Progression vs. Perfection

There is a fine balance between progression and perfection. I have seen both extremes a ringer who claims to ring surprise minor who couldn’t strike in rounds and a learner whose rounds were practically perfect but didn’t learn plain hunt because the striking wasn’t quite up to scratch.

Progression is important as it allows a new challenge and gets the learner up to speed with the rest of the band, the temptation can be if you are one short for a particular method to bring the learner up to speed quickly to get them to ring what you want, while this is all well and good it should not be done at the detriment of learning all the steps properly in the meantime.

Perfection is, of course, what we all strive for. People say that method ringing is supreme however I have had just as much enjoyment in ringing some very good rounds and called changes in Devon as I have ring surprise in Liverpool. Certainly, the called changes were the better struck ones in that case.

The balance can be very hard to achieve. In inexperienced bands striking perfection is not always such a requirement as if the learner is striking as good as the rest of the band that is good enough. In an experienced band the learner could be striking just as well but because the rest of them around the learner are that much better they aren’t moved on. Continual progression is important in keeping ringers interested.

Using feedback you can balance the need for progression with perfection so let them know that they are ringing well but need to strike better before moving along. Perhaps consider practising the skill in another way using consolidation or stretch exercises.

Feedback

It is important to give feedback to learners soon after each activity. Positive feedback is just as important as negative feedback. However, giving feedback itself is a tricky subject. You need to know the learner well enough to give feedback at a level that they understand. I have heard some brilliant feedback in my time but the person it was given to had no idea what had just been said to them. The other thing to bear in mind is the experience of the learner, if it is their first time ringing plain hunt then being super critical on their striking probably isn’t appropriate, if it is their umpteenth course of bob doubles then criticising the dodges that had been crashed through would be wholly appropriate. The key thing though is for it to be constructive, criticising dropped backstrokes at the leads is one thing, explaining what they have done and how to correct it and why they should is something else, the first just criticises, the second is constructive feedback.

Feedback can also be given during a piece of ringing. However, remember that your band is made up of individuals who will respond to feedback given in different ways. Shouting at someone that they are crashing their handstrokes in may in the short term improve them, but may undermine the confidence of the ringer, some may have no issue with faults being announced across the circle. Others would prefer this information to be given whispered in the ear by someone standing behind them.

Feedback can also be very useful in helping you plan the practice and for the individual. While talking to the learner about the feedback you can explain what you are trying to get them to do, how to do it and why they are trying to do so. It would also be important at that time to discuss with them about what they feel they are doing, how they think it is coming along and what they think they are heading towards. Hopefully, these will be in line with each other and if they are not this can then be aligned. It can also be used to identify any requirement for consolidation exercises.

Consolidation and Stretch Exercises

I tend to classify the work for my learners into three types:

1.       Revision of previous works

2.       Current Work

3.       Additional Work

The revision is either the same work that the learner did last week, or the step before. This should be a good solid piece of ringing which does not need to be prime, but should put the learner into the mind-set that they are here and ready to ring, this should be the first thing that a learner does. A good piece should give the learner confidence in doing something “easy” well. This then helps to build them up so they can do the next work.

For example:

A learner is currently putting both strokes together, not their first time of doing so. The first time they ring this practice night get them to do some backstrokes and handstrokes singularly so they relax.

Current work is what you have planned for them to ring this evening. This would usually be the prime ring and should make up the majority of the time on the end of the rope.

Additional work is either Consolidation or Stretch.

Stretch is for when the current work has been rung well and consistently throughout and gives the learner an opportunity to ring the skill that they have just learnt but in a different context. This could well form the basis for what will be current work next practice.

For example:

A learner has rang Bob Doubles without problems striking well and then as a stretch ring an unaffected touch. This way they continue to ring their plain course but with the bells around them in different positions.

Consolidation is for when the current work is not good enough to progress but it has not improved over a period, or there is a specific aspect which needs addressing,  these pieces of work either re-visit a skill that has been learnt previously or apply it in a different sense.

For example:

A learner has rang Bob Doubles but keeps making mistakes while making 2nds. There are many opportunities to practise this but based on the learner’s confidence as to whether to do Mexican waves with them on the treble or two so they lead make 2nds lead or a method where the treble just hunts to 2nds like Bastow Little Bob Doubles.
 

In a lot of ways the consolidation and stretch excercises may very well be the same thing but used in different contexts. 

Confidence and Diffidence

Each of us is different and display different levels of confidence and diffidence and how confident we are affects our learning in different ways.

A very confident person will progress in leaps, generally, and will relish each challenge afresh. For them going from plain hunt to bob doubles in one step is a simple matter, in their minds at least. This on the one hand is very good as it enables them to learn in the traditional leaps and bounds style. They require the minimum of coaxing to get them to try something new. The downside of course is that they will often try to run before they can walk. This can mean that they want to progress onto the next challenge before the current one is completed to a good enough quality. The difficulty is trying to manage their expectation. Initially, this is not a problem, as the learning curve from first lesson to rounds and called changes is usually very rapid, it is from that point on where it starts to slow down. This sort of learner would do well to do “stretch exercises”   these are exercises which are practising the same skill that they have been doing, but might need some improvement, but in a different setting. This gives them the practise at the skill you are teaching them, but the feeling that they are doing something new and different. An example would be if they are trebling to bob doubles, getting them to treble to a different plain method like grandsire, that way they practise the skill (hunting) but it feels different as the bells are in a different order.

