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Re-Establishing a Learning Environment in Sports

Western Oregon University

Malia Shoji
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Re-Establishing a Learning Environment in Sports

Introduction

Although the task of coaching is most commonly known in athletics, it is a trend that

has hit numerous industries in varying capacities. Business managers are no longer asked to

manage, they are asked to coach, children struggling in reading are given a literacy coach,

many therapists do not just listen, they are coaching. As a coach in the athletic arena, the

question on my mind is are we living up to the perceived benefits idolized by other industries?

The role of a coach, regardless of the industry, is to teach and guide a student, patient,

employee, or athlete through the process of learning and improving. As the competitive nature

of athletics continues to increase, the role of an athletic coach is pulled between the polarizing

drive to win and the responsibility to teach. The challenges are only increased as the enterprise

influence of the technology fuels an already hyper competitive environment. Winning and losing

now come with much higher stakes as athletics leaves the category of being a hobby and enters

the arena of big business. Gone are the days where you have to physically attend an athletic

event. The whole world has access as technology has evolved from online streaming to

individual athletic conferences, such as the PAC 12 and the BIG 10, building their own

broadcasting networks. Unfortunately, the blinding outcome of winning and losing combined

with the changes in the modern sports environment can tempt coaches to focus more on the

end goal rather than fulfilling their role as a coach. As the value of coaching spreads through

other industries, athletic coaches must ask themselves, are we instilling the necessary mindset,

skills, and tools needed for lasting success or just training for the next win?

If winning becomes the priority, athletic coaches fall short of their title and the role can

easily morph into trainers rather than teachers. To ensure that athletic coaches live up to the

transformational title, even despite environmental changes, three key areas should be re-

examined.
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1. Motivation What motivational strategies are we using and are they most effective

for the goals we are trying to achieve?

2. Practice Methods With the ever-changing environment of sports, practice

methods must be constantly re-examined, adapted with the latest resources and

tested against past educational theories.

3. Reinforcements Understanding the impact reinforcement has on the learning

process, are we using them to instilling the growth mindset needed for success

both on and off the court?

The differentiating factors between being a boss/trainer and being a coach/teacher is the

prioritization of improvement and learning over finding any means to the ends. As advancing

technology provides powerful new resources and tools it is increasingly more important that

coaches review their methodologies to ensure that teaching and learning are at the forefront of

all that we do. The objective of this paper is to analyze past and current training methods and

practices in relationship to educational theories. The goal is to highlight that many methods

produce results, but all methods are not created equal leaving some falling short of developing

the whole athlete. With attention to the three areas above, we can adopt methods that instill

motivations to become a lifelong learner and not just a successful athlete.

Motivation

One valued aspect of coaching is the active role in fostering and growing motivation. In

the work place, instead of punching a clock, a coaching approach for a boss would be to

motivate employees to be personally invested in their work. That can be done by investing in

their future goals or creating a culture where employees care more about the work they do than

just getting a paycheck. Just like the working world, the world of sports faces dueling

motivations which can be related to two different learning theories. There is the Behavioral

influence where outside forces or extrinsic rewards are often seen as the catalyst of motivation.

In the work example, that would be a paycheck or in athletics we see young athletes being
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motivated to play sports with the end goal of earning a college scholarship. In contrast, there is

the Social Cognitivists influence where intrinsic motivation or drive within ones self is what

creates motivation. Whether it is watching a sporting event or attending a camp, enriching

experiences such as these intrinsically motivate an athlete to perform by fueling passion and

instilling drive. Both forms can result in motivating an athlete to play a sport in the short term,

but to instill lasting motivation to learn, despite challenges and setbacks, only one form has

proven to be successful. Author Alfie Kohn (1993) warns that extrinsic motivators do not alter

our attitudes or assist in the building a commitment to learning but they can still change what we

do. In the environment of modern sports, industry has put external motivators front and center

