Locus of control Theory
After speaking to our clinical psychologist - we discussed many elements of different reasons people would come to class and come back to class after as well.
The phycology behind how we learn and how we attract people to return to us after we've taught them is a massive subject, one that I wouldn't want to cover alone. I plan to look into all the aspects I discussed with Gabriella and then choose a strand to investigate further.
We looked at the idea of attachment and how if a student can relate to some part of the subject and the teacher teaching they will be more likely to return to your class. The class itself is only one part of this. We also need to think about before the class and the lead up - any communication between student and teacher (eg. a potential student emails me and I respond in a way to make them feel like I want them at the class). It can also be that the poster or advert they have seen is relevant to them (maybe it looks fun or more serious and challenging - it will appeal to different people). After the class also plays a part - asking the student if they enjoyed the class, giving them a business card and telling them to communicate with you, involving them in any social activities coming up so they feel part of the community.
During the class several things can affect the way someone responds, learns and enjoys the class. This can be down to the language used and whether it is relevant and they can understand it. The student must be able to follow the class in the someway, so the teacher must think about the level they are pacing the class at. The student should feel like they have learnt and have been challenged. If the class is too easy they won't be challenged and if its too hard they won't have learnt anything. Sometimes people make an assumption that you must be at a certain standard to join in a dance class (maybe have some co-ordination, balance, rhythm, etc). But during my Zumba classes we discussed the idea of it being an dance/exercise class that you can't do wrong, the only way to do Zumba is to enjoy it and have fun - which means you are doing it right. This is something I like to emphasize and believe has a resounding affect on people who have never danced before and are worried. As teachers we need to tap into what our students or potential students are thinking and make sure the class demonstrates this. There should be a range of adaptations and options for students who really do struggle in their first weeks.
Music and culture may also affect if someone returns to a class. a high percentage of people we see at work are from a Muslim community and are women - and for something like Zumba its important for me to understand and respect this and put as few limitations on class as possible. I spoke about health and safety and about for example if people were wearing long skirts down to their ankles I would ask them to change as performing movements in that outfit may endanger themselves or others of tripping. However Gabriella mentioned that perhaps as a service we should be catering for this and perhaps create a bespoke group where the exercise/dance class is adapted to what the ladies might be wearing (for example in the origins of the Cumbia, ladies hold up their long skirts to dance - so we could adapt the movements to suit their clothing).
Music may also influence if someone enjoys and returns to class. For example during my CVDP Zumba Class, the average age of students is middle aged to older, so I try to choose mainly Zumba tracks but if I use any extra music I use older songs maybe from the 70's and 80's so its music people recognise. Even within the official Zumba music I must really choose wisely as some have very heavy beats which some older clients may not appreciate. On the other side of the scale, my ballet classes are normally with younger people, so I try to use chart music or have 'theme' weeks where I pick a style and ask for them to send in their requests.
Gabriella also spoke about how because of the different cultures in class, for example if I had some people from an Indian background and chose to do a Bollywood piece, those people may respond positively as they believe I have thought about them and their culture in my class preparation and choreography.
In the whole, it is important for teachers to dispel and remove as many limitations that would stop someone attending or returning to class as possible. This can be music, culture, age, intellectual ability, physical limitations and senses. If someone does not have the intellectual ability to understand what I'm saying, it is up to me to think of a different way to say it, or to use a metaphor or visual idea to help someone understand. This works back in with the idea of constructivist teaching - it is person centred and the teacher adapts to help the student understand in their own way. My CVDP Zumba has people who have never exercised before and therefore have physical limitations - I must adapt my style of teaching and the class content to them. The physical space must also be taken into consideration - I need to think about where to stand, where to move to during exercises to ensure people can hear me and see me and see my feet of course! If the class is large and the space is large, I need to think about voice projection to reach those people at the back of the class.
Gabriella spoke of the cycle of failure. For example if someone is having negative thoughts and currently has a low sense of self-esteem, they will be worried about joining the class. They may then have a negative experience during the class which will keep them in this negative cycle. So it is important that before or during class that the teacher or the dance students do something to get the person out of that negative cycle.
There is the dance teacher - dance class relationship
Dance teacher - student relationship
Dance class -student relationship.
All these relationships can influence whether someone has a negative or positive experience in class. Which is where we can start to look at the Locus of control theory. The theory states that if someone has a strong locus of control they believe that outcomes happen because of their actions. So if they get a bad grade in an exam, they believe it was because they didn't study hard enough. However someone with a lower locus of control would suggest that the exam was too hard or they couldn't concentrate because of environmental factors of the outside world (it was too hot, I couldn't sleep so I wasn't awake) and believe it is more down to fate or chance.
