Shorebased


Teaching in the classroom – how hard can it be?


Teaching in a classroom can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’re relatively new to it. As a qualified teacher and RYA Instructor Trainer, we asked Andy Wright to share some of his top tips for session planning.


Skipper courses are challenging and include many complex concepts, which need to be taught in a logical but entertaining way. I like to work through the


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following process for each subject: 1. Planning 2. How well do I know the subject? 3. Preparation 4. Interaction 5. Review


1 It’s all in the planning The first thing I do is visualise what each subject will look like when I teach it. What do I want the learners to achieve, and how? Using ‘beginning, middle and


end’ to plan a session is a useful way to ensure you start each session well. The beginning provides your students with an outline of what you are going to cover and how, the middle is the session content and delivery and at the end you summarise your session and test your teaching. The RYA syllabi set the content


you need to cover quite clearly, as well as allocating the timeframe for each subject. These timings will give you an idea of the depth you will need to go into for each subject. Plan to use a number of


techniques, exercises and methods to cater for the various learning styles of your students. VARK helps us to remember different ways in which people learn: Visual, Auditory, Reading (writing), Kinesthetic.


he syllabi for the Essential Navigation and Seamanship, Day Skipper and Coastal


of your tidal vector, strike an arc through your ground track. A session plan splits the session down into the actual steps that you will take in order to teach the session, minute by minute with the activities and resources you will use for each step. Complex subjects can be


Let’s take the application of


variation as an example. Using acronyms is a good way to help learners remember, such as TVMDC (True, Variation, Magnetic, Deviation, Compass) or: Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Very Tasty. Or how about ‘West is best, East is least’. Not all of these methods will make sense to everyone, so we need to use variety to help our students get to the light bulb moment.


2 Know your subject ‘Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach’, so the saying goes. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to teach a subject we need to know it inside out, so spend time familiarising yourself with it and completing the tasks you are setting. Why not share ideas with other instructors, or join their session to learn other methods?


3 Preparation is key As a teacher it often takes me longer to plan a lesson than it does to teach it. By the time I have decided what to teach, how to teach it, what to include, what resources I need, think about what questions people may ask


Vaughan Marsh Chief Instructor, Sail Cruising and Shorebased


E-mail: vaughan.marsh@rya.org.uk Tel: 023 8060 4182


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me and how I am going to assess them, an hour’s session takes two hours to plan. You will get faster with experience but don’t underestimate the value of a good session plan. Start by going through the syllabus and deciding what you are going to teach on each day or session. Create session plans, and stick to them where possible. If you have to deviate, keep notes and adjust the plan as necessary. Share the plan with your students at the beginning of each session and, if possible, involve them in your teaching and planning. This stage of planning is a scheme of work. Next, look at each subject and split it into aims and objectives. The aim of a session is what you are trying to achieve overall and the objectives are how you are going to achieve the aim. Split each session into no more than three key points – generally that’s the maximum people will remember and it will help them recreate their skill later. Here’s an example: Aim: Course to steer, how to get


from A to B. The three key points are:


1. Draw the ground track line through and beyond your end point.


2. Apply the tide at your start point.


3. Measure your estimated boat speed and, starting at the end


delivered in segments to help students remember them, using the whole-part-whole or part-part- whole methods:


Whole-part-whole for secondary ports: Show the whole process so they know what they are trying to achieve (whole). Then teach the bit they don’t


know - the interpolation (part). Finally get the students to do the whole activity (whole). Don’t get sidetracked by explaining parts of the method the students already knows.


Part-part-whole for estimating position: By this stage in the syllabus, you’ve already taught the parts - how to work out tidal flow, how to work from compass to true including leeway and how to draw a course over ground bearing and distance line. All you need to teach now is how to put the parts together to estimate a position. This is also known as stealth teaching.


4 Make it interactive This is what we referred to as the middle section – you’ve planned the session and now you need ways for your students to remember the content you deliver, learn something and enjoy the session! Use exciting and relevant exercises to inspire your learners. Have you tried teaching course to steer by getting people to


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