Improving Our Lesson Programs....

by John Leonard

          “Modeling the Right Stuff”

One of the best ways to improve our swim lessons program is to recognize and utilize the concept that today’s children all over the world, are visual learners.

They learn less well by listening and learn better by watching and then modeling.

For the swim instructor, this means less talking, more SHOWING.

The most effective way to do this is with little humans who look just like the little humans who are being taught. Using an instructor to demonstrate is “OK” and certainly better than nothing, but its much more powerful, when trying to show 7 year old how to do something, to use one of the “big kids”...an eight year old!

The more that students can see someone who “looks like them” doing the skill, the better transference of learning will take place....which is a fancy way of saying that they can “see themselves doing it” much better than if a teenager or an adult instructor demonstrates.

I like to teach in two groups. Group 1 and Group 2. If I have 6 children in my group, 3 become “1’s” and 3 become “2’s”.

So the rhythm of my group is “Ok, 6 bobs, group 1, Ready! Go!” When 1’s finish, “Group 2, 6 bobs, ready, Go!” While group 1 is “working”, group 2 is WATCHING and vice versa. This means that they are constantly seeing their peers succeed...and then very quickly its their turn and so on throughout the lesson. We move quickly, so no one is sitting and watching for more than a 15 second period...just enough to visually get the idea and grab a breath of rest.

The visual teaching is excellent, but not so long as to become boring, and the “rest-work” ratio is just about perfect for excellent, fast paced learning. Give it a try. You’ll like it! All the Best, John Leonard

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Improving our Learn to Swim

POSTED: 4/29/2009

Fixing the infamous "one foot turned out, one foot turned in" of breatstroke kick fame...

When teaching breaststroke, one of the most commonly seen problems, is the child who can turn one foot outward to do the breaststroke kick, but the other foot stubbornly refuses to turn outward... and the question becomes, how to fix this?

I have seen this problem since I began coaching in 1970 and have heard it expressed by other coaches in the well over 100 Level 2 Stroke School Courses I have taught since 1985. It seems to be "one in every crowd" of learn to swim students has this problem.

In 2001, I learned the "magic trick" during a clinic in Hamilton, New Zealand, when a young lady in her 70's told me that her 7 year old grandson had a solution... and like all great solutions, I recognized the genius of it immediately as my foot moved in its shoe.

He said "grandma, all you need to do is FAN YOUR TOES!"

If, like me, you immediately tried that in your footwear, you know instantly that it works. Take it to the pools this afternoon and try it.

Its an immediate teaching fix. Wow.

All the Best, John Leonard

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POSTED: 2/20/2009

A SWIMMING LESSON for the “SUPER BOWL” HALF-TIME SHOW!
3 STEPS in 3 MINUTES

By Jim Reiser

PICTURE THIS:  Your swimming lesson is taking place on the 50-yard line for the SUPER BOWL HALF TIME SHOW!  Over 80,000 people are watching LIVE, not to mention millions of viewers at home!  All your students have special waterproof microphones on so EVERYONE in the stadium can hear them (and you)! 

This is your big chance to show what a great teacher you are! 

Here’s the kicker:  You have to teach 4 five-year olds.  You have never met any of these children before.  All you know is they can do some freestyle but they CAN  NOT breathe to the side properly.  The biggest challenge--you have 3 minutes to make your impression!

Sound impossible?  It’s not!  JUST USE THIS 3-STEP STRATEGY & YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL, on this day, and every day that you teach!

It’s called “CHORAL RESPONDING!”  You simply say:

• “Say what I say” or . . .
• “Repeat after me”
•  THEN, one at a time--announce the cues.

STEP #1
For example, you’re teaching the Side Breathing for Freestyle: 
            YOU:  “Say what I say--OY!”
            STUDENTS:  “OY!”
            YOU:   “Breathe”
            STUDENTS:  “Breathe”
            YOU:  “Stroke One, Stroke Two”
            STUDENTS:  “Stroke One, Stroke Two”

STEP #2
Then COMBINE CHORAL RESPONDING WITH A DEMONSTRATION of the Freestyle with Side Breathing.
            YOU:  “Now SAY THOSE WORDS while I do it.”
            (Start with your breath and say the beginning with them.)
STUDENTS: “Breathe, Stroke One, Stroke Two, Breathe, Stroke One, Stroke
                        Two, Breathe, Stroke One, Stroke Two . . . ”  

STEP #3
Give Your Start Signal and Practice!
            YOU:  “Jeb and Nolan—READY GO!”
            (5 seconds later)
            YOU:  “Sarah & Allie—READY GO!”

