Pass or Hold?

It's the end of the first swimming lessons session of the year today.  It's the day to hand out report cards to my students (or their parents), letting them know if they will proceed to the next level or stay in the current level.  This means, of course, that I have to decide whether they are ready for the next level (or not).  Sometimes it's an easy yes, or an easy no.  But often, there are students right on the edge...students who can do most of the skills well but have one weakness, or have worked very hard and improved a ton but still aren't quite up to snuff.  So I have come up with a list of questions to ask myself when deciding whether or not to pass a student.

In order of importance:
1. Can the student do all the individual skills on the checklist?
Most of the time, if the answer is no, then the student should not move on to the next level.  I do sometimes make an exception, depending on the skill.  For example, I have had students in level 4 that are great swimmers, and easily complete all skills for stroke performance and endurance. But they cannot dive.  To me, diving is not one of the most important skills in the program.  I have passed students into level 5 if they cannot dive. 

2. Can the student do the assessment skills?
Even if the student can do all the skills individually, they still have to do the skills assessment.  This is a requirement for Red Cross, and a good indication of success in the next level.  It is there to test the student's endurance, and ability to link skills together. 

3. Would I want to teach this student in the next level?
If the answer is no, then I don't pass them.

4. Is this the student's first time in this level?
If it is, that may help me decide to keep them in the current level to solidify the skills they have worked on.

5. Has the student reached a plateau, or do I feel the student can keep up their improvement?
Sometimes, a student needs the challenge of a new level to push them to keep improving.  They may have to stay in that level for a few sessions, but their skills will evolve more quickly than if held to the current level. 

Adult Swimming Lessons

I filled in for another instructor Saturday morning, for an adult swimming class.  It's been a while since I've taught adults in a formal setting, and I was struck by how different, and yet how similar adult lessons can be to children's lessons. 

The two adults I had in the class were a married couple.  They signed their kids up for lessons...and then signed themselves up for lessons as well!  Their goals were simple; they just wanted to get better at swimming.  While that give me a lot of flexibility as an instructor, it also gives me a challenge.  Where to focus?  What does "better" mean?  Better at distance swimming?  Better at strokes? Able to swim to shore if they fall out of a boat?  The nice thing about adults is that you can ask them these questions.  Why are you here?  Do you want to learn all six strokes, or just focus on a few?  Unfortunately, sometimes they don't have specific goals; it's up to you as the instructor to structure the class. 

Running an adult class is very much the same as running a class for kids.  The main difference is in your communication.  You can talk to your students as peers.  You can explain the hydrodynamics behind stokes.  You can start a drill and not have to repeat yourself six times.  There are also few, if any, class management issues with adults.  Most are there to learn, as as such will focus on the teacher and preform the drills to the best of their ability without too much disruption. 

The psychological difference between kids and adults can also make the class more challenging.  Generally, kids are more daring, and only a few will have had previous bad experiences with swimming.  Adults, on the other hand, can be very cautious.  They may be at lessons because of a negative experience in the past, and may be paralysed by their fears.   Adults may also be "patterned", meaning that they have been doing things the same way for so long that it will take a lot of time for them to change their routines.   The woman I taught on Saturday told me that she has never put her face in the water without plugging her nose.  EVER.  For 35 years.  That's not something you're going to come across with a ten-year-old.

Physically, adults may be more challenging to teach than children.  Some are out of shape, some have joints and body parts that don't move as easily as they used to.  Adults are also less plastic in their motor skill development, meaning they may need more practice time to allow their muscles to move correctly and effortlessly. 

The husband and wife duo were at two different skill levels.  The husband was comfortable in the water, but had very little finesse.  Like many athletes unfamiliar with swimming, he tried to muscle his way through the water, with stiff muscles and lots of splashing.  The challenge with his was to slow down and relax, focusing on smooth technique over speed.  I gave him a few pointers, and then started him on doing slow laps with both front crawl and back crawl.  If a student has a good flutter kick, crawl strokes are the easiest place to start, and familiar to the student. 

With the wife, I had a bit more of a challenge.  She could do a front crawl stroke with her face out of the water, but was very unsure of putting her face in.  I was able to explain why it is necessary to submerge the face while swimming, and give her a focus for practicing her breathing.  As with a child, I had her exhale out of her nose, and practice while standing in chest deep water before attempting it while swimming.  Unlike with a child, I was able to give her logical reason to overcome her fear.  I explained that if she would like to swim for fitness, holding her head up would cause fatigue in the neck and shoulder muscles and could lead to injuries in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.  

Both adults could swim the crawl strokes passably well, but I wanted to give them other options.  I decided to teach them breaststroke.  The kick and stroke technique was exactly the same as I would have done with kids.  The difference is that I could add hydrodynamic principles to my explanation.  I told them at which point in the kick they should catch the water, why it was more efficient to keep the feet outside of the knees (even though it feels really awkward at first), and reassure them that this is a resting stroke and so is meant to be sloooooooow. 

