scholarly journals Curling Coaches’ Understanding of Their Role in Developing Performance Under Pressure Through Skill Acquisition

Author(s):  
Elanor E. Cormack ◽  
Jamie Gillman

There are few studies examining coaches’ awareness of their role in developing performance under pressure. This study has explored the application of implicit and explicit learning theory for skill execution under pressure through the understanding of coaches. Seven curling coaches who teach adult novices were interviewed using a semistructured approach. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore their experiences and beliefs around skill acquisition and pressure. Key factors that emerged from the analysis were the coaches’ lack of awareness of their role in developing skill execution under pressure and the importance of coach education in creating that awareness. The recognition of the pressure that players will face in games and the potential for implicit techniques to be employed by the coaches demonstrated positive prospects for the application of implicit/explicit skill acquisition theory. The coaches’ experiences highlighted aspects unique to curling that will need to be considered in progressing the study’s findings. The distinction between skill setup and execution was also raised by coaches and requires further study to identify whether it impacts the effectiveness of building robust skills and the resulting coaching advice. The study provides recommendations for application of the theory and suggestions for future research.

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 692-697
Author(s):  
Robert DeKeyser ◽  
Shaofeng Li

AbstractIn this commentary, we summarize the findings of the seven included studies that examined implicit language aptitude from various perspectives and highlight issues to be resolved in the validation of this new construct in second language research. We start by providing an overview of the contributions of the studies. We then identify the lack of convergent validity of the measures of implicit aptitude reported in the included studies and problematize the equally varied nature of the measurement of implicit knowledge—the outcome variable of aptitude research—and related concepts. In particular, by drawing on empirical evidence and theoretical claims, we attempt to clarify the relationships between implicit and explicit knowledge, implicit and explicit learning, and implicit and explicit instruction. Next, we draw attention to the interactions reported by the included studies between aptitude and outcome measures and between aptitude and instruction type, emphasizing the value and importance of interactional research. We conclude by making recommendations for future research.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Costea ◽  
Răzvan Jurchiș ◽  
Axel Cleeremans ◽  
Laura Visu-Petra ◽  
Adrian Opre ◽  
...  

Unconscious or, implicit learning (IL) is often described as being instrumental to human social functioning. However, most of the available IL tasks have limited external validity; they use surface stimuli that are not socially relevant. Additionally, the way in which participants exchange information within most of the available tasks departs from the way in which information is being exchanged in real-life social situations. In this study, we report the validation of a novel task, inspired from Broadbent et al. (1984), assessing the implicit and explicit learning of socio-emotional information in a dynamic environment. Participants (N=115) interacted with an animated virtual avatar that displayed different levels of emotional facial expressions. Their task was to regulate the avatar’s facial expression to a specified level. Unknown to them, the relationship between their inputs and the avatar’s state was mediated by an abstract rule. Results indicate that learning occurred in the task, as participants gradually increased their ability to bring the avatar in the target state. We found evidence for both explicit (consciously knowing the appropriate response) and implicit (knowing the correct responses even when based on subjectively defined unconscious mental states) knowledge acquisition. This is one of the first studies to propose a task for studying the role of IL in interactive social situations. Implications for future research are discussed.


Author(s):  
Emilia Marie Wersig ◽  
Kevin Wilson-Smith

AbstractThis interpretative phenomenological analysis explores aid workers’ understanding of identity and belonging through the transition from working in humanitarian aid to returning home. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants who had returned to the UK after working in recently founded non-governmental organisations in Northern France between 2016 and 2019. Analysis of interview data identified four superordinate themes: (1) shared humanitarian identity, (2) limits and borders, (3) holding on to humanitarian identity and (4) redefining belonging and identity. Aid workers’ belonging in humanitarian work settings is rooted in shared moral values and being able to fulfil a clearly defined role. Upon returning, aid workers struggled to reintegrate, manifesting as denial of having left humanitarian work, re-creation of the social setting and moral demarcation. Participants formed a new sense of belonging through redefining their social in-group. The study sheds light on a previously unexplored area of research, specifically characterised through the closeness of the international humanitarian setting and participants’ homes. Findings suggest organisations can assist aid workers’ re-entry by supporting professional distance in the field, and through opportunities that allow to sustain moral values post-mission. Future research should focus on the role of peer support in the re-entry process and the re-entry experiences of aid workers returning from comparable settings further afield (e.g. Greece).


