The Fine Art of Teaching Crafters

Earlier today I taught a class in Zentangle at a local scrapbook store. I was a bit trepidatious about the class because they'd invited another teacher some months ago, and she had not been very well received. Of course, the class went fine. We had a great time, and many of my students are off to a fine start in this new hobby.

Relazing after teaching my Zentangle class.

Last week I did a post for Elizabeth Spann Craig's excellent blog "Mystery Writing is Murder." I wrote about how to put more emotion in your writing. One of the commenters said, I love how you have broken down your tips into manageable, understandable steps."

That got me thinking: Why is it that some people can teach and some can't?

To me, the essence of teaching is breaking material down into discrete, manageable steps--and then give examples, using as many different explanations as possible.

When my mother taught ballet to small children, she would use chalk to draw a big circle on the floor of her dance studio. In the center of the circle, she drew fish. To teach youngsters to execute a "grand jete" (great leap), she would say, "Jump over the puddle and don't let the fishies bite your toes." It never failed to work.

Often, people who know a skill very well don't stop to break it down. They fail to realize the singular, separate steps one must take to get from A to Z. So here's my quickie guide to teaching:

TASK ONE: Create a learning environment (

1. Bring as many visual aids as possible.
2. Keep the project simple at the start. Progress to more difficult projects as you go.
3. Create a comfortable relaxed environment where students feel free to both  fail--and learn!
4. Limit the options and you limit the mistakes a student can make.
5. Be incredibly available and approachable so students can ask questions.
6. Watch your students carefully and if you see a puzzled look, investigate!
7. Praise students liberally.
8. Rephrase information in as many ways as possible.
9. Realize that you will have visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners and offer help for each.
10. NEVER, ever call negative attention to a student's efforts.

TASK TWO: Break down the process

1. Pretend you are explaining the task to a Martian. Get that detailed!
2. Create and define a vocabulary as you go along.
3. "Watch" yourself do the task and then list the steps.
4. Share tips, those shortcuts you personally have used.
5. Show the process in its various stages of completion.
6. Think through the ways a person could interpret your directions wrong--and head off those mistakes.
7. Offer a handout to accompany your class.

I know that some of you have also taught writing and crafts. What have you learned about teaching?

How I Became a Class Project

Life's like that, right? You're walking along and WHAP! you hit a low tree limb, a surprise that jolts you.

That's what happened to me with my tai chi class. I signed up thinking it would be a nice change. "Tai chi" means "peaceful energy." I could use a bit of peacefulness in my soul.

Of course, I was running late for the first class. We meet from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., so getting out of bed and dressed so early is new for me. Lately, we've turned into night owls with David's store hours. I took a spot in the back. The class was doing warm up exercises. Okay, fine, got that. Then the "instructor" said, "Now we'll do tai chi."

Everyone turned around and stared at me.

Huh?

Turns out, this particular group has been meeting together for six or seven years. The only other newbie has been attending for two years. And the "instructor" is a class participant. The original instructor had to give up teaching the class, so the participants decided to keep meeting and to take places leading the sessions.

Obviously, I stuck out like a sore thumb. But my classmates were just lovely. They explained what we were doing. They take turns correcting me. They brought me handouts on the second session. I might be the youngest person in the class; I'm certainly one of the youngest. Suddenly, I feel like I have "parents" again. Especially when we finish the session and walk together to Whole Foods for breakfast.

I went for the peaceful energy. I think I'll keep going for the camaraderie. I'm happy to be their class project.

How about you? Ever get hit by a low hanging limb with something you didn't see coming? And did you say to yourself, "What a lucky dog I am?"

A Class Act

I’m not much for taking scrapbooking classes. When I started scrapbooking, there were no nearby dedicated stores, no places to take lessons.

Besides, I just didn’t have the time to find a nearby crop. And I wound up cropping at odd hours. Also, dragging all my supplies around was not my idea of fun.

Okay, and there’s an ego-thing. See, eventually I did “invent” all sorts of things that are now standard in scrapbooking: using silk flowers (I remember the look on the faces of the people at Creating Keepsakes Magazine when they viewed my page with silk flowers—SHOCK!), inking the edges of your paper (I’d run out of paper to use as mattes and decided to drag the image across my ink pad), adding fabric to a page (I used felt), and three-D items (tiny Christmas wreaths), dried flowers, tinsel, beads, and I forget what else. (Oh, I’m also the originator of the phrase, “There are no scrapbook police.” I know another prominent scrapbooker has since picked it up, but I said it “first.” And I wrote the seminal article on scrapbooking your faith and scrapbook pages featuring yourself. I can prove that, too, because there were in magazine articles.) So I guess you could say I’ve had an inflated view of my own creativity. That’s good and bad, perhaps.

Last month I signed up for a class at Archivers in “see through” albums. (These are albums with pages made either of sheets of acetate--like overhead projector cells--or pages laminated so that portions are see-through.) Man, I had soooo much fun. I got to use new tools, try new products, try new techniques and I sat at a table with three other cool young ladies (much younger than I—their names were Amy, Emma, and Katie, so you can guess their ages!) who shared their knowledge and supplies.

I came away totally inspired. So much so that I dove into making an album for my son to take to college. (Okay, that’s not likely. My husband sweetly suggested that we scan the pages and put it on Michael’s I-Pod instead. “Honey,” said my husband, “you have to remember that kids access information differently than we do.” He’s right. Besides, I’ve put so much work into that album, I hate to let it loose in the uncontrolled dorm environment! And Michael really liked what I did, so I want it to be convenient for him to see.)

Here’s my suggestion to you: Get thee hither to a class. I paid next to nothing for the Archiver’s class. Surely it didn’t cover the cost of the materials. I came away with a cool, cool album. (I’m adding more pages to it before I bind it, so it’s not only way-cool, but also very useful.) And I’m feeling totally inspired.

Summer is a great time to learn more about the hobby you love. Kick it into high gear!