Sports training is supposed to improve children’s performance but also to facilitate psycho-social development and optimal motivational orientation for lifetime physical activity. Pedagogical quality, therefore, refers to... [ view full abstract ]
Sports training is supposed to improve children’s performance but also to facilitate psycho-social development and optimal motivational orientation for lifetime physical activity. Pedagogical quality, therefore, refers to features of coaches’ behavior that effectively promote learning and developmental gains as well as a high quality of motivation. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, Pianta, La Paro & Hamre, 2008) is a validated observation instrument for measuring pedagogical quality in classroom activities. Many indicators of effective teaching in classrooms also apply or can easily be adapted to sports training: Creating a positive climate, being sensitive for participants’ problems and needs, managing behavior effectively, fostering interesting and expedient activities, providing engaging and effective feedback etc. Since CLASS provides detailed information about effective teaching behavior, it can be used as a research based framework for the training and development of sports coaches. In the present project, two different intervention formats for coaches are contrasted: among participating in a workshop dealing with pedagogical challenges and the CLASS dimensions as well as access to an online-platform with best-practice-clips, one group participates in an individual coaching. Every 4 weeks, the coaches of this group (n=16) retrieve feedback based on video-footage of their own training. This feedback consists of targeted and commented video-sequences and an online coaching-dialogue. Measures for the effects of the intervention, which is arranged in a pre-post-follow-up design, include CLASS-scores on coaches’ behavior and educational beliefs on coach-level and perceived need-support, need-satisfaction and motivational orientation on student-level (n=169). Data collection will be completed at the end of March. Therefore, comparisons between the athletes of coaches in the control and intervention group before and after the coaching will be reported.
Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. & Hamre, B. K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Manual K-3. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
