Teaching

Bricks and Branches: Considering our Analogies of Learning

Analogies structure how we understand the world, mapping what we know onto what we want to discover. An apt analogy guides our path forward and highlights pitfalls to avoid, while an inappropriate analogy leaves us lost. What analogies do we use to conceptualize learning? And are they apt or do they mislead us?

We liken learning to constructing a skyscraper. Teachers give us “a solid foundation” and we “build from the ground up.” We discuss “levels” of difficulty and “levels” of proficiency. While the skyscraper analogy is common, it is inappropriate. My thesis is that a more apt analogy is that our learning and development can be best compared with how a tree grows.

Skyscraper construction starts at the foundation and builds upwards. The foundation needs to be rock solid before adding on top of it or the whole structure will be unstable. A flaw in one level requires everything above to be torn down and rebuilt. Once a level is built, you move on to the next floor. Levels also have a hierarchy, with each new floor considered more prestigious than the ones below it.

The skyscraper analogy to learning implies movements and concepts are either 1) at our current level, 2) above us (too hard), or 3) below us (too easy). Under the skyscraper analogy, if a student wants to learn a back sacada but doesn’t have a perfect pivot, then we tell them they need to wait until they have a more solid foundation. Once we can do boleos and ganchos, then a class on walking and ochos is clearly too low of a level for us. When we take a private and the instructor points out a flaw in our technique, then we are devastated because we have to tear everything down and start from square one. Viewing learning like constructing a building means we don’t practice concepts and movements that are at a level we think is above us, and we don’t revisit concepts and movements that are below us.  

Contrast this with how a tree grows. A small seed that sprouts into a sapling, spreading its roots, trunk, branches, and leaves. Growth occurs simultaneously downwards, outwards, and upwards. Even the smallest sapling has leaves reaching towards the sun, and even the largest oak continues growing roots. Each year the trunk adds a new ring, and every part of the tree is equally important to its health and growth.

Embracing the tree analogy guides us in a different direction to how we approach learning. Novel and complex movements feed our creativity while also motivating us to continue growing our roots and trunk (our fundamentals). We think of lessons less in terms of levels and more in terms of what new tree ring it adds to our dance. Imperfections are not a cause to tear down and restart, but instead signal for new branches that we can begin developing. Instead of avoiding feedback and what it tells us about our level, we seek information because it is the nutrients that allow our flowers to blossom. The learning process is no longer an imposing inanimate object but is instead an organic and ever-growing living thing.

By sericson0, ago

Building Better Learning Environments

During a conversation with some fellow dancers, my friend Mitra Martin said something which I believe gets at the heart of the learning and teaching process. She said, “The job of a teacher is not to teach, but to create an environment where learning occurs.” Passing along information through instruction is a vital part of learning, but it is only one part of the broader learning environment. Even the best instruction will fall on deaf ears if the learning environment does not allow knowledge to be translated into skills. How do we create effective learning environments in tango?

We can look to other dance forms for inspiration. When I first started dancing, I was fortunate to try many different dance styles and see how each created the learning environments. At one end of the spectrum lies ballet classes, which leverage uniformity to promote learning. Everyone in class does the same movements, and many of the exercises repeat from class to class. This allows everyone to apply the same feedback given by the instructor, and information can be layered across classes to build proficiency. At the opposite end of the spectrum is breakdancing, which leverages individuality. Everyone discovers their unique style and then can share their discoveries with each other and ask for feedback, fostering a culture of collaboration. Dance forms such as ballroom, salsa, or modern dance also have their own approaches to creating learning environments. Each approach has its benefits and requirements to be effective.

At its best, the tango approach to learning combines positive aspects from several different styles. We have classes and seminars to provide a structured progression like ballet classes but can also have sharing and discussion during prácticas like in breakdancing. We have lessons and partner practice like in ballroom, along with the community support and learning like in other social dances. Of course, this is tango at its best. Unfortunately, it is too often the case that the tango learning environment ends up being an ineffective combination of seminars without structure, prácticas without practice, and community without communication.

