Past Harperhall Classes
History
Archives
Music
- Basic Music Theory: Sacrificing Your Brain to the Harpercraft.
- Drums da dah dah Dum, or, What Not To Do With a Drum.
- Drumming and Communication: Yelling for Help in Rhythm.
- Beginning Viola, or, Torturing Felines Gradually.
- Modern Composition Techniques: 101 Things To Do With a String and a Board.
- Teaching Ballads: Methods of Mass Manipulation
- Jam Sessions
Law
Miscellaneous
- Why does a Journeyman Journey? I Don't Know Why...
- MOO Dynamics, or, How to Remain Sane.
- Acrobatics, or, Tumbling so You Don't Land on Your Head.
- Interviewing & Weddings, or, There Are Ways of Getting Him to the Alter
- Jueann's New Player Lesson Logs
- Dolphinsinging, or, Take Harpers, add Water, and Stir.
Lesson Plans
- Lesson Plan Guide
- Basic Law
- Song Structure
- Wood Staining
- Basic Archives
- History
- Documentation
- Composition
- Intro to Guitar
- Intro to Flute
- Teaching Seminar
- IC/OOC
A basic guideline for Harpers trying to write a lesson plan.
A standard class lasts for 1 hour. If a pose round lasts 10 minutes or more, that's not likely to be more than about 3 main points.
Title of Class
Objectives
Outline of what is being taught (about 3 or more main points)
Application (Activities)
Sum up (Homework)
Another reference to assist in writing lesson plans is here:
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Guide.shtml
To begin, ask yourself three basic questions:
-Where are your students going?
-How are they going to get there?
-How will you know when they've arrived?
Sections:
-Goals
-Objectives
-Prerequisites
-Materials
-Lesson Description
-Lesson Procedure (Activities)
-Closure (Conclusion)
-Assessment and Evaluation (Homework, quiz/test)
Class Outline
Why do we have laws?
-To provide a social framework for behavior beyond the guidelines set by simple morality
-To provide checks and balances on the powerful, and protect the weak
-To establish a single set of rules guiding all people.
All Pernese Laws derive from the Charter
-The Charter outlines the duties of Lords, Craftmasters and Weyrleaders to their areas, and to the larger world of Pern.
-The Charter grants autonomy to each area: Weyrs, Holds and Crafthalls.
-The Charter defines the obligations of Craft and Hold to supply tithe to the Weyrs, and the Weyrs' obligation to protect the lands and people of the Holds and Crafts.
-The Charter states that the Weyrleader, Crafthead or Holder is responsible for the care and safety of those under them. Failure to do this can cause their Holding or Craft to be taken from them by a Conclave of the other leaders of their area (Hold, Craft or Weyr) and granted to another.
How does a Pernese court work?
-Three main parts: The Defense, the Prosecution and the Judge.
-The Defense is in charge of pleading the case of the accused, and trying either to have them aquitted, or to lessen their sentance.
-The Prosecution is in charge of making the case against the accused, and seeking their conviction and the stiffest penalties possible.
-The Judge is responsible for hearing the cases of both Defense and Prosecution, and making a judgement based upon the facts presented. If the judge is not the leader of the area in which the crime has taken place, their judgement is only a recommendation to that leader.
Introduction to song structure.
Objectives:
-To give students a way of describing song structures,
-To introduce and discuss some common elements of song structure.
Outline.
Tell students that they'll want to take notes.
Introduction: This lesson is about the structure of songs. We shall discuss some of the common structures, and also learn a way of describing the structure of songs easily.
Most of the songs that we sing and perform aren't just one continuous block of words and music. They're divided up, into verses and so on, and there are different ways of building a song from these blocks.
Ask students to suggest some different structures. Aim to get at least the following answers:
-Several verses all the same.
-Verse & chorus(refrain) alternating.
