Instructors? How do you make a great class?

[Carol]

On another board there was a thread about MA class pet peeves, such as incessant gabbing among students during the class.

Curious to know from the instructor perspective (I'll ask for the student perspective in a different post)...what makes a great class? What do you do to help create a great class for everyone? Or, if you don't teach, what have you seen done that makes a great class for everyone?

 

[Kacey]

On another board there was a thread about MA class pet peeves, such as incessant gabbing among students during the class.

Curious to know from the instructor perspective (I'll ask for the student perspective in a different post)...what makes a great class? What do you do to help create a great class for everyone? Or, if you don't teach, what have you seen done that makes a great class for everyone?

It's a great question... and one that's very hard to answer, because it varies so much from class to class, depending on who shows up, what they need, and what I, as the instructor, want to teach.

In general, I try to make sure that all students know they are welcome - regardless of ability or lack thereof - while still maintaining an environment that will challenge each person to improve his/her own skills. How I do that varies depending on who shows up on a particular day. I try to maintain an environment where people try first and ask second, while still providing consistent and regular feedback on how they are doing - constructive, rather than destructive, criticism (e.g. "this technique would be better if you did this" rather than "that's wrong").

Some instructors create and maintain this environment through the use of formality and ritual - setting the class training as a time apart - and other do it through the use of informality and companionship. Which one works for a particular situation is going to depend on how the instructor was trained, the environment the instructor was trained in, how the instructor's experiences in and out of the dojang affect his/her teaching style... too many variables to count.

The key, I think, is to talk to - and even more importantly, to listen to - your students, and be responsive to their needs. How you do that is going to vary widely - and that is why so many times, when someone asks how to choose a class, one of the tips always given is to watch the class and talk to the instructor and students - because much of what makes a good class is how the instructor relates to the students, and vice versa - someone who is a perfect instructor for me may not work for you at all; this is the personal component that makes teaching people how to teach so difficult.

 

[Andrew Green]

Beer and Nachos

or sweat and blood

Both mean a good time was had

 

[terryl965]

Making sure each and every student no-matter there ability is welcome and that each one is treated with the respect they deserved followed by the best instruction that I or any of my BB are able to give at that particular moment. The last thing is to tell them something positive that they did during there workout so they leave with some sense of accomplishment.

 

[jdinca]

Beer and Nachos

or sweat and blood

Both mean a good time was had

It's even better when you combine all of them!

 

[still learning]

Making sure each and every student no-matter there ability is welcome and that each one is treated with the respect they deserved followed by the best instruction that I or any of my BB are able to give at that particular moment. The last thing is to tell them something positive that they did during there workout so they leave with some sense of accomplishment.

Hello, This is well said here!!!

 

[jdinca]

Change it up! Our classes are 30 minutes in duration with students usually putting two together for a 60 minute workout. The first class is on basics. Everybody is doing the same thing. I like to keep the drills varied and a pretty fast pace. At the end of 30 minutes, I want to see sweat, labored breathing and maybe a few groans of pain. The second half hour is Tactical Advancement. Everybody is working on their individual belt material. I vary this up too. Give a new technique, focus on the details of a particular technique, do it in the air, do it on each other, and I'll let them go full speed on me.

To me, the key is to keep their minds occupied with MA, until they learn how to develop that focus on their own.

 

[Makalakumu]

I have an approach that I use when I deliver a lesson, any lesson, be it in my science classroom or in my dojang. It's called the Five E's and this approach pretty consistantly leads to effective lessons...which IMHO is the definition of a great class.

Now, before I go on, I'd like to take a little time to define an effective lesson. IMO, an effective lesson takes place when the following criteria are met. The teacher has clear, overarching, and enduring objectives that are known by the students. The curriculum is comprehensive and philosophically sound so that it leads a student to the teacher's enduring objectives. Everything in the lesson is connected to the teacher's overarching goals so that any evaluation will determine progresion towards those goals.

With that being said, the five steps of the Five E's are specifically designed to fit into this model. The steps are as follows...

1. Engage - a student must somehow be engaged by the teacher's material or it isn't going to grab their attention and they won't perform at their best. Presenting students with problems or challenges is a good way to engage them.

2. Explore - this is the stage where the instructor facillitates the student's exploration of the material that engaged them. Students use this time to examine their own background knowledge.

3. Explain - during this stage, the instructor explains the nuances whatever is being learned and may demonstrate ways that slight alter or greatly alter the student's background knowledge.

4. Elaborate - this is an important step where students are given time to take what was presented before and use it in a variety of situations. This is done in order to test the concept in various ways and explore its depth. It also gives the students' the chance to be creative with application.

5. Evaluate - the last state is where the instructur uses whatever methods or instruments needed in order to measure how much the student has learned. Methods of evaluation can be simple or complex, but they should always be measuring against the metric of the instructors overarching and enduring goals.

Lastly, this approach is not designed with a time limit in mind. It can take as little as five minutes or it could last the entire class period depending how the instructor designs it. Often, each individual student will experience this at least once during the time they are in class. The bottom line is that I have found that this approach enhances both the intellectual and kinesthetic understanding of the material presented.

 

[Ceicei]

I have an approach that I use when I deliver a lesson, any lesson, be it in my science classroom or in my dojang. It's called the Five E's and this approach pretty consistantly leads to effective lessons...which IMHO is the definition of a great class.

Thank you for sharing these! I appreciate this.

- Ceicei

 

[kidswarrior]

Had to think about this one for a day or so, but here's what I seem to do consistently:

1) Teaching a good art plus giving students a chance to practice 1-2 techniques while I (and maybe 1-2 assistants) circulate, usually adds up to fun (lots of 'It works'!, and oohs and ahhs)

2) (Close on the heels of #1) Letting students try principles/techniques/footwork and other basics, instead of standing there while I show off (we've all been to classes/seminars like this).

3) Getting everyone moving. This sweats out toxins and draws out used up oxygen, while producing endorphins and tons of new red blood cells. They can't not feel better when leaving the class, which makes us all want to keep training.

4) During/at end of class, I'll take someone's discovery of some move/hold/stike that their uncle taught them, or a classmate used on them which seems to nullify one of our techniques, and demonstrate how easily it can be defeated, or what they didn't account for (e.g., 'My uncle said if someone is choking me, just step back.' But what if I'm already backed up against a wall? Or, this guy is too strong: I can't break his wrist grab).

5) When we line back up, I ask for questions and will quickly demonstrate further if anyone still has a lingering doubt or isn't quite clear on something. Then just before bowing them out, I ask if they had fun and learned something. Have never gotten anything but a resounding Yes.

So, not exactly a scientific approach, more organic, but our club is growing, people are healthier and safer, so I'm happy with it. :ultracool

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Making sure each and every student no-matter there ability is welcome and that each one is treated with the respect they deserved followed by the best instruction that I or any of my BB are able to give at that particular moment. The last thing is to tell them something positive that they did during there workout so they leave with some sense of accomplishment.

Terry said the above and I think it is very important to create that positive atmosphere. Another tool that I use to make a good class great is by creating a rhythm or spacing of the technique and cardiovacular training. When properly spaced and imbued with the right amount of energy at the right times a good class can be simply fantastic!!!