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<\/a>Equestrian Coaches Only!<\/b><\/p>\nThink about this for a moment! \u00a0You may know\u00a0what<\/i>\u00a0you coach or\u00a0why<\/i>\u00a0you coach but have you considered\u00a0how<\/i><\/b>\u00a0you coach?<\/p>\n
As a coach you can use a variety of teaching styles in your lessons with students. \u00a0You could be more familiar with the words\u00a0coaching<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0instructional<\/i>\u00a0styles or even\u00a0facilitative<\/i>\u00a0methods or approaches depending on your discipline and training. \u00a0Many equestrian coaches use a more\u00a0direct\u00a0<\/i>style of teaching in their lessons where the coach gives commands or demonstrates and the students follow their cues.<\/p>\n
Take the survey here about equestrian coaching styles<\/a><\/strong> Think of one of your lessons where you say:\u00a0Whole ride, trot<\/i>\u00a0and the whole ride trots on or you say:\u00a0Everyone, come in here<\/i>\u00a0and everyone comes in together to the designated place. \u00a0These are typical examples where you as the coach are making all or almost all of the decisions and taking responsibility for the students\u2019 learning in the lesson.<\/p>\n Another similar style of teaching allows the students to take a little more responsibility in making decisions by practising for a set time on their own or working with a partner. \u00a0Does this type of teaching style sound familiar?<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0By taking more responsibility and making more of the decisions, students can also assess their own performance against set criteria or choose the level of difficulty to participate.<\/p>\n If you use words such as Command, Practice, Reciprocal, Self-check or Inclusion when you talk about your teaching style\/s in coaching, you are most likely using teaching styles that encourage students to\u00a0reproduce existing knowledge, replicate models, recall information and practice skills.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0\u00a0If, for example, you are teaching your students how to brush their horse correctly, pick out their feet safely, or ride through a showjumping grid several times, you are most likely using these teaching styles.<\/p>\n Take the survey about equestrian coaching<\/strong><\/a> Other teaching styles that you may use in your lessons will seek to shift that decision-making responsibility even further from the coach to the student. \u00a0These styles are Guided Discovery, Convergent Discovery, Divergent Discovery, Learner-Designed, Learner-Initiated or Self-Teaching where the student is more likely to\u00a0discover new knowledge for themselves<\/i><\/b>. \u00a0If, for example, your students are exploring new ways to communicate with their horse then it is more likely that you are using these teaching styles.<\/p>\n In these teaching styles, the student makes more decisions to be responsible for their own learning in the lessons. \u00a0Be careful though when thinking about the teaching style\/s that you are using \u2013 sometimes names are used in a general sense that do not always accurately describe what happens. \u00a0For example, coaches sometimes say they use Guided Discovery with a group of students. \u00a0It is more likely that Guided Discovery is used as a teaching style with one student rather than a group.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, Guided Discovery calls for the coach to ask a series of questions so that the student can discover the answer. \u00a0It is difficult for all students to achieve individual learning at the same rate as others when in a group. \u00a0Depending on how they are learning, some students will want to ask different questions to other students when discovering the answer.<\/p>\n The eleven teaching styles of Command, Practice, Reciprocal, Self-check, Inclusion, Guided Discovery, Convergent Discovery, Divergent Discovery, Learner-Designed, Learner-Initiated and Self-Teaching (labelled A-K) are found along a continuum known as the Spectrum of Teaching Styles. \u00a0Because there could be an infinite number of teaching styles, these eleven are known as\u00a0landmark teaching styles.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Take the survey for equestrian coaches here<\/strong><\/a> The Spectrum of Teaching Styles, developed by MuskaMosston, and over time refined during a collaboration with Sara Ashworth (2008) is a unified theory about teaching and learning behaviour that is a comprehensive framework for understanding the teaching\/learning process. \u00a0The Spectrum is built on the idea that teaching behaviour is a chain of decision-making and that every deliberate act of teaching is a result of a previous decision.