Thread: First Time Teaching Questions

So..I was approached by my Teacher to sub for her, this month, with Beg. classes. She said if it works out. she'd like me to take over. I'm excited and nervous, at the same time. I have lots of ideas for lesson plans, but am not sure about filling a whole hour? This is my biggest concern. Its funny because I always enjoyed going to classes,over the years, and an hour seems to go by quickly. Now though, an hour feels quite different when you're trying to fill it. I know to start a general warm up and cool down but how do you approach the drills? What number of reps do you like to use when teaching a new move? Do you walk around alot or only when you see someone's having trouble? When do you start introducing combos? Immediately or after a few classes? Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks

These are all good questions, and I'd suggest you keep them all in mind next time you go to one of your teacher's classes so you can see how she handles them. After all, she's the one you're subbing for :)

For myself I don't count reps, I choose a move to drill and keep it going for the length of a song (usually around 4 minutes). This gives me time to demonstrate the move then go round and help everyone. If you have a bigger group, choose a longer song, and suggest alternatives (arms, layering etc.) for people who pick up the move quickly. I like to walk round and help with every new move or combo. If we're doing revision and I see someone is struggling I will walk round but if everyone looks OK I move on.

I introduce simple combos (just two moves) as early as possible in order to introduce the idea of transition between moves.

Knowing the size of your group is really important because everything takes longer with a big group and an hour soon passes. Conversely a small group may learn quickly and you may find you need more material than you have prepared. For similar reasons it's a good idea to find out the level of the group - does beginners mean brand new, only a couple of months experiences or a mixture of the two?

Have fun with your teaching

Ask your teacher if you can come to some of her beginner's classes beforehand to observe her teaching methods. You could also see if she would be happy to meet up with you to discuss how she structures her lessons and for you to ask her any questions you might have. I'm sure most teachers would be happy to do this for someone who will be subbing for them

Here we have a mentoring scheme where students who are considering subbing or teaching in future 'shadow' another teacher for a term or more as a teaching assistant - we're still working out how to best organise it, but generally the student starts out just observing & maybe helping to demonstrate moves whilst the teacher gives correction, and work up to doing things like leading warmups and cooldowns, helping to give correction to students, and eventually subbing beginners classes. It has certainly made the occasional bit of teaching a lot easier for me!

Thanks for the suggestions ladies! The only problem is she asked me last week to sub for this month (she will be gone) and had me come to watch her for Thurs. night beginning class. Guess what? Nobody showed up. This is also the beginning term, so I'm assuming it's all newbies.I tried to wrack my brain to ask her questions but am still a little shaky about timing. etc... Part of me is frustrated to have this dumped in my lap, and part of me is excited to take on the challenge!

When I first began teaching (college art history, before belly dancing), I was also concerned about how to "fill up an hour." WELL.... never fear! Usually the hour flies by so quickly you can't fit everything in that you've planned. This is my experience, anyway. Still, I continue to "overprepare" for each and every class. There is always so much to share! Have fun. If you have taken classes long enough and the teacher thinks you are ready, then you will likely fly through that hour and wish you had more time.

I always prepare more than what I think I can get through. That way I'm not stuck thinking... where do I go from here?
When I started teaching I would come up with a theme for each class such as "circles" and the whole hour would be based on teaching different forms of circles. I would put together a playlist or CD that was one hour long so I knew when my music stopped, class was over.

I start with going over proper posture then at least 15 min warm-up (I also try to get some review in during warm up. So if I had a circles class the week before my whole warm-up will involve reviewing circles. ).

Thats the first 20 minutes of class, gone! And I know I need a cool down, that can be another 5-10 minutes so already I have filled 25-30 minutes! Now, I only need to prep 25 minutes for technique and leave a few min for questions at the end of class or for note taking.

I'm never completely committed to this format. Sometimes I'll get to class and start working on something and realize that the class needs something completely different. Or Ii will realize that the class needs a longer technique time, so I'll cut my cool down short. It is important to be prepared emotionally and mentally for changes in your lesson plan. The more you teach, the better adapt you will be for situations like this...

Also, don't be afraid to ask your students for feedback. Ask them who they think class went. Ask them if they have any questions (I do this constantly during class), or if they want to go review anything before you start class.

You can always start classes off by sharing some tid-bits about the history of belly dance or Middle Eastern culture or tips and tricks of the stage or talk about costuming or the different styles of belly dance. This will also help fill some time, if you have a lesson plan you don't think will fill the full hour.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Stress!

Originally Posted by Zabelly

I would put together a playlist or CD that was one hour long so I knew when my music stopped, class was over.

Make sure you know your music. Pick songs you can't mistake for anything else but warm-up music or cool down music. Use your music as a guide. It will help pace your class, and it is a reminder of where you are without needing to be glued to the clock. You can always repeat a song if you need to spend more time covering something, and skip the song that was going to come on next.

Thanks Zabelly! This is great food for thought! I am writing down your Theme idea! I also like covering costume and middle eastern tidbits. I have a music list and just bought a dry erase board with everything I'm covering posted on it. I figured this would be much easier to look at instead of my notebook. My first class is tomorrow and I've been practicing like CRAZY, lol, it's helping me get out all thia nervous energy!

Originally Posted by fairyqueen

My first class is tomorrow and I've been practicing like CRAZY, lol, it's helping me get out all thia nervous energy!

good luck!!!!!!

Wow, I don't know what I was so scared of? I think class went pretty well. I am definately HOOKED! Being over prepared is way better than standing around and scratching my head! Thanks everyone for your suggestions!