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POSTED: 1/29/2009

How to Get Your Student’s Attention & KEEP IT!

By Jim Reiser

Learning is an every day occurrence. If you are the type of person who says, “I know that, I do that, I’m a 10, 10, 10, 10, 10.” You will never reach your potential nor will the people who work for you. I don’t hire these types of people. Nor should you. I am not one of those types of people. I hope you aren’t either. Personally, I am learning every day. I even learn from my most inexperienced employees. I learn from my best employees and every one in between. I learn from reading. I learn from writing. I learn from observing, and most of all--I learn from listening.

Do you want to be the best you can be? Then simply ask yourself: “How good am I at that?” If you ask that question and you answer it honestly, you will take your teaching and those teachers around you to a level you never thought possible.

No teacher is perfect. No class is the same. No one technique is iron clad. But through years of real experience--I know one thing is for sure: If you care, if you study, if you dedicate yourself to being the best you can be—your students’ will learn more effectively, your business will grow, and you will make a difference in a child’s life.

When you’re reading today’s article, ASK YOURSELF TWO QUESTIONS:

#1 Can you really be effective without your student’s attention?

It seems almost unnecessary to point out that students must be listening to benefit from any instructions you or your teachers are about to give them, yet it is one of the most common mistakes I see teachers making.

You can have the best task presentation in the world, but it is worthless without the attention of your students.

To start effective teaching, you must first give an effective command. A few commands I use and like:

• “Ducks in a row!”
• “Stand like soldiers!”
• “On the bench please!”
• “2nd step please!”
• “Oy!”

Is the specific command that you use important? Not so much! BUT whether you are teaching a Private lesson or a Group lesson--what is important is that you take charge of your lesson with a clear, precise command so that your student(s)knows exactly when to be ready to listen and learn!

What do you do AFTER you have their attention?
You lose it by telling your young students’ everything you know about swimming. You throw the “whole kitchen sink at them” so to speak! Why not? You’re a swimming expert. That’s why you were hired, right? WRONG!!! This is, however, precisely why you will FAIL when teaching a young learner. Young students, especially beginners, can’t handle all that information. They just want to have fun. When they are learning to swim, they’re just trying not to sink to the bottom, and they certainly don’t want you to throw the whole kitchen sink at them! Swim in the kitchen sink? Now they may take you up on that. That’s sounds like fun!

Research clearly concludes that young learners need your explanations to be short and sweet, communicating the general idea of the skill, not the details (Fitts & Posner, 1967). The next step is to create an effective set of cues or buzzwords for each skill you teach. The cues/buzzwords clearly communicates the fundamentals of the skill to your young learners in a way the child can understand, which is exactly what you want. From there, you can either “demonstrate” or give them your “start signal.” You get them into practice. Young students especially need as much practice as possible to learn how to swim. ELIMINATE DOWN TIME—INCREASE PRACTICE TIME!
At Swim Lessons University, we give you the cues we use for every skill and every
stroke in each of my DVD’s and laminated lesson plans. If you own a swim school, it is 10x as critical that you have a predetermined set of cues for skills and strokes. If your school is going to successfully grow, you must have consistency from what one teacher teaches to the next. I believe that this is the backbone of your growth and success.

Parents will talk about your teachers, whether they had a good experience or a bad one. One or two bad apples can severely hinder your growth and success. Customers talk 10x more about the bad experiences. Why? They want to make sure their friends don’t have the same bad experience they did. That’s being a good friend. On the other hand, if you’re teachers are exceptional—they’ll talk about that too! AND they will be LOYAL! Loyal parents will bring their children back to you for more lessons and will tell all their friends to do the same!

At our local swim school, The Swim Lessons Company, a franchise-prototype school in Columbia, SC—consistency has been the lifeblood of our success. With 7 locations and over 50 SLU certified teachers nothing could be more important. When a mother enrolls her child in lessons at The Swim Lessons Company, she knows her child is going to get a superior product (swim lesson) and unparalleled customer service!

