of the game first , so that when the player learns the skill and have to put it into practice in a game situation they have a more informed opinion of what is the most appropriate and effective skill to use in this situation.

Below another video that expalins TGfU from a coaching perspective. Note how in the video the players are not focusing on specific skills , but in fact are playing in a variety of game situations , with adaptations to increase their understanding of positioning and space etc.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx25KgDdHmQ

Constraints led approach.

What is a constraint ?

With this model of coaching constraints are not always considered to be negative factors that may hinder performance. They are simply any number of factors that have an influence learning and performance. The individual personality or attitude of a athlete , as well as the environment such as the pitch surface and finally the task itself , perhaps whether or not the athlete engages with a particular exercise or if he would rather be doing something else.

With the contraints led approach the factors that usually are the limiting factors with coaching , instead can be manipulated to provide effective coaching , the individual qualities of an athlete, the task and the environment can all be manipulated for more effective approaches. 

Different players have different needs ! We often try and coach everyone under one blanket and if they struggle to meet targets or outcomes , we look at the players for fault , coaches need to appreciate that just like learning in school or revising for an exam , everyone has their own way of doing it. For this reason coaches should try their best to allow participants to develop their own ideas , their own interpretations of instructions and solve their own problems. Often a limiting factor of coaches sessions is demonstrations.

DEMONstrations.
Demonstrations are such common place in coaching routines and sessions that we often do not think about the implications of them. Every coach will explain what they want players to do , but then they will offer them a demonstration as well. The demonstration effectively acts as a solution for the players , if they were slightly unsure of the method in which they were meant to do something , then after watching a demonstration all they have to do now is copy it to assure success , effectively KILLING CREATIVITY.  Players will focus on repeating the demonstration not creating their own solutions , nine out of ten times , if you ask the players to perform a turn , then demonstrate a Cruyff turn , the majority of the participants will all perform the same turn.

Below is a complete run through of the constraints led approach from Triathlon New Zealand website. 


Demonstrations may actually limit potential as they can be constraining and force the learner to adopt a movement pattern that may not be the most effective for them.

A demonstration should 
always be coupled with its outcome (i.e., what happens) so that learners are encouraged to problem solve and determine how their actions and effects are related.

Allow learners to observe a range of people doing demonstrations so they can appreciate subtle variations in technique and how it alters outcomes.

The problem solving approach (setting problems for athletes to solve, or
posing questions) encourages learners to take more responsibility for their learning.

There are different ways to achieve the same end result and learners should be encouraged to explore these opportunities so as to develop flexible and adaptable movement patterns.

Performance in practice should not be seen as a sole measure of the
effectiveness of coaching. The most appropriate measure is to observe the learner in competition.

Practice should be as variable as possible so that learners can explore and discover their own solutions.

The practice session should mimic the range of variations experienced during a competition. 

Blocked practice helps to develop confidence in the initial stages of learning. 

Blocked practice is repetitive practice to develop a technique or skill.

Providing feedback on every practice attempt limits learning potential as it prevents the learner from searching for solutions. 

Encourage learners to increase their own ability to use intrinsic feedback
(feedback about their own movements).

Very prescriptive coaching (i.e., telling, telling, telling) may be detrimental to learning. Rather, using guided discovery enables learners to take more responsibility for their own development.

Coaches should manipulate the individual, environmental and task constraints to help shape the learners performances through guided discovery and self-exploration.

Sport or game intelligence can be developed by the use of competition-related activities.


Reference
Williams, A.M. & Hodges, N.J. (2005). Practice, instruction and skill acquisition: Challenging tradition. 
Journal of Sport Sciences, 23(6), 637-650

An effective approach to coaching.

There are many factors that divide the best coaches from the rest and everyone has their own style. Some processes that top coaches follow to deliver the best results to their players are as follows.

Mistakes
They allow performers to make mistakes. Training is for that reason exactly , use training to its full potential in order to iron out any mistakes, let participants make mistakes , obviously the aim isn't to make mistakes but do not criticize them for doing so. Use mistakes as stepping stones and see them as areas to improve. Coaches often stick to practicing a team or performers strengths as it makes both the player and the coach look good if they are getting everything right. Don't be afraid to tackle weaknesses and make mistakes along the way , avoiding mistakes is what will hurt you in the long run , if a player is a fantastic free-kick taker but cant control the ball then when it comes to pressure time and they give the ball away in their own area , what are you  going to wish you had practiced ? This is not to say ignore the players strengths as they already have the ability , as with anything regular practice is good , but make sure you assign time to other aspects of performance , turn weaknesses into strengths and strengths into super strengths.

