Saturday, 24 March 2012
Happenings
I was flicking through youtube the other day and stumbled across a video that Mark Upton, from sport relations gave really good insight into performance analysis information for coaches. Check it out if your interested! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wATBZfZR2OE
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Week 7 - The Use Of Social Media
This weeks lecture covered a variety of ideas fom assessment protocols to social media outlets. However, this blog will focus on social media and will mention just a few of many social media outlets people use today in order to connect with people accross the globe, share ideas and develop there own thoughts.
This high speed communication is changing the world as we know it. So fast are these social outlets that quite often the public will know of an event before the authorities even know of it.
With the advance of information technology, the world has become a globalised arena with information shared via social outlets in there hundreds and thousands. For an employer, this is very important to understand as some techniques that employees adopt in order to suss out a persons profile is to use web analysis of various online social websites. A few of these include: facebook; youtube; slideshare; twitter; I phone Apps prezi, creative commons and blogger of course.
Such social outlets are an efficient and effective way in which to share information and gather thoughts and ideas. But surely there is a limit to the amount of information that one shares with the public. Take for example twitter. Each day over 340 million tweets are recorded. Of course, the human brain is unlimited in its capacity to gather, share and acknowledge thoughts and ideas, but at what point is there a limit to the amount of information a person, or even a pedagogue will feel free to share with the general public?
Any thoughts are much appreciated.
This high speed communication is changing the world as we know it. So fast are these social outlets that quite often the public will know of an event before the authorities even know of it.
With the advance of information technology, the world has become a globalised arena with information shared via social outlets in there hundreds and thousands. For an employer, this is very important to understand as some techniques that employees adopt in order to suss out a persons profile is to use web analysis of various online social websites. A few of these include: facebook; youtube; slideshare; twitter; I phone Apps prezi, creative commons and blogger of course.
Such social outlets are an efficient and effective way in which to share information and gather thoughts and ideas. But surely there is a limit to the amount of information that one shares with the public. Take for example twitter. Each day over 340 million tweets are recorded. Of course, the human brain is unlimited in its capacity to gather, share and acknowledge thoughts and ideas, but at what point is there a limit to the amount of information a person, or even a pedagogue will feel free to share with the general public?
Any thoughts are much appreciated.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Week 6 - Reflecting, Assessing and Mentoring
In this weeks lecture, it was clearly demonstrated that reflecting, assessing and mentoring are all key characteristics of the expert pedagogue. Donald Schon's work suggests that there are in fact two types of reflection. There is reflection in action and secondly, there is reflection on action. However, to extend on these reflection elements, the expert pedagogue can combine these two and think ahead on what needs to be addressed during the next training session. In this way, the coach can reflect in a forward sense.
On the topic of assessment many coaches now use written templates or a list of competencies to update or outline assessment procedures and criteria. Yet, observation is still a key component of the assessment process and notes can be taken in a notebook and can reassess the thoughts during the 'reflection in action phase' of the performance. With the advent of technology many athletes and coaches can now tap into self assessment as the key technique of assessment. This is often utilised through video analysis. Take for example the AIS gymnast. Although, the athlete has superb kinematic and kinesthetic sense, the gymnast can self assess themselves on the plasma screen televisions via a video that has been recorded by dozens of cameras fitted into the walls of their training hall. In this way the gymnast can improve their performance for the eyes of the observer.
The second half of the lecturer examined mentoring and questioned the nature and role of a mentor. It was understood that a mentor is one that imparts their knowledge and experience to assist the athlete in fulfilling their own needs and objectives. However, is a mentor always someone more experienced in the field? If so does this mean that they need to be older? Furthermore, does the mentor need to have similarities with their athlete in order to relate to them? Each of these questions neither have a right or wrong answer. From my persepective a mentor is one in which the athlete looks up to, idolises and gains knowledge. In this way the mentor should be regarded as having had greater expereince. Yet, many would also suggest, that each and everyone of us, possess different experience and knowledge and therefore the mentor can also learn much from their athlete. In this way, the ties between the athlete and mentor are mutually beneficial and at the same levels.
On the topic of similarities, it is widly accknowedged that the mentor must have similarities to their athlete. Surely, you cannot have a mentor who assists a marathon runner, yet smokes ciggerettes and drinks beer. This idea questions the ethics of both the athlete and mentor in their relationship. I would love to know your thoughts on these ideas!
Thank for reading this blog!