The relevance here could be - before we go back to discuss other aspects of what makes someone have a positive experience in class, is that someone who has a strong locus of control who struggles in class, may come to the outcome it is because they have not done a certain step before and that they must practice to get better - it is within their power. However someone with a low locus of control may believe that the teaching wasn't clear enough for them to get the step or that the whole class was too hard and they didn't understand (with bad teaching, of course this could be the case, but we are looking more at the idea of a well trained and conscientious teacher who cares about her lessons here as an example) what was being taught. These people probably will not want to return to class as they left the class in their negative cycle. The people who entered class with the high level of locus of control are more likely to return as they believe the situation is for them to change.
Attachment also plays an important part of the long term enjoyment people can have in class. If a student becomes attached to the teacher they will want to come back for the familiarity of the setting and to see the teacher again. They may believe the teacher is an essential part of the class being successful for them, or they may believe that they are the essential part of what makes the class work for them - again it can be linked back to Locus of control theory - although in this case someone with a lower locus of control who is attached to the teacher may be more likely to come back than someone who is not attached to the teacher. A sentimental level of attachment where the student becomes friends with a teacher also add to the community feel of the class as a whole and can be a welcoming atmosphere that students want to return to each week as the class gives them some meaning being part of that group.
Things I want to look at after our meeting:
CBT - motivational model - what spirals people into a positive state, what spirals them into a negative state.
And against the above, what is happening in the outside world and chemically in our bodies to sustain this feeling - endorphins, losing weight, people in etc.
Dance classes - in an old fashioned view - tends to make people get the idea of being an 'outsider' in the group and to not feel welcome (probably stemming from films like 'Fame', etc, where other students are shown as judgmental and not supportive of fellow class mates). How do I as a teacher support people feeling welcomed? What makes this community setting different to that stereotype?
What happens when class is finished? What's the goal for a long term class like this? We aren't working towards a performance but what are people individually or as a group working towards - must be something worthwhile or they won't want to continue - is it more about them developing as they do more of the exercise/dance and learn more steps and get quicker and start to feel less tired? Do they just want to see improvement and get recognition for that improvement? This goes back to the teaching style used and perhaps could go into a feedback loop - for example they could be videoed at the beginning of a term and videoed at the end to show improvement visually.
An area of study I might be interested to look at further is -
The phycology behind how we learn and how we attract people to return to us after we've taught them is a massive subject, one that I wouldn't want to cover alone. I plan to look into all the aspects I discussed with Gabriella and then choose a strand to investigate further.
We looked at the idea of attachment and how if a student can relate to some part of the subject and the teacher teaching they will be more likely to return to your class. The class itself is only one part of this. We also need to think about before the class and the lead up - any communication between student and teacher (eg. a potential student emails me and I respond in a way to make them feel like I want them at the class). It can also be that the poster or advert they have seen is relevant to them (maybe it looks fun or more serious and challenging - it will appeal to different people). After the class also plays a part - asking the student if they enjoyed the class, giving them a business card and telling them to communicate with you, involving them in any social activities coming up so they feel part of the community.
During the class several things can affect the way someone responds, learns and enjoys the class. This can be down to the language used and whether it is relevant and they can understand it. The student must be able to follow the class in the someway, so the teacher must think about the level they are pacing the class at. The student should feel like they have learnt and have been challenged. If the class is too easy they won't be challenged and if its too hard they won't have learnt anything. Sometimes people make an assumption that you must be at a certain standard to join in a dance class (maybe have some co-ordination, balance, rhythm, etc). But during my Zumba classes we discussed the idea of it being an dance/exercise class that you can't do wrong, the only way to do Zumba is to enjoy it and have fun - which means you are doing it right. This is something I like to emphasize and believe has a resounding affect on people who have never danced before and are worried. As teachers we need to tap into what our students or potential students are thinking and make sure the class demonstrates this. There should be a range of adaptations and options for students who really do struggle in their first weeks.
Music and culture may also affect if someone returns to a class. a high percentage of people we see at work are from a Muslim community and are women - and for something like Zumba its important for me to understand and respect this and put as few limitations on class as possible. I spoke about health and safety and about for example if people were wearing long skirts down to their ankles I would ask them to change as performing movements in that outfit may endanger themselves or others of tripping. However Gabriella mentioned that perhaps as a service we should be catering for this and perhaps create a bespoke group where the exercise/dance class is adapted to what the ladies might be wearing (for example in the origins of the Cumbia, ladies hold up their long skirts to dance - so we could adapt the movements to suit their clothing).
Music may also influence if someone enjoys and returns to class. For example during my CVDP Zumba Class, the average age of students is middle aged to older, so I try to choose mainly Zumba tracks but if I use any extra music I use older songs maybe from the 70's and 80's so its music people recognise. Even within the official Zumba music I must really choose wisely as some have very heavy beats which some older clients may not appreciate. On the other side of the scale, my ballet classes are normally with younger people, so I try to use chart music or have 'theme' weeks where I pick a style and ask for them to send in their requests.