2002 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Stevens ◽  
Jürgen Schwarz ◽  
Benedikt Schwarz ◽  
Ilona Ruf ◽  
Thomas Kolter ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Marte Bentzen ◽  
Göran Kenttä ◽  
Pierre-Nicolas Lemyre

Background: Chronic job insecurity seems to be a prominent feature within elite sport, where coaches work under pressure of dismissals if failing to meet performance expectations of stakeholders. The aim of the current study was to get a deeper understanding of elite football coaches’ experiences of getting fired and how they made sense of that process. Method: A qualitative design using semi-structured interviews was conducted with six elite football coaches who were fired within the same season. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was chosen as framework to analyze the data. Results: The results reflected five emerging themes: Acceptance of having an insecure job, working for an unprofessional organization and management, micro-politics in the organization, unrealistic and changing performance expectation, and emotional responses. Conclusion: All coaches expressed awareness and acceptance regarding the risk of being fired. However, they experienced a lack of transparency and clear feedback regarding the causes of dismissal. This led to negative emotional reactions as the coaches experienced being evaluated by poorly defined expectations and by anonymous stakeholders. Sports organizations as employers should strive to be transparent during dismissal. In addition, job insecurity is a permanent stressor for coaches and should be acknowledged and targeted within coach education.


2020 ◽  
pp. 096100062096665
Author(s):  
Lisa Hussey ◽  
Jennifer Campbell-Meier

New library and information science professionals, without previous experience in information organizations, are often left adrift, unsure how to apply theory or best practice to a new work environment. To bridge this gap, mentoring and coaching opportunities are often employed (or mandated) to provide new practitioners with required skills, knowledge, or networking. There are opportunities to harness implicit and explicit learning through experiences and interactions through mentoring and coaching. Definitions of mentoring and coaching in the profession are often used interchangeably when discussing the growth and development of an individual. This leads to the following questions: How do librarians define both mentoring and coaching? How do mentoring and coaching relate to professional development? To address the research question, 47 semi-structured interviews were conducted with librarians in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States between 2015 and 2016. Participants were asked about their mentoring and coaching experiences. During the interviews, participants were asked questions about their experiences as a mentor or mentee. In addition, participants were asked to define both “mentoring” and “coaching.” The authors used an inductive approach to data analysis, and interviews were coded by category.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-239
Author(s):  
Errol Ingram ◽  
Pat Dorsett ◽  
Kym Macfarlane

This phenomenological study explored how individual young adults understood their lived experience of acquiring life skills with congenital total blindness (CTB). Four young adults with CTB, and five parents of the young adults, participated in the study. In depth, semi-structured interviews were used to gather information from the research participants. The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Five superordinate themes emerged from the IPA: (1) life skills acquisition as ‘a means to an end’, (2) appraising life skills acquisition, (3) acquiring disability-specific skills, (4) reaching adulthood with life skill gaps, and (5) making sense of independence. The findings revealed that the young adults had reached adulthood with significant gaps in their acquisition of basic life skills. This indicates that more needs to be done, to improve the efficacy and meaning of life skill acquisition programmes provided in childhood and adolescence, to young people living with CTB.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 428-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitor Ciampolini ◽  
Alexandre VB Tozetto ◽  
Fabrício J Milan ◽  
Martin Camiré ◽  
Michel Milistetd

Coach developers play essential roles in “coaching the coaches,” and investigating their lifelong learning pathway is key for better understanding the mechanisms that lead certain coaches to become coach developers. Thus, the purpose of the paper was to conduct a case study to investigate the lifelong learning pathway of a coach developer operating in a national sport federation. The case investigated is Mille, a certified coach developer in charge of the Brazilian Rugby Federation’s coach education program. Data were collected through the Rappaport Time Line and two semi-structured interviews. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was adopted to explore the lived experiences reported by the participant. The results highlighted that Mille is an individual driven by challenges provided either by external factors (i.e. school, university, work) or by his own choices (i.e. becoming a coach, becoming a coach developer, starting a PhD) for personal and professional development. Specific life events led him to make decisions for evolving in his roles, from athlete, to coach, to coach developer, and to “master trainer,” which is the highest level of certification provided by World Rugby. Practical implications are suggested to contribute to the organization of education initiatives for coach developers through a lifelong learning perspective.


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