Give examples if necessary to prompt students. Menolly's firelizard song is a ballad that tells a story, and it's composed as a succession of verses. Her 'Don't leave me alone' consists of verses and a refrain.
OOC note: these are in the harper songbook as 'book pg 25' and book pg 33 (refrain only)
It would be useful to have a way of describing these structures. We can give each different type of section a letter, and use those. So, a song with just a series of verses has a structure that we can call AAA. For verse and refrain alternating, ABAB, etc.
Another pattern might be two verses, then a different section, then another verse. Ask a student to describe this. (AABA)
Give another example: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, a different section, then repeat the chorus. Again, ask a student to give the structure in letters. (ABABCB). The 'C' section is sometimes called a bridge.
Ask students why they might choose one structure over another for a particular song. Then ask about the roles of a verse, a chorus, and a bridge.
In discussion, try to elicit or convey some of the following points - doesn't matter if they don't all come out, but try to cover at least the ones marked *.
Verses:
-used to advance a story or give more information
-can be done solo if necessary
-can deal with more complex ideas than a chorus.
Chorus/refrain
-It's repeated, so this is what people will pick up first*
-Audience can join in*
-Typically, will be easy to learn and sing along with*
-Often contains the main idea of the song, *
-Can contain the song's title, which gives it emphasis - put it in the first or last line for effect.
-May be repeated at end to round off the song
-Especially in a solo performance, too many choruses can be repetitive and make the song long if there are many verses: consider a variation such as two verses together.
Bridge:
-Adds interest, variety, contrast, surprise*
-Can give a different idea or viewpoint in the lyrics
-Can add different musical elements - higher, lower, different rhythm or harmonies.
-Usually short.
-Instrumental bridges are also possible.
Sum up.
Set homework: to find from their knowledge, or the archives, a song for general entertainment (rather than a teaching ballad or a formal choral work) that has a different structure from those discussed today, write down letters corresponding to the structure, and try to work out why that particular structure was used, and why it's effective (or not) for that song.
Intro To Wood Staining
1) Review of basic supplies needed - First of all you will need your stains. A variety of shades can be made but it is suggested that apprentices start with the standard colors found near the hall. If they want to expand their range of colors, they should talk to te woodcrafters and have them prepare almost any color stain they would require. You should have on hand plenty of ragslet me emphasize that - plenty of rags especially for beginners. Brushes with a variety of heads would be okay for some surfaces but appies most likely would only need rags initially. Sandpaper for buffing the finished product would be the last needed item besides the item you plan to stain.
2) Basic Tips - A) Test color on a hidden area to make sure that it is the color you desire. B) Stir stains well before and during use. C) All stains may be intermixed to create custom colors or may be lightened by adding a natural stain.
3) Review of the 3 Phases of staining - There are several phases to a staining project. The First Phase is the Preparation Phase involving all actions getting setup to stain. Second, you apply the stain to your piece. Thirdly, you apply the Top Coat and last but not least, you buff the top coat smooth. Well, technically you have to clean up last or the Masters would everyone but ignoring that, the Top Coat is the last phase.
4) Preparation Phase - For the Preparation Phase when staining any object, you first remove any hardware such as bridges, strings etc or doors and drawers if you are staining furniture. To insure surfaces are clean of oils and smooth enough for staining, sand with the grain all surfaces. For harder woods, use courser paper, which will open up the hard surface to more easily accept stain.
5) Applying the Stain - The Second Phase is to Apply all but the last coat of stain. To do this, you first wipe on the chosen stain with a clean cloth. Then, using a clean cloth, evenly wipe off excess stain WITH THE GRAIN. Once the first coat has dried, a second coat can be applied. Each layer applied will give a darker and deeper color.
6) Top Coat - The Third Phase is to apply the Top Coat with a lint free clean cloth. Again the coat is applied with the grain using smooth and even strokes. Between coats, you want to buff with very fine sandpaper in order to produce a smooth finish. A minimum of 3 coats is recommended.