Gabriella also spoke about how because of the different cultures in class, for example if I had some people from an Indian background and chose to do a Bollywood piece, those people may respond positively as they believe I have thought about them and their culture in my class preparation and choreography.
In the whole, it is important for teachers to dispel and remove as many limitations that would stop someone attending or returning to class as possible. This can be music, culture, age, intellectual ability, physical limitations and senses. If someone does not have the intellectual ability to understand what I'm saying, it is up to me to think of a different way to say it, or to use a metaphor or visual idea to help someone understand. This works back in with the idea of constructivist teaching - it is person centred and the teacher adapts to help the student understand in their own way. My CVDP Zumba has people who have never exercised before and therefore have physical limitations - I must adapt my style of teaching and the class content to them. The physical space must also be taken into consideration - I need to think about where to stand, where to move to during exercises to ensure people can hear me and see me and see my feet of course! If the class is large and the space is large, I need to think about voice projection to reach those people at the back of the class.
Gabriella spoke of the cycle of failure. For example if someone is having negative thoughts and currently has a low sense of self-esteem, they will be worried about joining the class. They may then have a negative experience during the class which will keep them in this negative cycle. So it is important that before or during class that the teacher or the dance students do something to get the person out of that negative cycle.
There is the dance teacher - dance class relationship
Dance teacher - student relationship
Dance class -student relationship.
All these relationships can influence whether someone has a negative or positive experience in class. Which is where we can start to look at the Locus of control theory. The theory states that if someone has a strong locus of control they believe that outcomes happen because of their actions. So if they get a bad grade in an exam, they believe it was because they didn't study hard enough. However someone with a lower locus of control would suggest that the exam was too hard or they couldn't concentrate because of environmental factors of the outside world (it was too hot, I couldn't sleep so I wasn't awake) and believe it is more down to fate or chance.
The relevance here could be - before we go back to discuss other aspects of what makes someone have a positive experience in class, is that someone who has a strong locus of control who struggles in class, may come to the outcome it is because they have not done a certain step before and that they must practice to get better - it is within their power. However someone with a low locus of control may believe that the teaching wasn't clear enough for them to get the step or that the whole class was too hard and they didn't understand (with bad teaching, of course this could be the case, but we are looking more at the idea of a well trained and conscientious teacher who cares about her lessons here as an example) what was being taught. These people probably will not want to return to class as they left the class in their negative cycle. The people who entered class with the high level of locus of control are more likely to return as they believe the situation is for them to change.
Attachment also plays an important part of the long term enjoyment people can have in class. If a student becomes attached to the teacher they will want to come back for the familiarity of the setting and to see the teacher again. They may believe the teacher is an essential part of the class being successful for them, or they may believe that they are the essential part of what makes the class work for them - again it can be linked back to Locus of control theory - although in this case someone with a lower locus of control who is attached to the teacher may be more likely to come back than someone who is not attached to the teacher. A sentimental level of attachment where the student becomes friends with a teacher also add to the community feel of the class as a whole and can be a welcoming atmosphere that students want to return to each week as the class gives them some meaning being part of that group.
We also need to look at the pace of the class and the teaching style itself - if the student cannot follow the class, they may start to give up and end up in that cycle of failure we spoke about earlier.
Things I want to look at after our meeting:
CBT - motivational model - what spirals people into a positive state, what spirals them into a negative state.
And against the above, what is happening in the outside world and chemically in our bodies to sustain this feeling - endorphins, losing weight, people in etc.
Dance classes - in an old fashioned view - tends to make people get the idea of being an 'outsider' in the group and to not feel welcome (probably stemming from films like 'Fame', etc, where other students are shown as judgmental and not supportive of fellow class mates). How do I as a teacher support people feeling welcomed? What makes this community setting different to that stereotype?
What happens when class is finished? What's the goal for a long term class like this? We aren't working towards a performance but what are people individually or as a group working towards - must be something worthwhile or they won't want to continue - is it more about them developing as they do more of the exercise/dance and learn more steps and get quicker and start to feel less tired? Do they just want to see improvement and get recognition for that improvement? This goes back to the teaching style used and perhaps could go into a feedback loop - for example they could be videoed at the beginning of a term and videoed at the end to show improvement visually.
An area of study I might be interested to look at further is -
What's the difference between circuits and some dance related exercise. Dance class can really use your brain and getting you thinking, trying to remember and learn new steps, whereas circuits is less cognitive – is it as important to relate to your teacher in a circuits class as a zumba class? Dance class has a development of steps and heads somewhere different each week (by developing the step/getting better at it), whereas circuits using the same movements each week and just the weights progress.
My next step is to create a long list of things that go through peoples mind and bodies that would help that positive circle of motivation.
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