I attended the ART Module 1 workshop, kindly presented by Phil Tremain supported
by local organiser (and would be tutor) Alena and Les & Sheila. Firstly, we started
by going around the room to introduce ourselves, I stated my motivation was
merely curiosity and eventual succession planning at some point in the distant
future.
The course started with a presentation on teaching skills, with particular emphasis
on the whole-part-whole approach to teaching, as well as the different tools a
teacher has at their disposal to disseminate the information. There are five Learning
the Ropes milestones trainee ringers can complete.
The day was interspersed with practical sessions. We were divided into three
groups of three for roleplay; one person observed the ‘lesson’ (the importance of
which was well demonstrated during the practical with a box being too far away);
one ringer was the to-be student, and the third was the teacher. It was interesting to
observe different teaching styles, and being explicit and careful with the delivery of
instructions. Whilst our ‘student’ knew the language, a new student wouldn’t
necessarily know the terminology to start with. There was a good balance of theory
and practice, as well as pragmatic approaches to bell handling e.g. taking the rope
off the student at the backstroke and dealing with a loose rope, again focusing on
the tailend. There were also demonstrations of common mistakes students make
(and a good reminder of best practices for the teacher too!)
In the end, I even managed to see how the bells were silenced using some rope
and a bike tyre; also a peal board featuring some ringers I currently ring with. All in
all, it was a very enjoyable course, meeting new folks (who almost all were tower
captains) in and around Devon & Cornwall.
Thanks again to Phil, Alena, and the ART team for organising such a fantastic
course.