Both of them now have more swimming options than just crawl strokes.  They have specific drills and skills to practice on their own.  As an added bonus, the wife actually felt more comfortable putting her face in the water on breaststroke, and so is one step closer to overcoming her fear.  And sometimes, that's the most you can ask for, with adults or with kids. 

Power Struggles

It's the first day of a new session of swimming lessons. 

Staring at me from the deck is an angry 10-year-old with his arms crossed. 

He's not getting in the lap pool. 

The facility I teach at has two pools; a lap pool and a leisure pool.  The leisure pool is shallow, with a zero-depth area and a 3-foot maximum at all other points.  It's also significantly warmer than the lap pool.  Preschool lessons and Levels 1 and 2 are taught in the leisure pool.  Levels 3 and up are taught in the lap pool.  This can cause some anxiety when a student levels up from 2 to 3.  The lap pool is big, it's deep, and it's cold!  Some students need to re-learn their skills in the "big pool", and gain confidence in the fact that swimming is swimming, whether you can touch the bottom or not.  Most of the time, the transition can start in level 2, with an "adventure" to the big pool sometime during the session.  Level 3 teachers understand that they may encounter hesitance or fear of the lap pool and can plan the first few lessons accordingly. 

This is the situation I found myself in on the first day of lessons.  My level 3 class consisted of three students, only one of which had ever been in the lap pool.  The other two students, brothers, were not excited about getting into the water.   In situations like this, it's good to take it slow but still push students to get over their initial apprehension.  So I asked the students to climb in the water.  And two of them did. 

But not Zach. 

He said no. There was no hesitation, no 'I'll try it but so slowly that we waste half the lesson', nothing.  It was simply not going to happen.  If he was a younger student, I may have chosen at that moment to pick him up and put him (slowly) in the water.  Being 10 years old,  I didn't feel like that would be helpful or appropriate.  So what to do? 

Eventually his mom stepped in with some word of encouragement (or a threat, I couldn't be sure) and he started to s-lo-w-l-y get into the pool.  Great....progress.  Now onto floats.  Another emphatic no.  At this point, I decided to play hardball.  I stated my rule "everyone takes a turn", and moved him into a front float.  I asked him to blow bubbles.  He refused.  I said "Ok, we can float until you blow bubbles".  And I held him in a front float while I watched the other two students do their back floats.  Then I asked him again to blow bubbles.  "Fine" and he did.  Victory!  Only problem was, at that point the lesson was almost over, and all I had accomplished with the class was floats.  This is not the way I would like to handle my lessons. 

So after the lesson, I decided I needed a new game plan.  I was not going to allow a 10 year old to power-trip me, but at the same time I realize that forcing someone to do something is not the most productive way to make progress. 

So, what is this student's motivation?  He wants to swim in the leisure pool.  How can I use that to my advantage? 

The next day, I wrote a list of tasks that I wanted to complete in this lesson, and stuck it to a kick board.  When my students showed up, I made a deal with them.   If we can complete all the tasks on this list, then we can spend the rest of the lesson in the other pool.  If we all take our turn and try hard without stalling, we will have more time in the warm pool.  If we can't finish all the things on the list, then we will not have time to swim in the warm pool. 

Zach looked at the list, looked at me, and said "I'll do it".  Huh?  This from the kid who refused to do a float yesterday?  But he did. He got in, he did the activities...and at the end of the lesson, he was smiling.  And I kept my word....we spent the last five minutes in the leisure pool. 

I'm now at the point with this class that I am actually working on skills.  Zach is cheerful, excited to come to class, and improving every day.  Whenever anyone in the class starts to hesitate in participation, all I have to do is pull out the "threat" of no time in the warm pool, and suddenly we have a renewed vigour for swimming!

This strategy works because it is a balance of teacher control and student control.  As the instructor, I set the agenda and decide which pool we swim in.  This is not up for debate by the students.  But the students have control over how much time we spend in the leisure pool.  Do the tasks when I ask, and we have more time in the warm pool.  Stall or screw around, and we won't have any time left.  This means I have to keep my word as well.  I can't all of a sudden decide at the end of the lesson to add more tasks.  I have to plan ahead and give students the reward they earned. 

This class, with these students, has made me a better teacher even after 10 years of teaching.  Lesson learned. 

Class Managment

Class management is one of the most important and most challenging aspects of teaching swimming lessons.  How an instructor organizes class and responds to participant behavior can make or break the class, and either facilitate or sabotage progress in swimming skills.  You can be the best instructor in the world, but if you can't control your class, you are not going to be able to teach a damn thing. 

Some instructors are inexperienced, timid, or lazy.  They allow the students to get away with just about anything.  Classes may seem to be confusing and scattered, with kids in every direction.  Students do not progress very much because they are given little instruction or challenge.

