John Stoszkowski

thinkspace.academy

In recent years, the value of social learning approaches as part of the design and delivery of formalised coach development initiatives has gained credence in the literature. However, insight is currently lacking into the fundamental social dimensions that underpin coach learning. Accordingly, this study aimed to explore coaches' perceptions of the...

Heutagogic learning is characterized by the notion of human agency. Power and autonomy are placed firmly in the hands of the learner, who takes responsibility for, and control of, what they will learn, when it will be learnt and how it will be learnt. As a result, if sufficiently reflexive, heutagogic learners are said to acquire both competencies...

Background: Coaching researchers have stressed the need for critical reflection in practitioners, as an important tool to facilitate development. In parallel, however, coaches' preference for more informal development methods are well documented. The increased impact of social media and other online applications offers new ways to pursue these impo...

Recent developments have seen a growth in coaching, with an associated boom in interest on how it may be optimised. Clearly, we applaud this evolution. This growth has been paralleled by an explosion in the availability of information, driven through internet access and the phenomenon of social media. Unfortunately, however, this juxtaposition of i...

Recent literature has identified and examined the construct of bullshit as a notable threat to the promulgation and use of accurate information. The parallel challenges posed by increasing availability of unfiltered online information have been identified as further exacerbating factors. Accordingly, the present paper adds to this perspective by ex...

Background Invasion team sports such as soccer require teams and individual players to understand the game and problem solve. One aspect of problem solving that has recently been more prominent in team sport literature is the role of metacognition. Purpose The purpose of the current study was to examine how high-level youth soccer players approach...

Sport coaching researchers have stressed the need for reflection in practitioners whilst the increased growth and impact of online applications has offered new ways to pursue this important goal. Recently, Stoszkowski, Hodgkinson and Collins (2021) showed that Flipgrid, an online communication tool that enables short video-based interactions, was a...

Recent years have seen huge growth in coaching and an associated focus on how it can be optimized through a well informed and appropriately professional coaching workforce. An ongoing focus of coaching researchers has been the importance of sufficiently reflective coach learning and development, with an emphasis on the development of sufficiently c...

Situational awareness, which informs the decisions made by sea kayaking guides, is a critical safety factor in guided sea kayaking experiences. This study examines the situational awareness of a group of sea kayak guides operating in moderate water conditions. Utilising virtual reality technology, a freeze probe technique was employed with a small...

The purpose of this study was to explore professional soccer coaches’ interpretations of features suggesting players’ game understanding across the age phases of professional academy youth soccer in England, with particular attention paid to the role of strategic understanding. Semistructured interviews were conducted with coaches ( n = 19) of play...

In the last 20 years, considerable research and ideological focus has been placed on aspiration initiatives in Further Education (FE) in England. Unfortunately, the label of "aspiration" is often misunderstood, and the liberal overuse of the term is largely offered as a panacea for improving the academic and life outcomes of young people, which has...

As sports coaching continues to professionalize, the demand for and importance placed upon high-quality education and development programs for sports coaches is increasing. As a result, the landscape of provision is changing, and there is now a recognition of the key role that higher education institutes play in the education, development, and asse...

Heutagogy, a form of self-determined learning, is a learner-centred approach to learning and teaching, grounded in constructivist principles. This case study explores final year undergraduate students' perceptions of the learner attributes required for (and resulting from) heutagogical learning. As part of a larger research study, data were collect...

A key feature of any coach’s role is to decide on the most appropriate approach to develop player learning and performance at any given time. When coaching games, these decisions are even more challenging due to the interactive nature of games themselves and, in team games, this interactivity is heightened. Therefore, proponents of various approach...

Flipgrid is an online video discussion platform designed to empower learners and facilitate social interaction between students. This paper reviews the use of Flipgrid to develop social learning with a cohort of undergraduate students at the University of Central Lancashire. Strengths and weaknesses of the Flipgrid platform are outlined, as well as...

Lacking sleep one night the Little Prince appeared to me. Having never heard of sport I informed him that sport is something that has been a part of cultures past and present. Through history sport has changed and we have deviated from the first definition of sport to one now focused around physical exertion and health. However, there are sports th...

A heutagogical approach to coach education: what worked for one particular learner, how and why Abstract No longer the exclusive domain of national governing bodies (NGBs), an increasing number of coaches now engage in professional development through higher education (HE) routes. One educational approach that has gained a recent foothold in the HE...

No longer the exclusive domain of national governing bodies (NGBs), an increasing number of coaches now engage in professional development through higher education (HE) routes. One educational approach that has gained a recent foothold in the HE sector is heutagogy, or the focus on self-determined learning by the learner. The aim of the present stu...

In recent years, calls have grown for the implementation of heutagogy, a form of self-determined learning, in higher education settings. Although a key tenet of the heutagogic paradigm is a belief in the notion of human agency, our recent experiences as university tutors suggest that many students might not actually desire some of the aspects inher...

In recent years, calls have grown for the implementation of heutagogy, a form of self-determined learning, in higher education settings. Although a key tenet of the heutagogic paradigm is a belief in the notion of human agency, our recent experiences as university tutors suggest that many students might not actually desire some of the aspects inher...

Heutagogy is the focus on self-determined learning by the learner. In a recent Insights paper, Stoszkowski and Collins offered a critical overview of heutagogy, highlighting the potential advantages for coaching and coach education, as well as some concerns with its use. The aim of the present study was to offer insight into student-coaches’ experi...

Over the past decade, there has been ongoing debate relating to the use of suitable pedagogical approaches for designing learning environments to develop skillful games players. There has, however, been little consideration of the “digital age of learning” and the global success of the digital video game industry. Using the educational work of Jame...

In recent years, calls have grown for the use of digital technologies to transform coach education and enhance student learning; however, empirical research evidence for their efficacy is lacking. This paper describes our initial experiences of a Higher Education Funding Council for England funded project, designed to facilitate online peer mentori...

The criteria used by coaches to judge their peers are extremely pertinent to the study and enhancement of coach development. The aim of this two-part study was to offer insight into how a sample of British sub-elite coaches judged coaching prowess and perceived the nature of the expertise possessed (or perceived to be possessed) by their own self-s...

In part one of this paper, Stoszkowski and Collins showed that shared online blogs were a useful tool to structure and support the informal learning of a cohort of final year undergraduate sports coaching students. The aim of the present study was to offer insight into student coaches' perceptions of their use and experiences of structured group bl...

Coaches' apparent preferences for informal and self-directed modes of learning have been highlighted in the literature. Consequently, there is a need for innovative coach education approaches that complement these clearly preferred, informal routes and better provide coaches with the professional skills they need to deal with the complex nature of...

A reflective approach to practice is consistently espoused as a key tool for understanding and enhancing coach learning and raising the vocational standards of coaches. As such, there is a clear need for practical tools and processes that might facilitate the development and measurement of “appropriate” reflective skills. The aim of this preliminar...

Large-scale coach education programmes have been developed in many countries, and are presented as playing a key role in the development of coaches and the promotion of high standards. Unfortunately, however, coaches often perceive that the current system of formal coach education fails to meet their needs. Perhaps as a result, the majority of thei...

This paper discusses issues surrounding the development of talent in golf; the study utilising qualitative methods to explore some factors that specialist coaches perceived to be critical in the development of young players. Eight golf coaches with significant experience of developing golfers were interviewed to elicit their opinions and perception...