A very diffident person will progress at a more stately fashion, generally, and will have to be encouraged to try new challenges. For them going from plain hunt to bob doubles is a series of little steps with every minor setback a major event for them. For this style of learner progress is slowly gained because of a reluctance to try new activities. This can lead to the frustration of a teacher as they might be able to ring plain hunt perfectly on the treble with the bells in any order then not be able to ring a plain course from the third. The traditional approach of teaching makes it hard work for these types of learner as the initial steps are larger than they would like to make. This sort of learner may require “consolidation exercises” these are exercises which practise a small particular aspect of a larger part. For instance, continuous dodging to practise the dodges in plain bob doubles, or continually ringing one particular lead. This gives them a focused practise on the small aspect that they are trying to achieve without having to worry about it being completely new.

Of course no learner is completely one or the other and can be a different mixture based on what else is happening in their lives at that time. The trick is to try and balance them out and ensuring that the confident ringer gets the skill good enough before moving and with the diffident it is pushing them on so they do continue to make progress without overwhelming them.

Learning Styles

Each learner has their own style of learning. As a teacher it is up to us to adapt to the learners learning style to teach them in a meaningful way. Traditionally, things have been taught in one style and if that does not correspond to your way of learning then you are disadvantaged.

The most commonly used model is based on Neil Fleming’s VAK model:

·         Visual

·         Auditory

·         Kinaesthetic

Visual learners learn through seeing things written down, or similarly organised. These people need to see what you are talking about, our exercise traditionally helps such learners by the way we show our information, blue lines and circles of work are perfect examples  of how they take information that is best for them. For such ringers once they are method learning they are in the best place. So for instance they will best learn a 3-4 down dodge through seeing it written down and how the two bells doing the dodge interact.

Auditory learners learn through hearing and speaking things to understand. These will hear and often repeat information given them in order to organise it. So talking to the learner about what they do is the best way for them. For instance they will learn best a 3-4 down dodge through explaining that they are hunting down and need to hold all the way up into 4ths and then quickly back down to 3rds and to the lead.

Kinaesthetic learners are ones who learn through doing. These will feel what needs to be done, though without a visual or auditory element it is often difficult to get them to feel it, though we all use this to some extent, like learning where the balance point on the bell is, we can’t be told where it is, we can’t hear or see when it is there but we can feel it. For these learning the 3-4 down dodge will be done by feeling what the different pulls are like to understand what the dodge is like.

While the model itself has many opponents, it is certainly easier if you are able to teach using all three techniques then they will get information from each source.

Planning for the Individual

When deciding what each person will ring requires four questions to be answered:

·         What is the learner’s long term goal?

       ·         What is the learner’s short term goal?
       ·         What did the learner do last time?

·         How well did the learner do last time?

In the early stages of ringing quite often the long term goal isn’t applicable, after all if you are handling the next goal is rounds, planning further ahead might be a bit excessive. But if you are ringing plain hunt, the longer term goal could be trebling to a method.

The questions really need to be answered in reverse order, how well did they do last time?

·         Got it! (Time to move on; do the short and long term goals need to be changed?)

·         Almost there (Some more of the same until they get it)

·         Still a little way off (What is it that they are not getting, are there intermediary steps that can be brought in?)

·         Nowhere near (Is what they did last time appropriate? are there intermediary steps that can be brought in? Has the exercise been explained to them in a way they understand?)

Then based on how well they did you can then decide what they should be doing this time. Some people can remember what people did and how well they did easily and so they are very easily able to plan for the next thing for others this is quite difficult. Do not be afraid of making notes about what people are doing and where they are supposed to be going, that way you can easily see what is being done and alert you if someone has been at “Almost there” for the same task for the last 6 weeks; maybe that is a sign that there is something fundamental about the task which they are just not able to grasp.

The other thing to consider is making sure that the learner is not bored at doing the same thing each time. It might be possible for them to learn the same skill in another way, for instance using Mexican waves to help with moving their bell into the right place instead of just called changes.

Planning a Practice

It seems that we are all living increasingly busy lives, and because of that we are all trying to get the most out of everything that we do. It is a frustration of mine when at the end of a touch or piece of ringing there is a 10 minute discussion about what to ring next. That time could be filled with a quick touch of something, or ringing something else for someone. The key to make the most out of your practice night is to plan in advance, like the old phrase says “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. It doesn’t need to be down to the detail of band placement for each thing rang, but it could do.  However, there should be an overall plan and structure to the night. Some ringing masters make this seem effortless and seem to be able to do this on the fly; others will have it all written down.
In its simplest form it is a list of who you have coming to practice and what you want them to ring that evening, that way everything will have a purpose and you have identified what you want as your prime rings.

Ringer	Prime Ring
Dave	Rounds with call changes
Eric	Plain hunt on 5 from the treble
Fran	Touch of Bob Minor
Etc.	Etc.

TIP:

To help you plan your practice, consider having a sign-up sheet, that way you know who to expect and what to plan to ring. After all there is no point planning to ring surprise major if you know you won’t have enough ringers. Similiarly, there is no point in planning to ring Plain Hunt for another learner if they are on holiday.

This sign-up sheet can also be used so you know who is available for Sunday Service ringing, that way if you are going to be short you know about it in advance and can either cancel ringing or call round to get one or two extra ringers.