On the topic of assessment many coaches now use written templates or a list of competencies to update or outline assessment procedures and criteria. Yet, observation is still a key component of the assessment process and notes can be taken in a notebook and can reassess the thoughts during the 'reflection in action phase' of the performance. With the advent of technology many athletes and coaches can now tap into self assessment as the key technique of assessment. This is often utilised through video analysis. Take for example the AIS gymnast. Although, the athlete has superb kinematic and kinesthetic sense, the gymnast can self assess themselves on the plasma screen televisions via a video that has been recorded by dozens of cameras fitted into the walls of their training hall. In this way the gymnast can improve their performance for the eyes of the observer.
The second half of the lecturer examined mentoring and questioned the nature and role of a mentor. It was understood that a mentor is one that imparts their knowledge and experience to assist the athlete in fulfilling their own needs and objectives. However, is a mentor always someone more experienced in the field? If so does this mean that they need to be older? Furthermore, does the mentor need to have similarities with their athlete in order to relate to them? Each of these questions neither have a right or wrong answer. From my persepective a mentor is one in which the athlete looks up to, idolises and gains knowledge. In this way the mentor should be regarded as having had greater expereince. Yet, many would also suggest, that each and everyone of us, possess different experience and knowledge and therefore the mentor can also learn much from their athlete. In this way, the ties between the athlete and mentor are mutually beneficial and at the same levels.
On the topic of similarities, it is widly accknowedged that the mentor must have similarities to their athlete. Surely, you cannot have a mentor who assists a marathon runner, yet smokes ciggerettes and drinks beer. This idea questions the ethics of both the athlete and mentor in their relationship. I would love to know your thoughts on these ideas!
Thank for reading this blog!
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Week 5 - Observation and Augmented Information
Week 5 Lecture
This blog is an analysis of coaching techniques, highlighting the importance of observation and specific augmentation in order to get the best out of your athletes. As a coach, I found this Weeks discussions of particular interest.This blog will be utilised to analyse my own coaching philosophies and techniques but I also intend to share with you some of the key learning points that a coach must adhere to in order to benefit the athlete coach relationship.
This weeks lecture furthered on the need for observation and dwelled into ideas of augmenting information in which to provide athletes in order to better their understanding and cognitive learning process. Although, augmenting information is vital and quite often beneficial, it must be understood that frequent augmentation will infact degrade the learning process. To support the need to limit augmentation, it was interesting to note that even the skilled observer (in this case the coach) 80% of what we see is lost within 2 hours.Therefore, as a tip I suggest to coaches to always carry a hand-held notebook in order to jot down information in diaries or online like I have done is vital.
However, I took a minute to reflect on this idea, realizing that as a (young and inexperienced) coach, I had quite often over-analysed and over-organised my training sessions. I would try to feed too much information to explain a particular point and do this in a rather short space of time. In over augmenting a scenario, the athlete will struggle to understand the concepts, lose interest and ultimately lose enjoyment in the sport.
A second topic discussed in this lecture was the relationship between the coach and the athlete. A contemporary notion that has arised, is that the power of the relationship is in the hands of the athlete, not the coach. It is important for coaches to understand that it is the athlete that now dictates the path of action.
As a final point, the coaches ability to observe rather than perform has found to work for many athletes, particularly at the individual level. As Keith discussed in lecture, it is necessary for the coach to "take a step away", to observe what is being practised rather than organising more content. In taking the time to observe, the coach can learn the finer details and provide for positive reinforcement. A great example of this can be explained in Ian Frank & Harry Miller's (1991) work entitled: Training coaches to observe and remember.Observation is also beneficial for the athlete or performer. A great example of this is in reference to Peter Dowrick's work. Here, the power of 'feed forward' is identifiable and the ability of individuals to learn through 'guided discovery' becomes evident. Here, a child learns to ride a bike with a camera attached to the helmet. The child then watches the video recorded by the camera and within hours can ride the bike! The ability to learn through observing, guiding and self teaching is successful. In playing the video back to the child, they see a guided pathway and their own experiences, through the eyes of the learner.
To conclude, it is evident that the power of observation is unique and if utilised can be very effective. Furthermore, in keeping information short and sharp, providing specific augmentation can benefit the relationship between coach and athlete, while also keeping in mind that the athlete controls the power of a one on one encounter. When it comes to using the 'feed forward' technique, whether through the use of technology via video analysis (as Dowrick observed) or in scribbling a note into your textbook it is a major assistance in the learning process. Finally, thoughts and ideas should be shared and acknowledged. In this way, the world of opportunity for the coach is endless. Therefore, I would love to know your thoughts, ideas or tips when coaching
I'll leave you with two last thoughts. The first was explained by Keith Lyons during the lecture:
"Support in order to move forward"
The second is a thought I found on Twitter by Kevin Eastman@kevineastman
Thankyou for reading this blog!
