Class Agenda

When instructing a class, it is always a good idea to have a class agenda already in place. You don't want to find yourself standing in front of the class trying to determine what to teach next. Even years of experience can betray you when either nothing comes to mind (specifically when looking for a smooth transition from one technique into something else), or the technique that you decide to teach on the spur of the moment suddenly becomes foreign to you due to lack of practice. Lesson plans are important in any class situation. As an instructor you want to always appear at the top of your game to your students. This is doubly important when you have a guest instructor teaching your class, either a senior student or a senpai. You want to have an understanding before the class begins about what techniques will be taught and know how to assist in there tutelage. A lack of communication between instructors can degrade a class experience very quickly. I have been in more than one class where one instructor told students to do something a different way, and the second instructor comes along and informs the students that they are performing the technique incorrectly and that it should be done the original way. This puts the student in a bad situation and reduces the credibility of one or both of the instructors.

To a lesser degree, it is important that you convey the class agenda to the class. Depending on the plan and techniques being taught, you may want to post a synopsis of what will be taught in class a week before the class. This will give students an opportunity to practice what will be covered in class before they get into the dojo. This will make a drastic improvement for upper level students who have practiced the techniques in the dojo before under supervision. They know, more or less, what is expected and can strive to improve before they come into class. Assuming the student is familiar with the technique, it is better for students to practice techniques before they will be used in class, rather than practicing the techniques after they have been demonstrated in class. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that it is much like studying for an exam where the class acts as the exam. The student will be encouraged to practice by the fact that they will have to perform the technique in front of their instructor and classmates, they will also know that other students have the opportunity to practice the techniques and this will add a positive peer pressure that will bring the overall student quality to a higher level. Second, it focuses the students practice time and reduces discouragement through the practice and repetition by the student of techniques that won't be revisited in class for some time. I have seen instructors who have taught techniques during one class, and not revisited those techniques (at least not for a long time). I could speak on this more in greater length but it may be better for another time.