Today at
work I got to watch an athlete of mine embrace confusion! I coach competitive
gymnastics and as I learn more and more in education I try and apply it to my
work. Today I was teaching a gymnast to use a different technique for twisting
a forward salto. She has been working on front twisting for about a year, but
she hasn’t been able to finish the twist so I gave her a different technique to
try. Before going I warned her that it would feel weird and that she would
probably get lost but to just keep pulling until she hit the ground. Her first
attempt didn’t work, she started and got very lost and opened her twist to stop
herself. I had her try again and reminded her to keep pulling until she felt
the floor. She went for it and even though she had no idea where she was she
didn’t stop and she ended up finishing the twist all the way around. As she
repeated the skill a few more times she became comfortable with the technique
and began to become aware of where she was in the air to land on her feet.
Like the
students I will be working with in schools, my gymnast was hesitant to try
this, it was something she didn’t know and wasn’t sure what was going to
happen. This wasn’t her first attempt at ever doing this twist, and like the
students I will be working with who have been reading for years, she has worked through these on a basic level before. Her first
try wasn’t successful, but she didn’t give up, she kept working at the skill
and that is the most important thing I have learned from this experience.
Sometimes when trying new things you might crash and burn, but if my students
and I can pick ourselves up and try again we can succeed.
I think
students have been so conditioned that they have to do everything right that
they would rather do nothing, than try and make a mistake. By teaching students
that they can make mistakes and try again students will feel more comfortable
taking risks and challenging themselves. Confusion is scary, but if students
understand that even if they get lost along the way if they keep trying they
will eventually be successful. By teaching students to work through their
struggles and find their own way, after they leave my classroom they will
hopefully be able to work through their own problems in their lives.
Alex, I can relate to your coaching experience as I have taught/assisted with dance for many years (as you already know) and I agree that it is extremely important to get your students to embrace confusion in sports. When students are learning new things I really have to push for them to make a solid attempt at the step, or jump even if they are not exactly sure how to do it properly. It is the students that do not even bother trying because they get frustrated too easily that do not make any progress. Students need to accept that they are not always going to get how to do everything automatically, but making attempts with confidence is how you develop the skills needed to perform the activity whether this is a gymnast attempting a flip, or a student learning to dissect a poem. Students are so afraid of making mistakes that they do not want to even try. There is an obvious need for more of a focus on the process of the learning so students can approach difficult tasks with more of an ease and confidence. I am really glad you brought your coaching experiences into your blog - great job :)
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