Walter & Group............
This is the second series of Q&A with comments: -
Master Instructor
Certification Test
Study
Guide
Oral Test (REPRESENTATIVE ... NOT ACTUAL QUESTIONS)
Appendix A - Representative
Questions - Teaching
Teaching ability and experience - includes demonstration of teaching methodology and analysis of casting errors.
· What are the principle roles of a good instructor?
Answer: Teacher, Coach, Leader, Cheerleader
GOOD SHORT ANSWER.
BE CERTAIN TO READ THE MASTER STUDY GUIDE ON THE ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD INSTRUCTOR FOR A LOT MORE DETAIL.
· How would you explain to a student the relationship of the length of the line being cast to the stroke length and haul length?
Answer: Short Cast /
Short Stroke / Short Haul, Long Cast / Long Stroke / Long Haul GOOD SHORT
ANSWER. BE READY TO GO IN TO MORE DETAIL IF ASKED. ON THE LENGTH OF
THE HAUL, YOU SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONCEPT OF THE LENGTH AND POWER
APPLICATION TO THE HAUL BEING AN ALMOST MIRROR IMAGE OF THAT OF THE FLY
ROD.
· Describe how you teach the roll cast.
Answer: Explain the purpose of the cast and its uses. The cast is a 2 part cast with the parts somewhat disconnected.
1st The
Backcast – the objective is to place all of the line except for the last foot or
so of fly line behind the caster in a large D-loop with the line aligned with
the rod of the caster at 1800 from the target. Do so slowly by
lifting rod arm with the rod parallel to the water, once the line begins to
slide towards the caster, lift the rod tip (rotation) until the rod is at about
WORKS ... BUT TO HAVE THE
STUDENT ABLE TO RELATE TO A REAL FISHING SITUATION, BEST DONE ON WATER WITH
THE FLY ABOUT 1 TO 1 1/2 ROD LENGTHS IN FRONT OF HIM/HER, HOWEVER CAN WELL BE
DONE ON GRASS, TOO. I'D PREFER NO REFERENCE TO THE CLOCK FACE. THE
IDEA (AS I SEE IT) IS THAT YOU MUST TEACH THAT THE ROD SHOULD BE
POSITIONED SO THE LINE HANGING DOWN FROM THE TIP IS
BEHIND THE CASTER. ALSO, THAT THE ROD SHOULD BE IN
AT LEAST A SLIGHTLY OFF VERTICAL ROD PLANE. YOUR DESCRIPTION OF LIFTING
THE ELBOW IS ONE WAY OF DOING IT, BUT THAT GETS IN TO
STYLE.
2nd The
Forward Cast – is a standard forward cast with special attention paid to the
application of power. No power should be applied before the rod is
vertical (
Use – To raise a
sinking line or weighted fly or when there is limited space to back
cast. MANY USES. CERTAINLY NOT LIMITED TO
SINKING LINES AND/OR WEIGHTED FLIES. CHECK THIS
OUT.
· What
are the attributes of a good instructor?
YES.
Answer: To motivate
your students to become better casters / fishermen through effective
communication (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) to understand in improve there
casting and enjoyment of the sport.
Attributes: Knowledgeable, Organized, Enthusiastic, Flexible, A Leader, Fun, Good Listener, Liberal with Praise and Willing to Learn.
· What
characteristics do poor instructors exhibit?
Answer: Egotistical,
Disorganized, Inflexible, Negative, Inconsiderate, Impatient, Know it
all. YES.
· How
do you teach? What is your teaching methodology?
Answer: I try to
provide an open friendly environment for all to learn. I attempt to be
encouraging while stimulating a drive to improve, but overall to remember this
should be fun. Everyone should progress at a rate appropriate for them and
see personal results rather than be competitive. In addition, to
instruction, I try to give them time for self discovery by allowing them time to
practice without comment when possible. GOOD. BE PREPARED TO BE ASKED TO GO
INTO SPECIFICS AND MORE DETAIL.
· What communication methods do you use with your students?
Answer: Auditory, Visual, and
Kinesthetic
MIGHT ADD A FOURTH: COGNITIVE . THIS DESCRIBES THE STUDENT WHO LEARNS BEST BY THINKING AND FIGURING THINGS OUT .... SCIENTIFIC OR ENGINEERING FOLKS, ETC.
· What methodology do you use for curing casting problems?
Answer: I like Bruce Richards 6 Step
Method – Line, Rod, Body then Body, Rod, Line BE PREPARED
FOR THIS (GOOD) ANSWER TO LEAD YOU IN TO THE NEED TO EXPLAIN OTHER METHODS ....
SUCH AS ED JAWOROWSKI'S METHOD ( TROUBLESHOOTING THE CAST, ED
JAWOROWSKI.
)
· When
would you use a kinesthetic (hands-on) approach to cure a problem?
Answer: When my
explanations and demonstrations do not work, or there is a lack of
time.
· You
have one student who has never cast before and you have only 5 minutes to teach
him/her. What is your approach?
Answer:
Kinesthetic WELL..... THAT IS ONE APPROACH. SEVERAL
WAYS OF DOING THIS. BE SURE, IF ASKED TO DEMONSTRATE THIS TO
AN EXAMINER WHO IS TAKING THE PART OF THE STUDENT, THAT YOU TAKE VERY
LITTLE OF THIS PRECIOUS 5 MINUTES TO DEMONSTRATE. DO ALMOST ALL OF YOUR
INSTRUCTION WITH THE FLY ROD IN THE STUDENT'S HAND
!
· You
have 6 students and 1 hour. Please outline your
approach.
