Rotating curriculum

[Squawman]

I was wondering if anybody uses a rotating curriculum?

[G95champ]

What do you mean by rotating?

[ninjanurse]

I have instructed in a school that uses a rotating curriculum of sorts and found it to have its pro's and cons. You have to be very careful that you don't leave out curriculum that students need or present it too close to grading. Some students can fall through the cracks because of missed classes due to illness and/or vacation so you really have to stay on top of things. We offered scheduled private lessons (free of charge-but often compensated by parents) for students missing and requesting a makeup. It can be very effective at keeping students interested and motivated provided the instructors are consistent and keep it moving smoothly.

 

Typically weekly lesson plans are posted for the instructors outlining the entire week or month. "A" days usually involve basics, forms, and self-defense-basics being done each class, the rest rotated weekly. "B" days are sparring and kicking days-rotating through kicks, sparring drills, free sparring, and step sparring. "Open Class" days (usually a Friday or Saturday) are "A/B" days focusing on one particular aspect of curriculum each week. Hopefully all the required curriculum is covered every 2 weeks in a variety of ways. A side benefit is that instructors must use their creative talents and time management skills more effectively and thereby builds better and more efficient instructors.

 

My new school is planning on going to a rotating curriculum which will be a good thing as the class structure as it stands is very rigid and predictable which is effecting student retention in the younger ranks. Which can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the schools goals.

 

[Squawman]

We have our yellow belts (3 ranks) on a rotating curriculum and it is working well. It is a whole lot eaiser to teach the class but yes it is hard to keep everyone together if the student misses class especially during the summer. I would love to get the rest of the classes the same way but it is hard to implement.

[SaiFightsMS]

A rotating kobudo curriculum. We do bo all the time and alternate between sai, tonfa and nunchaku for the years secondary weapon.

[RedDragon]

We use a 8 class rotating schedule. It came to our attention that by just going into class, and then deciding what we are going to work on led to things being left out, and when it came time to do promotions, there was a mad rush to catchup on some things... I am a big advocate of a rotating class schedule now.

[karatekid1975]

My school does rotating classes. It's cool. We get a little bit of everything all the time. I like it. But then again. I hardly miss a class