Several comments:
1. The most powerful Vugraph (yes, pre-PP) presentation I ever saw was from a Navy Admiral who used a single Vugraph with a single straight line drawn on it. He showed it with the page tilted so the line was going moderately upwards, from left to right, and said that was the graph of the Navy budget when he was a midshipman. Then he turned the line flat, and said that was the budget when he became a LtCmd. Then he turned it downwards, and said that was the budget when he became a CAPT. The he turned it vertical, and said that was the brick wall he hit when he discussed the budget with Congressmen. And so on. An entire talk, presented with one simple straight line. That was maybe 25 years ago, and I still remember it.
2. In addition to scuba, I also teach dancing (PM me if you want more info!). Getting people to learn new steps requires showing, trying, feedback, repeat over and over. Start slow, go faster. It is JUST like teaching new fin kicks, except you can talk while you are doing it. But you know what? If you talk about why it is important, all the historical info, etc., while you are doing it, you ruin the see-try-feedback-repeat loop with extraneous information. The student needs to focus, get into the zone, not be thinking about history or when the bus will get him home.
3. Feedback on performance is essential. Tbone's mirror is a good idea, but not all students can use that effectively. A video of the performance can be VERY helpful. Here's the psychological part: the student needs to get a valid image of what it SHOULD look like, and then compare his own performance with the mental image. That is a lot to ask of someone seeing a frog/back/helicopter kick for the first time. So the instructor's role is (a) to help the student capture the mental image of perfection, and then (b) point out where in the student's effort improvement is needed. The instructor needs to use language that is about HOW to achieve the improvements, not just give the objectives.
4. Some people like to see the whole picture with all the background, and then fill in the details; others like to start with the details, and develop their understanding of the big picture. Shinythings is clearly in the first group. But everybody can grapple with the latter approach....whereas not everbody does well with the first approach.
PowerPoint is like McDonalds: dependable mediocrity.
A buoyancy clinic need to do better than that.
If Shinythings can't be heard on the pool deck, then stop talking, and just show. Use Flip Charts. use Demos. Use a GoPro.
Go to the pool, take videos, go to the classroom and show them and comment on them, go to the pool again. Etc.
If he absolutely MUST start in the classroom, then just show videos of what it SHOULD look like....get that mental image embedded.
P.S.
A student looking at a mirror or a video is usually overwhelmed....too much info, too much going on, too much to look at all at once. Help them focus on some piece of the whole kick so they can compare just one thing they are doing with the same one thing in the role-model. For example, thigh position, or ankle movement. Keep them focused on the critical elements of the movement, not just what they happen to see,
1. The most powerful Vugraph (yes, pre-PP) presentation I ever saw was from a Navy Admiral who used a single Vugraph with a single straight line drawn on it. He showed it with the page tilted so the line was going moderately upwards, from left to right, and said that was the graph of the Navy budget when he was a midshipman. Then he turned the line flat, and said that was the budget when he became a LtCmd. Then he turned it downwards, and said that was the budget when he became a CAPT. The he turned it vertical, and said that was the brick wall he hit when he discussed the budget with Congressmen. And so on. An entire talk, presented with one simple straight line. That was maybe 25 years ago, and I still remember it.
2. In addition to scuba, I also teach dancing (PM me if you want more info!). Getting people to learn new steps requires showing, trying, feedback, repeat over and over. Start slow, go faster. It is JUST like teaching new fin kicks, except you can talk while you are doing it. But you know what? If you talk about why it is important, all the historical info, etc., while you are doing it, you ruin the see-try-feedback-repeat loop with extraneous information. The student needs to focus, get into the zone, not be thinking about history or when the bus will get him home.
3. Feedback on performance is essential. Tbone's mirror is a good idea, but not all students can use that effectively. A video of the performance can be VERY helpful. Here's the psychological part: the student needs to get a valid image of what it SHOULD look like, and then compare his own performance with the mental image. That is a lot to ask of someone seeing a frog/back/helicopter kick for the first time. So the instructor's role is (a) to help the student capture the mental image of perfection, and then (b) point out where in the student's effort improvement is needed. The instructor needs to use language that is about HOW to achieve the improvements, not just give the objectives.
4. Some people like to see the whole picture with all the background, and then fill in the details; others like to start with the details, and develop their understanding of the big picture. Shinythings is clearly in the first group. But everybody can grapple with the latter approach....whereas not everbody does well with the first approach.
PowerPoint is like McDonalds: dependable mediocrity.
A buoyancy clinic need to do better than that.
If Shinythings can't be heard on the pool deck, then stop talking, and just show. Use Flip Charts. use Demos. Use a GoPro.
Go to the pool, take videos, go to the classroom and show them and comment on them, go to the pool again. Etc.
If he absolutely MUST start in the classroom, then just show videos of what it SHOULD look like....get that mental image embedded.
P.S.
A student looking at a mirror or a video is usually overwhelmed....too much info, too much going on, too much to look at all at once. Help them focus on some piece of the whole kick so they can compare just one thing they are doing with the same one thing in the role-model. For example, thigh position, or ankle movement. Keep them focused on the critical elements of the movement, not just what they happen to see,
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