Learning / Teaching

[Earl Weiss]

Another thread addressed KKW promo changes and what seems to be an "Examiner's Course" .

While this may or may not fix any deficiencies, it brings to light what i perceive to be a deficiency in Arts / orgs.

As students we learn, and as instructors we teach. Having been to both ITF and USTF "Instructor Courses" the focus is on learning. This is not bad.

However, there is little or no focus on "How to teach" or instruct. Taking a page from a group called "PPCT" which stands for pressure point and control tactics but which trains LEO's both prison guards and police etc. (Courses are not just PPCT, but also edged weapons, handcuffing etc. ) They have a hierarchy of simply being a student, to going to a course to learn how to instruct or teach students the system, and yet another level that trains "Instructor Trainers" who are the people who teach how to teach.

Some years ago I got the NAPMA text on teaching. I think it is a great idea.

Anyone here:
A. Have experience with such a hierarchy in their system?
B. Have any thoughts on such a system?

 

[andyjeffries]

I love the idea of having a proper "Instructor Course". I've attended two BTC (British Taekwondo Council) Instructor Courses, which are more about how to cover your **** legally than how to teach, and the Kukkiwon Master Instructor Course, which is as you describe - much more about how to do Taekwondo correctly and other learning around the topic rather than learning how to teach.

From what I've seen Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Torrance has this correct with their Instructor Certification Program. I've never done it, but from what I've read/seen - you have to come having completed their course (so therefore they know you know how to do things correctly) and then they spend a week giving you tips and steps on how to correctly pass it on to others.

What is the NAPMA text on teaching? Is it available online anywhere?

 

[TrueJim]

Just as an aside, this situation isn't unique to martial arts. As one example, college professors generally teach in the field of study in which they attained their advanced degrees, but those advanced degrees don't include "how to teach" courses. Same thing applies when you teach music, dance, etc. I'm not saying this is a good thing, just that it's not unique to martial arts.

Out of curiosity, what kinds of things would you include in a "how to teach martial arts" course? Off the top of my head, here's the stuff that occurs to me (staying away from the business-side of things of course):

• How do design an overall curriculum
• How to plan for a single class, how to keep classes feeling fresh
• When to throw out a plan that's not working, and how to adapt on-the-fly
• How to build up to complex techniques by starting with simpler techniques
• The different ways in which people learn, and how to teach a class that accommodates each type of learner
• How to keep students motivated in the long run
• How to keep a class of students engaged
• How to tailor a class for beginners vs. advanced students
• How to keep a class under control, how to deal with individual trouble-makers
• What makes for a good homework assignment
• How to assess performance and provide useful feedback
• How to organize tests, and how to fail somebody without demotivating them
• How to deal with problem parents
• How to accommodate different types of students (very young, very old, teens, disabled, problem students, etc.)
• When and how to delegate to your instructors
• How to avoid injuries, how to deal with minor injuries, how to recognize serious injuries
• How to equip a dojang and keep it safe

We have an awful lot of people on here who teach. In principle we could get people to crowdsource their best tips for these kinds of things and then host the how-to's on the wiki.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I love the idea of having a proper "Instructor Course". I've attended two BTC (British Taekwondo Council) Instructor Courses, which are more about how to cover your **** legally than how to teach, and the Kukkiwon Master Instructor Course, which is as you describe - much more about how to do Taekwondo correctly and other learning around the topic rather than learning how to teach.

From what I've seen Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in Torrance has this correct with their Instructor Certification Program. I've never done it, but from what I've read/seen - you have to come having completed their course (so therefore they know you know how to do things correctly) and then they spend a week giving you tips and steps on how to correctly pass it on to others.

What is the NAPMA text on teaching? Is it available online anywhere?

I'm good with the idea of a "How To Teach" course. But as you say, current "instructor courses" have nothing at all to do with actually teaching.

Just as an aside, this situation isn't unique to martial arts. As one example, college professors generally teach in the field of study in which they attained their advanced degrees, but those advanced degrees don't include "how to teach" courses. Same thing applies when you teach music, dance, etc. I'm not saying this is a good thing, just that it's not unique to martial arts.

I have a daughter who teaches 4th grade, a daughter-in-law teaching HS math, a daughter who is studying to teach languages (she speaks Spanish, French and Italian) and a stepdaughter who is studying elementary education. I do guest lecturing at the local colleges on human physiology, as well as clinical instruction in the EMT, Paramedic and nursing programs.
I've always found it odd that I'm the only one who doesn't need an actual teaching credential.

 

[TrueJim]

Exactly; I used to teach mathematics at the college level -- no teaching credentials needed. If I had taught at the high school level, of course I'd need credentials! So it's not just martial arts...lots of disciplines encounter this same condundrum. That doesn't make it right of course, just commonplace.

 

[Earl Weiss]

True Jim - Good start

Perhaps add.

Proper warm ups and stretching both for inside class and at home.

common errors to be on the lookout for (May be style specific) and how to correct them.

Breaking down techniques into their component parts and how to address components in turn.

Challenging the gifted student.

 

[andyjeffries]

Another topic I'd add is:

"how to make your deputies feel empowered to enforce your rules and standards".

Something that's been a hot topic at my dojang this week...

 

[Earl Weiss]

What is the NAPMA text on teaching? Is it available online anywhere?

See:
ACMA Instructor Certification Manual John Graden John Corcoran 9781932835045 Amazon.com Books

I had the name wrong. It was offered thru NAPMA.

They have some used ones cheap. Don't know why some think "New" is a collector value.

