The Benefits of Reciprocal Teaching in Coaching

The Benefits of Reciprocal Teaching in Coaching

"The goal for the athlete is to understand the data the coach is telling him, and to then be able to articulate the data in such a way that he understands what he is doing." - Shaun Larkin
"The goal for my athletes were to become their own best coach." - Cal Bailey

Reciprocal teaching is a teaching tactic that many top level educators use in the classroom. While teachers use this strategy to help their students learn in the classroom, many top level coaches across different sports use this same strategy to educate their athletes. Whether you know it or not, many of you reading this blog post has experienced this strategy in action. Today I will discuss the four areas of reciprocal teaching and how it will look in the athletic arena. 

In Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollack's "Classroom Instruction That Works," they define reciprocal teaching as, "a strategy that provides for a deep level of understanding necessary for an effective summary." In other words, reciprocal teaching allows for the learner to not only have a basic understanding about what they are learning but to also know it well enough that they can think critically about it. As educators, we want our students and our athletes to be able to think critically when it's time to take an assessment or play a game. Therefore, this strategy is crucial for the student to become their own best teacher or own best coach. 

Reciprocal teaching has four areas that allow students to think critically about what they are learning. These four areas are summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Now I will give a real-world application of this process. 

Summarizing:

When introducing a skill to the athletes that a coach coaches, he/she will go over what the skill is called and then summarize to the athletes what the skill is. During this time, the coach will first model to the athletes the skill. Then the coach will ask an athlete or two in the group to summarize in their own words what has been modeled. 

Questioning:

After modeling the action, the coach will then have the athletes practice the skill in drills that will work on the skill. During this time, it is common for the athletes to be questioned by the coach. This allows for the coach to understand what the athlete is feeling, while the coach also gives constructive criticism and ways to improve the athletic skill for the athlete. Questioning is also done by the athletes in order to understand the skill as deeply as possible. 

Clarifying:

This time happens simultaneously with the questioning aspect of the drill session. As the athlete provides the coach and group with questions, the coach and fellow teammates will answer the question by clarifying the proper mechanics for success with the skill. Essentially, the group as a whole will work together to clarify the confusing parts of the skill within the drill. 

Predicting:

A master educator leaves clues as to what will happen the next day. In Coach Peter Caliendo's "Baseball Outside the Box" Podcast, he had the Manager of the Nicaragua World Baseball Classic team, Marvin Benard as the guest on the show. Coach Benard went into depth on using the predicting process to keep his athlete's hungry for more work. An example that he stated in the interview was if he was hitting ground balls to an athlete. If at the end of practice, the player asked for three more ground balls, Coach Benard would give him two ground balls instead of three. Then he would tell him he will get more tomorrow. This tactic allowed for this athlete to stay hungry and look forward to next practice. A coach can also run through hypothetical situations that is the next step in the progression of a skill. The coach can have the players provide predictions as to how to solve the situation. 

(Coach John Wooden used reciprocal teaching in his practices)

Reciprocal teaching is a strategy that promotes higher order thinking skills that we as coaches want our players to possess. Using this simple four step strategy while teaching a skill gives the athlete a chance to understand the skill at it's deepest level. In summation, reciprocal teaching equips the athlete with a process to become their own best coach.