Teaching Styles
In 1966 Muska Mosston published the first version of Teaching Physical Education. This was the book that outlined the spectrum of teaching styles. In short the spectrum is a list of different ways of achieving learning in physical activities. What changes is who makes the decisions during the learning process: planing, delivery and evaluation. At one end of the spectrum the coach makes every decision at the other it is the player. The various styles along the way are a cross-fader of decision making from the coach to the player.
Many people interpret this as progressing from Command style to Self Teaching, this is indeed one way of using them. However closer reading of the text will reveal the countless times that the styles are presented as specialised tools. As such they are the best fit for specific learning outcomes that are desired by the coach, player or both. It is the coaches job to understand the tools intimately and select the best one for the job.
The challenges fit very well into this spectrum. At one end the player is directed to complete the challenge entirely at the behest of the coach. At the other the player might select which challenge they wish to focus on, they may select a grade far higher than current to test themselves or lower in order to refine and deepen their performance of a specific aspect they are working on. They might team up and do them together acting as 'coaches' for one another or pursue them alone at home. They can re-visit levels in order to 'discover' new solutions or use a challenge as a framework to a practice session.
I have found that using the challenges as a fixed element across the spectrum allows for the style of delivery to become more apparent. It allows for a conversation that includes the players in the implementation of each learning style as the content hasn't changed but their role does.
For more on this very interesting topic visit their website; here