Essential instructor skills. Where to start?

[Walter]

I know this has been discussed elsewhere and I apologize if it has been covered here as well, but...

What to we think the essential skills a casting instructor needs to develop? I see a lot of casting instructors get drawn into lengthy discussions about various esoteric topics about fly casting and then after some time simply conclude, "this will not make me a better caster or instructor, so I don't want to discuss it anymore." Stuff like the incredibly detailed physics of a fly line in flight or the definition of a casting stroke.

We all agree that instructors should meet a certain level of skill as defined by the instructor casting tests, and if you want to be an FFI instructor then you must know the 5 essentials, but what are the other essential skills an instructor needs to develop?

Teaching ability always comes up but I think it's more of a concept rather than a well defined set of skills. If I want to be professional teacher I would enroll in some post secondary certification or degree programs designed to teach me the skills I need but what the FFI does is kind of sketchy imo.

Are the 5 essentials enough or should the instructor, as a minimum, understand basic Newton?

Fault detections and fixes? Class preparation?

I'm thinking above and beyond the "good attitude, a hat displaying their small business logo, shiny teeth and big bushy beard" kind of stuff.

[Boisker]

An essential that’s overlooked, I guess because you can’t really change it, is personality…. The best teachers of any discipline have a personality that naturally engages and makes people feel comfortable… we all had teachers who were great teachers and popular across the board, they just have an ability to connect.
Probably less essential at higher levels, a professor in University doesn’t need to be as engaging as a lower school teacher, but it still helps and makes learning more enjoyable.

Luckily for teachers people are drawn to different types.

I realise that’s not what you were asking Walter and it’s not that helpful, but that certain ‘something’ the best teachers (in any discipline) have sets them apart…

I guess it also depends on what / when in a persons development the instruction happens…. Engaging and enthusiastic, and stimulating an interest in fly fishing for someone new to casting is essential…. If you’ve already got the passion and looking to improve then perhaps that’s less important.

[Lasse Karlsson]

Quite agree with Mark here:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3866

Cheers
Lasse

[alanj]

We all agree that instructors should meet a certain level of skill as defined by the instructor casting tests,

Ummm, no I don't agree.

Fly fishing/casting is the only activity I've come across where it appears that the instructor must be god like and capable of everything. While it's good to be able to demonstrate techniques it all depends on the level of instruction/pupil.

Most sports have different levels of coaching/instructing schemes and the emphasis is usually on how to teach rather than teaching the instructor how to perform.

So enthusiasm, open mind, flexibility are all key.

[Graeme H]

I personally believe the main positive trait a teacher should have is the desire to keep learning.

One skill I think we should all have is empathy. Putting ourselves in our students’ frame of mind helps break down the barriers between our knowledge and their struggle to grasp what we are attempting to teach.

There are quite a few other skills and traits, but I think these two are pretty important.

Cheers, Graeme

[George C]

Well said, Graeme.

[Walter]

Quite agree with Mark here:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=3866

Cheers
Lasse

There’s always a first time.

This is the kind of thing I had in mind though. Mark’s post talks about knowing the 5 Es and some simple physics. Some would argue that they have no desire or need to learn ANY physics but I remember one of the questions on the written exam asks about distance cast vs bend in the rod (all other things being equal). Like it or not, that is simple physics and if the FFI didn’t expect you know at least that level of physics then they wouldn’t be asking the question.

[Walter]

Attitude, empathy, natural teaching ability are all great but I was think less of the soft skills and more of the hard skills.

Maybe if I rephrase the question:

If someone comes to you saying they want to be an instructor what specific skills or knowledge areas would you expect them to learn?

Things like casting ability as required by the test, the 5Es, equipment, faults and corrections are pretty obvious imo. What other things, like simple physics, would be essential?

With respect to the soft skills like teaching ability, empathy, etc. the test does have specific teaching tasks the candidate is expected to do. We know the evaluators are looking for conciseness, confidence, a sequence of explain, explain and demonstrate, etc. how does one go about developing that?

I know some of it is through actual teaching but there are ways to improve the learning curve. One example I’ve heard is for the student go through the test and write down the 3 main points they think are important about that task. Every few weeks they should review and revise those points as they advance through their learning journey.

From my bit of experience as an examiner I know the absolute very first thing I would want the student to learn is total loop control. Especially on the back cast.

[Graeme H]

If someone comes to you saying they want to be an instructor what specific skills or knowledge areas would you expect them to learn?

I think the hardest thing about being an instructor is being able to instruct. Learning physical skills and knowledge are fine, but those are the same skills and knowledge I'd want to have as a caster who doesn't instruct.

I know plenty of excellent casters in my local area who have worked out how to make the casts they use all the time, but most of those guys couldn't competently instruct another person on how to make that cast, even if they understand the mechanics of what they are doing. Having the skills and knowledge to make the cast doesn't make them any better at teaching.

I reached CCI only five years after starting fly fishing. Those frustrations of self-teaching, video learning, practicing the wrong thing, getting bad instruction from well-meaning friends, and failing to understand the physics and mechanics were still fresh memories when I began teaching a year or two later. For me, achieving empathy with my students was not hard.

So I would still tell them they need to get inside the head of their students (empathy). They need to communicate effectively, which means being aware of the prior knowledge of the audience, watching if the message is hitting home and switching gears if it isn't.

In terms of a physical skill set and knowledge base: having complete control of the rod tip and how the physics of the system interacts with the biomechanics of the caster (this is common to both being a good caster and being an instructor). That is, know how to make the cast (and demonstrate it) and how to replicate and correct the body movements in the student who is not succeeding. (But again, that comes back to empathy: understanding what part of your lesson is not getting through comes from putting yourself in their mind space while you think of your approach to the lesson. Just doing it over and over isn't teaching.)

Cheers,
Graeme

[Walter]

Graeme,

I’m not disagreeing but the soft skills required by a good/great instructor has been flogged mercilessly in other areas. What I rarely see is a discussion of the technical skills and knowledge base that the instructor should have.

You talk about great casters and great instructors having the same knowledge and physical abilities and the only thing that separates them is the soft skills. That is something that I partly disagree with.

First of all - what is a great caster? Someone who wins casting competitions? You can do that with a small, but highly refined, set of skills. Hit targets and cast really far. You can do that with little knowledge of the equipment or technical aspects. If you have a coach with that knowledge you can simply show up, practice a lot and do what the coach tells you. Ask the athlete about the 5 essentials or the mechanics of the cast and you may get a blank stare. Ask them to demonstrate a slack line cast or a tailing loop and they may not have a clue or struggle to demonstrate because they’ve practiced extensively to avoid those things. Ask them for help fixing a casting fault and they may not even know that casting faults are a thing.

With respect to knowledge, there are some of the best instructors in the world on SL. My observation is that many of them couldn’t science their way out of a paper bag but ask them about the 5 essentials and they can not only recite them but they can debate intelligently about them for hours. Ask them to demonstrate virtually any cast or casting fault and they have no problem doing it even if they struggle to cast 90 feet. Ask them about equipment and line design and they can wax on indefinitely.

The ability to watch a student’s cast and then effectively mimic it requires empathy but it also requires a lot of practice.

Paul mentioned in another thread about instructors who have no idea about how to demonstrate let alone teach others how to make a curve cast so it would appear that a good instructor should know how to make a wide variety of casts. But does that mean that if they’ve never heard of the svirgolato they aren’t good instructors? The FFI instructor exams are somewhat restrictive in the performance task (no hauling or pullback for example) but should a good instructor apply the same limits when they teach?