‘Using Questions’
Bloom’s Taxonomy In Football Coaching
Mike Nolan
FA Club Mentor - Bedfordshire
Have you ever played ‘Coaching Bingo’?
My version goes a bit like this ......
Coach – “Okay, What were we working on today?”
Players -
“Space”
(Tick)
“Passing”
(Tick)
“Support”
(Tick)
“Communication” (Full House!)
But what do those answers actually tell us
about the learning that has taken place?
Are we sometimes just being told what the
players think we want to hear?
I have often asked questions in a debrief to
tick off ‘Q&A’ as one of my ‘variety of
coaching interventions’.
Of course coaches do ask questions with the
intention of checking player understanding.
But do we always consider developing their
“Higher Order Thinking Skills” ?
OR just as importantly developing our own questioning skills ?
For questioning to be effective it should
explore player knowledge and help everyone
(including the coach) achieve deeper learning
and reflection.
Like most things, it requires some planning,
practice and review if we are to get better at
it.
“Bloom’s Taxonomy” is one model that can be
used to help coaches practice their
questioning.
There are other models (eg SOLO), and
different ways of representing Bloom’s.
Feel free to explore these using the internet
and find one that makes sense to you!
It is probably helpful to remember that we do
not have to follow a strict sequence- this is
not meant to be prescriptive.
It may be appropriate to use higher and lower
order questions with different individuals
within the same discussion.
One model of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Higher
Order
Thinking
Skills
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy -
From julietovar.edublogs.org
Another model
Bloom’s Taxonomy
From ww.thinkfinity.org
Sometimes we will probe; sometimes just check
a detail; sometimes revisit an area.
Sometimes we will ask them to apply
knowledge to a new area.
As players reach the stages of ‘Evaluating’ and
‘Creating’ in one area, this then can become
the ‘Knowledge’ on which to base the next
phase of learning.
From www.learningdesigns.co.za
I have put together some sample questions in
each category, and put them into the context
of a coach questioning a Full Back.
The scenario –
The Left Back has taken up a position to receive
the ball from the goalkeeper, who has the
ball in hand after saving a shot from
distance.
Knowledge - Remembering what we have learned
- Tell, Relate, Describe, Recognise, List, Locate, Define, Relate, State
Can you name/show the ways that you can receive the ball?
Tell me why you would receive it like that?
What if the ball arrived in this way?
Would you want the keeper to ...? (Yes/No)
Where might this happen?
When might it .....?
For example, think how these questions might be used
with a Full Back when their Goalkeeper has the ball
Maybe we would start with –
- How would you position yourself to receive the ball
from the goalkeeper?
Comprehension -Making sense of what we have learned
Predict, Discuss, Explain, Interpret, Restate, Distinguish
Explain in your own words.......?
What was the main idea of receiving the ball there.......?
Can you give me an example of what you mean?
What differences are there between this body shape and that
one......?
Can you think of another way of saying that?
What do you think might happen next if....?
Perhaps we could explore with our Left Back
- What do you think might happen next if your
opponent has already moved quickly to
pressure you?
Application – Using what we have learned in a new way
Show, Apply, Examine, Change, Construct, Classify, Solve, Illustrate
Can you give me some instructions how to be able to see the
ball and my nearest opponent ..?
Would this information be useful to you if ......?
Are there other movements like this one?
Can you give me another example where....?
What factors would you change if that pass was played to you
again?
Maybe we could discuss:
- What would you change if you did not have
time to get the ball under control as well as you
would like?
Analysis – Breaking this concept into parts and seeing how they are
related to each other
Test, Analyse,Identify, Examine, Investigate, Criticise, Differentiate
What are other possible outcomes?
What are the reasons behind doing it this way?
What was the problem with...?
If _____ happened, what would be different?
Why would your first touch change?
Maybe it would be appropriate to ask:
- Can you compare what you would do with
your first touch if you had space in front of you,
with what you would do when you are being
pressured?
Evaluation- Making judgments based on a set of guidelines
Assess, Choose, Debate, Justify, Recommend, Prioritise, Determine,
Is there a better solution to...?
What is the impact of learning about the different positions you can be in when
our Goalkeeper has the ball?
Why is the information we have learned on this important?
Do you think playing out from goalkeeper to Full Back is always a good thing?
Why do you think _______did this?
What did you not like about.....?
It might be that we could explore:
-What would you change about where your
team mates are when your Goalkeeper has the
ball?
- Can you defend your reasons for this?
Synthesis/Creating–Putting information together in an innovative way
Plan, Invent, Propose, Construct, Imagine, Devise, Collect
How many ways could you use the ball once you have
received it ?
How would you know if your idea worked for you in the
game? How could you prove this?
Can you create new and unusual ways of ....?
Devise your own way of supporting the player you pass to?
Do both Full Backs have to do the same thing? Why?
Can you come up with a pattern of play that you can start ?
Perhaps we could use what we have learned to
think about:
-Can you plan a way to do this when the other
team are pressing high up the pitch ?
You will have more relevant examples, and
probably see overlaps in the questions I have
chosen.
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy is widely used in
education, but has its critics.
Regardless of which model or method is used,
what is important is that we reflect on the
questions we use.
-Their Purpose
-Their Effect
- How they support the process of Learning.
I find it useful to visualise the
different levels as looking down a
spiral staircase -with the player’s
understanding ‘travelling’ up the
staircase .
At any time we may have to look
‘down’ at an appropriate question to
check that level of understanding
(I don’t have a credit for this one)
Some of your players may be at different levels of
understanding
– The questions you ask can help them gain a
deeper understanding of the topic you are
discussing, but also help them to apply that
understanding to new scenarios, and fit
together different topics to explore new ones.
- This is not just about them understanding one
topic, but practising the actual process itself so
that it can be applied to new areas of learning
Other methods may suit you better .
If you are interested in SOLO (Structure of the Observed Learning
Outcome),the graphic below is from www.johnbiggs.com.au
I hope that this will serve as a starting point for a
discussion with other coaches on their use of
questioning and what they find effective.
Any questions? 
Mike Nolan
@coachingboard