M1: 28 Apr 2018 - Billinghurst

Twelve delegates attended this ART Module 1 Day Course and benefited from Pip's excellent tuition.

The ‘teachers’ had varied expertise and experience in teaching bell handling, yet all learned new ideas and approaches. The ART tuition breaks down the broad skills into the component parts of learning to ring bells. The highly strategic approach taken helps learners to handle a bell well. Teachers diagnose faults in a learners’ ringing technique in a precise manner. Teachers then provide strategies to correct them quickly.

The focus is on how to get the best out of learners. The programme is flexible enough to enable teachers to choose how to teach their learner. Support materials such as record books, videos and written help sheets ensure that the theory can translate into practice.

The group practised their skills and will now support each other when teaching new learners. The ART approach focuses on sharing and developing coaching skills, understanding that teaching may not come easily to everybody.

Our next stage is to hone our collective teaching skills as ringing teachers. We would like to swell the number of new bellringers in this area of West Sussex. As we become more experienced as a group we will record our progress with the ART organization. There is much to learn from ART’s research and experience.

I can highly recommend this course and the ART approach. The Billingshurst participants now have a common approach and we will share the responsibility of teaching new ringers.

Sue Child