TEACHING TIP for Group Lessons: Get unstuck from your “glue trap” student(s)

TEACHING TIP for adaptive/therapeutic riding GROUP LESSONS:

Don’t get “glued” to your lead student/ student that needs the most support. Instead, spread out the feedback and praise among all the students in the class.

During group lessons, instructors can easily get locked into the student in the front of the line and/or the student that requires more feedback and assistance. When this happens they may unintentionally neglect the other students and not give them enough feedback or praise.

It’s like the instructor has blinders on and is only seeing that one student and the others are an afterthought. The remaining students may not get addressed until they ask for help, there is a traffic jam, or a safety issue arises!

Getting “glued” to a student is a common issue that instructors face…but it is a problem that can be corrected with mental awareness and discipline from the instructor. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve gotten stuck on one student in a class and did not teach as a group or give enough feedback or attention to the others.

So…HOW can you free yourself from the “glue trap” of the lead student or student that needs more help?

Here’s a few tips:

1. Give the main instructions to the group…not just the rider in the lead
   • Example: “Riders, at the next cone you come to, ask your horse to halt then I’ll give you the next set of instructions. I want to see everyone sitting tall like trees and only your reins sliding back for the halt”!
2. Consciously spread out individual feedback to each student instead of stopping at the first student you give feedback to.
   • Example: “Sally, well done with squeezing the reins back but remember to release once your horse stops. Sam, excellent lower leg position…where should your thumbs be on your reins? Jenny, very nice voice command for the halt. Can you grow tall in the saddle so you can keep communicating well to your horse?”
3. Give group praises…but make sure they are accurate.
   • Example: “Everyone is doing such a wonderful job looking where they are going! This is very important when riding together so you can keep safe spacing”.
4. Give group feedback or a group cue that will prepare everyone to do the next thing you ask of them then follow up with group and/or individual praise depending on what you see.
   • Example: “On the next halt, I want to see all of you ask your horses first with your voice and seat and then use the reins only if needed. The last halt the reins came before your voices and seats….let’s swap it”!
5. Ask questions that have multiple answers or components and prompt students to answer working from the LAST TO END rider! This not only helps draw out engagement from the last rider that can sometimes check out because they are not in the lead but it also forces the instructor to focus their attention on the end of the line.
   • Example: “Starting from the caboose horse…tell me the steps, in order, that you will take to ask your horse to back. Remember to just use your voice to say the step, don’t show it yet”.

What are things YOU do to not get stuck giving directions, praise, and/or feedback to just one rider of the group? COMMENT BELOW!

Want to learn more about topics mentioned in this post? Check out the Intuitive Instructor Content below:

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