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On a sudden burst of inspiration, I changed my beginner dance class structure last night, and I really like the way it's working out. It goes something like this:
Class 1: Basic movements and posture.
Class 2: Review, all with ball balanced on head (and with something held between knees if stance is too wide).
Class 3: More basic movements.
Class 4: Review with ball balanced on head.
etcetera, etc.
Before, I would teach a class, and do a quick review of previous material in the last part of the class. I'm finding this new structure, although perhaps sparser with material, is getting the students to understand the movements much quicker. They get the basic technique in the first class, and in the review class with the balancing, they're refining the movement, and really getting an understanding of isolations. In addition, I am working a bit of creative movement in later classes, repeating the exercises with balancing on the subsequent review class.
Ideally, I'd like to do up a few beginner curricula, but so far, although my students all really appear to enjoy their classes, they only sign up for one session. So there's still no point in teaching a beginner level two, let alone level three, class.
I'm enjoying the evolution of my teaching style. I'm seeing students catch on to movement so much faster now than they did two or three years ago. It's not that my newbie students are getting any smarter. Rather, my teaching skills are becoming much more refined.
Now, if I can only figure out how to teach intercostal isolations and how to teach the difference between tensing the glutes around the spine as opposed to tensing them along the spine. Some day I will figure this out. Do you have any hints?
Class 1: Basic movements and posture.
Class 2: Review, all with ball balanced on head (and with something held between knees if stance is too wide).
Class 3: More basic movements.
Class 4: Review with ball balanced on head.
etcetera, etc.
Before, I would teach a class, and do a quick review of previous material in the last part of the class. I'm finding this new structure, although perhaps sparser with material, is getting the students to understand the movements much quicker. They get the basic technique in the first class, and in the review class with the balancing, they're refining the movement, and really getting an understanding of isolations. In addition, I am working a bit of creative movement in later classes, repeating the exercises with balancing on the subsequent review class.
Ideally, I'd like to do up a few beginner curricula, but so far, although my students all really appear to enjoy their classes, they only sign up for one session. So there's still no point in teaching a beginner level two, let alone level three, class.
I'm enjoying the evolution of my teaching style. I'm seeing students catch on to movement so much faster now than they did two or three years ago. It's not that my newbie students are getting any smarter. Rather, my teaching skills are becoming much more refined.
Now, if I can only figure out how to teach intercostal isolations and how to teach the difference between tensing the glutes around the spine as opposed to tensing them along the spine. Some day I will figure this out. Do you have any hints?
