Curriculum - How Important Is It Really?
Posted by Jacinda Miller on
As twirling coaches and teachers, we don't have any regulatory organization that guides what we teach or how we teach it so we teach based on how we were taught or using years of experience to help us teach.
And, while our experiences are great, I noticed in my twirling program that on occasion I would have students that missed learning certain fundamental or basic tricks. Maybe they missed class for a week or two? Maybe they were fast tracked into our competitive teams and missed learning some of the basic twirls?
Whatever the reason, we began to notice that this happened on occasion and was a disservice to our students so we developed a curriculum that was based on our experience of what worked well for students, Baton Twirling Unlimited's DVD series and feedback from top coaches and judges. As we began to implement our curriculum we noticed so many benefits.
1. Students entering our competition teams had similar skill levels.
2. Student engagement and retention from year to year went up. Students wanted to work towards higher levels and achieve the special tricks.
3. As our program grew, we could guarantee that our students would receive the same education no matter which of our teachers taught their class.
The benefits were great and the downside was minimal so how do you create a curriculum?
Make a list of the tricks that you teach and what order you teach them in.
We would recommend dividing your levels by 10 (or so) tricks. For example, your Level 1 could be approximately the first 10 tricks that you teach. There's no right or wrong for number of tricks so don't get hung up on the number 10.
Be sure to include partner tricks, dance or acro that is important to you.
Provide a reward for completing each level.
Or, provide a reward for completing certain tricks that are a big accomplishment like a 1 spin or toss illusion.
Developing a curriculum can be a bit time consuming but provides so many benefits that you will not regret it. If you are feeling a little short on time or need some guidance, check our curriculum and instruction package.
https://kraskinbaton.com/products/curriculum-instruction-package
Have questions? Reach out to us!