This blog is an analysis of coaching techniques, highlighting the importance of observation and specific augmentation in order to get the best out of your athletes. As a coach, I found this Weeks discussions of particular interest.This blog will be utilised to analyse my own coaching philosophies and techniques but I also intend to share with you some of the key learning points that a coach must adhere to in order to benefit the athlete coach relationship.
This weeks lecture furthered on the need for observation and dwelled into ideas of augmenting information in which to provide athletes in order to better their understanding and cognitive learning process. Although, augmenting information is vital and quite often beneficial, it must be understood that frequent augmentation will infact degrade the learning process. To support the need to limit augmentation, it was interesting to note that even the skilled observer (in this case the coach) 80% of what we see is lost within 2 hours.Therefore, as a tip I suggest to coaches to always carry a hand-held notebook in order to jot down information in diaries or online like I have done is vital.
However, I took a minute to reflect on this idea, realizing that as a (young and inexperienced) coach, I had quite often over-analysed and over-organised my training sessions. I would try to feed too much information to explain a particular point and do this in a rather short space of time. In over augmenting a scenario, the athlete will struggle to understand the concepts, lose interest and ultimately lose enjoyment in the sport.
A second topic discussed in this lecture was the relationship between the coach and the athlete. A contemporary notion that has arised, is that the power of the relationship is in the hands of the athlete, not the coach. It is important for coaches to understand that it is the athlete that now dictates the path of action.
As a final point, the coaches ability to observe rather than perform has found to work for many athletes, particularly at the individual level. As Keith discussed in lecture, it is necessary for the coach to "take a step away", to observe what is being practised rather than organising more content. In taking the time to observe, the coach can learn the finer details and provide for positive reinforcement. A great example of this can be explained in Ian Frank & Harry Miller's (1991) work entitled: Training coaches to observe and remember.Observation is also beneficial for the athlete or performer. A great example of this is in reference to Peter Dowrick's work. Here, the power of 'feed forward' is identifiable and the ability of individuals to learn through 'guided discovery' becomes evident. Here, a child learns to ride a bike with a camera attached to the helmet. The child then watches the video recorded by the camera and within hours can ride the bike! The ability to learn through observing, guiding and self teaching is successful. In playing the video back to the child, they see a guided pathway and their own experiences, through the eyes of the learner.
To conclude, it is evident that the power of observation is unique and if utilised can be very effective. Furthermore, in keeping information short and sharp, providing specific augmentation can benefit the relationship between coach and athlete, while also keeping in mind that the athlete controls the power of a one on one encounter. When it comes to using the 'feed forward' technique, whether through the use of technology via video analysis (as Dowrick observed) or in scribbling a note into your textbook it is a major assistance in the learning process. Finally, thoughts and ideas should be shared and acknowledged. In this way, the world of opportunity for the coach is endless. Therefore, I would love to know your thoughts, ideas or tips when coaching
I'll leave you with two last thoughts. The first was explained by Keith Lyons during the lecture:
"Support in order to move forward"
The second is a thought I found on Twitter by Kevin Eastman
"Observing & absorbing: so important to be a keen observer. But equally important to absorb what you learn. Need both steps to succeed!"
Thankyou for reading this blog!
Friday, 2 March 2012
An expert Pedagogue: Robert De Castella
In my search to find out what it takes to be a sports coaching expert pedagogue I find Robert De Castella a truly remarkable man when it comes to his ability to change the lives of so many. Rob is the owner of
SmartStart for Kids! a not-for-profit organisation built to empower schools, parents and children to develop healthy habits and attitudes to address increasing obesity and sedentary lifestyle related illnesses by getting kids active in schools. Rob is also the founder of Deeks health foods that is a 100% grain and gluten free Bakery encouraging the habit of healthy eating.
However, this Blog's main aim is to highlight Rob's success in developing The Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP). This project aims to help both indigenous communities and people across Australia become more active and adopt a healthy lifestyle.The project provides the opportunity for a select group of both male and female indigenous runners to run the New York Marathon. Subsequenlty, the story is an inspiration to all Australians and allows one to see the benefits of adopting a healthy and happy lifestyle. The following documentary explores the concept of belief and perseverance, that anything is achievable if you put your heart into it and that dreams do come true!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BrQtkjKvmqU
Visit this site for a brief overview of IMP's aims and objectives:
http://themarathonproject.com.au/?page_id
I have been following Deeks on twitter and so can you! @deek207.
