There is an old school idea of education that involves rapping kids on the knuckles (I keep imagining nuns), motivating students through “tough love,” and generally being a jerk to inspire learning. While this idea has generally fallen by the wayside, but there are still echos of righteous ferocity in yoga trainings. Think of Iyengar, rapping students on the legs and yelling to get them into the pose.
We could debate the merits of emotional intensity and wholesome discipline (we won’t, here), but I think most of us can agree that it’s better to empower our students than to undermine their confidence, especially in a teacher training. Students learn and perform better when they feel successful.
Unfortunately, it can be easy to accidentally demoralize your trainees. I’ve seen situations where skillful trainers – even with the best of intentions – have reduced their students to puddles of anxiety. And once students get scared of looking stupid or being wrong, it’s hard to recover the sense of safety that helps learning flourish.
Here are some quick tips to help you improve your students’ confidence, and their learning.
1. Don’t pick on your introverts
It’s great to be an extrovert in a teacher training. You naturally speak up and it’s easy for the teacher to see that you’re engaged. While introverts may be less likely to talk right away in a training (especially when it’s a large group discussion), they are still participating with their attention. Trainers are often tempted to “call out” quiet students. While there is merit to getting your quieter students to speak (after all, if they’re going to be teaching yoga, it’s good practice to share their voices), it can feel very daunting to be singled out. Give introverts the space and time to be heard through incorporating partner discussions and journal work.
My fave tactic:
At the beginning of the training, ask everyone to pay attention to how they participate. Do they immediately jump in? Do they always hold back? Create a deliberate opportunity for extroverts to practice holding silence, which may give your introverts more opportunity to offer a thoughtful opinion.
2. Affirm your students’ answers, even when they’re wrong.
Sometimes students say the wrong thing. They’re not always right. But it’s important to give them kudos, even when they’re wrong. Creating an environment of enthusiastic failure will help students take risks, get feedback and learn faster. They will do this more happily when they feel like it’s okay to be wrong.
My fave tactic:
When a student gives a wrong answer, I always look to see where where they’re coming from. Usually I’ll say something like, “Oh, I see why you might think that….because… (blah blah blah), but what about considering this?…”
3. Relate what they’re learning to stuff they already know
Your students already know a ton of stuff! Their time as a human and a yoga practitioner has given them lots of experience to pull from. As much as possible, relate new information to stuff that they have already encountered. This will help empower them to pull on their personal experience, and create a bridge from the old knowledge to the new.
My fave tactic:
When there’s a new subject, I’ll find a hook that links it to their practice, or to content we’ve already studied. “You guys, have you ever….?” or, “You know when you….”
Be aware of your own agenda. Often, trainers accidentally undermine students when they are afraid of failing as a teacher or looking foolish themselves. Notice your own state, and stay in a generous spirit.
Empower your students to fail fast, fail hard, and fail with enthusiasm.
The learning space will thrive!
