M1: 12 February 2022 - Bradpole
We all come to Bellringing from different routes, at different ages, with different training, and different habits and practices. I was conscious in my tower that we needed to train our learners in a much more thorough, standardised route to bell handling, to give them their best start. They hopefully will go on to other towers, and need to be reliable, well-trained ringers to meet different towers without any need for re-training to reset any poor habits we may have left them with.
I was worried that this course would show up all our training weaknesses, but then - so were all the other delegates, so I relaxed! The course deconstructed the key steps in a learner’s learning, making each a defined, sensible small practice leading towards the full complexity of good tuneful ringing. Those steps, I saw as we worked through them, were key, and each built up to allow them to be put together finally for the ringer. I realised we had not built up that piece-by-piece muscle memory in our learners, and rushed them into joined up ringing without the key habits built into auto pilot.
So, a great course, a great structure of identifying and training each element, and at last – a route for a learner to be a full ringer that left them confident and safe and enjoying it. Now I and my colleague ringers need to learn our learning skills thoroughly, we are as much learners as our newcomers. Which we will do.
Many thanks for the Course, Les.
Bob Hardwick
Course Tutor: Les Boyce
Teaching Bell Handling
Practical advice for teachers, right from the first lesson.
» Find out more about Module 1