7) Drying times - Stains and Top Coats can dry in 6-8 hours under ideal conditions. Cooler temperatures or higher humidity may extend the dry time to 12-24 hours or longer. Good ventilation and air movement will greatly improve dry time. It is important to let the final Top Coat cure for a period of 14 days to reach optimum hardness. You may use your project sooner, just treat it with special care during the curing period.
8) Special Note - One special note, the amount of stain does affect the tone of your instrument. You want to apply enough stain to appropriately finish your piece but not too many layers that deadens the vibrations and thus the deadens the tone of your piece. Granted, I have no idea how many layers it would really take to determine the perfect number of layers, maybe one of the Masters' know but I don't.
~ Reeba, Harper Journeywoman
Basic Archives
When I've taught this class, I've usually gone over research techniques, copying techniques, or the organization of the Archives. I don't know how other folks have taught it, but I've said that the organization is made up of the following four tiers:
Tier 1: Records divided into Hold, Craft or Weyr
Tier 2: Alphabetical listing. Benden Weyr before Southern Weyr, Bitra before Nabol. Minor Holds are listed under their Major Hold. For example, you'd have the records for Ista Hold, followed by Blacksands, Gar, Grinstead, Paradise Redsands and Seacliffs.
Tier 3: Alphabetical listing of record type. Crops Reports before Stores Reports.
Tier 4: Date of Record, as close as can be determined, oldest records first.
I'm not sure how you'd fit in things like fiction collections, but there probably aren't too many of those kicking around, so I tend to hazard that fictional works would be a category off by themselves, arranged in a fairly standard alphabetical Author: Title hierarchy.
Research techniques follow on from learning the organizational hierarchy. One you know where things go, you know where to find them, right?
Copying technique is fairly self explanatory and can be assigned as homework. Get them to write out long lists to practice penmanship, or copy over practice scrolls to test their accuracy.
— Liesana
Topics To Cover
How and why is history important?
Explain details about how and why history is important. Avoid lecturing, ask questions and give the class time to offer input, guesses are appreciated and accepted. Be sure to then offer if none is provided.
- To effectively avoid repeating mistakes made in the past.
- To effectively keep records of the history of the world.
Hearsay vs. Records
Explain why records are better than word of mouth.
- Hearsay is the matter of gossip, anyone could spread gossip or something that they heard. One can hear something once but easily mistake a word or two and pass the news on incorrectly, thus making it a poor way to keep records of anything important that happens.
- Records are usually written by the person who witnessed the event, therefore, likely to be more accurate than something you heard from an Auntie in the Living Caverns.
Importance of Harpers
Explain and emphasize the importance of Harpers and why there are Harpers posted everywhere on Pern.
- Harpers are teachers of the history of Pern, not only that but they record the history of the area that they are in.
- To teach the learning songs written by Harpers, for Pern to portray bits of information in an easy way to remember it by for all ages.
Effective Teaching Techniques for History
Lectures
Most useful for apprentices, can be modified for children, more visual/audio aides for smaller children
Strengths
- presents factual material of the events, direct and logical
- useful for large groups (20 or more)
- can be modified with aides depending on audience
Limitations
- audience is passive
- sometimes learning is difficult to gauge
- communication is only one way, from lecturer to students
Preparation
- any visual or audio aides need to be prepared
- be clear about your subject and stay on track
Discussion following Lecture
Most useful with apprentices, perhaps older students, around 10 – 15
Strengths
- allows students to ask questions, voice opinions on the events
discussed
Limitations
- Restrictions of time for classes or duties/chores
Preparation
- Must be ready for any questions that might come the instructor’s way
Small Group Discussion
Most useful with apprentices, perhaps older students, around 13 – 15
Strengths
- allows everyone to participate
- can analyze events and the actions of the people of the time
Limitations
- needs to have an event in mind
- can get side tracked
Preparation
- have specific points to help direct the conversation, to ensure it doesn’t get off track
(By Cothia and Vezre)
Citation and Documentation
1. What is meant by "citation?"
- Referring, in a document, to the sources of the knowledge used in it.
