Better Practice Planning Using Webb's Depth of Knowledge
"My goal was to have my players become their own best coach." -Cal Bailey
Many coaches get frustrated with their student-athletes when it comes to understanding the game of baseball. They call out their players for not doing the right thing in a game, and often ask the player out of frustration, "What are you doing?" or "What are you thinking?" Today, I will discuss a way for coaches to get behind the thinking of their student-athletes, and have the student-athlete become their own best coach.
Depth of knowledge was created by University of Wisconsin-Madison research scientist emeritus Norman Webb. Webb's goal with Depth of Knowledge was to categorize tasks based on the complexity of thinking required to successfully finish the task. Depth of Knowledge has four tiers of thinking. The first tier of knowledge is called Recall and Reproduction, the second tier is called Skills and Concepts, the third tier is called Strategic Thinking, and the fourth tier is called Extended Thinking. In order to go up a tier, you must master the tier you are at before going forward. Now, let's look at each tier and find out what kinds of cognitive thinking are required to master the knowledge.
Recall and Reproduction is the first tier in the Depth of Knowledge field. This tier is also the lowest level of thinking required when it comes to requiring knowledge. When you are thinking at this level of Depth of Knowledge, you are recalling what your coach has been teaching you and habitually working on that skill to get better at that skill. At this level we are teaching a skill and having the student-athletes show us what they have learned, and practice that skill until it is mastered.
The second tier is the Skills and Concepts tier of Depth of Knowledge. The student-athlete must make a decision on which approach that they should make when practicing. At this level of thinking, an athlete must compare, predict, and estimate what they should do. After the practice play, the athlete will gain a better understanding on what works and doesn't work at this level. The student-athlete is getting his feet wet so to speak. At this level we will be doing a basic multi-step (usually two step) drill for them to start to recognize the skills required.
The third tier is the Strategic Thinking tier. A task at this level has multiple outcomes that can or cannot work. Athletes must justify what they are doing, so a coach can ask what they tried to do to get behind what they were thinking. This level loosens the reigns even more, so that the student-athlete can think and use what they have learned. At this level we would typically have a more difficult task for the athlete to do. Think of constraint drills so the student-athlete will have to come up with an answer to be successful in the drill. After each few reps, we can give our feedback to the student-athlete so that they can understand what works and what doesn't with the drill.
The fourth and final tier is called Extended Thinking. This level requires the most cognitive effort that we will have our student-athletes go through. The Extended Thinking level can shape an athletes knowledge quicker in a practice setting, than any other level. The reason being, is that we are letting the athlete make up their decisions on their own, without our feedback at all. In other words, we are having the athlete experience all on their own. At this level think of having a sandlot game, and having the players come up with what they will do all on their own. Don't give any signs or any constructive criticism, until after an inning or two. This allows the players to trust what they have learned, and allows the coach to see how well the athlete has learned.
Now that I've gone over each level, let's use the Depth of Knowledge model to teach a specific skill. The skill that I will go over is the Hit and Run play for the hitter. For tier one, the coach will instruct the hitter to swing at every pitch during the hit and run, except for a ball in the dirt or way over his head. In each case, the catcher will have to move, and not be smooth in his footwork and transition in the throw. The hitter must not hit the ball in the middle, and must hit the ball on the ground or for a line drive either to the left side of the field or the right side of the field. At tier two, the coach would have a batting practice setting where the student-athletes will have to make decisions on what to do with each pitch. They will find out what parts of the baseball that they can hit to cause the required outcome. In addition to this drill, there could be a batting tee drill where the student-athlete can hit in an extra batting cage. In this cage, the student-athlete can hit the ball to the back of the cage to practice before on field batting practice on this skill. Tier three, there can be a constraint drill for the hit and run play. At this tier, the coach can have screens put up in the middle of the field, encouraging the hitter to hit the ball to the left, or right side of the field. In addition to this, the coach can require that the hitter is out of the round if he hits a lazy pop up, or fly out. The coach can make this drill harder by using a pitching machine. At tier four, have a sandlot game for the student-athletes. The student-athletes make their own decisions and simply play. Only construct the student-athletes after each inning, or every other inning. At this point the coach can sit back, take notes, and find out how well the team knows their knowledge.