DON’T MISS “The Swim Professor’s” next column on new strategies that will engage your learners like you’ve never thought possible!

6/3/2008

Lets concentrate on leaving the wall properly and developing an effective kick.

When we leave the wall properly we are streamlined.

1. teach “front-ready position” – one hand and both feet on the wall. body on its side....one side “pointing” out towards the pool. Swimmer “drops down underwater as the wall hand goes behind the head and meets the “water hand” out in front of the body. Push off the wall with both feet and first glide for a count of 2, then KICK.
2. The kick continues on the side – “side glide-kick”..with one hand extended out in front, ear tucked inside the shoulder, and body on its side, with the legs kicking (toes pointed) within the “shadow” of the body...nice small, fast kicks.
   
   (please avoid kicking on the front...when swimming freestyle, over 90% of the kicking force is applied while on the side, so we teach incorrect body position and kicking in the wrong plane when we are on the belly.)
   
   (and leaving the wall properly is the basis for all other skills...streamline and kick off the wall. The swimmer will do that the rest of their life correctly if you teach it correctly initially.)

John Leonard

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5/21/2008

Using a Tempo Trainer in Learn to Swim.

FINIS, Inc. makes a $25.00 tool that is highly useful. The Tempo Trainer can be set for any repetition number/speed. Typically it is set for a “stroke cycle” (right hand entry back to right hand entry.) The adjustment is as simple as two buttons (faster or slower cycle speed.)

When a child is at the stage where they can use their arms, but can’t breath yet, we want to begin to teach them to have a rhythmic stroke. So set the Tempo Trainer to 1.7 seconds per stroke cycle, put it on their goggle strap just behind the ear, (on the bone) and ask them to “Get their right hand in the water every time they hear the beep”.

1.7 seconds is the slowest time for a stroke cycle that will aim them towards effective swimming.

The effect is to improve the rhythm of their stroke. In turn, learning to breath is much easier if the arm action is rhythmic and steady.

Of course, you can use the Tempo Trainer all the way throughout their progression even once they have learned to breath. It will help them at all levels, once the arm action is initially being learned.

John Leonard

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5/13/2008

Your Voice.

One of the least recognized and most important tools that you have as a teacher is literally, Your Voice. The way that you use your voice, the inflection and emotion, the excitement or other emotions you convey with your voice is one of the best ways to effectively teach children.

Here’s a few tips:

1. We have all heard the stern voice. Can you do it? Its vital when teaching. You need to be able to let people know you mean business. Your facial expression needs to match your voice.
2. We all recognize the “excited voice”...a little higher in pitch and full of “enthusiasm”. This is our “encouraging voice” and recognized by all as such. We use it to encourage repeat behavior.
3. We need to remember that when we teach, we are “commanding”, not “asking”. Its not “we’re going to bob underwater now, Ok?” it is “We’re going underwater. Hold your breath when i count to three. One, Two, Three, GO!” You are not asking if the child “wants” to do something. You are telling them what you and they are going to do. Match your voice and your language to the situation. It is not a matter of if the child “wants” to blow bubbles, it is that they are going to learn to blow bubbles in order to learn to swim and be safe in the water. Sound like that.
4. Enthusiasm builds enthusiasm. Children can tell instantly if their teacher is bored. Be enthusiastic by voice. If you’re having a bad day, “fake it till you make it”. You’re being paid to do a great job. That means enthusiasm for learning to swim.
5. When you need to get children’s attention, do not compete with them on volume of voice. Don’t yell. Be quiet. Speak quietly. Make them be quiet in order to hear you. Raising the volume will often just encourage them to raise their volume.

Explain quietly with your voice that they are there to learn, you are there to teach and you expect them to be quiet when you are speaking

Your voice is one of your best teaching tools. Use it.

John Leonard

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5/5/2008

Instructors Body Language says a lot to children.

When the instructor/coach hops into the pool, joyously and excitedly takes a few strokes and comes up smiling, it speaks volumes.

When the instructor/coach tentatively “toes in” and makes a face that says “the water’s cold and i don’t want to get in” that also speaks volumes.

When the instructor/coach is demonstrating EVERYTHING that the swimmer should be doing, in a “follow me” manner, that is the best possible teaching.