- Documenting the source of a quotation or reference.
2. Why should we cite our sources?
- To acknowledge & give credit to the work of the original author,
- To allow the reader to verify the facts,
- To let the reader judge how trustworthy your source of information is,
- To add credibility to our assertions,
- To allow the reader to find out more by going to the source.
3. How to give references.
There are several methods for giving references. A simple way is to put a number at each point in the text where you make reference to other material, e.g. 12. It's useful to put the number in brackets to make it distinct. The numbers can be sequential through the text, but use the same number if you refer to the same work again. Then, at the end of your document, put a numbered list of the sources and give exact details of where you found them. E.g. "[12] Tillek Hold tithe record, 9th Pass, 10.3.8, section 2." That's the document, its date, and the page number, section number or other way of identifying the place in the document. (See note below for alternatives.)
Show the class an example, pointing out the numbers and the reference list.
4. When should references be given?
When quoting the words of a source directly, or copying diagrams, figures etc. Quotations should be clearly shown as such.
When using information, facts, theories, opinions etc. derived from someone else's work, or paraphrasing another document.
It is not necessary to give references for things that are common knowledge. These are:
Things that everyone knows, e.g. "Healers take care of the sick."
Things that you know because they are generally known in your field of study, e.g. "A C major triad consists of the notes C, E, and G,"
For contrast, give an example of something that /isn't/ common knowledge from the document shown to the students. The following would be a suitable example: "In the seventh year of his time as Lord Holder, Jarin decided that all crafters were fools outside of their area of specialty, and decreed that their advice be ignored except as it pertained to the specific area of their schooling."
You also need not give references for your own theories, opinions, observations, experiences etc. (However, it can be useful to do so if you have documented them more fully elsewhere)
If you are discussing well-established facts, and you know that the same information can be found in more than one place, one or two sources will do, unless you happen to quote or paraphrase more. If your reader will want to judge the value of your evidence, however, you may need to cite more sources. This is especially true if you are engaged in research and citing the original evidence.
5. The process of making a citation list:
It's important to keep track of your references: write them down as you go along. Every time you use a new source, give it the next reference number in the text, and add the full details, with that number, to your reference list. If you refer to the same place again, re-use the original number. Doing it as you go along saves a lot of work at the end, trying to find all the ones you missed!
6. Note.
This is a very convenient method. However, should students ask about other ways, some might be:
Rather than using a number, give the author's name and the date, in brackets, e.g. (Jonelan, 9th Pass, Turn 10.) The reference list is then ordered by author's name and date. However, records are often anonymous so this can be rather awkward. In this case, the source of the record (Tillek Hold, 9th Pass Turn 10) may be used. If mentioning the author/place in a sentence, don't repeat the name in the brackets. E.g. "Master Jonelan (9th Pass, Turn 10) asserts that."
The name and date can be abbreviated, eg 0, and this abbreviation used as the key to the reference list; but this still has the disadvantages of the previous method.
Use footnotes, identified by a superscript number in the text. The footnote contains brief details of the source (author, title, section or page). Full details are included in an alphabetical list of sources at the end of the document. This is easier for bound books than for scrolls. Footnotes are usually numbered within each page. Comments may also be included in the footnote.
(Adapted by Ylisa
Modern Composition Techniques
(Adapted by Ylisa from a class taught by Shinnai, with participants Fletcher, Seamus and Crom.)
This is a practical class, involving experimentation.
Part 1: Build an instrument.
Equipment needed:
- a plain gut string
- a long board with a single tuning peg fixed in the end and a gitar bridge at the other
- a small bow, made from wood and strung with runnerbeast hair. This should be the rounded type, not straight like a violin bow.
