1. Strong Foundations ART Training Scheme
Module 2C – From Rounds to Change Ringing
June 2019 (T)
© ART Charity No

2. What will I find out? The importance of foundation skills
How to build these incrementally (graded steps)
Listening skills need to be taught
Foundation skills are interdependent
Without strong foundations progress will be curtailed
Sample ringing exercises to develop foundation skills
Strategies for building confidence
Teaching theory

3. Learning the Ropes - a progressive scheme
Level 1 - Bell handling
Level 2 - Foundation Skills
Level 3 - Introduction to Change Ringing
Learning the Ropes is a progressive learning scheme for teachers to use with their new ringers. It will assist in guiding the teacher to ensure all skills are built in a carefully graded manner.
The scheme includes ideas to help develop bell control, striking skills listening skills, ropesight, and understanding of the theory which underpins change ringing.

4. Foundation skills for ringing
Bell handling/control/style
Listening skills
Ropesight
Good rhythm & striking
Understanding of theory
These are the basic, underlying or foundation skills on which change ringing is built.

5. Bell control
Without good bell control the new ringer is unable to place their bell where they want to
It doesn’t matter how well they can hear. They will be unable to make use of the hearing if they can’t control their bell
Check your ringer against the handling assessment in their Personal Progress Logbook
Refer to the handling assessment on the personal progress logbook - make sure everyone is familiar with it.
A learner needs to be able to change the speed of his bell for leading, hunting and dodging.
To do this adequately they need to be able to take rope in and let it out.
If the handling style is very poor this will be very difficult .
Good handling skills/style are needed.

6. Listening/hearing
Without good listening skills a new ringer is unable to hear if they are in the correct place
It doesn’t matter how good their bell control is. They cannot strike their bell accurately if they can’t hear where they are
Many learners have difficulty hearing their bell.
It is important to develop this skill right from the beginning.
Ringing software can be used, a laptop can be brought to the tower and the learner can ring rounds. 4 or 6 bells can be used, starting with covering. The striking can be reviewed after each attempt, thus giving feedback. As soon as it gets too easy make the task harder. You can set individual bells to be odd-struck.
When ringing with a band for the first time(s) it is useful to ring rounds on 3 and then on 4.
Virtually everyone can hear 1-2-3; three-blind mice.
This is a vital time for them to learn to identify their own bell striking.
For some learners they will be striking sufficiently accurately that they will be able to move onto rounds on 6 during the first practice. For others it may take weeks for them to be able to move beyond 4 bells.
Ring “Pop goes the weasel” on 5. Ask the learner which bit of that line they are (eg the 3rd is “the”). Tell them to focus on that word/syllable as they’re ringing it to help them associate the body movement with the strike.
A FEW MINUTES SPENT AT THIS STAGE IN THE LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT WILL SAVE MANY HOURS LATER.

7. Ropesight
Ropesight is dependent on the ability to move the bell accurately from one place to the next - bell control
It is easier for the new ringer who can hear when their bell is striking in the row to develop ropesight - listening skills
When hunting if the learner hasn’t pulled their rope sufficiently hard to move up say from 2nds place to 3rds place and is now only in 2 and a half’s place they will be much less likely to able to see the rope they need to follow when he attempts to move up in to 4ths place.
It is easier for the learner with good bell control to develop ropesight.
If a learner is unable to identify their bell’s place in the row, when two bells swap below that place, they may continue to follow the same (now wrong) bell.

8. Depends on these 3 core skills HELP! No wonder they struggle
Good rhythm & striking
Depends on these 3 core skills
If they can’t control & place their bell
They can’t hear their bell
They can’t see where to place their bell
HELP! No wonder they struggle

9. Foundation skills are interdependent
LISTENING BELL CONTROL ROPESIGHT
GOOD STRIKING
THEORY
METHOD RINGING
As teachers and coaches we should try to ensure when dealing with novice ringers that we develop all the foundations skills in our learners.
Time spent at this stage pays dividends later on.

10. Develop foundation skills - exercises
Whole pull and stand
Set every third stroke
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Rounds adding/subtracting bells
Ringing facing out from the circle
Kaleidoscope
Mexican Wave
Ringing with a simulator
Clapping exercises
Well known phrases with correct musical rhythm – e.g. “Pop goes the Weasel”
Covering to Kaleidoscope exercises
Plain Hunt from different bells, building from 3 bells upwards
These are the basic, underlying or foundation skills on which change ringing is built.
Do these exercises starting at handstroke AND backstroke!

11. Theory – why teach it? Teaching - to cause to understand
Understanding what is being attempted is one of the foundation skills for ringing
To understand basic ringing concepts ringers need to know ringing “jargon”
To learn to ring methods, ringers have to understand new concepts
Blue line
Order of work
Too often theory is left until the learner tries to learn new methods - start early – make it an integral part of the learning.