Some instructors are control freaks.  Any minor infraction on the part of the student can reap heavy consequences.  While these teachers often get good results in skill progression, this strategy can sometimes backfire with fearful students.  It can also cause rebellion and attention-getting behavior. 

In the spirit of the middle ground, I will share my class rules and the theory behind them.  Some of these strategies were collected from teaching lessons over the years, figuring out what worked and collaborating with other teachers.  Other strategies came from my "other job" as an animal trainer.  What works with monkeys works surprisingly well with small children as well!

My Rules:
1.  Follow the pool rules
2. Everyone must stay with the class
This rule has two purposes.  The first is obviously safety.  When properly enforced, this rule assures that no student wanders off outside of the supervision of the instructor.  I also use the rule with fearful or reluctant children.  "Staying with the class" may mean sitting on Mom's lap and watching the lesson.  The child is allowed to stay in a safe zone, but is also realizes that this isn't going away...crying and fussing isn't going to get Mom to take me home, or let me play elsewhere in the pool.  Gradually the fearful child graduates to sitting on the side with the class, even if they do not participate in activities.  This leads me to my next rule:
3. Everyone takes a turn
No matter what skill or activity we are working on, every student in my class has to attempt the skill.  What actually occurs during that "turn" depends on the student's comfort level.  I have been known to take a crying child and mold them into a back float before placing them back on the side.  I also find this rule useful for diving, which can be scary for some students. 
4. "Ears up, eyes up"  or "When the teacher is talking, your whole head must be above the water"
This prevents students from going underwater while you are giving instructions or doing demonstrations.  I do allow students freedom to do bobs, etc when I am not directly instructing them, IE during another student's turn.  Kids are much more likely to focus on you when you really need them to if they are allowed to relax when it is not vital. 
5. You may not jump or dive in without permission
Primarily for safety, this also helps my sanity. 
6. Keep your hand on the wall when it is not your turn
With classes of younger students, this is my hard and fast rule.  Holding on to the wall with one hand keeps the kids safe, and in one place!  If I return to the class after instructing a child to find someone with their hand off the wall, I will either redirect them "Where is your hand supposed to be?" and I do not allow them to take their turn until that hand has touched the wall again. With older students, I may make them keep a hand on the wall, or give them an area in which they must stay "Do not go past the ladder" "Do not cross the black line on the bottom of the pool"  Again, if they are out of place, they are redirected and do not get a turn until they are in the proper place. 
 In any level, I try to keep one-on-one instruction to a minimum to reduce the amount of time a child has to wait around with their hand on the wall.  This technique is most successful when you put effort into it initially, and then relax as the students start to catch on.
7. Respect other students
This generally manifests its self as "Keep your hands to yourself" but can also fend off heckling, teasing, bullying, and too much talking.  The best method for dealing with heckling is to cut it off as soon as it happens "We do not say those things in this class" and then drop it.  In many cases, the heckler is looking for attention from other students or the teacher, and will knock it off if they aren't getting any feedback, positive or negative. 

These are my rules, for my classes, at my facility.  Each teacher has to figure out what works best for them.  For example, I always choose the order in which my students go.  This keeps kids from asking "Can I go first?"  "Can I go next" over and over and over....which for some reason annoys the crap out of me.  Other teachers may not have a problem with this, and so may not make this a rule. 

Here are some general tips for managing behavior:
1. Tell your students what you WANT them to do.  "No running" says what NOT to do.  "Walk please" gives them an actual correct behavior to do. 
2. Have an undesirable behavior?  Figure out an incompatible behavior.  For example, it is physically impossible to wander away from the class while simultaneously keeping your butt on the stairs.  Kids can't be in two places at once. 
3.Be specific.  "Stay here" is not specific, and is open to interpretation.  "Keep you bottom on the stair between these two railings" leaves little wiggle room. 
4. Be consistent!  Once you decide on the rules, enforce them for all students, all the time.  Obviously there will be exceptions due to extemporaneous circumstances, but in general, consistency is key!
5. Figure out what your students find rewarding, and use it to shape their behavior.  Your kids love jumping off the diving board?  Use that activity as a reward for following the rules...and let them know that their good behavior earned them this treat!  "Because you guys did such a good job following directions today, we can all jump off the board one time!"  In many cases, simply thanking or praising students for good behavior is reward enough, and can increase compliance in the future. 
6. Address attention-seeking behavior with as little attention as possible.  If it is a safety issue, time outs work well. "I asked you to stay with the class.  Because you did not, you need to sit on the side."  Do not give any attention until the time-out is complete (30 seconds is sufficient). 

Last but not least, remember:  kids will be kids.  They will forget rules, get bored and distracted, fight and argue with each other, get scared, etc.  Don't expect perfection.  Give kids time to be silly, to play, and to relax a bit between activities.  HAVE FUN!  Kids who are interested and engaged in your lesson, and know what to expect from you, are much less likely to misbehave in the first place!

I'm always open to new and creative ways to effectively manage my classes.  Feel free to chime in!