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CREATING A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Reading: Kidman Chapter 5

It is pointed out in this reading that there are others contributing factors to a positive learning
environment other than the coach (partially covered in another blog post). Kidman and Hanrahan
(2015) have identified 5 other important points that should be considered when constructing a
learning environment. These points are:

Support
Support should be available to all students whenever they may need it. This support may come in
the form of positive reinforcement (which is when a desired behaviour is followed by a favourable
outcome) or verbal support (the coach may offer suggestions to work around a problem). This is
strongly related to the ability of the coach, as laid out in Chapter 6 of Cassidy, Jones, & Potrac,
2015.

Self-determination
This refers to allowing athletes/students to think for themselves - this is critical for developing skills
(Kidman & Hanrahan, 2015). Imagine if we tried going through life being told what to do all the
time! We would be lost when the time came to make our own decisions.

Familiarity with a challenge

Kidman and Hanrahan point out that familiarity is good (p. 92) as people know what to expect
(are not completely out of their comfort zone). However, it is important to change the physical
environment in order to keep challenging the students/athletes, or else learning will plateau.

Safety
While risk something that attracts many people, safety in a learning environment is essential to
prevent injury. People are less likely to have a positive experience if there is a chance they could be
hurt. Once the particular skill/lesson/ability is learned, people may be ready to take risks.

Inclusive for all

It is important that people are not made to feel as though their individualism does not matter. For
example, in the ball practice lesson we had in lecture it was pointed out that putting people with less
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ability together with highly trained people was not conducive to the less trained peoples learning.
This was perhaps due to them feeling embarrassed that they were not as good as other people.

Kidman and Hanrahan then go on to discuss positive approaches, communication, motivation and
self-control.
It is explained that extrinsic rewards are unnecessary (and apparently lose effect over time), as
verbal and non-verbal reinforcement are sufficient. It is not clear how extrinsic rewards become
ineffective - they are clearly effective for professional athletes (further research in to this is
suggested). Overuse of any reinforcement will limit its effectiveness so a variety of methods is best
(Kidman and Hanrahan, 2015) - perhaps this is what the limited usefulness of extrinsic rewards was
referring to. Positive approaches can create a better relationship between the coach and players/
students - this is important as relationship was one of the factors pointed out in class/group
discussion as being part of a positive learning environment.

Coaching is strongly connected to communication (Kidman and Hanrahan, 2015) - this was also
mentioned in class and in group discussion. However, it is not enough that the coach simply
communicates to the players/students, all communication must be two-way. The players must be
able to provide information to the coach. This is also a part of the positive approaches area - two-
way communication is obviously better for building a relationship. The Kidman and Hanrahan
chapter 5 reading is (partly) connected to the chapter 2 reading from Light (2017), as the social
constructivist theory highlights the importance of developing social interactions during learning.
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Figure 1. Here the player is communicating with the coach, instead of the coach just telling
the players what to do all the time. Two-way communication is essential.
Kidman and Hanrahan point out that there are 3 parts of motivation - direction, intensity and
persistence. They also make note that there are very few unmotivated people - this means that the
coach has to understand how to unlock the method of motivating a particular person. Of the 3 parts
of motivation, it is fair to say that intensity is the most important in creating a positive learning
environment. Too high an intensity leads to discomfort, and decrease in performance and possibly
even the athlete quitting.

Kidman and Hanrahans section on self-control is closely related to the chapter 6 reading from
Cassidy (Cassidy et al., 2015). The reactions from the coach are easily picked up by players,
therefore it is important for the coach to keep an even temper and appear calm (look at Steve
Hansen during a rugby match). If the coach becomes frustrated/upset (more likely at an amateur
level, where the coaches are on the sideline) and shows it, the players will pick up and adopt those
emotions, which does not contribute to a positive learning environment.

In conclusion, there are many interacting factors that contribute to a positive learning environment,
however the most important are related to the coach and the coaches relationship with the pupils.
The coach controls positive reinforcement, punishment, feedback, listening (in a good coach). The
coaches ability to correctly control these factors can make or break a positive learning
environment.

References

Cassidy, T. G., Jones, R. L., & Potrac, P. A. (2015). Understanding Sports Coaching: The
Pedagogical, Social and Cultural Foundations of Coaching Practice (3). New York:
Routledge.

Kidman, L., & Hanrahan, S. J. (2015). The Coaching Process: A Practical Guide to Becoming an
Effective Sports Coach (4). New York: Routledge.
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Light, R. (2017). Positive Pedagogy for Sport Coaching: Athlete-centred coaching for individual
sports (1). New York: Routledge.

(2017). steve hansen all blacks [Online image]. Retrieved from http://www.samoaobserver.ws/
images/cache/600x400/crop/images%7Ccms-image-000027474.jpg