<\/p>\n Professor Sara Ashworth describes a\u00a0teaching style<\/b>\u00a0as\u00a0a plan of action that defines the specific decision interaction of the teacher [or coach] and the learner [or student] for the purpose of leading to the development of specific objectives in subject matter and behaviour<\/i>.<\/p>\n Most equestrian coaches know\u00a0why<\/i>\u00a0they coach. \u00a0And as you become more experienced as a coach, you know more about the content of your lessons. \u00a0When you feel confident about\u00a0what<\/i>\u00a0you are teaching when you are coaching, you also can think about\u00a0how<\/i><\/b>\u00a0you are actually delivering that content for your students in the lessons.<\/p>\n As an equestrian coach, think of how you are coaching at the moment and the variety of teaching styles that you use. \u00a0Consider how well that is working for you. \u00a0Knowing that there are different teaching styles that a coach can use is useful information. \u00a0Using a variety of those teaching styles may help a coach achieve different learning objectives that are set in each lesson.<\/p>\n Take a moment to reflect on the teaching styles that have been discussed here. \u00a0Which do you use in your lessons?<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0See if you can decide which of the different teaching styles from the Spectrum you use. There is a list of the eleven teaching styles from the Spectrum below.<\/p>\n Remember that all teaching styles are relevant. \u00a0Sometimes you may only use one or two styles and sometimes you may use a variety of teaching styles within each lesson. \u00a0No particular style or cluster of styles is more important than another \u2013 it depends on what you are trying to achieve. \u00a0Learning more about the Spectrum and become familiar with the differences amongst the teaching styles will help you to discover more for yourself as a coach.<\/p>\n If you are an equestrian coach take the survey here<\/strong><\/a><\/i><\/i><\/p>\n Discovering what coaches think about the teaching styles that they use in their lessons is important for future coach education. \u00a0The Spectrum provides a comprehensive, logical and unique system for studying teaching and learning that can benefit equestrian coaches.<\/p>\n Cristine Hall, from the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba has designed a short set of questions in a survey on teaching styles that may help you consider the teaching styles that you use right now. \u00a0Your feedback about what you believe you do is important and will contribute to ongoing research in coach education.<\/p>\n The survey, apart from requesting some background information, has only eleven questions. \u00a0The questions ask how often (if at all) you use each of the eleven teaching styles from the Spectrum in your coaching. \u00a0That\u2019s only a one click response per question. \u00a0You can have it done in ten minutes! \u00a0You might learn more about your own coaching from considering the teaching styles described in the survey.<\/p>\n Think about the teaching styles that you use in your lessons and please complete the survey now \u2013\u00a0click here<\/strong><\/a>. \u00a0No names or identifying details will be published from the survey.<\/p>\n Remember your privacy is important to us. \u00a0Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.<\/b><\/p>\n The 11 teaching styles described in the survey are<\/strong>:<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Remember to grab your free eBook\u00a0On Horsemanship<\/i>\u00a0written by Xenophon, the great Riding Master.<\/p>\n Click here to complete the survey.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Stay tuned for a report on the results coming soon!<\/p>\n Take the equestrian coaching styles survey here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reference<\/b><\/p>\n Mosston, M., & Ashworth, S. (2008).Teaching Physical Education<\/i>\u00a0(1st ed.). Online: Spectrum Institute for Teaching and Learning.<\/p>\n The survey is part of a larger study exploring teaching styles in equestrian sports coaching. \u00a0For more information on the study contact: \u00a0Cristine Hall, University of Southern Queensland, Australia Telephone: +61 7 4631 1405 Email:\u00a0Cristine.hall@usq.edu.au<\/a><\/p>\n The information about the eleven landmark teaching styles is based on the Spectrum of Teaching Styles. \u00a0For more information go to\u00a0www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org<\/a><\/p>\n For any issues with the conduct of the study contact: \u00a0Ethics Co-ordinator, University of Southern Queensland, Australia Telephone: +61 7 4631 2690 Email:\u00a0ethicsofficer@usq.edu.au<\/a>USQ Ethics Clearance Document Number H12REA214<\/p>\n
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