- A pick, made from horn or bone,
- A comb, made from bone or similar (This does work! It's best if the teeth are smooth enough not to catch, and slightly flexible.)
Ask students to string the instrument and to tune it.
Check the tuning, using a tuning fork or pitch pipe. Decide what note the open string will play.
Show students the bow etc. and demonstrate the sounds made by bow, pick, comb and fingers. The instrument is played vertically with the bridge end on the player's knee, the peg end in the air.
- The comb is drawn back and forth rapidly, making a rasping sound. It could also be drawn across the strings slowly and lightly, giving a succession of short plucking sounds.
- The pick gives a sharp "twang".
- The bow gives "a wispy, wind-like sound with strange overtones."
- Plucking with the fingers gives a softer note than the pick and sounds slightly hollow.
As the instrument has no sounding chamber, the sounds will be rather dull, and will not carry well.
Demonstrate how the string can be stopped (i.e. pressed against the board) to give different notes when played.
Ask students to suggest how else the instrument can be played. Answers, or the tutor's suggestions, might include hitting the wood, using the comb while fingering the string to give an ascending sequence of notes (this could convey tension), hammering the string with the back of the comb etc.
Part 2: Compose for the instrument.
Composition involves putting together sounds and silences, in order to convey an idea.
Ask students to suggest an idea to convey. Examples: birth, a storm, excitement.
Decide on a topic and discuss the aspects of it to be included. For example, birth would bring in excitement and pain.
We now need to put the concept into sound by finding sounds to evoke the emotions that we want to convey. Discuss how the four ways of making sound from the instrument could be used and the emotions they convey. For example, the comb could convey excitement at one point, pain at another. Sounds made in several ways could contribute to one idea.
Ask students to suggest a structure for the composition, then discuss how the emotions to be conveyed would fit into this structure.
What happens now will depend on the themes and structure suggested. Two examples are given, both from the class from which this lesson plan was derived, but another lesson could take a completely different structure and theme.
Example 1: An A-B-A structure. A and B refer to two different sections in the music, defined by theme, or key, or emotion, or all. A-B-A is a common structure. It introduces a theme, then departs from it to introduce a new theme, then returns in a recapitulation. The recapitulation, or returning A section, serves to return the listener's memory to something which was familiar. Often, the recapitulation is changed in some significant way to reflect progress. Both the familiarity and the contrast are then used. Perhaps the subject of the song has changed in the B section, or perhaps simply our way of looking at it has changed. The theme of "birth" could fit as follows: A - excitement and anticipation of the birth. B - the birth itself, including pain, labour etc. Recapitulation - excitement and joy relating to the new life that has started.
Example 2: A cyclical structure that returns to the original musical idea. The example used in the logged class had stages "nothing to birth, birth to life, life to death, death to nothing."
Ask students to improvise on the instrument, perhaps taking one section each, along the lines discussed. Let everyone comment on the contributions. You could also improvise a section yourself.
Shinnai's improvisation is given here as an example. This represented "death" in the "nothing, birth, life, death, nothing" cycle. "As she pulls the bow across the string, she speeds it up, making the sound at once gradually louder and rougher. As the bow pulls off the string, it leaves it vibrating violently. With the pick, she gives it another go, a loud *whang* sound followed by another bowed note, similar to the first. Again, she plucks the string after, then plucks it again! Three, gradually louder, knocks on the back board, then a finger pluck, another… softer.."
Recap, take questions, end the class and disassemble the instrument.
Note. There is a lot here, and this would be a long class to RP. The original log had about 300 poses. I've therefore slightly re-ordered the original topics to make two distinct sections. If it is necessary to split the class into two sessions, it would be possible to stop after building and trying out the instrument, and perhaps also discussing the emotions that the sounds made by the various ways of playing it could evoke. (In the original log, part of the exploration of the sounds and the emotions they evoked was done after the theme was chosen.) Planning and improvising the composition could then be a follow-up session.