12. The theory of the method is important
The ringer needs to understand what to do
The ringer needs to learn what to do
A clear understanding of the method being attempted is required
A teacher should ensure the ringer has this knowledge

13. Learning will take place whether planned or not
If learning is allowed to take place in a haphazard and uncontrolled way results will not be satisfactory
For best results learning should be directed and planned
Teachers should direct this learning

14. What should be covered and when?
Learning the Ropes (Foundations Skills) - Levels 1 + 2
Concepts
Balance point
Pull, check
Row, place
Rounds
Leading
Place making
Dodging
Jargon
Lead, lie
Front, back
Up, down
In, out
Theory of Call Changes
These 4 slides contain examples – you need not go through them – just make the point that theory should be aligned to learning.

15. What should be covered and when?
Learning the Ropes (hunting and covering) – Level 3
Place in the row
Cover
Ringing jargon
Ringing at different speeds
Line showing path of a bell
Open handstroke leads
Course and after bells

16. What should be covered and when?
Learning the Ropes (first method inside) - Level 4
Circle of work
Passing the treble
Blue line
Place bells
How the method works
Touches

17. What should be covered and when?
Learning the Ropes (change ringer) - Level 5 and beyond
Other ways to represent methods
The grid
Place notation
Coursing order
Ringing by place bell
Lead ends and half leads
2nd and 6th place methods
Principles and methods
Back works / front works
Treble Bob, Surprise, Delight
Splicing

18. How should I teach theory?
A quiet place where there will be no disturbance
Separate theory sessions can be useful
A group of ringers at the same stage can be brought together for a course
Teaching can be reinforced in the tower
The ideal way to cover the theory for a certain topic or method is to hold a separate theory session where the ringer[s] can give their full attention to the items being covered.
Items to reinforce this initial course will be of great assistance.
Reinforcement of ideas can be covered in the tower or in the pub.

19. Attempting the impossible
A RINGER IS ATTEMPTING THE IMPOSSIBLE IF
THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO DO OR
THEY DON’T HAVE FOUNDATION RINGING SKILLS
This summarises this PowerPoint well
We’ve just been discussing theory – i.e. the learner has to know what they’re trying to do
We now take the chance to remind the group of the importance of the foundation skills
The next few slides move on to ensuring learners take in and remember what’s taught…

20. Remembering is difficult
Under 20% of the information provided is remembered and can be recalled after 24 hours
It is often difficult for us as ringing teachers to understand just how long people can take to learn and how often things may need to be repeated and reinforced.
Teachers often lament the fact that their ringers don’t remember what they have been told.
This is quite normal and teachers need to understand that ringers will have to be told many, many times before they have fully learned something.

21. Encouraging recall Ask questions to check understanding
Ask again at the end of the session
Worksheets – in the tower or take home
Quizzes – online or on paper
(SmART Ringer provides interactive quizzes)
Card games
Happy family cards
Domino cards
Whiting Society cards
By asking questions the teacher can check understanding. To answer a question the learner has to process the question and formulate an answer. This process will aid learning. The way the learner answers helps the teacher understand that learner’s preferred learning style and assists the teacher in formulating prompts tailored to that learner.
So try to check at the end of the current session if the ringer has really remembered what has been talked about
Providing the learner with a worksheet will require recall and processing to answer the questions, quizzes whether on paper to do in the tower or to go onto Learning to Ring on SmART Ringer
Happy family cards and domino cards are provided in the Teaching Toolboxes for each level [Foundation Skills, Plain Hunt and Bob Doubles] These can be printed off and used by groups to assist with recall and remembering.
The Whiting Society also provide cards including at Plain Bob Minor level.
Review at beginning of following session

22. Avoid overload Ringing theory can be drip fed a little at a time
Too much at one time could cause overload
More will be remembered if the ringer is not overloaded
Learning should not lead to exhaustion!
Training sessions should be as interesting and enjoyable as possible.

23. Help your ringers really understand
When teaching use EDR:
Explanation will be particularly useful for auditory learners
Demonstration will be particularly useful for visual learners
Ringing will be particularly useful for kinaesthetic learners
Explain Demonstrate Ring

24. Attitude to learning – motivate your ringers
Arouse curiosity
Demonstrate a clear link between knowing the theory and how it improves ringing performance
Give individual help where necessary to maintain confidence
Demonstrate the progress that has already been made
Praise and reward appropriately
Ringers often do not have sufficient motivation to go and learn theory alone.
However once their curiosity is aroused through discussion or linking the acquisition of new knowledge to existing knowledge they become more open to the idea of learning more to support their ringing.