Ongoing bidirectional feedback between assessment and implementation in educational environments: A longitudinal randomized intervention with female volleyball players

Abstract

By exploring player-centered approaches tailoring according to players' needs, this thesis sought to examine the limits of conventional, fixed planning and assessment models within the sports pedagogy scope. Based on a narrative synthesis and three empirical studies - pilot and longitudinal randomized trials involving a youth female volleyball team - specifically this research project intended to explore the mutual and bidirectional interplay between planning and assessment of the training process to inform training. Operationalizing the use of the Game Performance Assessment Instrument, iteratively modified in response to evolving training goals, and introducing meta-assessment as novel reflective practice to assess and develop the assessment tool itself, this study created new paths for rethinking coaching, planning, and assessment procedures of youth players. Overall, findings pointed out four key dimensions essential to the optimization of coaches' pedagogical practice, namely: (i) adaptive planning processes that respond to the contextual and individual variability; (ii) adaptive assessment tools instruments for capable of capturing learners' evolving needs; (iii) establishing an open loop of feedback between planning and assessment; and (iv) meta-assessment as a formative pedagogical strategy for enhancing enriching teaching-learning process. Practical implications recommend that each training session should be viewed as an opportunity for learning and an occasion for assessment, embracing flexibility of planning and constructing playercentered learning routes. This thesis is an original contribution to the field of sports pedagogy in demonstrating how adaptive, evidence-based, and reflective pedagogical methods might better respond to the emergent realities of dynamic learning. Avenues for future research include further development of metaassessment strategies and the investigation of the concepts and protocols to more heterogeneous groups and sports.