When the instructor/coach is standing with her hands under her armpits and has not gotten her hair wet in the first two minutes she’s in the pool, and says “do this, do that” without explanation, it is not surprising that the child does not learn.

When the instructor/coach displays enthusiasm for what they are doing, that enthusiasm spreads. When there is a lack of enthusiasm, that also spreads.

Students watch their teachers. Students copy their teachers. Students behave like their teachers.

Make sure your body language and what you say with it, is the message you mean to convey.

John Leonard

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4/21/2008

In every learn to swim progression, there is a place where swimmers are learning to use their arms in a continuous fashion, with recovery above the water. Typically this is done without taking a breath.

One of the key points in learning to swim is to establish a swimming “rhythm” that the breathing can fit into. A “tool” from the competitive swimming world can be very helpful at this point.

The tool is called a Tempo Trainer, and is available from the FINIS equipment company, for a very reasonable cost. I’d advise each learn to swim program to invest in 3-4 of these.

The use is simple. Set the timing device (no more difficult than setting your digital wristwatch) for somewhere between 1.5 and 2.0 seconds per cycle. (2.0 for the newest swimmers, 1.5 for the best of your learn to swim students.) and ask them to have their right (or left) hands enter the water every time they hear the “beep” from the timer. The Tempo Trainer attached to their goggle strap right behind the ear and sits on the headbone and can be clearly heard by the swimmer.

This will give them a cycle (two armstrokes) every 2.0 seconds, a very good tempo to “learn at”. Later, they can progress down to 1.5 seconds for two strokes, which is actually a nice racing tempo for a 10 and under swimmer. Having the sound que is the best way to inculcate good rhythm into their stroke, and it has the added benefit of being FUN!

In the next step, they can maintain use of the Tempo Trainer when learning to roll their body to the side and get a breath and maintain a good steady rhythm then as well.

All the Best, John Leonard

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3/24/2008

One of the key items in good teaching of anything is the “connection” between the teacher and the student. In learn to swim, coaches/teachers can improve this connection in several ways:

1. Learn and USE the child’s name on a regular basis. (3-5 times per ½ hour session.)
2. Get down to eye level when speaking. Be eye to eye with the child, either on land on or in the water. “looking up” to learn is not the best way to do things. Make it easy...eye to eye.
3. Use language that is easy for the child to understand. Don’t make “what does she mean by that?” be a barrier.
4. Ask the child a few questions about what they like away from the pool. Learn just a little bit about them....do they have brothers and sisters? pets? do they have a pool at their home?
   What is their favorite TV show? Why? Don’t pry, but learn a little bit about the person...sometimes you can relate that to the teaching/learning experience.
5. YOU run the lesson. The child needs a teacher, not a peer. Your confidence that they can learn to swim will transfer to the child. Don’t “ask”. Say “this is what we’re doing next” and stick to it. Be gentle, but firm in what you are doing next. Children today are excellent manipulators or adults. You run the show. Their life depends on it.

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3/17/2008

The fastest way to improve your teaching is also the most painful. Get someone you know to video tape you when you are not aware that they are doing so, then go home and study it.

What does your “aspect” say to your students? What does your face say? Does your look match your words? What about your body language? Are you “too scary”? Are you too listless?

Do you portray and exude energy? Are you smiling? Do you look students in the eye? Nothing can be done without enthusiasm. You have to transfer your enthusiasm for learning to swim to your students.

What about those days when you’re tired and you don’t feel enthusiastic? You have two choices. You can “be a kid” and give in to the tired and say “i just don’t feel like it”. Or, you can be an adult and overcome......”fake it till you make it”. Amazingly, if you put a smile on your face and “fake enthusiasm” for just a few minutes, you will indeed become more enthusiastic. You just can’t sulk with a smile on your face. An adult, a professional, focuses on the child...the reason to be in the pool teaching...and does whatever it takes to make the lesson a good one. You are incredibly important to that child. If you are a “kid” you can focus on the child instead of yourself and become an adult, and a professional. JL

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3/3/2008

Boys - The New York Times Magazine on Sunday, March 2, had a very extensive article on the differences in teaching boys and teaching girls. It is highly relevant to Learn to Swim.

The primary point that we care about is that boys are ACTIVE learners. If they aren't moving, they rarely learn. They don't learn best by listening, unless they are listening while they are moving.

