Managing mixed ability courses

For most instructors this is our bread and butter - it is what we do every day, probably without giving it much thought. But maybe we can do, what we do a little better, or at least with a bit more thought.

Educationalists would call this ‘differentiation’. Essentially adapting our teaching to meet the learning needs of our very different students. Depending on what discipline you teach, you’re likely to have different experiences of this. 

For some it will be a Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster theory course. One student who did their Day Skipper six months ago and remembers, and more importantly understands, what they were taught. And another who actually never did a theory course, but considers they have an equivalent level of knowledge, only to discover that they haven’t. 

For others it might be students on a Powerboat Level 2 course, one is a Master Mariner and another has never stepped foot on a boat before. I know I have experienced both of these situations and there is undoubtedly a myriad of circumstances where we need to differentiate.

Managing expectations

I would suggest we need to look at our strategies at the point of booking, before the students even arrive on the course. It is really important that their initial contact with the school ensures they are on the right course and identifies any additional help or support they may need.

That way the school and subsequently you, the instructor, can have an open, honest and transparent conversation with the student. After all it’s about managing their expectations and ensuring we either meet those expectations, or at a very early stage manage them so the student doesn’t feel short changed.

Good communication

Once the students arrive we need to get to know them. Maybe you like to do an icebreaker session, or maybe not, but we do need to identify as soon as possible how we may need to adapt our teaching methods.

Running a Sail Cruising course when you know you have two Day Skippers and two Competent Crew means you can, to a certain extent, plan in advance. But what do you do when one of the Comp Crew has greater knowledge and ability than one of the Day Skippers? Usually it will come down to your ability as an instructor to have that possibly difficult conversation to ensure that both students see the value in what they learn and leave the course content with what they have individually achieved - even if that means they don’t get the certificate they signed up for. They’re unlikely to feel that way if the conversation happens on day five!

Sharing ideas

I delivered two sessions on this topic at the recent RYA Raymarine Yachtmaster Scheme Instructor Conference and was fortunate to have two groups of committed instructors from across the schemes.

Some were new to teaching and some had been around for a while, and together we captured some great ideas which I would like to share with you.