How do you check for understanding & learning

Advice I wish I'd known sooner, Coach Questions, Courtside Conversations, Individual Coaching

Do you often use questions

Or, do you prefer other methods

You need an opinion

Only asking questions to establish learning and understanding

is fraught with dangers

I was reminded of a pivitol conversation

It was during a badminton camp, in the late evening, fuelled by tiredness, heat and a beer

It concerned how coaches generally check for understanding and learning, especially in practice. How they went about it, was it actually effective and what did it really achieve?

The mini-friendly debate concerned why we asked players questions. Specifically, did the questions actually identify if learning and change had taken place?

Also, was questioning the performer the best way or did we prefer asking the questions.

We asked our players questions such as

“what just happened and is that what you wanted?”

“do you understand?”

“tell me what is important to remember”

Do these questions really establish if learning and understanding are developed and present?

Or are they just a coaching habit, unfortunately, one had been ingrained in early coach education courses.

I’ve stopped asking 2 of these 3 questions above and use the other with care and as part of a deliberate strategy.

Discuss with a friend how do you establish that your players understand?

What methods do you use?

What type of ‘understanding’ do you check for?

We continued our conversation late into the evening

Maybe using questions was not as effective as we thought – what do you think ?

Asking questions to check for learning, especially if the main reason is because you are looking for a ‘check/tick list’ of replies that you believe confirm understanding.
The replies we get in most of the quick Q&A interactions rarely give any insight into what’s learnt or appears in competition. Maybe players tell you what they think you want to hear?
Your own observations (or those of others) are one of the best methods for checking for understanding. To see it in practice and competition beats any questions.
The unknown ‘seemingly causal’ observations often provide the best information. You suddenly 'spot' that improvements or near-scucess that you have been waiting for.
Conversations (especially the causal ones) are not the same as asking questions. Done well they provide access to much deeper player thoughts, needs, wants and joyful feelings.
Coach education encourages coaches to ask lots of questions to check for understanding. Unfortunately, it’s often the main (or only) method discussed for doing this.