Introduction to the Gitar
1. The instructor should first introduce him or herself and tell the students how long theyhave been studying the gitar.
(RP suggestion - Have the gitar in your hands, play some intricate and impressivemeasures before playing soothing background music as you introduce yourself.)
2. The teachers should point to the parts of the gitar as they instruct the students on the names of each part. The parts of the gitar are as follows:
Headstock - a general term, which describes the part of the instrument. gitar attached to the slimmer neck of the
Tuners - knobs attached to the headstock, which allows you to adjust the pitch of each string.
Nut - Where the headstock meets the neck of the gitar, is a small piece of material (Ex bone, some types of wood), in which small grooves are carved out to guide the strings up to the tuners.
Neck - Where you place your fingers to create different notes is the neck.
Fret - Upon the neck can be thin wooden strips, which are referred to as frets. These frets are used to space off the neck so the gitarist knows where to place his or fingers to make a given note. Generally, the area of the neck between the nut and the first strip of wood is referred to as the "first fret". The area on the neck between the first and second strip of metal is referred to as the "second fret". And so on… It's important to note that they are gitars with no frets and are, of course, referred to as fretless.
Body - The larger, usually hollowed out piece of the gitar.
Sound hole - The whole in the body, which is designed to project the sound of the gitar is called the sound hole.
Bridge - The bridge is where the strings of the gitar which run from the tuning pegs, over the nut, down the neck, over the body, over the sound hole, are anchored to the body of the gitar.
3. Teacher should next review how to hold a gitar. -Sitting on an armless chair, preferably a stool, the players should sit comfortably without slouching. The player should hold his gitar so the back of the body of the instrument comes in contact with your stomach/chest, and the bottom of the neck runs parallel to the floor. The thickest string on the gitar should be the closest to your face, while the thinnest should be closest to the floor. When sitting, the gitar will rest on one of your legs.
The hand that holds the strings to make the different notes, the"fretting hand", should have the thumb resting behind the neck, with the players fingers in a slightly curled position, poised above the strings.
4. Picks - The teacher should explain that players can play with or without picks but both styles have their own sound.
5. Tuning the Gitar - The teacher should explain how to tune a gitar before showing the students how to play. For the most part the 6th string is the largest string on the gitar and it will not go out of tune as easily as the others so the beginning student can "assume" that it is in tune unless they have an ear for perfect pitch. The other strings can be tuned based on the 6th string and working down through the strings.
— Reeba
6. Notes and Chords - We won't be able to realistically teach the student how to finger the notes so my suggestion is to mention that you can either play single notes or a several notes simultaneously which is called a chord. I would IC'ly send them home with a chord chart and ask them to try to learn the chords Major G, Major C, and Major D.
Introduction to flute.
This is the first ever flute lesson for beginners, not suitable for those who've played one before.
1. Introduce the flute.
The Masters have decreed that a standard apprentice model flute is a basic wooden instrument with no keys at all - metal for keys being something of a luxury. (Imagine something like a keyless Irish flute.) It is made in 3 parts: head joint, body and foot joint. It tapers very slightly towards the foot, and there are six finger-holes on top. Its bottom note is D. Point out these parts, and the oval embouchure hole (where you blow).
(If you don't want all the flutes to be the same, they can also have a hole for the left thumb underneath and/or a couple of vent holes in the foot where the keys would be on a Boehm flute. The vent holes help get some of the notes in tune. The body could be made in 2 sections.)
2. Breathing
Do a breathing exercise, counting breaths. Try breathing in for a count of two, then out for eight. Fill the lungs as much as possible. The shoulders should not move up and down if the student is breathing correctly - if time, they can check each other by resting hands lightly on the person's shoulders. Other possibilities are 4 in, 8 out; 2 in, as many as possible out, etc.
Good breath support is the basis of all flute playing, so breathing exercises will be the first part of the daily warm-up routine. Also important is to develop a well-focused air stream. Another exercise (fun to RP - but you might save it for later) will help with this.
