M2C: 20 July 2019 - Dunblane
A small group arrived in Dunblane from various towers across the central belt of Scotland for our Module 2C day, run by Judith Frye.
The Scottish Association is a close and active group, so we already knew each other, getting us off to a warm and friendly start. Theory sessions interspersed by practical ringing on the rewarding bells of Dunblane Cathedral gave us lots to practise and think about. Judith’s quiet, efficient and calm tutoring ensured everyone learned the ART philosophy of allowing ringers to learn at the speed which is right for them, and giving ideas for breaking down the learning process into small enough steps for those that need them. We learned that it is important to repeat these steps until the learner really masters them. We had the much appreciated help of a couple of local ringers and one of them confirmed that standard teaching theory says that to really remember something needs twelve repetitions.
We were ready for lunch! Dunblane offers good pie shops and a delightful delicatessen, as well as a chance to view Andy Murray’s gold pillarbox. There is also a newspaper clipping in the Cathedral tower of Andy Murray’s wedding, which the local ringers rang the bells for.
The practical sessions in the tower were a lot of fun! A big emphasis was rightly on bell control and we enjoyed a variety of exercises including firing the bells, ringing rounds followed immediately by back rounds and ringing tunes on the bells (perhaps these may be a bit hard on the bells at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh!) Another learning point was to watch learners when they are learning call changes or a method, rather than looking round the circle of ringers, in order to diagnose errors or ways to help them.
Towards the end of the day we were asked to teach a new method to the rest of the group and then ring it. Throughout the day we were encouraged to think through the reason for what we are doing and encourage learners to challenge themselves, have fun and feel part of the social group.
The whole day was absorbing and inspiring. Thank you, Judith, for guiding us through the module and we look forward to putting it into practice back in our own tower.
Barbara Bell
Course Tutor: Judith Frye
Teaching Elementary Change Ringing
Learn how to teach the skills of change ringing.