Learning Transfer in Girls Volleyball

1. Learning Transfer in Girls Volleyball Tommy West EDAE 668

2. According to Locke a child’s mind is a blank slate, (tabula rasa) and their minds are shaped by events called experiences. Each experience builds upon past experiences and becomes a new knowledge or learning event. When I first started coaching volleyball, I felt that many of my players were blank slates and possessed no previous experience to build upon; I felt like I had to give them those experiences as a platform to build upon. The problem was that I started them too far into the process.

3. Needless to say, my first season was not a successful one. I tended to blame everyone but myself for the unfavorable results. I didn’t understand how new players could show up with absolutely no knowledge of the game and for many they did not seem to care. Although having players who do not care is certainly a problem, the bigger problem was how I chose to address the issue. I jumped straight into the season working with the experienced girls with my only plan being that the inexperienced girls would just have to catch up. For some they did, for others they did not.

4. My primary failure was assuming that because the girls did not have previous volleyball experience, they also had no other experiences that I could build upon to facilitate learning. I also failed to understand that all players do not learn the same way although I was painfully aware that they did not learn at the same rate. The rest of this presentation is designed to address my failures then and what I have learned during this course and throughout the AET program at CSU that I hope will help me to be better prepared this season.

5. The 3 Principles of Learning The first principle of learning is: Learning is a stratified process. This principle is accepted worldwide and is how every structured learning organization such as schools are designed around. The basic idea is that you have to learn to walk before you can run. You have to be able to count before you can add. My coaching method was more of a tell, watch, and learn. For some this was successful, for others it was not. I needed to give the girls a basic foundation before throwing them on the court and expecting them to perform. In my instructional design course, I am creating a Volleyball Summer School to give new players exposure and experiences to help in that process. Understanding the players’ individual motivations will be discussed later in this presentation.

6. The second learning principle deals with building a pyramid of repetition. I thought I was doing this during my practices. I would tell the girls to get in lines and try to bump pass to a target and continue this as a drill hoping they would learn from each experience and better themselves by learning what worked and what didn’t. This was the way I learned to play volleyball. Once again, for some girls this was successful, for others it was not. I have since come to understand that many of these girls needed to have the individual skills broken down into smaller bite size learning events that could be built upon to develop into move complex individual or team drills. For instance, bump passing a ball is a series of movements prior to contact. If each move is not learned individually, the movement series has a good chance at being unsuccessful. I have learned and developed drills that when taught using repetition, will greatly improve the series movement to contact.

7. The third and final learning principle is that after a learning event, a learner must have opportunity to apply the learned movement or behavior. There has to be balance between theory, repetition, and application. Each player must be able to use multiple intelligences in order to reach this balance. After a player is shown or told what to do, taught pyramid skills and allowed to repeat the skill in order to perform a functional drill, they must be shown how the drill applies to team drills. Applying the skill that supports a drill such as bump passing must then be applied on the court. When the pass is done incorrectly, the coach needs to point out which skill or skills were performed incorrectly that caused the drill to be unsuccessful. My previous approach was to try to correct the drill without addressing skilled movements.

8. The next three slides are a series of YouTube videos that demonstrate an example of what a learning event will look like in the Volleyball Summer School. This first video shows the players the rules linguistically. There is music to keep their attention while reading the slides. The combination of visual and musical stimulation is designed to reach a greater variety of learners.

9. The next video demonstrates how a skill that supports a drill might be taught. Breaking drills down into skills then repeating for reinforcement will give players experiences to build new learning and develop psychomotor memory.

10. The third video shows how the skill is applied to the drill. Applying the movement to contact with the ball allows the learner to build upon the experience gained from the skill and apply it to a drill.

11. Learning and Scaffolding In volleyball it is important to teach a skill and closely observe each movement and correct where needed. This in done by the coach. After the skill is successful under controlled conditions, the coach will stop critiquing each movement and encourage the players to talk to each other to help less experienced players feel more like the drill is a team effort and to create an environment of communication on the court. When the team drills are going well, a coach should encourage the players to seek self-directed learning to expand their knowledge outside of what is taught. The goal is to teach a skill and the drills they support one way so that everyone gets the same learning experience. The players that truly excel, take this learning experience and seek experiences outside of coaching to better themselves. I don’t think any of Lebron James’ coaches think they taught Lebron everything he knows, but coaches or mentors did teach him the basics and encouraged him to find ways to improve himself.

12. Volleyball and Multiple Intelligences The biggest self inflicted barrier to learning that I as a coach created was thinking that all players learn the same. I learn best through observation; so that is how I coach. I have a player who knows a drill, have them demonstrate then have players who do not have experience try to emulate. This has not been as successful as I would have liked. In my summer school program, each skill will have written text for those who learn best linguistically; still graphics for those who learn visually; and video for those who learn visually mixed with spatial learning. My belief is that everybody learns using all learning methods, most of us just have one or two methods we learn best at. The summer school program will teach using multiple modes which should have a greater impact on learning.

13. Conclusion I have identified my shortcomings as a coach (teacher). I have developed tools to overcome my shortcomings and I will assess my success using formative and summative assessments during and after my next coaching season. I better understand my audience and other stakeholders associated with our volleyball program and will continually develop tools to reach the largest audience possible. I know that a single coach or a simple training program cannot be all things to all players. However, realizing the one size fits all approach has been unsuccessful and the past and would continue to unsuccessful will allow me to create a better learning experiences that players will be able to build upon future. As I approach my final semester in the AET program, I look back and see how the program was developed using these same methods and principles. If I can learn with all the barriers and distracters of a busy life, I know my players will also benefit greatly when I apply what I have learned.