Take a 2-inch square of paper. Hold it against the wall with the finger tips. With the lips slightly open as if playing the flute, breathe out. Let go of the square. The idea is to keep it in place with the air stream. This is not easy at first.
3. Holding the flute.
Demonstrate & explain how to hold the instrument, then let students try it.
Slightly curved fingers over the holes; cover finger holes with pads, not bony tips
Support flute against the bottom joint of the left-hand first finger and the right thumb. Right thumb is immediately under index finger or at the side of the flute.
The third support point is the chin. The player should be able to hold the flute with these alone.
4. How to stand.
Demonstrate & explain how to stand correctly, then let students try it.
Feet a little way apart, weight on balls of feet.
One foot ( right if you're left handed & vice versa) fractionally forward
Back straight
Shoulders relaxed,
Elbows slightly raised, but not too high. Avoid strain.
Look slightly to your left.
5. Embouchure, tonguing, making a note.
Explain first, then demonstrate:
Lower lip resting a third of the way across the embouchure hole.
Upper lip just directs the air stream at the edge of the hole; keep it flexible and don't pull back with corners of mouth.
Opening between lips should be same width as embouchure hole,
Start note by tonguing - making a letter T
A good first note is G: cover the three left-hand finger-holes and the thumb-hole (if there is one). Doing the above with just the head joint, covering the end with the palm of the hand, is a good way to start - or to help those who don't make any sound.
Let students try it and encourage them, correcting mistakes. You can continue this for as long as it stays fun. Typically, beginners do not produce wonderful notes immediately, and some take a long time to make a sound.
6. More notes.
A and B use two and one left hand fingers respectively. Students can start on G, then try to get as good a tone as they can by focusing the air stream. Then they can move up to the next note. One way to do this is to get as good a note as they can, then remove the finger while still blowing and try to keep the same tone quality.
7. Finally. Set homework: to practise those notes and the breathing exercises. Could also give out fingering charts.
(Ylisa)
Teaching: IC/OOC seminar
Introduce seminar OOC; explain that there's an IC and an OOC part. This could be a little longer than the usual class if both parts are done together.
IC part
Aim: to introduce some basic concepts of teaching: the need for a variety of approaches, teaching as aiding learning, qualities of a good teacher.
Objectives:
Identify good and bad qualities of teachers
Suggest a variety of techniques for teaching a well-known topic (rhythm)
Ask students how much they know ICly about teaching.
Ask what makes a bad teacher.
E.g. Doesn't care, doesn't prepare, drones on, boring, doesn't suit the approach to the students, assumes we know what we don't or vice versa, doesn't give us any idea how we're doing.
Sum up responses, converted into their opposites to make appies' idea of a good teacher.
Ask what students think the masters are looking for in a teacher. OR
Given the above, what is teaching for? (Focus on answers about supporting learning, rather than e.g. conveying information.)
What sort of activities does teaching involve? (Draw out the point that different subjects require different approaches.) Nevertheless, some points are common to all of them. So, how would you teach, for example, the basics of rhythm?
(E.g. explain some different rhythms, demonstrate, get students to clap, get students to write down something you clap, get students to make up rhythms in various time signatures and make up a song with them, use a teaching song, play a piece and ask students to identify the time signature & rhythm, write something up and play it - ask if right or wrong….)
You remember least of what you just hear, more of what you see, more still of what you do or are actively involved in. "What I hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do I understand."
(If still going strong…)
Ask a question about discipline, e.g. 'How would you deal with…' or why do some teachers stay firmly in control while others' classes degenerate into anarchy?
Ask for questions.
Go OOC.
OOC part.
Probably best to find out what people know about running classes on the game, to avoid wasting time.
Points to cover
Involve people. Lectures are remarkably tedious for the 'class' as well as hard work for the tutor.
