Paddling instructor certification workshops and paddling skills courses are rife with examples of active teaching techniques: Lectures, demonstrations, stroke modeling, games, drills, exercises, exams. Instructors should and do learn most of these overt techniques for passing along knowledge.
I’ll opine though that there is a more subtle teaching level that all instructors need to develop to pass along their wealth of knowledge about our sports. Those are the little things: The knowledge, techniques and behaviors that are impressed on students in a more passive, sometimes unspoken fashion. The instructor standing before, or paddling around a group of students maintains a focus of attention on themselves that may not be immediately noticeable. What they do, what they wear, the kind (and condition) of gear they use and how they use it are all a constant stream of ‘beta’ to students. As with many other aspects of teaching, the instructor’s ability to time-travel back to the days when they were newb paddlers can help their students learn from their experience. Continue reading










