Yoga Education

By bopyt on 2010/11/08

I’ve been thinking the meaning of “education” in the context of yoga classes. There is education, and then there is guided practice. Most classes are the latter, with perhaps a bit of instruction thrown in if you are lucky.

Most yoga classes I have been to use same modes of instruction: demonstration and participation. The leader shows the moves, asks the students to complete a series of movements, and may offer suggestions on form or alignment. These classes work primarily, if not entirely, at the psychomotor domain. They teach muscle memory. They teach the body how to relax, how to open, or how to stretch. Very valuable stuff, of course.

However, there is more to us than just our bodies and there are many modes of learning available to us besides muscle memory. We are thinking creatures and have cognitive and emotional needs that are not being met by these methods.

The teacher training I recently attended included 20 hours of anatomy. There were a few things that I learned in this class that I wish I had learned years ago. The whole thing about antagonist and protagonist muscles for example. If I had known that, in order to get my hamstrings to stretch, I should get my quadriceps to contract it would have been very helpful.  I had teachers that told me, “Raise your kneecaps!” But I had no idea why they were saying that. Being a thinking person, I think this information would have been useful!

Most of us don’t know our bodies very well…we neglected and ignored them for so long that now we need our brain’s assistance in coming to terms with them. Many of us have a learning style that needs to know “why” something works.  We’re not very good at just memorizing steps and series of a simple movements. But if we understand the theory and concepts behind body movement, and know why it is good for us to “bend at the hips, not at the back” we can remember to tell our bodies to do it.

My favorite classes include a little talk about yoga philosophy, and also include a guided meditation. These may work at the cognitive levels, but as they say, “telling ain’t training.”  I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a yoga class where we have been asked to really think about yoga, use critical reflection, or examine our assumptions.

For my first yoga class offering, I want to explore this with beginning yoga students. I am designing a course that meets my criteria for sound instructional design: there will be clear objectives, objectives will include psychomotor, cognitive and affective domains, there will be an assessment and a progression of objectives that lead students from where they are to an understanding as well as an ability to do a series of poses. It will definitely include a workbook with questions for reflection and suggestions for continued learning. I promise that I will also demonstrate movements and ask students to “to relax, to open, and to stretch.” I will not neglect the psychomotor learning domain.

I think it’s time, and it’s up to me to step it up a notch for yoga education. I’m not a gym teacher putting people through the paces so that their body gets some exercise. I am a yoga instructor. I teach yoga. At the end of the day, I want to know that my students learned something, that they can do something and explain to me why they are doing it.

If you have suggestions on what I should include in my course, please leave a reply. My goal is to have the basic design complete by 12/31/2010, and then find a space to deliver the course in early 2011. I will report back. :)

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Estimating

By bopyt on 2010/01/26

I was recently asked to estimate the effort required to develop materials for an instructor-led training course.  Accurate estimating is important in order to have a successful project for many reasons. So, how do we know? How can we guess-timate, let alone provide an accurate estimate of effort?

Usually, when someone asks “How long will this take?” they are really asking two questions. First, they are asking, “How much will it cost?”  because they need to know how many billable hours of service they need to contract with me for. And second, they are asking, “When will it be done?” to know when they can start teaching the class.  Let’s look at the first question in this article.

To estimate instructional design and development effort, I have developed the following  “rule of thumb” matrix. The two Course Development Estimating Matrixmost important aspects of estimating are the complexity of what you need to teach, and what you have to draw upon for content.

For example, a one-hour training on something well known, with existing content readily available, that is simple in nature – that is simple technically, or simple physically, or simple conceptually – should take about 10 hours to develop. That should give the developer sufficient time to analyze the material, design and develop the material, the layout, the agenda, the exercises, and so forth, including responding to reviews and feedback.

For a more complex subjects — either more complex conceptually, or more complex delivery formats, or even more complex because of corporate politics — additional time is required. Each level of complexity need to be looked at to determine its impact on the project.

Another question to ask about subject matter is, “Does the instructor already know the material?” If so, the project will be less complex than if we are developing material to be taught by someone new to the material.  In the first case, simple Instructor Notes will do, but for the later a more complete Guide to Instruction may be required.

The same goes for the maturity of the content. How well known is it? Or do we have to make it up as we go along? Is there an existing body of content to draw upon?  The more material already exists for the subject matter, the quicker it will be to develop.  But if we are teaching a course on “best practices”, and those practices have not yet been clearly defined, that subject matter is complex. A good example of this is newly developed software systems.  By definition, if the software is not yet in general use, it is complex.

Finally, remember that this does not include time of other people, such as reviewers and approvers, and this does not mean that the training will be ready in 30 hours from right now!  I’ll write about the question, “When will it be ready?”  in a later blog.

Best to you,

Barbara

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Koshas Class

By bopyt on 2009/10/07

Draft Course Analysis Document v.09

Concept: Teaching the concept of the five koshas to professional consultants.

Course Goal: The goal of this course is to give the students an understanding of how the layers of the kosha, layers of their personal reality, are related to the layers of the corporation’s reality. The intention is that this knowledge will enhance their understanding of the … We will know that this course is successful if students ….

Course objectives: When the students complete this course they will be able to:
* List the five koshas. (Note: the student is not required to use the sanskrit names. Alternative English names will be provided.)

  • Physical – Annamaya kosha
  • Energy – Pranamaya kosha
  • Mental – Manamaya kosha
  • Wisdom – Vijnanamaya kosha
  • Bliss – Anandamaya kosha
  • Self – Atman (not a layer, but the source)

* Describe the concept of five koshas using metaphors such as layers of reality, bodies of illusions, or veils of perception.
* Describe the benefits of kosha integration and transparency (integral, alignment, power, etc)
* Use a guided meditation to practice connecting to and integrating the koshas.
* Given a work scenario,describe how koshas are interacting, blocking flow, or clearing in the scenario. (Note: examples will be from personal, business, and/or spiritual life)

Audience Characteristics:
Professional staff at xyz consulting company. Most are A-type, driven, career-focused individualists. These are the kind of people that work hard and play hard. They likely have a positive attitude towards programs that teach specific skills or techniques that will help them be more effective in their work. They may have a negative connotation of anything that appears to slow them down. They may have trouble with sitting silently for any extended period of time, and are more likely to pay attention in more active learning situation. They don’t have tolerance for playing games or busy work types of exercises. They likely have not have previously been exposed to any of these concepts.

Resources:
http://www.swamij.com/koshas.htm
http://www.layogamagazine.com/issue21/departments/koshas.htm
http://www.experiencefestival.com/kosha
Also see: Light on Life by BKS Iyengar

Possible Teaching Strategies:
Use metaphors that seem less woo-woo, less sanskrit and more American English, modern-media like, but still green. Possibly using terms such as Physical/Energetic/Intellectual/Intuitive/Bliss(?)/and Self. The first teaching goal will be for students to differentiate between layers, for example to feel the physical layer and energetic layer within them selves. Or discuss a scenario from a physical and energetic perspective. This needs to be active, it could be accomplished through a guided meditation or an interactive learning experience … first engaging their body, then their energy, then intellect, and so forth.

Possible Development Strategies:
Focus groups to decide on the language we’ll use to describe the layers.
Create the interactive simulation (in the first phase we’ll simply use the iMax with surround sound).
Record multiple scenarios and play them over and over and over again until we can clearly articulate the interactions of the koshas there.

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