They don't learn well with direct eye contact. They learn standing NEXT to the instructor, not across from the instructor. Eye contact at the same time they are trying to process information does not work. They have to "go blank" visually, in order to learn by listening. Best it to listen WHILE moving.

For boys, learning while sitting still on the steps of the pool, just won't work very well.

Girls, conversely, will listen while eye contact is being made. They are well designed to "sit still and listen." They may NOT be as good at learning while moving. The moving may distract them from the listening.

And they do better watching first, then imitating. Boys will want to try it immediately. Girls want to see it done a few times, since they "absorb more" of the information at one time than the boys do.

The bottom line of the article was that ideal learning situations for boys are not ideal for girls, and vice versa. We may not be able to gender separate our classed, but we can be gender aware when we are teaching....of what works best for each gender. JL

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2/25/2008

Our topic this week is a simple one: Effective Demonstrations.

First, remember that today's children are uniformly best at VISUAL LEARNING. The environment in which they have grown up (computers, TV, Video Games) is entirely visually based. Many experienced instructors will tell you that without a doubt, the current generation of children is the least able of any in memory to assimilate verbal instructions....and i shudder to think what might happen with written instructions.

So you have to SHOW them.......with as few words as possible.

Now, what are the best ways to show them?

First, all of us want to be like “the big kids”.

To a seven year old, the big kid is nine. Not 15. A fifteen year old looks like an adult to a seven year old.

So your first best option is to do a demonstration with a same age, or slightly older child. Seeing someone of their own size and body type do the skill relates to the learner much better than anything else.

The second best option is for the instructor themselves to provide the demonstration. This is far better than no demonstration and should always be done if there is not a child in the class who can perform adequately.

The teaching language goes like this.

“Class, we’re now going to learn about pushing off the wall, streamlining and kicking.”

“Sally, will you show the class what a streamline looks like? Good, Thank you. Everyone see that? OK, on three, everyone up into a streamline while you stand on the bottom” One, two, three.....Good!”

“Now, we start in the front ready position. Sean show us a front ready position....Good, thank you, nicely done. Everyone now, front ready position”.

“We’re going to follow Sally now, and here is what we are going to do...Front ready position, READY, GO, then streamline underwater and kick to the surface” Sally? Ready, GO! Good, Great demonstration. Everyone see that? Ok, group one going, group 2 watching, group one, front ready position....Ready, Go!”

“Group two, following Sean...Sean, front ready position, READY, GO!....Good, everyone now, Group two.......”

It should be fast paced, action oriented, keep things moving. Demonstration, practice, demonstration, practice, etc. No breaks, no pauses, make the children strain to pay attention and “keep up”.

If someone is failing to keep up, let them sit and watch “for a moment” until they can see the pattern of what you are doing. Then they are right back into the action.

Children learn by seeing, then doing.........Demonstration, then practice.

Thanks for attending to this need. All the best, JL

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2/18/2008

I would like the following to be done to improve our lessons operation.

1. Issue: We have too many inactive children at any given moment. We solve this by dividing the group with each instructor into two groups and each does an activity “together”. “OK, 1’s are bobbing. 10 bobs. Ready Go. 2’s, front ready position, streamline, glide and stand up. Ready. Go.” Then push off the bottom, glide back to the wall. Now, 1’s glide, 2’s bob. NO ONE STANDS AND WATCHES! The goal is all children actively learning all the time. Keep the whole class in front of you all the time so you can see them for safety. With only a very few exceptions, everyone can stand, so this will work. SHOW THEM how to reverse their hands and stand up. Put the shortest in the shallowest water.

2. Issue: Lack of demonstrations. Kids today learn by WATCHING and SEEING, not be listening to words. DEMONSTRATE FOR THEM, EVERYTHING YOU WANT DONE. Over and over again. Once you have demonstrated a few times, use the best student...like this.... “OK, we’re going to do a back pushoff and float. I want everyone watching Shawna....back ready position, ready, Go!....everyone see? Now, lets go. back ready position, 1’s ready, Go! (they go, then stand up, then push off the bottom and go back...) Now, 2’s, back ready position, Ready, Go! and repeat. We need a lot more action and a lot less talking. We need a lot more demonstration and a lot less talking. They learn by doing. Get them DOING a lot more. Thanks. John