While the West Coast Swing “league” (social dancing, events, and comps) is still waiting to be reopened, smart WCS teachers are taking advantage of this time to reassess, refresh, and rebuild their teaching practice. All around the world, the local teachers are the new champions, rebuilding the scene at the grassroots level. That’s what we […]
This article is Part 2 of a 3-part series for teachers wondering what they can do in this forced down-time to prepare their teaching practice so that as restrictions get lifted, they can come back to dance stronger than ever. In Part 1: How Smart WCS Teachers Can Prepare Now for Post-COVID, we talked about how […]
With the hiatus that COVID has given (ok forced upon) the entire dance community, smart teachers are taking advantage of this opportunity to reflect, reassess their goals, and upgrade their WCS teaching.Even if you are not back to actively teaching yet, take advantage of the extra time you have (due to not social dancing) to:Research […]
It’s great to see students all over the world taking the initiative to practice on their own. Practice of personal movement skills is part of a balanced diet of partner dance learning and skill development, regardless of your ambition level. We are strong advocates of “homework”: once you learn your skills in your lesson, you need […]
Do you know how to do the Electric Slide? The Wobble? The Tush Push? If I asked you to show me Waltz box step, could you? Can you join in on the Horah? Do you remember how the Shim Sham goes? How about that Go, Johnny, Go square dance? These are “dances”. They are sets of choreographed […]
You get lots of people in the door for their first class. Yay! But getting them to come back? That’s another story…You managed to attract people to come to your intro class, or maybe even sign up for a Beginner series. But the enthusiasm of the first class died out quickly, as students started to […]
Even the best teachers with the best intentions have moments of unintentional subliminal teaching: when their teaching habits or advice accidentally deliver a completely different, counterproductive, undesirable lesson. Check your habits here! In this article, I’m going to talk about why certain advice backfires. Then I outline 14 typical teaching habits or advice that tend to […]
Do your students pester you with questions? Do you you wish they would ask more questions?Do you wish you could always find the right answer to give them?Do they distract each other and then ask about something you just said?How a teacher handles students’ questions proves their credibility, their maturity, their empathy, and their trustworthiness. All […]
Enjoy these rare but super-effective teaching tools from our massive collection:GamificationTrained Feedback podsThe Missing W’s Good teachers are collectors, tinkerers, and experimenters. They hunt and gather for nuggets of tips and advice to scuttle home to their students in the hopes that it will entertain them and help them improve.We know, because we are master collectors. […]
Teaching Snack #7Your StruggleYou’re teaching new material, and the students are focused, motivated, and capable, but you find that they are confused and learning slower than you would like.One critical piece of the puzzleWe help students every day who are lost and confused. We help them step back and focus on the skills they need […]
