Imagine yourself in an airplane that is making an emergency landing on the water. In the midst of panic, can you grab your life vest? This summer I flew to LA and half-heartedly listened as the flight attendant gave us the instructions I have heard a hundred times. Then the woman across the aisle asked exactly where the life vest was stored and how she would reach it. As she started reaching for the life vest, I realized that although I had heard this “lecture” many times, I would be hard pressed to actually grab my life vest quickly and efficiently in the event of a crash water landing. It impressed upon me the importance of giving our students the opportunity to actually practice any skill or knowledge we want them to retain since hearing does not equate to learning.
Last week, I visited Jon Herbert’s Acting Fundamentals class. He incorporated several activities to help his students practice the skills necessary to be an effective actor. One of the activities was called Columbian hypnosis. The students paired up with one student being the hypnotizer and one being the hypnotized. The hypnotizer put her hand about a foot or two in front of the face of the hypnotized. As the hypnotizer moved her hand slowly and silently back and forth or side to side the hypnotized focuses intently on the movement and followed as though hypnotized. The activity was part body awareness activity and part trust-builder. The class had fun with this activity as they increased their ability to concentrate and built confidence in using their body on stage. Jon’s class was packed with instruction but included activities to reinforce each concept and helped students build their skills. While students participated in the activities Jon did what he called side coaching as he gave gentle verbal nudges to help students shape and assess their own performance.
John Wooden, the coach of the UCLA Basketball team, was frequently cited as the most winning coach in history. When a pair of researchers went to observe him in action they expected to find him providing his players with inspiring talks and unique instruction. What they found was that he praised his players 6% of the time and criticized them 6% of the time. The other 82% of the time he gave them basic facts about their performance to help them adjust their ball handling to get better and better. Jon Herbert’s side coaching similarly provided facts students could use to shape their own performance. Jon uses what he calls the 3 S’s of physical action on the stage. Jon’s coaching was simple, specific, and strategic. Jon is a teaching artist who knows how to keep his students engaged and eager to learn. I encourage you to examine your next lesson and find a way to incorporate at least one activity to reinforce a skill or concept you want your students to remember. This gives your students a reason to come to your class since you will give them something they could never get out of a textbook. As you incorporate more activities to reinforce those important concepts and skills, your students will know exactly how to grab for their life vest long before they come in for a crash landing.
Bad Joke to Start the Week
Did you hear about the shepherd who drove his flock through town and got a traffic ticket for making a ewe turn?
Last Thought
“Information’s pretty thin stuff, unless mixed with experience.” – Clarence Day