Every occupation has what can be considered tools of the trade and a RiderCoach is no exception. The skill of a RiderCoach, to a large degree, is based upon the ability to not only organize the material and lessons but to use the right tools and methods for particular lessons, group or individual students. It is not enough to attain certification as a coach and know the material, the application of the teaching methods and understanding of learning from a student perspective is an essential tool of the trade and one that continually needs to be developed. In the same way that we ask our students to further develop by being life-long learners, we must model the same efforts in filling our toolbox with methods to enhance rider education.
Of the various methods in common use, future articles will cover the three most dominant in rider education: 1) the Lecture Method (closest to typical pedagogy); 2) Facilitated Discussion Method (closest to the atypical andragogy); and 3) the Demonstrated-Performance Method (common watch and learn method). Because each have varying degrees of cross-over, there are no true lines of division between these methods, noting that it is not unusual to use two or more of these methods simultaneously. However, before discussing the three individual methods, it is best to lay a foundation for teaching methods by providing a primer to serve as the way each method can best be implemented in the three-step process of: 1) Introduction; 2) Experience Development; 3) Lesson Conclusion.
Organization
Regardless of the teaching method, it is best to organize a lesson to ensure it is accomplished in a familiar and understandable sequence which the student can recognize and follow. By setting up lessons through an introduction and then allowing for a meaningful experience with an intent of meeting the programmed lesson conclusions, a coach ensures programmed lesson messages are received without missing key details. Regardless of Lecture, Facilitated-Discussion, Demonstrated Performance, or a combination thereof, this organization will assist in creating that foundation.
Introduction
An introduction to a lesson should serve several purposes including establishing a mental model for the student of how the topic relates to the overall course and set a common previous experience for the RiderCoach and student to work from. It is essential that the introduction captures and holds the attention of the students by connecting the topic with life related meaning, fostering the student’s readiness to learn. This is commonly called “setting the stage” for learning or “condition setting” by providing extra motivation for the student.
It is essential to gain the attention of the student and this can be done by giving a very short description that establishes the background to the desired learning outcome. A manner in which this can be done is by introducing a thought provoking learner-centered question to the group that helps to connect the topic of personal physical welfare to the lesson topic. No matter the introduction, focus should be gained from the students and their attention should be directed at the topic.
The introduction should provide specific reason for students to want to know, understand, apply, or perform, with the lesson being presented. Students need to be motivated to learn not only as a group, but individually as well, because the introduction accentuates the importance of a topic to the lesson as a whole.
Introductions should be an overview of the lesson, explaining to the students what will be covered in that section of the course. It should be extremely clear and precise presentation of the objective and key ideas to give students a mental picture of what the learning outcome should be to manage expectations. What it should not be is a story about one time at band-camp, this horrible incident I once had, or a joke that deviates a student’s focus from the lesson objective. Furthermore, the Coach should not be apologetic or long winded lessoning the impact of the objective or boring the student with personal anecdotal statements that do not support full their interest in the objective.
Experience Development
The educational experience is the main part of the lesson. The experience is developed in a manner that assists the student to achieve the learning outcomes and must be logically organized with the appropriate material to show relationships between previous student experiences and the main points of the lesson. To enhance the lesson, RiderCoaches usually seek to show relationships by developing the experience in one of the following ways: 1) From past to present; 2) from simple to complex; 3) from known to unknown; 4) from most frequent to least frequent; or in the case of motor skill development 5) from gross to fine.
1) From Past to Present. This pattern of development is used to arrange the subject matter in a chronological order on a timeline, either past to present or present to past. A great example would be discussing how the mechanics of braking has changed from drums, to disks, and modern ABS systems.
2) From Simple to Complex. This pattern of development helps the coach lead the student from simple facts or ideas to understanding of tertiary effects or more encompassing concepts. It may begin with something as simple as a discussion about how to straight line stop a motorcycle. However, by the end of the lesson students could be developing an idea about motorcycle lean versus traction at speed coefficients while braking in a curve.
3) From known to unknown. By using something the student already knows as a point of experiential reference, the coach can facilitate a discussion of new topics. For example, in developing a lesson on visual searching, a coach can start with learner-centered questions on how it is to drive a car as a jump to discussing an active search procedure while riding a motorcycle.
4) From Most Frequent to Least Frequent. In some cases where a minimal information is already know and common to students, the fourth pattern starts with commonly used knowledge and works toward knowledge that is not familiar or used less frequently. An example would be body posture in riding a motorcycle. When learning to ride body position is typically straight up and down. Through experience and appropriate coaching, students learn how to shift weight and body position based on the environment and rider judgement. Each small change in body position leads to the next level of control and judgement based on the rider style and environment.
5) From Gross to Fine. When specifically talking about Motor Skill Development in Rider’s education, learning from gross to fine allows the development of major muscles before trying to accomplish a task that takes a precise movement to achieve the outcome. Once again an example is braking to a stop. In a straight line applying the brakes quickly and progressively until the motorcycle comes to a stop is not the same as applying the same brakes while leaning in a corner and having to avoid a hazard. The subtlety must be learned from gross muscle action on the brakes to a fine application of steering, balance, and brake reaction.
Lesson Conclusion
Perhaps the most definitive part of laying a knowledge foundation is an effective lesson conclusion that retraces the most important elements of the objective and relates them to the overall course objective. More importantly than retracing the objectives is having the student retrace the objectives and reflect on the lesson in their own words. As each student may gain something different in line with the objectives it is best that the reflection is shared with others in a discussion to reinforce the objectives to others and make the lesson meaningful individually.
With the foundation laid, the next article will begin in a discussion of the lecture teaching method. Until then, Ride and Coach Safe!
