Teaching Q&A - Followup

Walter...

Some good thoughts in your answers.

Now, could you give us more details to question 4.) c. (Just how you would actually carry out the afternoon plan..... you have 3 students with different levels of expertise with different goals and objectives. Teach them all at once, teach them seperately, use a better plan ????????????????

Gordy

Gordy - I think you meant 6.c not 4.c. Yes. (Trust a mathematician to notice that error of mine !) G.

I'm going to make some assumptions here:

1. They all want to be taught together and on the same afternoon.

2. There is some reason why I have to do a single 4 hour session rather than breaking it up. With 3 students, 2 of which are beginners,

the students are going to be doing a lot of hands on. I want to make sure that nobody ends up with sore shoulders at the end of the

3. None of them are going to succumb to my earthy charms so we can concentrate on the lessons.. ;-)

4. Start time is noon (12:00)

Assumptions OK. G.

The first issue to deal with is how the experienced person wants to be included in the lessons. Just because has very good casting

skills does not mean that she has had any formal training or that they are familiar with FFF terminology, etc. On the other hand,

maybe she has had several lessons with well grounded FFF trained instructors. Does she see herself as having a degree of

responsibility for ensuring the other two continue to learn and improve after the lesson? Is she on the path to becoming a certified

instructor? Does she just want to improve on her existing skill set and not worry about the others.

Good ! Get on target with this student. Find out what she is looking to achieve and what she needs. G.

1. Explain facilities (bathrooms, snack or drink location), protocol (fully interactive so ask questions and if ya gotta go, ya gotta go),

(allow 5 minutes, current time is now 12:05)

2. For the two beginners (and an advanced caster who is unfamiliar with FFF terminology) the plan consists of teaching some

initial terminology and equipment knowledge (parts of the rod, how to assemble the rod, how to hold the rod, what is a loop, when I say

30 feet of line that means from reel to casting yarn).

(allow 20 minutes, current time is now 12:25)

From here on most stuff done as a combination of tell (me), show and demonstrate (me), try (student) , evaluate (me and student one on one),

retry (student). Protocol still allows for q&a at anytime.

3. Ground casting introduction. Explain and demonstrate loop formation and having the line land in a straight line.

I demonstrate and explain the basic ground cast without false casting, just a simple forward cast, stop, let

line come to complete stop, back cast, stop, repeat. Explain and demonstrate arc and how it affects cast.

Explain and demonstrate application of power and how it affects the cast. Invite questions. Demonstrate again.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 12:35)

Now let the students try this while I circulate and comment, Ensure that rotation occurs at end of stroke, grip is okay,

arc is good. Make sure students are corking the line. Yes. Control of rod arc and timing of rotation is important at all levels. G.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 12:45)

3. Ground casting part 2.

Get to point of false casting without stopping at end of each cast.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 12:55)

Now let the students try this while I circulate and comment. Watch symmetry. Explain to individuals about watching back cast

as well as forward. I like that. So often this is omitted. G.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 13:05)

4. Some recap on the ground cast. Explain about using this tool to fix casting faults.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 13:15)

5. Basic pick up and lay down cast and explaining principles of slp, smooth application of power, avoiding slack

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 13:25).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction. Emphasize slack - start with rod tip low, etc.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 13:35)

6. Basic pick up and lay down cast and explaining principles of slp, loop shape and size.

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 13:45).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction. Emphasize loop shape and rod position on stop for back cast.

Talk about track, get student to let line fall to ground at end of back cast and see how it settles.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 13:55)

7. Basic false casting and explaining principles of timing, stroke length, power.

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 13:55).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction. Evaluate grip again, vary stance, watch back cast.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 14:05)

8. A good time for a break. Give the muscles a break. Drinks, bathroom. Informal Q&A.

Show how to hook and play the fish. Talk about dry fly/nymph/streamer methods. Use a water bottle for a

fish. Act the part of a fish at the end of the line. Talk about c&r.

Talk about etiquette in a boat and on the river. How not to get in each other's way. Or, in the event they wil be strictly wade fishing, change to instruction relative to that venue. G.

(allow 45 minutes, current time is now 14:50)

9. False casting slipping line. How to use line hand and make sure they uncork the line - review principles of timing, stroke length, power.

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 15:00).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 15:10)

10. Shooting line. review stop and explain timing of shoot.

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 15:20).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 15:30)

11. Mends. review stop and explain timing of shoot. Explain and demonstrate how mend does not

affect destination of fly.

(allow 10 minutes for explanation and demo, current time is now 15:40).

Students try and I provide one on one instruction.

(allow 10 minutes, current time is now 15:50)

12. Accuracy - how to cast to a rising fly in a river vs a lake, etc. How not to raise chaos when lifting

the fly off of the water. Finish up with how to fix a fault (ground casting).

End of the lesson.

Now what is the advanced person doing? They could be shadowing me and learning about being and instructor.

They may be an excellent person to demonstrate while I explain what I am looking for in a particular exercise.

This is a good time to provide them some feedback on what they are doing (like one on one but with the

beginners watching and learning).

They could be doing some of the beginner exercises. They could be taking in the demo and explanation (the same principles apply

regardless of the level of casting) but they could be doing more advanced exercise such as working on the double haul rather than

just slipping or shooting line.

Another option is that after each one on one session with the beginners I can do a quick one on one session with the advanced

person for about 2-3 minutes while the beginners retry the individual lesson

after they've had feedback.

Almost everyone wants to know how to cast farther. Part of the time with the advanced person could be

spent here. Another area is to work on curve casts and complex mends including accuracy.

It's every bit as important to spend face time with the advanced caster and to keep their sessions short to

avoid muscle fatigue.

When I get to the actual lesson I may make modifications to timing of an exercise depending on how the

students perform at each step.

One thing I always like to be on the look out for is signs of frustration or boredom. When doing a one on one with

one student it pays to be watching the other students discretely.

For a class of this size I would also chose a location where I can use the Gary and Jason Borger method of having the

students place themselves in a circle of about 30 foot radius and I stand in the middle of the group when demonstrating

and for some of the observation cycles. I find this provides very good rapport within the class, ensures that everyone

is getting their share of face time, and it allows the students to view the pluses and minuses of what the other students

are doing.

I sometimes do that when giving FFF workshops at a conclave, mainly because my student : instructor ratio may be 7:1 ..

Here, I'd see it as an option. Since you only have 3 students, I suppose you would have a triangle. When Jason does this, he stands at the center for instruction and critique (Gives him the unique opportunity to evaluate each student's cast from head-on ), then he moves between each for individual coaching.

You have what I'd consider a good lesson plan, here ! As I pointed out, earlier, because of the diverse abilities of these three students, you'll have to be flexible with your time schedule. I'm sure you are well aware of that, Walter.

You'll have a busy afternoon ...... and these students will likely have a much more successful trip. Especially if you finish by statements which inspire them to practice what they have learned before they go. Done that way, these skills hopefully will be ground into their chromosomes!

Gordy