So yesterday we talked about basic pedagogy and how it relates to training new assistant instructors. Today we're going to talk about using motivational psychology in our teaching methods, and how we're going to pass those methods on to our staff.
However, I will list the various techniques and strategies that I've found to be beneficial in teaching martial arts to students of all ages. Please note that I didn't invent any of these techniques, and in fact I collected them by watching and learning from various other instructors over the years.
But regardless of where they came from, the bottom line is they work and they will increase your student retention. And if you want a more detailed explanation of these techniques, you can find it in the "Martial Arts Character Education" book that I linked to above.
Here's a list of the various teaching strategies that you'll want to train your staff on in order to improve the quality of instruction your dojo offers, and to increase your student retention numbers:
- Tell-Show-Do (we discussed this yesterday)
- Vocalization (using your "teacher's voice")
- Engagement (speaking directly and specifically to students, and engaging with them instead of teaching "at" them)
- Praise-Correct-Praise (using a "praise sandwich" to build students up when offering correction in the classroom)
- Positive Reframing (reframing negative statements into positive ones during instruction)
- Disguising Repetition (just what it sounds like)
- Walking the Lines (getting face time with every student in every class)
- No Downtime (keeping classes moving, constantly)
As I said, if you want a longer explanation of these techniques and strategies, you can find it in my book. However, if you've already been exposed to these techniques, consider this list to be a helpful memory jogger to remind you of what you should be doing in every class.
Motivational Psychology
Knowing how best to motivate people is an important component of being a good instructor and coach. The old-school drill sergeant approach just doesn't cut it with today's student, and moreover it was never very effective in the first place.
But just how deep do you need to get into motivational psychology in order to train better assistants (and to become a better instructor yourself)?
Well, my advice is that you need to have at least a cursory understanding of positive and motivational psychology. This means being aware of the dominant theories in these fields and understanding how to apply them in the classroom.
As with other topics in this training series, this is a very deep and broad field of study, and I simply don't have the space or time to do it justice here. So, I suggest that you do your own reading and research in these fields. Trust me, it'll do you as much good as it will your instructors trainees down the road.
Caveat Emptor
However, you need to be wary of where you get your information from and who you listen to in these fields. Too many times, I've seen instructors go down the motivational speaker rabbit hole only to end up becoming members of some weird cult of personality.
This ultimately damages their credibility as a martial arts instructor... and it's damned creepy, as well.
So, I suggest that you go to the source when you're studying motivational and positive psychology. In other words, don't get your info from some cheesy motivational speaker - get it instead from the research scientists and professionals who are currently doing amazing work in those fields.
To that end, here's my shortlist of books you should read to deepen your understanding of how the mind and emotions work and how that relates to motivating students in the martial arts classroom:
Now, there are a ton of other books written on these topics. However, these authors are academics and professionals who are actually working in these fields, so these books are an excellent place to start. (Like I said, get your info from the source.)
Classroom Applications
Once you've studied and internalized the basic principles of positive and motivational psychology, you should find that applying those principles to the martial arts classroom is a natural process. As well, it should also be second nature to pass those principles on to your instructor trainees in kind.
And beyond the basic martial arts character education lessons in my book, lessons and principles from the fields of positive and motivational psychology make excellent mat-chat topics.
Thus, I encourage you use the reading materials I suggest above to supplement my mat-chat curriculum with positive anecdotes, and for developing entire new lessons that can become part of your own unique character education lesson plans.
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Speaking of lesson plans, tomorrow and Thursday we're going to wrap this series up by covering training your new hire on Lesson Plans and Curriculum. So, keep an eye out for those emails.
