Read Time 17 Minutes
The journey from predetermined pathways to a landscape of learning
Kim Hide
Head of Learning & Development ( FA Education )
The English Football Association
In this article I describe how recent experiences and insight , arising from the global pandemic , have accelerated the changes in our approach to coach learning and development at the FA . In what follows , I detail how our approach is shifting from predetermined learning pathways towards a landscape of learning opportunities . From here , I explore several nuanced implications and position these within the complexity of the coach learning landscape .
What is learning ?
As individuals who are responsible for learning design and the support and development of coaches , we must recognise that we do not own the learning process . Learning is an internal and individual process , it is not ours as designers , developers or facilitators . Our role is in the creation of the experiences , resources and environments that helps learning happen . We ‘ grease the wheels ’, so to speak . Learning can happen without us , our challenge is to help make the journey more impactful , more durable and hopefully more enjoyable along the way .
It is useful to work from a definition of what learning is . Didau and Rose ( p14 , 2016 ) define learning as ‘ The retention
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