Consider the pre-milonga class. The community spends good money on good instructors, but the instructors come in without knowledge about the number and level of students, and the students have no control over the difficulty of the class. Instructors often change week to week, meaning the teaching approach can vary dramatically, the feedback can be contradictory, and errors of understanding or retention go uncorrected. If that were not enough, the students do not even have time to practice the material they learn before going directly into the milonga. Festival classes often face these same challenges but also have the added factors of larger classes and sleep deprivation.

Organizers are balancing many aspects of tango that, such as making an event social, showcasing art and artistry, creating an event people come to, and making an event which is profitable and sustainable. It is little wonder that the learning environment occasionally gets neglected. We can’t put the full burden of creating effective learning environments on the organizers and instructors. It is the responsibility of the entire community to create and maintain healthy learning environments.

So, what are some steps a community can take to create better learning environments? It helps to first realize that there are actually multiple spaces that need to be created and coordinated to create an effective learning environment. Learning progresses fastest when there is a good balance between learning, practicing, and doing.[1] In general, practice spaces get the least attention. The simple addition of open floor times and guided prácticas can make a big difference by providing a space for actual practice to occur. At a festival, for example, replacing one of the Sunday class slots with a guided practice would probably be the most valuable use of the teachers’ and participants’ time and energy, because it would give everyone the chance to try out all the new material they have learned over the weekend and correct mistakes while they are still fresh. If, as a community, we value open floor space and guided practices and are willing to pay for them instead of just paying for the flashy classes and workshops, then I am sure organizers would be more than willing to provide such spaces. The different spaces do not need to be part of the same event or held at the same time. A big, generally missed, opportunity for learning comes after a community hosts a workshop or festival. If the community organizes review time in the subsequent weeks for participants to go over, practice, and discuss what they learned, maybe even with the guidance of local instructors, then it can substantially increase the level of retention and understanding.  It is the maestros who hold the workshop, but it is the full community that holdsds together the structures that allow learning from the workshop to occur.

Another important factor to remember is that the needs of a novice are different from the needs of an advanced dancer.[2] Ideally, different environments can be created to address the needs of dancers at different levels. Novice dancers learn well from structured, progressive classes from a consistent instructor whereas intermediate dancers often benefit from being exposed to many different concepts, teachers, and styles. The needs again shift when students transition to an advanced level where they require more mentorship along with goals to continue developing their skills. Opportunities to teach (or assist teaching) and perform are essential for advanced dancers to support their continued growth. At all levels, it is helpful to have a cohort of fellow dancers with whom to train and collaborate.

A final consideration is that not all spaces need to be learning spaces. We sometimes jam learning into places where it would be better to simply focus on connection and enjoyment. Instead of holding a pre-milonga class just because “it is what has always been done,” a community could instead have a pre-milonga cocktail hour to create a space for people to connect socially before the dancing begins.[3] Clear distinctions between learning spaces and enjoyment spaces allow for more focus when it is time to learn, and more fun when it is time to enjoy.

[1] You can read more of my thoughts on the topic of the various types of spaces here: https://tangotopics.org/prepare-your-tango-kitchen/

[2] You can read more of my thoughts on how training needs vary with level here: https://tangotopics.org/teacher-trainer-mentor/

[3] Shoutout to the organizers have started doing creative events such as having a potluck, or wine and cheese tasting before the milonga.  

By sericson0, ago

Teacher, Trainer, Mentor

What should we look for in an instructor? And as an instructor, what do we need to provide our students to support their growth? Categorizing instruction into the three roles of teacher, trainer, and mentor is useful for answering these questions. A teacher conveys information, getting the student to understand something they did not know before. A trainer helps get information into the student’s body, getting the student to be able to do something they could not do before. And a mentor shows the student a path forward and supports their feelings and emotions along their journey.

A teacher is responsible for the knowledge component of learning. Teachers give us information on what to do and how to do it. Go to a class and most of your interaction with the instructor will be them teaching you information. The mark of a good teacher is that their students have a good mental model of what we need to do to become a better dancer. Learning consists of both knowing what to do and being able to do it. Teachers deal with the knowledge component and are therefore necessary but not sufficient for learning.

