It’s widely accepted that “sage on a stage” lecturing is outdated and ineffective. As education professionals seek better ways to increase engagement and participation in professional development, insights appear in an unexpected setting.
Between 2017 and 2019, I taught more than 100 yoga classes and facilitated 1000+ hours of professional development. Sure, rolling oms and white boards are very different things. But there’s more commonality between the two contexts than you might expect.
Rephrasing Negativity to Increase Engagement
Words shape how people feel about an experience and themselves. As yoga teachers, we’re taught to avoid addressing skill and mastery in negative terms. Negative or extreme terms can shift someone’s entire class experience.
Rephrasing could look like this:
Some people hate triangle pose. | Triangle pose can be tricky. |
I never get this on the first try. | Give yourself grace if you need a few tries. |
Swapping out negative words for gentler terms holds power in a professional development setting as well. When facilitators use negative language, it can add to the reluctance participants may have felt walking in the door. Keeping session language neutral helps participants stay more open to the topic, encouraging participation and retention.
Consider these rephrasings:
This is the only thing I don’t like about ___. | I had to give some consideration to ___. |
___ is very controversial. | You’ll hear differing perspectives on ___. |
Never in a millions years would I ___. | In my situation, ___ isn’t the right fit. |
Getting Quiet to Encourage Participation
Some types of yoga are described as moving meditation. You’re stretching, but you’re also deepening your breath, sharpening your focus, and tuning in to what your body needs.
To reap these benefits, yoga students need the teacher to frequently stop talking and let them explore. It’s in silence that yogis can gauge sensation or slow breathing. And since you can’t listen to the teacher and your body at the same time, a pause in instruction is essential for allowing participants the silence – and time – to look inward.
Similarly in professional development, it’s tempting to cram a session with constant facilitator talk to acknowledge the time and money invested. However, even 3-5 seconds of think time incorporated periodically throughout a session can help retention, engagement, and participation. The payoff is big, and as a bonus, it models for teachers best practices in implementing think time in their classrooms.
Tips to effectively incorporate think time into professional development:
Name the think time for what it is and establish how long it will last
Identify what is being thought about
Reiterate that thinking is silent
Specify that the facilitator will keep time
Use it after presenting a lot of information and/or before a discussion
Silent think time in professional development might sound like:
Take 30 seconds of silent think time to jot down two ideas that have stood out to you so far. Feel free to jot ideas down if that helps you. When I call time, you’ll share an idea with a neighbor.
Please pause for five seconds and silently consider how this might impact your specific students. I’ll let you know when your think time is up.
Preparing Unhurried Closure
For many, the highlight of yoga class is Savasana. It’s the final pose of class and involves sitting or lying in total stillness. Do people fall asleep? Yes. Do people fidget? Rarely. After stretching, balancing, and breathing, bodies and minds are ready for rest.
Knowing this is a big draw, yoga teachers pace their class so Savasana isn’t rushed. As a new teacher, I used a timer to ensure I left plenty of time for a restful end of class. I knew the point where I would start cutting other poses to preserve ample time for closing. No one will complain if you skip Eagle pose, but there will be words if Savasana is too brief.
This translates to an important idea for facilitation, too: Ending your session with a sense of calm and a feeling of closure helps participants retain information and builds investment in future professional development. Proactively anticipating time challenges can keep session engagement high all the way to the end. Maintaining consistent pacing creates predictability and space for participants to make important content connections.
Suggestions to ensure a calm closing:
Before a session:
Front load the presentation with the essential concepts.
Map and time stamp your content at 10-15 minute intervals.
Plan what you’ll cut to stay on track, if necessary.
During the session:
Reference the time-stamped map to recognize if you’re off schedule.
Refrain from sharing that you’re off schedule or cutting material.
Resist the urge to increase pace or eliminate breaks, think time, or discussion.
Rely on prior planning to make edits, not impulse.
Near the session’s end:
Take a deep breath.
Use language to indicate the session is at its end, cuing participants that intellectual lifting is almost finished. This might sound like:
As this session draws to a close, I want to thank you for your focus and participation today. Your final action is to ___ and then you are free to go. I’ll stick around for individual questions but for now, good luck ___ and I can’t wait to ___.
Breathe In and Breathe Out
Aside from a session where I unexpectedly had to lead participants in deep breathing, the impact of teaching yoga on my facilitation skills may not be immediately noticeable. While subtle, my time spent teaching yogis has helped me be more intentional, compassionate, and gentle with the groups I facilitate and even with myself.
Need more tips regarding professional development?
While we can’t offer tips on nailing Revolved Half-Moon pose, ScribeConcepts is ready to assist you in all professional development endeavors. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your next project.
Lindsay Griffith is a Content Development consultant for ScribeConcepts.
Comments