Theoretical Framework: Experiential Learning Theory

Moving deeper into my studies I find myself drawn to the coach-athlete relationship and how that relationship affects student-athlete development and learning. As an extension of the educational experience, the coach-athlete relationship is very similar to the teacher-student relationship, especially when it comes to the learning process. Due to those similarities, I am very interested in Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and how ELT can be applied in coaching situations. Nelson, et al. (2006) points out that learning can take place in many different ways; for example experience, reflection, study or instruction. There are many variables that come into play when a coach teaches and an athlete learns, but ELT (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 2000) provides a holistic model of the learning process which is consistent with what is currently know about how people learn, grow, and develop. Experiential Learning Theory was built around John Deweys philosophical pragmatism, Kurt Lewins social psychology, and Jean Piagets cognitive-development genetic epistemology, and defines learning as the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience (Kolb, 1984). At the core of Kolb's four-stage model is a simple description of the learning cycle which shows how experience is translated through reflection into concepts, which in turn are used as guides for active experimentation and the choice of new experience . Kolb (1984) refers to these four stages as: concrete experience (CE), reflective observation (RO), abstract conceptualization (AC) and active experimentation (AE). These four stages follow each other in a cycle as outlined in Figure 1 by Jenkins (1998, 43). At the very heart of ELT, Boreham (1987, 89) points out that the term learning experience really means learning from reflection on experience. This exercise in reflection is

seen as the most important part of the learning process as it is applied to a coach/athlete interaction. Both individuals, the coach and the athlete, through the learning process as outlined in the ELT model, reflect on the information exchange, with the hope of creating a plan to increase the athletes competitive performance.

Figure 1: Kolbs Experiential Learning Cycle

References Boreham, N. C. (1987). Learning from experience in diagnostic problem solving. Student learning: research in education and cognitive psychology, 89-97. Healey, M., & Jenkins, A. (2000). Kolbs experiential learning theory and its application in geography in higher education. Journal of Geography. Retrieved from

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221340008978967 Jenkins, A. 1998. Curriculum design in geography. Cheltenham: Geography Discipline

Network, Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education.

Kolb, D (1984). Experiential Learning as the Science of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kolb, D. A., Boyatzis, R. E. R., & Mainemelis, C. (2000). Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Research and New Directions. Perspectives on cognitive,learning, and thinking styles., (216). Retrieved from http://www.d.umn.edu/~kgilbert/educ5165731/Readings/experiential-learning-theory.pdf Nelson, L.J., Cushion, C.J. & Potrac, P. (2006) Formal, nonformal and informal coach learning: a holistic conceptualisation, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 1(3), 247-259.