A Trainer helps convert knowledge in our head into understanding in our whole body. Training tends to involve less talking and more doing, using a few well-designed drills and well-chosen words to build competency. As a trainer, it is better to say one thing a hundred times than to say a hundred things once, and sometimes the best is to get the point across without saying anything at all. A trainer’s job is to boil down the information given by the teacher into small packets that the student can focus on. The teacher shows the student what they are trying to do, the trainer gives them feedback on when they need to put their focus to achieve this and when they are progressing in the right direction.

A Mentor plays a more infrequent but equally vital role in a student’s development. The job of a mentor is to ensure the components for growth are in place and remove barriers to learning. While the teacher and trainer take care of the student’s day to day growth, a mentor gives broader guidance and encouragement throughout their journey. Broadly speaking, trainers focus on what to do in the next minute, teachers focus on what to do in the next week, and mentors focus on what to do in the next year. Suggesting teachers to study with, guidance on how to structure practice, and pointing the student in the right direction of music to listen to and performers to watch all fall under mentoring.

Mentors help the student process their feelings and emotions; something especially important for newer dancers. Experienced dancers, inoculated to the social dance experience, can easily forget the raw emotions that come with your first dance event. Finding the courage to ask someone to dance. Processing when your cabeceo is not returned. Understanding your emotions when you are not asked to dance for several tandas or when you are thanked after one song. Having support when someone acts inappropriately at the milonga. Strategies for having a positive experience at a festival or marathon. Navigating partner dynamics. Finding a healthy balance between the desire to dance and the needs of other aspects of life. All these moments are the job of a mentor to help the student navigate. Having support during these moments makes the difference between the student becoming a lifelong dancer where tango enriches their life, and the student experiencing emotional damage and finding another hobby.

The three roles of teacher, trainer, and mentor can be played by different people, but can also be played by the same person. As a student, it is helpful to know what role we are looking for in an instructor at a given time, and as an instructor it is useful to know what role will be most helpful to the student in each moment. I believe that knowing which role to play is one of the most important skills of an instructor, more important even than knowing what information to share or how to structure a class.

Say we are working with a student on their forward walk. We may start in teacher mode, discussing and demonstrating the physics concept of equal and opposite reaction to explain how, to go forward, we use our standing leg to push the floor backwards. We summarize with the phrase “drive the floor backwards to step forward.” Once the student has a clear path forward then we go into trainer mode and practice the concept, using the cue ‘drive’ to connect with this concept. We have the student practice with several different movements, giving short corrections and words of encouragement. At the end of practice, we may switch into mentor mode and show the student how to approach filming themselves so that they can practice their walk on their own. The power of separating roles is that it provides clear guidance on the amount and type of information to provide. We can say a single word such as ‘drive’ while the student is in motion, whereas it would make little sense to try and explain Newtonian physics in the middle of a movement. Similarly, repeating a single word would be of little help without the previously teaching what that word refers to.      

The instructor categories help us understand how the needs of the student change as they progress. Beginner students primarily need mentors to process their new experiences, which is why what makes a good beginner instructor is often different from what makes a good instructor for intermediate or advanced dancers. As the student grows, teaching and training take center stage. Advanced dancers often require less teaching and more training. Advanced dancers also need more mentoring to help them choose where to focus their attention.

Relative needs of each category by dancer level.

Separating the different roles helps us avoid some common instructor pitfalls. One common pitfall as a teacher is to expect immediate change in our students. Teaching is like planting seeds, where the flowers of understanding may blossom weeks or months after the learning is planted. When inevitably information does not produce immediate change, we give more information and more information, overloading our students and hindering their progress. Worse, we may blame our students, thinking that they are lazy or “they just don’t get it.” Once we separate teacher from trainer, and mentor, we allow for separation from the information we give as a teacher and the progress that comes through training. We also allow separation from the information and the broader structure that enables learning.

By sericson0, ago