In summation, Depth of Knowledge loosens the reigns on how much control the educator or coach has on the student-athlete. Therefore, the coach is allowing his student-athletes to become their own best coach. In a game, we cannot hit, pitch, field, or throw for our student-athletes. So we must have them learn each skill at its most complex cognitive level to master the skill during the game, and Webb's Depth of Knowledge is an excellent model for this to happen.
Recall and Reproduction is the first tier in the Depth of Knowledge field. This tier is also the lowest level of thinking required when it comes to requiring knowledge. When you are thinking at this level of Depth of Knowledge, you are recalling what your coach has been teaching you and habitually working on that skill to get better at that skill. At this level we are teaching a skill and having the student-athletes show us what they have learned, and practice that skill until it is mastered.
The second tier is the Skills and Concepts tier of Depth of Knowledge. The student-athlete must make a decision on which approach that they should make when practicing. At this level of thinking, an athlete must compare, predict, and estimate what they should do. After the practice play, the athlete will gain a better understanding on what works and doesn't work at this level. The student-athlete is getting his feet wet so to speak. At this level we will be doing a basic multi-step (usually two step) drill for them to start to recognize the skills required.
The third tier is the Strategic Thinking tier. A task at this level has multiple outcomes that can or cannot work. Athletes must justify what they are doing, so a coach can ask what they tried to do to get behind what they were thinking. This level loosens the reigns even more, so that the student-athlete can think and use what they have learned. At this level we would typically have a more difficult task for the athlete to do. Think of constraint drills so the student-athlete will have to come up with an answer to be successful in the drill. After each few reps, we can give our feedback to the student-athlete so that they can understand what works and what doesn't with the drill.
The fourth and final tier is called Extended Thinking. This level requires the most cognitive effort that we will have our student-athletes go through. The Extended Thinking level can shape an athletes knowledge quicker in a practice setting, than any other level. The reason being, is that we are letting the athlete make up their decisions on their own, without our feedback at all. In other words, we are having the athlete experience all on their own. At this level think of having a sandlot game, and having the players come up with what they will do all on their own. Don't give any signs or any constructive criticism, until after an inning or two. This allows the players to trust what they have learned, and allows the coach to see how well the athlete has learned.
Now that I've gone over each level, let's use the Depth of Knowledge model to teach a specific skill. The skill that I will go over is the Hit and Run play for the hitter. For tier one, the coach will instruct the hitter to swing at every pitch during the hit and run, except for a ball in the dirt or way over his head. In each case, the catcher will have to move, and not be smooth in his footwork and transition in the throw. The hitter must not hit the ball in the middle, and must hit the ball on the ground or for a line drive either to the left side of the field or the right side of the field. At tier two, the coach would have a batting practice setting where the student-athletes will have to make decisions on what to do with each pitch. They will find out what parts of the baseball that they can hit to cause the required outcome. In addition to this drill, there could be a batting tee drill where the student-athlete can hit in an extra batting cage. In this cage, the student-athlete can hit the ball to the back of the cage to practice before on field batting practice on this skill. Tier three, there can be a constraint drill for the hit and run play. At this tier, the coach can have screens put up in the middle of the field, encouraging the hitter to hit the ball to the left, or right side of the field. In addition to this, the coach can require that the hitter is out of the round if he hits a lazy pop up, or fly out. The coach can make this drill harder by using a pitching machine. At tier four, have a sandlot game for the student-athletes. The student-athletes make their own decisions and simply play. Only construct the student-athletes after each inning, or every other inning. At this point the coach can sit back, take notes, and find out how well the team knows their knowledge.
In summation, Depth of Knowledge loosens the reigns on how much control the educator or coach has on the student-athlete. Therefore, the coach is allowing his student-athletes to become their own best coach. In a game, we cannot hit, pitch, field, or throw for our student-athletes. So we must have them learn each skill at its most complex cognitive level to master the skill during the game, and Webb's Depth of Knowledge is an excellent model for this to happen.
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