Ian: Who wouldn't love having people fight over your time and attention, and clamoring to work with you? That's exactly what students get by working with multiple teachers! Plus students get to benefit from different perspectives and teaching styles. The teachers, working as a well oiled unit, teach the same material, but in very different ways depending on their personalities and experience. Everyone of us has something wonderful to offer all of the students, so why would you limit yourself to just one instructor?
Sarah: Having multiple teachers is the best way to learn for a multitude of reasons! A few of my favorites are;
1) Everyone communicates differently and receives information differently. It's best to hear things from different people.
2) When learning to social dance it is important to be able to "drive many types or cars". So when you get to practice leading different people who can help guide you, you'll be a better social dancer than if you only know how to adjust to one "car".
3) Have you heard the phrase, " two heads are better than one" ? Well, from a teacher perspective, we can provide better quality and service to our students when we have more than one dance-nerd-brain working on a program.
One of my favorite things about Arthur Murray instructors, is how committed they are to adjusting to the specific needs of each individual student. It makes learning and teaching fun and easy!!
Lindsey: There are numerous benefits to working with multiple instructors and this method is what has helped Arthur Murray produce some of the best dancers in the world. Learning anything new is much more powerful when it comes from multiple sources because everyone processes information differently and learns by a variety of styles. I'm all about analogies for this one and I have two ideas I relate to for this topic.
#1) I relate this method much to that of college education. When you're in school, you typically have two types of classes: lectures and labs. One teacher may be amazing at explaining the theory and concepts in a strategic way so that comprehension is easy and effective. While the other teaches you how to practically apply the information for real life scenarios. This produces a harmonious blend of understanding and helps the information to stick effectively. Both styles allow for those "ah hah!" moments and help the student to master the whole topic of the course. In dancing, your teachers are well versed and certified in all topics. In some cases, your teaching team may take turns being each style of educator and as a team, always help you to learn each dance effectively.
#2) My second analogy relates to the relationship of a doctor to his/her patient. You have your regular doctor who knows your history, but occasionally calls on a specialist for a second opinion or to meet a specific need at that current moment. This is much like having a coaching lesson. The coach comes in to assist in a specific need like: needing a 3rd set of eyes, choreography for a special routine, or even introducing a higher level technique. Both the teacher and the coach are all working toward the same goal which is "what's in the best interest of this patient right now?"
Either way you look at it, the teaching team and the coaches are all here to serve the needs of the students and help them achieve their dancing goals to the fullest.
Amy: Aside from all of the very important reasons listed above, there is a more practical reason for working with multiple instructors and it is all about your progress! One of the best things about learning to dance at an Arthur Murray studio is the total continuity among not only all the teachers, but also all the studios. You are here to learn a skill, and we feel that your learning shouldn't have to suffer or be put on hold if your teacher is unavailable for some reason. Maybe they're sick, maybe they had a flat, maybe they inadvertently double booked themselves...whatever happened, at Arthur Murray, any of our instructors can pick up your syllabus and see right where you are and pick up where your other teacher left off. You'll get to continue your learning without delay, AND you'll get the added benefit of getting another viewpoint or an alternative explanation. We never have to cancel your lesson because your teacher is ill, so we can keep your schedule running smoothly, and we never have to cancel a group class because there is always someone who can fill in.
Team teaching allows you to learn faster because you are hearing the information explained in several ways. I can't even begin to tell you how often a student has looked at me after a coaching or exchange lesson and said "How come you never told me that?" It's a moment that tests the resolve of every teacher...to not just laugh out loud! Because, guess what? We have said it before, probably multiple times. But, it wasn't until you were ready to hear it, until it was said in a way that made complete sense to you, that you were able to really learn the concept. It's like when a mom tells the kids to clean their rooms over and over again, and they don't do it, but then dad comes home and says the exact same thing, and it gets done. A different voice, a different twist, a different viewpoint is sometimes all it takes to drive it home!
Ian asked "Who wouldn't love having people fight over your time and attention, and clamoring to work with you?" I'll grant you that pretty much everyone that is at AM likes this. BUT, this isn't the whole story. Like everyone else I know, my time and money are both limited. So if I say yes to instructor A then it means I am going to have to say no to instructor B. And this is something that I would not love!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm *NOT* saying that I have felt pressured to take lessons from lots of instuctors and I DO, very much, like having other instructors available to take lessons with, explain stuff in a different way, offer variety in the classroom, etc. I just wanted to point out that if AM managers implement policies that encourage the instructors to be too aggressive in getting students to take lessons from them, there could be a negative impact on student happiness.
Taken to the extreme, the team approach could lead to a studio where you take a number as you come in the door and the next free instructor is who you get for the lesson. I'm pretty sure that this would make the instructors AND the students unhappy. At least in my opinion, the long-term relationship between instructors and students is an important part of the AM experience. I know that in my case, Gina and Justin have worked very hard over the last year to modify their teaching techniques in ways that seem to work better for me. I am not opposed to branching out to other instructors at times but, really, who--other than Gina--would try using a volleyball analogy to try and help me remember the Mambo Arm Check move??