Demos, questions, activities, IC role-play, practical work in some subjects, etc. Other ideas?
A standard class lasts for 1 hour. If a pose round lasts 10 minutes or more, that's not likely to be more than about 3 main points.
Easiest to have a plan. We have some sets of lesson plans. #5543 - Art lessons. #15134 - Harper Lesson Plans.
A lesson plan consists of an aim/learning outcomes (so you know what you're trying to achieve), points to be covered, and how they're to be covered - what you do, what the students do. You can also include other things if they're useful, such as who the lesson's for (e.g. beginners with no previous knowledge of the violin.),
At the end of the lesson, students need to be given an appropriate credit. This is done on the progress board, which has full help. Help #10926, or find the board in the Office. You need to be a j'man or tutor or above to do this, however. In general, if someone's been to most of the class but can't make it to the end, as long as they've been active, give the credit. If they've idled from start to finish, don't.
Teaching as a Sr App. This is a requirement for promotion.
Do a lesson plan and get your mentor to check it over,
Find your mentor or another ranker to supervise you.
Pick a time, publish it, and turn up. Asking around a bit to get a good time may be useful.
At the end, the ranker will need to give out credits to the attenders.
If you have any lesson plans to contribute to our collection, staff would be glad to receive them.
Ask for questions.
OOC/Rules/RP:
This class should cover the following topics:
-The definitions and differences of IC vs OOC, and PC vs NPC
-What 'cannon' is, how it applies to HT in general and Harper in particular
-What 'IC' means, in terms of character abilities and the like.
-OOC etiquette and behavior
-IC rules, etiquette and behavior, for apprentices. Assure them that it's okay OOC-ly to break IC rules, and that it can be a lot of fun, if planned out before hand, and that, if it's cleared beforehand, there's no need to worry about OOC repercussions.
-Discuss RP, tips, do's and don'ts, the definitions of TP's Angst, TS, harassment, the like. "-Look at situations where angst is acceptable, and define what sort is deemed fun, and what is deemed melodrama.
The Basic IC Rules For Apprentices:
-No Romantic Relationships
-No use of alchohol (Some wiggle room on this, since there's the Harper reputation for liking a glass now and again. Probably won't be enforced unless caught 'drunk and disorderly')
-No going into the dorms of the opposite sex.
-No travelling from your immediate area without accompanying a Journeyman or higher, and/or recieving prior permission. NPC rankers are very useful in this regard.
-No selling your own crafted items without permission and approval (OOC: Get it stamped.)
-No performing Handfastings
-No pranking. (Yeah, like /that's/ ever going to happen. ;>)
-No disrespecting those who rank you, regardless of Craft/Hold/Weyr
-Uphold the honour and dignity of the Craft.
Above all, most of these rules are bendable, if the apprentices are ICly discreet, and OOCly let either mentors or staff or both know ahead of time, if the infractions are going to be /major/.
Tips and Do's and Don'ts for RP:
-DO use proper grammar in your poses, capitalization, spelling and everything else
-DO vary your poses.
-DO develop a history and a personality for your character. If you know what motivates them, it makes it much easier to know how they'll react in a given situation.
-DO try and fit your poses to the situation. If folks are posing two-liners, DON'T spam them with twenty. Correspondingly, if they're doing 20-line poses, try for at least a 4 line pose. 4 to 6 line poses seem to be the game standard.
-DO include actions as well as emotions in your pose
-DO seek out new opportunities for RP, but DO have an IC excuse for visiting areas far from home.
-DON'T use emoticons in poses. Some people do, but many find it annoying.
-DON'T play out an angsty situation in a public place, unless it's part of a previously known and approved of TP. Take it to a private, or discreet location. Same thing goes for excess romance.
-DON'T play out an angsty situation in a public place, unless it's part of a previously known and approved of TP. Take it to a private, or discreet location. Same thing goes for excess romance.
—Liesana