However, this Blog's main aim is to highlight Rob's success in developing The Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP). This project aims to help both indigenous communities and people across Australia become more active and adopt a healthy lifestyle.The project provides the opportunity for a select group of both male and female indigenous runners to run the New York Marathon. Subsequenlty, the story is an inspiration to all Australians and allows one to see the benefits of adopting a healthy and happy lifestyle. The following documentary explores the concept of belief and perseverance, that anything is achievable if you put your heart into it and that dreams do come true!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BrQtkjKvmqU
Visit this site for a brief overview of IMP's aims and objectives:
http://themarathonproject.com.au/?page_id
I have been following Deeks on twitter and so can you! @deek207.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
Week 4: The coach as The Performer
As discussed by Keith in todays lecture. Pedagogy has four interlinked elements:
This photo from flickr depicts an observing coach
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinaphotography/5117766856/
•Coaches
•Learners
•Knowledge
•Learning environment
(Kathleen Armour, 2004, p.97)
These elements are all intertwined and are mutually beneficial when they work together in fluid motion.
I quite enjoyed Keith's lecture today on the 'performing' role the coach plays. In particular I found this quote stood out amoung the rest and one of much interest when analysing coaching pedagogy:
“Although the recognition that coaching may have much in common with education, in so far as both should develop the totality of the individual, has surfaced, the link towards seeing pedagogic theory as a means to inform coaching has remained undiscovered.”
Robyn Jones (2006), p.9 The Sports Coach as Educator.
I felt that the main theme of this weeks lecture and tute was the coaches role as not only a performer but more importantly as the observer. As discussed in this weeks tute, the expert coach can often oversee the need to observe, listen and understand their athletes at the personal level. The knowledge of your athletes at an individual level is what distinguishes a one coach from an coaching pedegogue. Each of the quotes during this lecture highlights the need for knowledge of individuality, personality, personal principles and values. going beyond the boundary of the traditional strict and authoratative methods of coaching to a more welcoming, personal level will allow the coach to gain greater respect from their subjects.
As explored in this weeks tutorial, in simply asking your participants five personal questions will allow the coach to gain greater knowledge and respect both from and of their participants at a more personal level. For instance yoy may ask them to state where they grew up, what their aspirations, goal or objective may be for the season, their favourite food, their friends, their strengths in the game, their feelings and thoughts towards the previous season, what they get up to during that particular day/week. this method allows the coach to understand their players in the light of good coaching pedagogy.
This photo from flickr depicts an observing coach
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinaphotography/5117766856/
SCP - Week 3:
This week in SCP there was no tutorial or lecture. However, in accessing the SCP facebook page there was a study provided for the students to have a read and share their thoughts on blogger. This research study employed a second-order meta-analysis procedure to summarize 40 years of research activity inorder to address, whether or not the use of computer technology has affected student achievement in formal face-to-face classrooms as compared to classrooms that do not use technology - this has effectively the 'big question' to be answered by the following review. The 'big question', is a relevant question, as we enter a globalising world where IT has become a essential to everyday living. Furthered by the the fact that nearly every classroom, nowadays, has some form of computer support. Although research studies comparing various forms of technology use in both control and treatment groups are becoming popular, it does not seem that technology versus no technology comparisons will become definite. This review on educational research was done by, Rana M. Tamim, Robert M. Bernard, Eugene Borokhovski, Philip C. Abrami and Richard F. Schmid in January 2011. The online version of this article can be found at: http://rer.sagepub.com/content/81/1/4.
The review was rather complex as it tried to grasp the intentions of various studies and analysis that had been done in the previous 40 years and then compare and contrast these seperate studies in order to answer the 'big question'.
As Tamim, R., et al. explain, there have been so many different studies done all trying to conclude whether the use of technology is advantageous to students. The downside to this study was an inability to make an accurate conclusion based on the fragmentation of research and data found. To explain the true depth, broad and varied nature of the studies, Tamim outlines that, "more than 60 meta-analyses have appeared in the literature since 1980, each focusing on a specific question addressing different aspects such as subject matter, grade level, and type of technology.Although each of the published meta-analyses provides a valuable piece of information, no single one is capable of answering the overarching question of the overall impact of technology use on student achievement" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). Other researches include: "...Mark Lipsey and David Wilson (Lipsey & Wilson, 1993;Wilson & Lipsey, 2001), both addressing psychological, behavioral, and educational treatments; Sipe and Curlette (1997), targeting factors related to educational achievement; Møller and Jennions(2002), focusing on issuesin evolutionary biology; Barrick, Mount, and Judge (2001), addressing personality and performance; Peterson (2001), studying college students and social science research; andLuborsky et al. (2002), addressing psychotherapy research" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011) .