 

[TrueJim]

I tried to get to this sooner but wasn't able to, until just now:

I've stubbed-out a list of wiki articles where people can start contributing their thoughts on how to teach taekwondo, based on the outlines above. The main page is here:

Teaching Taekwondo - Taekwondo Wiki

I've put each topic on its own page, but it's really easy to re-organize things later if we don't like this organization. Anything you contribute is licensed under a Create Commons license (just like Wikipedia) meaning people should attribute the source, but they're free to use this material. Feel free to re-organize the main page above as well, if you want.

The editor is WYSIWYG so it should be pretty easy to contribute new material. It's perfectly okay to add pictures and YouTube videos...the WYSIWYG editor makes those things easy as well. Avoid adding other people's copyrighted IP of course, unless you think you'll be able to make a legitimate Fair Use argument. Also, we can always worry about making pages prettier later; the stubs aren't very pretty because for now they're just stubs.

Each page has a Comments section at the bottom, where people can discuss what to include on each page. Taekwondo Wiki averages about 700 views per day from users all over the world, so if we come up with something good, it has a fair chance of being used. We could even turn this into a joint article for Totally TKD if it turns out good enough.

 

[Andrew Green]

For a good starting point on a instructors training course that is about how to teach I would highly recommend looking at Dave Kovar's Instructor's Toolbox. There is a online video library that is great, as well as a book that he has. I've had all my instructors go through the online course, give them the book and I've been to his Instructor College a couple of times and had a couple instructors attend that as well.

Instructor s Toolbox Book Martial Arts Business Consulting

Another person to check out with regards to kids would be Melody Shuman who has a lot of great information on how to teach kids, she had a manual / course called "10 Laws of Instruction" which I'm not finding at the moment, but there are a lot of videos and pieces floating around.

Brannon Beliso has also published (for free) a outline of his instructor training program, which is a good place to start. http://www.onemartialarts.com/documents/NewformatInstructorsInTraining.pdf

I personally have not read John Graden's book, but he is no longer with NAPMA, which is now run by Stephen Oliver. Grade now runs a organization called "MATA" (Martial arts Teachers Association) which might be another place to look.

Another place to look might by sport organizations. In Canada we have Sport Canada, and under that Provincial organizations that run coaching certifications. I went through a couple of courses with them and it was worthwhile, I am guessing that a similar setup would exist in other countries.

But having a instructor training program I think is absolutely essential to a martial arts school. There is really no excuse not to nowadays as there are some really great resources available to use or build off of. We owe it to our students to not just be knowledgeable in the martial arts, but also in how to effectively teach that knowledge in a way that gives them the best experience.

oh, and none of those are specific to TKD, good instruction technique is the same regardless of style of martial arts

 

[Jaeimseu]

I think an important aspect is classroom management, having a set of procedures that work and having consistent consequences when they aren't followed.

Another thing I think a lot of people overlook is long term lesson planning. Some of that may be organically laid out in a belt curriculum, but instructors need to be able to make a map that will efficiently take their students where they need to go.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[mninja]

For a good starting point on a instructors training course that is about how to teach I would highly recommend looking at Dave Kovar's Instructor's Toolbox. There is a online video library that is great, as well as a book that he has. I've had all my instructors go through the online course, give them the book and I've been to his Instructor College a couple of times and had a couple instructors attend that as well.

Instructor s Toolbox Book Martial Arts Business Consulting

....

But having a instructor training program I think is absolutely essential to a martial arts school. There is really no excuse not to nowadays as there are some really great resources available to use or build off of. We owe it to our students to not just be knowledgeable in the martial arts, but also in how to effectively teach that knowledge in a way that gives them the best experience.

oh, and none of those are specific to TKD, good instruction technique is the same regardless of style of martial arts

Agreed on every level. You never stop being a student. I assist my instructors a lot and we use the Instructor Toolbox. Not only does it have good drills, it also has some words of wisdom. Very rewarding.

 

[Balrog]

Another thread addressed KKW promo changes and what seems to be an "Examiner's Course" .

While this may or may not fix any deficiencies, it brings to light what i perceive to be a deficiency in Arts / orgs.

As students we learn, and as instructors we teach. Having been to both ITF and USTF "Instructor Courses" the focus is on learning. This is not bad.

However, there is little or no focus on "How to teach" or instruct. Taking a page from a group called "PPCT" which stands for pressure point and control tactics but which trains LEO's both prison guards and police etc. (Courses are not just PPCT, but also edged weapons, handcuffing etc. ) They have a hierarchy of simply being a student, to going to a course to learn how to instruct or teach students the system, and yet another level that trains "Instructor Trainers" who are the people who teach how to teach.

Some years ago I got the NAPMA text on teaching. I think it is a great idea.

Anyone here:
A. Have experience with such a hierarchy in their system?
B. Have any thoughts on such a system?

Absolutely. ATA has a strenuous instructor development program. After we learn the basics, if we want to go on and become instructors, we are taught how to teach. We then have to go through 300 hours of supervised instruction in order to become a certified instructor.

 

[skribs]

At our school, you have to volunteer 25 hours to get your black belt. I volunteered over 500 hours because I was on an internship to become an instructor (15+ hours a week for 10 months). As you rank up, my Master has you start leading parts of class, and the black belt class is called Black Belt / Instructor's Club. I am constantly working on improving my teaching skills by seeing what works and what doesn't, and taking advice from my Master whenever he critiques my teaching. I consider myself very lucky to be in this situation.