taken as the Learning and Development team in FA Education over the past 18 months . A focus on the first two stages , Define and Discover have been critical given role they play in moving from qualification pathway to learning landscape .
Within FA Education we felt these first two stages had historically been missed . Our content driven , instructional approach , predicated by levels , competencies and learning outcomes had accelerated us into the ‘ design ’ stage . We would decide that there are some things we want people to know about , so we would design a webinar , or that we want a long , oneday course based on the nine topics we want to cover . We would try to find the solution before we had clarified if there was a problem .
‘ Define ’ drives us to now start with the problem we are trying to solve , it forces us to check our assumptions , it makes us question whether a solution is even needed . Critical questions at this initial stage force us to declare the measurable change we are trying to bring about , specifically what coaches will feel and do as a result . Referring to Didau and Rose ’ s ( 2016 ) definition of learning , ‘ define ’ makes us robustly consider the end point , the change we are trying to support occurring . When we took on creating the Introduction to Coaching Football , this stage was critical . In the past , conversations would quickly jump to what content we need people to know : principles of play , 4-corner model etc . Instead , this stage made us look more closely at our insight , consider more clearly the purpose of the learning opportunity , and – critically – what coaches would be able to do as a result . As the process evolved , it was clear that the Introduction to Coaching Football course was more about creating a relationship with our coaches , them coming back to us again , and ultimately being confident and able to run a team .
The Discover stage makes us more curious . It is rare that new problems emerge , that we are navigating a challenge that is truly unique or emergent in nature . When we jump straight to design , we fail to acknowledge what opportunities or resources already exist , we duplicate , we over complicate , we start from scratch . Discovery means checking we have a clear understanding of the tasks and challenges of those we are trying to support with this solution , that we have clarity on what is already available and that anything we design does not sit in isolation . Most critically , it means we talk to those we are trying to help ; we want to know what contexts they coach in , the things they are juggling and what they value . In knowing their tasks ( what they are doing day to day ) and concerns ( what they are challenged by ) we are better able to support them .
This discovery work has been used to support our accelerated transition into a more digital world . While this has been accelerated by the Covid pandemic due to necessity , a robust discovery phase has provided significant insight about our grassroots coaches , including how many hours they volunteer , how much time they have and the reality of them undertaking a coaching role . This has
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