Technique
Focusing on a players technique does not guarantee a players improved performance. Technique is the physical action of a movement such as the kick of a ball or swing of a bat. The skill of a performer is how they are then able to put this into action in a game or pressure situation. A player may be able to kick a ball directly into the top corner 15 times without fail on a training ground or with their friends , you would say that they have great technique as they posses the ability to perform this task well. However , producing players that are technically brilliant but lack the ability to perform in games  is a pointless task in a sporting world which , by the nature of sport , is based on results , scores and performances. Players need to be able to produce skills on demand in any situation and when under pressure. For this reason it is important that coaches try and produce well rounded players that are used to performing in a variety of situations. Players need to have game appreciation as well as the skills to perform in a game. Game appreciation is basically a knowledge and understanding of the game , the ability to read situations such as detecting danger. Being able to read the game well allows a player to decide which is the most appropriate technique to use , such as a long or short pass , to be most effective. Put the players technique under strategic pressure which will assess their ability to perform in game situations. This is a purpose of practice matches and friendlies before major competition starts.

If learning means loosing 
Sometimes during the learning process we experience setbacks. At least that is what they appear to be , in reality these setbacks often prove to be the most important steps forward , they can open up new perspectives on everything , from training , preparation , performance and even recovery. A failure can often cast light on something that previously was not considered which suddenly ignites a performer who then finds a new level. Setbacks can all so be used as fuel for the next performance , being beaten then acts as the drive to avoid defeat again and win. If you set a new personal best but still loose , then although the outcome is the same you have made improvements and this should be taken as a positive showing that you are progressing. Some times you have to loose to learn , all great sportsmen/women have been beaten at some point in their life , if they quit after one defeat we wouldn't have many greats , as a coach and as the player it is important to use defeats to your advantage and turn it into a positive learning experience , if you dwell on the defeat and point out to players how bad it is that they lost then they will learn nothing. One thing i often use in my coaching is a 'praise sandwich'. This works by giving players feedback (again the importance of communication) firstly give the players some positive feedback , follow this up with CONSTRUCTIVE criticism of the performance, offering advice for changes , perhaps new things to try in a game. Then finally offer some more praise , perhaps an idea of how good they could be if they added these changes to their game.

With this point of that loosing can be learning , this is often a problem in junior football , children although they like extrinsic rewards are just as much involved in sports at a young age for enjoyment , begin with their friends and having fun , it is the coaches and parents that create stress and the win at all cost nature of junior sports. If you introduce the you are a winner mentality when you win , then surely children will think they are looser when they loose. This is often what kills off participation in many children , don't be the coach that makes a child stop playing sport , allow players to develop at their own rate in their own way , everyone has their own way of learning , problem solving and even technical ability is individually based , yes the basics of everyone ability to kick a ball has similarities but everyone will learn to do it in their own unique way.

Obviously there are differences between elite sport and grassroots sport , unfortunately although it has massively impacted British sport positively , sport has become a political tool with vast amounts of money involved , it is a very cut throat industry now and if your not making the grades and getting the results , both as a coach and a player , your out ! This then clearly does not really give you the opportunity to loose as a learning experience , you will encounter losses anyway as is the nature of sport and it is at these moments that you must work like never before to get back and beyond where you were before. As I mentioned earlier , use the defeat as fuel for victory. A recent example of this Bradley Wiggins , crashing out of the Tour De France in 2011 , trained harder than ever for the rest of the year and won it in 2012. Loosing is good , no one ever became the best by winning every race they ever did.

Communication

As a coach you are usually at the center of decision making and information. It is your job as a coach to give the sessions or training programs direction and influence over what is happening. If you had no real impact on the session then their would not be much need for you to be there as a coach.

One of a coaches most important skills is his/her communication skills , how they can take on information and successfully pass it on to participants and players. Effectively communicating is one of the most highly rated attributes of a successful coach , you will often hear how football managers are really good at talking to the players , letting them know whats happening and why and what they expect from them. Without effective communication skills it would be difficult to ever manage players effectively. Communication does not just refer to verbal instructions , all so a lot of communication can come across from body language , so conducting yourself in the right manner as a coach is equally important, trying to maintain a neutral body position not to give away feelings, if a performer gets something wrong the last thing they need is to see the coach shaking their head.

I personally feel that in my own coaching that my communication skills are one of my strong points. Both with players and other coaches. I have a friendly approach to people and don't like to be too serious which makes people more relaxed and more open to listening as with the coaches they know I am always happy to take on board opinions and ideas which makes me a good person to talk to when discussing potential changes.

This video talks to a number of coaches about the importance of communication and I feel it reflects well the relevance of a coach having good communication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kcJ39wq778

Games based approach.