Despite the fact that the nature of the study was too broad. I found it interesting to note that Robert Kozma (e.g., 1991, 1994) and Chris Dede (e.g.,1996),believe computers may possess properties or affordances that can directly change the nature of teaching and learning. "Their views, by implication,encourage the study of computers and other educational media use in the classroom for their potential to foster better achievement and bolster student attitudes toward schooling and learning in general" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). As a student myself, I personally agree with Kozma and Dede's conclusions based on the increased positive attitude towards the use of computer technology. Although summaries were few and far between, the review did find that "one of technology’s main strengths may lie in supporting students’ efforts to achieve rather than acting as a tool for delivering content" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). This statement holds true to any academic/coaching pedagogue. Technology may not necessarily always allow for the best presentation of knowledge. However, the potential for technology to support the cognitive learning aspect of information and the ease of access to knowledge is unbeatable!
Thankyou for reading this blog
For another read on such ideas see:
http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:D9sdyD9yTKUJ:scholar.google.com/+techniques+used+to+tap+into+learning+styles&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
This week in SCP there was no tutorial or lecture. However, in accessing the SCP facebook page there was a study provided for the students to have a read and share their thoughts on blogger. This research study employed a second-order meta-analysis procedure to summarize 40 years of research activity inorder to address, whether or not the use of computer technology has affected student achievement in formal face-to-face classrooms as compared to classrooms that do not use technology - this has effectively the 'big question' to be answered by the following review. The 'big question', is a relevant question, as we enter a globalising world where IT has become a essential to everyday living. Furthered by the the fact that nearly every classroom, nowadays, has some form of computer support. Although research studies comparing various forms of technology use in both control and treatment groups are becoming popular, it does not seem that technology versus no technology comparisons will become definite. This review on educational research was done by, Rana M. Tamim, Robert M. Bernard, Eugene Borokhovski, Philip C. Abrami and Richard F. Schmid in January 2011. The online version of this article can be found at: http://rer.sagepub.com/content/81/1/4.
The review was rather complex as it tried to grasp the intentions of various studies and analysis that had been done in the previous 40 years and then compare and contrast these seperate studies in order to answer the 'big question'.
As Tamim, R., et al. explain, there have been so many different studies done all trying to conclude whether the use of technology is advantageous to students. The downside to this study was an inability to make an accurate conclusion based on the fragmentation of research and data found. To explain the true depth, broad and varied nature of the studies, Tamim outlines that, "more than 60 meta-analyses have appeared in the literature since 1980, each focusing on a specific question addressing different aspects such as subject matter, grade level, and type of technology.Although each of the published meta-analyses provides a valuable piece of information, no single one is capable of answering the overarching question of the overall impact of technology use on student achievement" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). Other researches include: "...Mark Lipsey and David Wilson (Lipsey & Wilson, 1993;Wilson & Lipsey, 2001), both addressing psychological, behavioral, and educational treatments; Sipe and Curlette (1997), targeting factors related to educational achievement; Møller and Jennions(2002), focusing on issuesin evolutionary biology; Barrick, Mount, and Judge (2001), addressing personality and performance; Peterson (2001), studying college students and social science research; andLuborsky et al. (2002), addressing psychotherapy research" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011) .
Despite the fact that the nature of the study was too broad. I found it interesting to note that Robert Kozma (e.g., 1991, 1994) and Chris Dede (e.g.,1996),believe computers may possess properties or affordances that can directly change the nature of teaching and learning. "Their views, by implication,encourage the study of computers and other educational media use in the classroom for their potential to foster better achievement and bolster student attitudes toward schooling and learning in general" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). As a student myself, I personally agree with Kozma and Dede's conclusions based on the increased positive attitude towards the use of computer technology. Although summaries were few and far between, the review did find that "one of technology’s main strengths may lie in supporting students’ efforts to achieve rather than acting as a tool for delivering content" (Tamim, R., et al. 2011). This statement holds true to any academic/coaching pedagogue. Technology may not necessarily always allow for the best presentation of knowledge. However, the potential for technology to support the cognitive learning aspect of information and the ease of access to knowledge is unbeatable!
Thankyou for reading this blog
For another read on such ideas see:
http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:D9sdyD9yTKUJ:scholar.google.com/+techniques+used+to+tap+into+learning+styles&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
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