In action, during and after reflection

What is it  

In action, during and after reflection is a tool used by coaches to look at activities to see how it went, how we can improve if there were bad points and how we can allow coaches to adapt to provide the best session they can for their participants.   

When is it needed?

this tool is needed basically all the time as reflection is one of the key ways to improve as a coach and allows to provide a platform where the participants can improve and also provides an opportunity in which a participant will also be able to reflect in action, during and after which is a way which a participant will improve exponentially in the future 

How is it done 

the way this tool is used is by creating a session plan of the back of last session if you work in a group you will look at the session and discuss for improvements, after that you will then go and actually do the session, and whilst the session is occuring you may look at what changes may need to occur and how your going to do them (again if in a group you may discuss this) and then lastly after the session is done you should/may sit down with the group look at what went well and what didn’t and then discuss how the next time you do that activity you can improve that session  

Why is it done?  

this is done as it is a fantastic tool which as a coach will allow you to look back at what you have done and then provides the opportunity for you to look forward and improve whilst allowing you to try new things and tweak them which in turn will allow for participants to learn new skills and techniques whilst giving you feedback on how to improve

 in my opinion this is a great tool that can be used and provides a fantastic opportunity for the coach which when the reflect themselves will say this tool improved them as a coach and a person

How have i used this on placement

on placement i have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to coach and this has lead me to using in action,before and after action reflection on my sessions,this has allowed me to see what worked and what did not  and allowed me to get a better understanding of how my participants learn and what works for who and what doesn’t. 

Using reflection has also allowed me to work on aspects of my own coaching such as learning objectives and coaching behaviours which have made me gain a better understanding of myself and where I want to go in the future. 

The theories that i have used for feedback on placement are 

The plan do review the theory.  The Plan Do Review Cycle is a simple framework for designing youth work activities to ensure maximum fun, effectiveness and learning.this is used by coaches and myself as it allows for a coach to plan a session, do the session and then look back on the session using feedback given by asking questions, and then next time looking at the plan to see what they can improve, what went well and what didn’t work this will allow a coach to have this practice so that in the future when running sessions the know their participants what they can do and what they can’t do as well as what works and what doesn’t. 

The next model which I used was Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.

 This theory suggest that there a 4 factors which you take into consideration to understand this can be used to gain an understanding of you participants and will allow a coach to use this as feedback for future session on what the participants can and can’t do 

The four factors are 

1.Perfromance Accomplishments –  this can be used in a session to link it to the outcome eg winning, or setting individual goals/challenges 

2.Vicarious experiences- “vicarious experiences” this allows the participant to have a understanding of the activity and what is acceptable and allows them to look back on past activities, this will allow them to understand what is expected and will help a coach understand how to control this participant in the session 

3. Verbal Persuasion – this is how a coach motivates their participants, and how you can use different ways to persuade a participant to give it their all in a session or to challenge them . 

4. Emotional arousal- this is how a coach and participant can look to use the emotions of a session or a sport to try and get the best out of their participants.