As I mentioned in my previous post. Often coaches forget what it was like when they played the sport. How repetitive a typical session can be of warming up , drills having a game then a cool down. Offering the players no opportunity to reflect on what they have learned , practiced or achieved in that session , but more importantly when players make mistakes in a session or struggle to grasp a concept or technique , with no reflection in the session they are left usually , at for example a Sunday football team to wait another week before training again , or they go several days after making a mistake or encountering a problem with their game or technique into a match or performance with no work on their problems leading to repetition or an escalation of the problem , which if left to a game situation could be a major negative impact for a player perhaps in confidence. Training and practice is their to iron out mistakes before a match or performance so use it for that !

The games based approach targets this problem by constantly assessing an working on issues , simple feedback and communication assessing performance is all that is needed. During a session using the games based approach a typical session structure may look something like this.

Warm up
Game
Questions on the game
Back to game
More questions
Progression
Repeat the cycle with the progression implemented
Cool down.

When stopping the game for questions it is important to let the players give their views on the game in order to work on specific areas , you as a coach may see something very differently stood at 6ft tall and 20 yards away to what a player who is 4ft tall in the middle of the game may see. Allow players to reflect when the game is stopped , suggest changes or possible solutions then allow them to go back to the game. Before repeating the process.

Note when the cycle says progression , this is not a set list that needs to be ticked off in order to be effective. The game should only be progressed if the players are ready for it and the aims have been achieved. If not then it is not a problem , allow them to continue trying to find a solution and simply come back to it next session. Problems don't end at the end of training sessions so you should continue to work on them until it is no longer an issue.

BELOW IS A VIDEO I THINK DESCRIBES THE GAMES BASED APPROACH WELL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKzAbB2Lg6U

Methods of coaching

A coach has many roles during their time , from being a trainer , supporter , teacher and leader , to being a first aider , managing admin and managing people. For most of these roles there is a simple approach to the job that is effective and efficient. However for the coaching side of the job there a number of ways in which a coach can apply themselves. We call these methods 'methods can be viewed not as a set of strategies which can be successfully or not unsuccessfully implemented by a coach. They are more like a set of beliefs about the way certain types of learning can be best achieved. They are about valued forms of knowledge as they are about procedures for action' (Tinning 1993) . The method of a coach can say a lot about themselves , their abilities and confidence. However it can be all so a reflection of the group as often certain coaching styles have to be adapted to suit particular groups often for safety reasons where control is needed. Mostun and ashworth created a method continuum which displayed how certain sports and activities require differing levels of responsibility on coach and player. An example of which is below.


Kirk went on to split this spectrum into 5 methods of coaching.

Directive - A control of information to participants , this limits progression and means the coach is the center.
Task - Designing the session so that the participant can sometimes work independently on a task or problem.
Reciprocal - This requires the players to work with one another rather than the coach ,designed for them.
Guided discovery - Gives the players more independence. Allows them to develop their own problems and then they can understand better solutions.
Problem solving - Offers more than one basic solution , again can be adapted for a better fit for individual needs - Differentiated needs.

As I touched on earlier , the method that you choose as a coach should be within your own personal capabilities but all so inside the abilities of your group. It would be unwise as a coach of for example a reception class or a similarly young group to let them go off and do what they want , this would both be dangerous and unproductive , although all decisions shouldn't be made for the players (this is one of the problems with English footballers , they are all coached to death, never allowing them to develop their own style of play) but they need to have some structure in the session so that they can meet aims and objectives.

For a situation such as this a directive approach would be more appropriate , ensuring that the players are kept on track and under control, guiding them through the session safely whilst meeting objectives is important , however if aims of the session are not met and perhaps you are running out of time do not feel you have to rush through. It is always better to ensure you have the fundamentals of a sport successfully implemented rather than rushing on to coach shooting. What use is being able to shoot if you can control a ball , the ball is never going to stop perfectly in acres of space for you to run and hit it however you want , coaches must ensure that they produce rounded players. I personally coached football at a local club and along with the other coaches often encountered children unhappy because we were doing dribbling activities when all they wanted to do was play a game , I am all for them learning to develop their own skills in a game but with a group as young as they were 6 and 7 year olds , a game often turns into a unproductive swarm chasing a ball and getting stuck in a corner , with the less advanced players standing around. For this reason I preferred to use skill based activities which allowed all players to be involved and work at their own level. These were not drills , as being a player myself I am aware of how boring, repetitive and time absorbing drills were. For example making players dribble round cones for 15 minutes , when in a game are you going to run at 4 stationary defenders on several occasions. Most of the activities I did as a player were irrelevant to games situations and ability in a game. So now when coaching i attempt to remove drills as much as possible and allow time for developing other skills and bits of personal flair using a task approach where they can sometimes work interdependently and even sometimes work reciprocally perhaps copying each others turns.

Coaches too often like to take control of sessions with their whistle and tracksuit feeling all important , in the development of the players however it is often better to allow the players find their own way and develop their own styles. If a player develops a way of kicking the ball that is not how you would normally do it , this doesn't mean its wrong , players are not clones they all have their own style , let them grow it.