.: Making Teaching and Learning a Positive Experience

Early on in your relationship with your students, it’s important that you determine the approach to rehearsal. This will include:

• What is considered an excuse for tardiness or absence
• Who is responsible for transporting equipment
• Who is responsible for the Sound system
• Who is responsible for laying out the “floor”
• Who will “run” the rehearsal
• How you and your assistants will divide the time and space for sectionals or corrections
• Who may attend your rehearsals (do you want to allow parents & friends or not?)
• When breaks will occur
• Rehearsal attire
• General rules of deportment & behavior, etc.

Because time is always of the essence, you’re not going to want to waste a single moment. You have to consider warm- up time, technique time and once you’re into the show, there’s teaching time. What will put you ahead of the game is not only a carefully planned rehearsal schedule with realistic objectives, but also an understanding of what “mental/physical space” your students will be in when they come to rehearsal. For example, is it right after school when they are tired and distracted, or is it after dinner, when they feel lethargic, is it during finals week, is there anything that might be distracting them from full attention to the important rehearsal you have scheduled?

If your job is to train the students in either movement or equipment, then much of this is for you. However, if your job is to design or manage the program, then you will need to understand the importance of providing your technical staff with time to accomplish this process. Training is a slow and methodical process. It is ongoing and is the greatest factor in the preparation of the students to handle all aspects of the show. This program will teach the proper use of fundamentals which will draw the focus of the individual to their potential. It will emphasize techniques and principles to achieve whatever vocabulary you wish to write for your movement and equipment program.

Please don't look for short-cuts. Plan your calendar in such a way that you allow for several classes designed exclusively for the teaching of these techniques. Understand each technique thoroughly yourself and realize that mastering these skills in "class" will simplify the teaching of the show. These techniques must become natural to your students which mean that a thorough and detailed explanation will be called for as you teach them, and OUTSIDE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE will be required for the students to absorb them and retain them.

The focus in this area of learning is TECHNIQUES that will enable your students to move & manipulate equipment in an articulate manner, and to handle those heightened responsibilities in your program. Through this process, they will develop the endurance and "muscle memory" that will train them to perform your written vocabulary with ease and grace.

CLASS ATTITUDE AND ENVIRONMENT

• Learning is best achieved in a consistent place which is clean, properly heated/cooled and suited for the class function: (Height of ceilings, mirrors or windows, clear surface).
• Avoid rehearsing on a cement floor. Cement is hard on the body and can invite injuries.
• Be punctual in starting and concluding class.
• Be prepared with your lesson plan. Tell the students what you will cover in that class and what your expectations are from them.
• Practice attire should include proper shoes and clothing that permits freedom and display of torso, arms and legs. Hair should be out of the students\' faces.
• Assess your students and your teaching skills. Plan how much material you can cover in each class. Give the students a sense of confidence and success in each step.
• Good Time management and lesson preparation is essential in preparing your students to handle the movement and equipment responsibilities of your show.
• If you have high standards your students will develop high standards
• Give praise and recognition as well as criticism
• Develop your communication skills
• Be clear in the information you teach.

TIMELINE FOR TECHNIQUE DEVELOPMENT
In an ideal world, here's how your training program might lay out. Schedule a MONTH OF TRAINING with two three-hour classes per week. When the techniques have been taught and are clear to each student, the technique portion of each rehearsal will become the starting point of your day\'s work, and will review and reinforce CORRECT METHOD in application of your movement/equipment vocabulary. As your technique program is developing and your season moves into that "mid-point", the focus of your teaching time will begin to shift and will take on a changing priority.

YOUR FULL-SEASON PRIORITY MIGHT LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

First stage
TRAINING
Establish technique
Develop Vocabulary

Second stage
WRITING
Develop/Combine Vocabulary

Third stage
REFINING
Refine Vocabulary
Detail

YOU NEVER STOP REINFORCING TECHNIQUE, but it takes on a changing focus as it is first learned, then applied to the show vocabulary, then refined.

TRAINING BEGINS FROM THE INSIDE AND WORKS OUT: This means that it must first be understood mentally and comprehended by the student. Then the training becomes physical when the theory is applied and done. The instructor should answer the questions: how, what, when, where and why relative to each aspect of any move.

REFINING WORKS PRIMARILY FROM THE OUTSIDE IN: The work is first observed at a physical level, then corrected, refined and developed to a new level of understanding internally (mentally).

This progression from MENTAL to PHYSICAL training enables you to begin exploring the EMOTIONAL quality that brings performance to life. This occurs when technique has been mastered, becomes intuitive, and allows the performer to "detach" from that focus and truly communicate the meaning of the show through performance.

TEACHING TIPS
The ability to "VISUALIZE" is an important tool for the student. This is a significant step in internally (mentally) understanding the specifics of what is being asked. It has been proven in many sports and dance communities that strong focused visualization of the physical effort has many of the same qualities as the actual physical performance of the given effort and CAN IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AT A PHYSICAL LEVEL. Visualizing the techniques of the performance can almost serve as a rehearsal if done with proper focus.

Repetition of each exercise is important because it reinforces the techniques the student will need and is the means whereby muscle memory is established. It is the patient patterning process that will make the heightened movement seem natural and beautiful.

Like any other skill, the ability to plan and teach a solid technique program must be developed over time. Be patient with yourself as YOU acquire the necessary skills in planning your classes and as YOU develop the communication techniques necessary to impart the information. You too are a student deserving the support and encouragement to stick to the tough detailing of this program.

CLARITY IN TEACHING
Clear accurate instruction will make your job much easier. Be sure to demonstrate each step clearly (this is called marking through). Explain body position, initiation of each effort, what part of the body will work, what muscles will be called upon, the function of the effort, point out focus, concentration of weight, etc. (ask how, what, when, where, why). Take the students through the learning process in three steps:

• Mark through and demonstrate each count of the move identifying each effort and muscle focus. Have them do the exercise in a controlled (slower) time frame still demonstrating in front of them. Run the exercise at full tempo and step out and observe any irregularities. Make corrections right away. BE SPECIFIC AND DETAILED.
• Isolate the problem and identify the cause.
• Repeat the exercise again and again and again so the students understand it fully and begin to get a sense how their body feels when the move is done correctly.

INDEPENDENT HOME STUDY PROGRAM
This is the final subject in our Technique program. Please be assured that unless the members of your guard invest time in independent work outside of Rehearsal, your job will be compounded many times and the rate of growth for your group will be slowed significantly. Here's how it works. Each individual must commit to 2 hours a week which is only 15 to 20 minutes a day to review the material given in class. Students keep a weekly rehearsal journal in which they record when they rehearsed, what they covered, problems encountered, how they handled these problems, any successes they met, what they did differently, etc. This is an informal opportunity for them to tell you all kinds of things that may have impacted on their learning. It lets you know the student better and in a more individual way. The journal is turned in to the instructor on a specific day each week. The instructor reads the material, makes comments as appropriate and returns the book to the student. (college blue books are ideal for this).

THREE THINGS ARE ACCOMPLISHED
The student takes "ownership" of the material and has a part in his/her own growth thereby becoming more invested. It develops responsibility and is educationally sound. The ensemble will grow at twice the rate it would without this work. The student/teacher relationship develops faster and becomes more personal. The teacher can provide individual feedback and personal encouragement along the way.