Answer: Assuming a class of beginners or near beginners, I would demonstrate a few false casts and then explain that a Fly Rod is simply a flexible lever which can only do two things bend and straiten. Then explain that the way to perform a strait line cast is to follow the 5 Essentials. Next I would perform some ground loops and have the students begin performing them with 20 to 25 feet of line outside the rod tip. I would have them concentrate on accelerating to a crisp stop, dropping the line to the ground after each stroke forward and backward. Next I would concentrate on an appropriate stroke length and arc. Once they have begun to get comfortable I would have them put the strokes together and work on timing. After they start to get comfortable or frustrated I will stop them and explain several different styles of casting, strengths and weaknesses of those styles and grips. Next we would work on the pick-up and lay-down cast forward, backward and together. Often with rank beginners I have trouble getting much farther. I usually have the casters practice above while holding the line with their rod hand only. If they are doing well I will get them to use their line hand to hold the line and concentrate on not allowing slack to form between the rod hand and the first guide. Then we will work on shooting line.
BEFORE YOUR EXAM, CONTRACT THIS DOWN TO OUTLINE FORM AS A LESSON PLAN. ALSO, BE READY TO PRESENT YOUR OWN LESSON PLANS FOR THE CLASSES YOU HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN TEACHING IN SIMPLE OUTLINE FORM.
IF YOU CAN GET THEM TO SHOOT LINE IN ONLY ONE HOUR, YOU ARE DOING WELL. BE PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE: "WHEN DO YOU TEACH THEM A ROLL CAST ?" OR : " YOUR STUDENTS ARE STANDING, ROD IN HAND, WITH A PILE OF LINE ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF THEM. WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT ?"
EXPECT THAT MANY
QUESTIONS WILL FOLLOW. THESE WILL BE DESIGNED TO BE ANSWERED PROPERLY ONLY
IF YOU REALLY HAVE HAD EXTENSIVE ACTUAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE. ONE OF
THE PRINCIPLE REASONS FOR FAILURE ON THE MCCI EXAM HAS BEEN LACK OF THIS
ACTUAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE. ALL ON THE CBOG AGREED WITH THIS
!
· You
have 10 students and an afternoon to teach them. Outline your approach. How much
time would you give to each part of your outline?
Answer: Start same as above. Work on casting to targets, false casting and casting on multiple planes. Then I would work on the single and double haul. I would then work on the roll cast and finish with more work on false casting and the double haul.
GIVEN ONLY ONE
AFTERNOON, YOU MAY BE CHALLENGED ON
YOUR REASONING BEHIND THE TEACHING OF THE DOUBLE HAUL SO
SOON.
·
Describe how you teach the double haul.
Answer: Describe the
reason for the double haul using Dusty’s demo with the student holding the
line. Pantomime, pantomime with a rubber band. Using approximately
30 ft of line single haul forward, drop turn straiten out the line and
repeat. Single haul back cast the same as forward. False cast with a
single haul forward, same backwards then together and shoot line.
· Your
student wants to cast for distance. What do you tell the student to do to
achieve distance?
Answer: Concentrate on tight loops and high line speed. Work on efficient double hauls and shooting line. When practicing work on carrying more and more line efficiently.
GOOD SHORT ANSWER.
IF ASKED FOR MORE, YOU
WILL NEED A LOT MORE DETAIL, HERE TO ANSWER THE LIKELY FOLLOW-UP
QUESTIONS. BEST WAY, I THINK, IS TO CAREFULLY STUDY BILL GAMMEL'S METHOD
.. HIS VIDEO, "TEACHING YOURSELF TO FLY CAST" GOES A LONG WAY TOWARD
PROVIDING ANSWERS. IF YOU GET THE CHANCE, TAKE JEFF WAGNER'S WORKSHOP
ON DISTANCE CASTING.
· Your
student has listened to your explanation of application of power but doesn't
seem to understand. What would you do differently to get the message across?
Answer: Kinesthetic and casting together. HERE, YOU NEED SEVERAL THINGS FOR YOUR BAG OF TRICKS. AN EXAMPLE:
WITH THIS STUDENT, ONE METHOD WHICH WORKS FOR ME, IS TO TEACH SMOOTH APPLICATION OF POWER BY HAVING HIM/HER PLACE THE FLYLINE OUT ON THE WATER AND TRY TO MAKE A SMOOTH, CONTROLLED PICK UP WITHOUT DISTURBING THE WATER ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY. THEN I LAY THE LINE ON THE WATER, HAVE THE STUDENT FACE THE OTHER WAY AND REPEATEDLY DO THE SAME THING. ONLY WHEN THIS IS MASTERED TO I HAVE THE CASTER GO, "AIRBORNE" AND DO IT WITH FALSE CASTING. THIS HELPS ME TEACH SMOOTH APPLICATION OF POWER.
· Your
new student's back cast lacks adequate speed and is directed downward. How do
you tell the student to fix these problems?
Answer: First fix the speed problem – move faster, apply more power / quicker stroke. Then fix the downward direction, stiffen wrist, stop sooner / higher. Demonstrate. YOU NEED SEVERAL MORE METHODS IN YOUR, "BAG OF TRICKS". A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES: 1. HAVE THE STUDENT SQUEEZE THE THUMB AND FOREFINGER TOGETHER IN A, "PINCH" AT THE END OF THE BACK CAST. 2. TRY THE STUDENT WITH A BORGER 3 POINT GRIP. 3. ONE I LIKE, IS TO HAVE THE STUDENT WATCH THE BACK CAST AND TRY TO AIM IT AT A CLOUD, A TREE, OR A ROOF BEHIND. 4. HAVE THE STUDENT CAST WITH A BERM OR A WALL OR DUNE BEHIND. ....EXPLAIN AND DEMO THE, "OUT-OF-CONTROL-WRIST" ........ MANY OTHERS.
GORDY