Solving Common Handling Problems ART Training Scheme Module 1 - Teaching Bell Handling © ART Charity No 1156971

What will I find out? Prevention is easier than cure Ways to address some common problems The teacher’s role in the cycle of skill development

Prevention is easier than cure Never allow inaccurate movements to continue Accurate movements may have to be repeated many times before they become automatic Between two thousand to ten thousand repetitions may be required for a movement to become automatic.

Prevention is better than cure! Observe Analyse Give feedback Observe good and bad points, positive feedback about the good things Discussion about the not so good things Opportunity to practise Return to relevant small part of the action When accurate return to the whole action Then give practice to make perfect The teacher should constantly observe the learner. Team teaching means teachers observe each others’ learners. Also learners can peer assess too. If his movements are inaccurate or unwanted the teacher should stop the learner repeating, and consequently learning these wrong movements. He should analyse the difficulty the learner is experiencing and then give them feed back as to the problem. The learner should then be returned to the exercise that enables them to focus on and improve the problem. Demonstration and further explanation may be required to help them. Once he can perform the small part of the movement accurately he can then return to the whole action. At this stage repetition of the accurate movement is important. That is “practice to make perfect”.

Prevention is better than cure! Unwanted action? As soon as a Teacher sees some aspect of the handling which is not right he or she should take the learner back to the small step exercise and work on that particular part of the action. If the learner is allowed to continue to repeat the unwanted action it is likely to become permanent and a bad habit will be formed which is likely to hinder the learner’s bell control and his or her ability to progress at some point.

Prevention is better than cure! “If the learner manages an action correctly once, he will eventually be able to perform it routinely after remedial work” Learning Without Errors D.H. Holding (1970) Athletic Institute Chicago Professor Holding from the University of Chicago did much of the original research in the area of skill development. His book Learning Without Errors was one of the original major works on the subject. It was published in 1970. This knowledge was discovered after many ringers had started to teach therefore they were unable to make use of it.

Remember to use the four levels of instruction Verbal instruction Demonstration Physical prompting - physical / visual / verbal Physical assistance Verbal instruction should be clear, concise, consistent. i.e. what to do. Demonstration. For new skills linking demonstration with verbal instruction has been shown to be the most effective. Physical Prompting helps when verbal instruction and demonstration are not working. Physical Assistance is used when physical prompting is not enough to produce the performance required Watch the use of Prompts on the video next.

Learning the Ropes – Teaching DVD Problem solving At this point the Problem Solving Scene from the DVD should be shown Indicate the use of prompts.

Skill Development Cycle The teacher uses the “whole-part-whole” philosophy to guide the learner through small skill exercises en route to accomplishing the full action

Unskilled Learner Tutor Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Small skill exercises Tutor Selects Unskilled learner Tutor selects appropriate small skill exercises, explains, demonstrates, instructs (according to learner need & learning style) Learner rehearses the exercises with the tutor’s guidance 9

Practices smaller skills Unskilled Learner Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Small skill exercises Tutor Selects And then a cycle of practice begins – tutor introduces new small skill exercises as appropriate for the learner and learner practises. 10

Practices smaller skills Attempts whole action Practices smaller skills Unskilled Inaccurate Learner Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Small skill exercises Tutor Observes Selects When the tutor deems the learner is ready, the whole action is attempted. It’s likely the tutor will observe inaccuracies. 11

Practices smaller skills Attempts whole action Practices smaller skills Unskilled Inaccurate Learner Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Small skill exercises Tutor Observes Selects Tutor gives appropriate feedback and selects the appropriate small skill exercises that the learner needs to revisit. Practice takes place and in due course whole skill again is attempted. Gives feedback 12

Practices smaller skills Attempts whole action Practices smaller skills Unskilled Inaccurate Learner Accurate Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Verbal reinforcement Small skill exercises Tutor Practise to establish Observes Selects … and the tutor now either assesses it still is inaccurate, or assesses that it is now accurate. From now on intervention by the tutor is mainly verbal reinforcement as the learner continues to practice to reinforce/establish the whole skill. The learner is now basically skilled. Skilled Gives feedback 26 13

Success !!

Further inaccuracies which develop Attempts whole action Practices smaller skills Unskilled Inaccurate Learner Accurate Explanation Demonstration Instruction Task rehearsal Verbal reinforcement Small skill exercises Tutor Practise to establish Observes Selects Skilled However ... as new stresses occur (ringing rounds/call changes etc.) it is quite likely that inaccuracies will develop. These may be new ones but often are the areas that needed a little more work previously. It’s at this stage that things often go wrong. The tutor, having got the student on to ringing rounds/call changes or whatever is reluctant to take the learner back to single-bell work. This is a big mistake. The learner needs the luxury of being able to focus entirely on the elements of the action which are not totally established. The tutor needs to reassure the them it is NOT a retrograde step, but a normal one. Tutor gives supportive feedback and suggests which small skill exercises will be effective at addressing the inaccuracies so that finally a sound style can be developed that will serve the new ringer well. New stresses Further inaccuracies which develop Gives feedback 15