for athletes. Whether it is a college scholarship, fame of athlete-stardom or the luxurious life of

professionals, these hallow motivators are influencing millennial athletes. The area of

motivation development is easily forgotten with such dynamic changes to both the athletic

environment and athlete. As Kohn describes, rewards and punishments leave us with a model

of learning that is defined by control rather than persuasion or mutual problem solving. Leaving

motivation up to technology and industry is saying that motivation is out of the control of

coaches. The development of intrinsic motivation is vital for athletes to be successful in the

competitive and every-changing environment of modern sports and in life. To help instill lasting

motivation in anyone that is being coached, it is important to take the extra time and creativity

needed to create an internal drive that is not solely attached to external outcomes or rewards.

Practice

After recommitting to motivation as an area of development, coaches must next re-

examine practice methods. As the environment and the athlete are continually changing,

practice methods must be constantly re-examined and adapted using the latest resources

available to coaches. The use of dynamic tools and resources affect all areas of teaching and

learning which requires them to be continually tested against past educational theories to

ensure effectiveness. Practice methods can incorporate all variables of development to train
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the whole athlete or simply exercise the information and skills already known. These two

outcomes come from the influences of two differing theories on development and learning. One

influential theorist, Jean Piaget, believed that development was limited to stages (McLeod,

2009). For example, a young volleyball player would start with an underhand serve, when they

got to middle school they would advance to a standing over hand serve and when they got to

high school they would be ready to do a jump float serve. Developmental appropriateness, from

this view, is determined by age rather than something changed by external factors such as

environment, motivation or work ethic. On the other hand, social development theorists, such as

Vygotsky, saw the limits of Piagets view and broadened the perspective on developmental

limits and opportunities. Rather than stages, Vygotsky describes development in terms of

zones. The zones he describes are what has already been developed, what has not already

been developed and the zone that lies between these two, which is referred to as The Zone of

Proximal Development (McLeod, 2007). The Zone of Proximal Development is influenced by

many different factors and environmental influences. One of those factors is what Vygotsky

refers to as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) or someone who has more advanced

knowledge than the student. With this concept it is understood that a child can achieve more

using the guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner than if they were on their own or

with children of similar skill level (McLeod, 2007).

What this proves for coaches is that the practice environment and practice methods both

impact an athletes ability to learn and develop. Although Vygotskys argument would suggest

that placing athletes into a learning environment of varied skill level would yield positive results

there are other factors that must be considered. Hautala and Conn (2000) found motivation and

self-esteem were both affected when students were placed in random, varied practice

environments and asked to perform a highly challenging task. The authors findings also saw

differences in how this training situation effected males and females. Although Hautala and

Conns (2000) findings bring up questions in Vygotskys view of development they do reinforce
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that the environment and task are key variables that impact the physical, mental and emotional

areas of development for an athlete. The importance of this expanded view for coaches, is that

practice methods cannot be thought of as isolated or linear. The interplay of both the individual

athlete, the practice environment and the task being asked of the athlete all work together in a

dynamic system of athletic development. Coaches must attend to not only knowledge and skill

acquisition but the areas of social and psychological development when designing practice

methods.

Reinforcement

The last component of coaching that needs to be examined is the use of reinforcement.

There are varying views on reinforcement and the role they play in the learning process. Author

Paul Chance (1992) criticizes teachers use of reinforcement saying they use the term as a

synonym for practice. This way of viewing reinforcement is rooted in Behaviorist thinking that

habitual repetition is reinforcing. I would argue that this linear use of reinforcement, similar to

behaviorist conditioning, does not prepare for behaviors to be executed in the varying contexts

that athletes face. Chance offers what he views as a better definition of reinforcement referring

to reinforcement as a means of strengthen rather than simply practicing. It is in the intentional

act of strengthening that allows for the right behaviors to be utilized in the right moments.

