M2F: 27 Jan 2018 - Southover

A further successful Day course led by the Association of Ringing Teachers (ART) has taken place in Sussex. The one-day course using the simulator at Southover was fully booked, with Gill Hughes (from Derbyshire) taking 12 ringers and putting them through their paces on the road to becoming better Teachers.

The ART approach takes the development of teaching skills back to basics, breaking activities down into bite-size chunks, using a range of different methods to explain theory and put it into practice. A number of the ringers had met Gill in the autumn when she led a Module 1 Day Course which covers teaching a non-ringer through to being able to ring Rounds safely and unaided. Module 2F covers teaching a ringer from Rounds into Plain Hunt using a whole suite of armoury. Many Sussex ringers will be familiar with Kaleidoscope Ringing where pairs of bells make places whilst perhaps other pairs dodge. All of these build excellent foundations skills as well as making practice nights more enjoyable, but the fun doesn’t stop there! Ringers had a go at whole pull and stand, diminishing Rounds, Mexican Wave, Bastow and Cloisters as well as leading some Kaleidoscope Ringing and doing some interesting problem-solving.

The day is an excellent balance between theory and practice, and everyone had the opportunity to be a Teacher or a tricky ringer (some people took to this better than others!). Each ringer received a pack of information and access to the SmARTRinger website for further downloads and left with renewed enthusiasm for challenging ringers at all levels of expertise. We are working towards having a few accredited Teachers in Sussex and the commitment (of time and money) shown by ringers so far is really encouraging. Another two Module 1 Day courses are currently planned in Sussex; The Day course at Billinghurst in April is already full, and details of the 30th June Day course - also at Billinghurst - can be found at https://smartringer.org/public/daycourses/

I really enjoyed putting the idea of breaking down each task (like a 3-4 down dodge) and concentrating on getting that aspect as a solid/reliable skill before hurtling headlong into a method.

Marisa Hayes