Students on our college campuses aren’t learning. That’s a very general summation of a study called, “Academically Adrift: Limited Learning On College Campuses”. Since I see myself as part of the teaching stratosphere at my institution, I was pretty interested in the results of this study.
“While higher education is expected to accomplish many tasks, existing organizational cultures and practices too often do not prioritize undergraduate learning. Large numbers of college students report that they experience only limited academic demands and invest only limited effort in their academic endeavors.”
I see athletics as an “existing organizational culture”…are we putting enough emphasis on teaching our student-athletes and making sure that learning is taking place? Are we demanding enough of our student-athletes? How can we determine their level of effort? This post will discuss the core findings of this study in the context of athletics.
4 different ways to discuss what being “athletically adrift” means
1. Defining athletically adrift. In transferring what the study says about being academically adrift, the athletic version would look like this: the student-athletes spend little time in film study, they don’t understand the intricacies of their sport, they have little meaningful interaction with their coaching staff…they play their sport for the social cache or scholarship money. They aren’t engaged. Since the coaching staff is so worried about putting W’s on the board, they can’t be bothered with making sure each of their athletes are learning, getting better, and actively engaged in their sport.
2. Are your players getting better? This is a great way to ascertain whether or not your team is athletically adrift. Has their knowledge of the game increased? What about their desire to learn? Are they hungry to sit down with you and watch video? Are you excited about their critical thinking in regards to your sport? If your answers to those questions were positive, then you’re on the right track with your team!
3. Inequalities in sport. One of the more frustrating things about my sport (volleyball) is the money required to get good at it. I’m sure you’re thinking, “um, Dawn, all you need is a volleyball.” On the surface that’s true. But to get good at our sport, you’ve got to play age-group volleyball…which requires money, and a lot of it! It makes the sport classist and elitist…not the best combo in the world. I worry that volleyball will become associated with a certain segment of society and those inequalities will continue to grow. In addition to that, I’ve written before about the disparities of women in coaching and administration. I believe all of this is something to keep our eye on.
4. All isn’t lost! Just as the study found that some institutions are doing a great job…I believe that there are teams and programs out there that are doing an amazing job of teaching and leading their student-athletes. If you’re reading this, then I assume you’re part of that bunch. I’ve been continually excited by the feedback I’ve gotten on this site from fellow coaches…I’m not the only coaching nerd out there!
So let’s agree to keep learning and keep getting better. We owe it to ourselves and more importantly, to our student-athletes.