As coaches, it is our job to strategically reinforce the behaviors/tools needed for success

in uncontrollable environments. Part of the challenge of coaching in the athletic arena comes

from the environmental external reinforcements, such as the score and winning and losing that

come with competition. Although having a score in athletic competition cannot be changed, it is

in our control to reinforcing our athletes response to this external motivator. The difficulty of this

task comes from what Kohn (1993) previously taught us about extrinsic motivators and the

barrier they create for getting athletes to commit to the learning process. Author Carol Dweck

(2008) offers another way of looking at external rewards or outcomes, which she calls the fixed

mindset, and the negative impact they have on learning. Dweck, provides the example that
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praising ability reinforces a fixed mindset while praising effort reinforces a growth mindset. The

challenge in the athletic arena is that there is a score board that acts as a reinforcing agent on

its own. Points earned reinforce, naturally seem to reflect positive performance and points lost

are typically related to failure. This fixed mindset view of the score board creates short-lived

motivation to earn points as motivation is quickly trumped by the anxiety and stress of trying not

to lose points or fail. Recognizing the needed paradigm shift, the Western Oregon Volleyball

staff attempted two different reinforcement strategies with the goal of creating a healthier

attitude regarding the score. The first attempt in doing this was to distract players from the

rewards and consequences of points by focusing on team and individual performances that

lead to points. Trying to use performance statistics as a reinforcement, did not result in a

healthier mindset regarding points as it just changed focus to a different outcome. The failure

of this first attempt proved the argument of Kohn (1993) since the focus was still an external

motivator.

The second attempt was an effort focused on what the players seemed to inevitably

focus on, points but with a different perspective. The fixed mindset of seeing points earned as

positive performance and points lost as failure was only one side of a two headed coin. Your

points can come from positive performance but also from an opponent error and vice versa.

Taking this expanded mindset on earning points a step further our Head Coach, Brad Saindon,

did a study on the top teams in our division with the hopes of better understanding point trends

in winning and losing. A commonality emerged showing that in matches won (total of 25 points)

the winning team averaged 21 of the points being earned and averaged only six points given,

earning the opposing team points. We highlighted this ratio to our team and so began their new

attitude regarding points and a growth mindset to how we see the score. The teams

motivation was driven by playing at a championship level which was done by maintaining the

ratio of points earned to points given. With a new reinforcement our team was able to no longer
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see points as rewards or punishments; leaving instead a model of human relationship or

learning that is defined by mutual problem solving rather than control (Kohn, 1993, p. 748).

Conclusion

As the benefits of coaching transcend into numerous industries, it is a helpful reminder

of what is truly at the heart of our profession. Remembering that coaching is a synonym for

teaching becomes increasingly more difficult as the world of modern sport changes. The

influence of big business can morph athletic coaches into Behaviorist drill sergeants forgetting

the responsibility to teach. By reanalyzing athletic coaching practices from the lens of learning

theories, it highlights outdated influences. It also exposes the dynamic new environment that

modern coaches face. By consistently analyzing and improving the areas of motivation,

practice and reinforcement, athletic coaches can develop the whole athlete and live up to the

transformational benefits attributed to coaches.

Bibliography APA FORMAT

Chance, P. (1992). The rewards of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 74 (3), 200-207.

Dweck, Carol S. (2008) Mindset: the new psychology of success New York: Ballantine Books,

Hautala, R. M., & Conn, J. H. (2000). Sequencing for sport-specific skill learning. - The

Physical Educator, 57(4), 202-208.

Kohn, A. (1993). Rewards verses learning: A response to Paul Chance. Phi Delta Kappan, 74

(10), 783-787.

McLeod, S.A. (2007). Vygotsky Social Development Theory. Retrieved October 6, 2012 from

http://simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

McLeod, S. A. (2009). Jean Piaget. Retrieved October 6, 2012 from:

http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
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Smith, M.K. (2009). Communities of practice. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education.

Retrieved Novemeber 8, 2012 (find URL?)