COMPANION

Group teaching

This entry only covers teaching the Alexander Technique in groups. On the pros and cons of group teaching, F. M. Alexander teaching in groups, and a discussion, see Individual vs. group classes.

Books

  • The Alexander Technique in Conversation by John Nicholls and Seán Carey contains a section on how John Nicholls see the role of group work, distinguishing between different types of group work.[1]
  • Marjorie Barstow: Her Teaching and Training edited by Barbara Conable contains descriptions of Barstow’s group teaching.[2]
  • Four Days in Bristol by Don Weed contains edited transcripts of teaching in groups.[3]
  • Teaching the Alexander Technique by Cathy Madden describes in detail her approach to group teaching: plans, structures and rationale.[4]
  • Teaching by Hand, Learning by Heart by Bruce Fertman contains some descriptions of teaching in groups.[5]

Articles

  • ‘Let’s get rid of “group teaching”!’ by Donald Weed argues for getting rid of the name ‘group teaching’ since it causes confusion; the teacher works individually with people in a group setting, suggesting the name ‘the interactive teaching method’ instead.[6]
  • ‘Group teaching: Preparing the receptive field’ by Meade Andrews; on the three movement études she uses in group teaching, based on material from the work of Rudolf Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff.[7]
  • ‘The art of group teaching’ by Meade Andrews describes using four études in her group work around aspects of the Alexander process: observation and awareness, inhibition, direction, and primary control.[8]
  • ‘Group teaching and learning from the words of beginners’ by Cathy Madden; on teaching in groups, quoting feedback and reflections from a group of beginners who had learned in a group of 18 for 14 days or less.[9]
  • ‘Guided sensory education in group lessons in the Alexander Technique’ by Bobby Rosenberg contains ideas on how to develop a reliable sense register through guided sensory experiences working in group situations where there is limited use of hands-on.[10]
  • ‘Working with actors’ by Lee Warren describes how he teaches the Alexander Technique in group classes at drama schools.[11]
  • ‘Working with groups’ by Lee Warren.[12]
  • ‘Work successfully with groups’ by Lee Warren.[13]
  • ‘To teach a group AT class, you need to know group teaching works!’ by Cathy Madden.[14]
  • ‘Do’s and don’t’s’ by Grant Ragsdale.[15]
  • ‘Talking to group does change things’ by Jill Payne.[16]
  • ‘Group work and training Alexander teachers’ by Brita Forsstrom.[17]
  • ‘Some whys and wherefores of working with groups’ by Sue Fleming.[18]
  • ‘On taking groups’ by Penny O’Connor; on her structure for teaching in groups, emphasising kinaesthetic learning.[19]
  • ‘Finding strength in structure’ by Angelique Swallow relates her experiences of teaching in groups.[20]
  • ‘What I’ve learned about group work’ by Alazne Larrinaga; on her experience of teaching in groups.[21]
  • ‘Creating dynamic learning communities for performing artists’ by Ariel Weiss argues for the value of teaching the Technique to performing artists in groups, giving an example of an experiential learning model, and discusses group dynamics.[22]

Research

Report of a study involving balance training in the elderly

‘Research in using the Alexander Technique for balance training in the elderly’ by Glenna Batson and Sarah Barker reports on a pilot project involving 18 subjects age 65–85, receiving 10 group classes, 1.5 hours each, over two weeks, and measuring a variety of movements, balancing and walking before and after.[23]

‘Preliminary evidence for feasibility, efficacy, and mechanisms of Alexander Technique group classes for chronic neck pain’ by Rajal G. Cohen, et al.

Ten participants who were predominately middle-aged and had experienced neck pain for at least six months, attended ten one-hour group classes in AT over five weeks. After the intervention: 1) participants reported significantly reduced neck pain; 2) fatigue of the superficial neck flexors during the cranio-cervical flexion test was substantially lower; 3) posture was marginally more upright, as compared to the second pre-intervention values. Changes in pain, self-efficacy, and neck muscle fatigue were retained at the second post-test and tended to be correlated with one another.[24]

See also Individual vs. group classes, Application approach, Marjorie Barstow. See also subjects where the Technique may be taught in groups, e.g. acting colleges.

References
[1] The Alexander Technique in Conversation by John Nicholls and Seán Carey (Brighton Alexander Training Centre, 1991), pp. 63–64.
[2] Marjorie Barstow: Her Teaching and Training edited by Barbara Conable, (Mouritz, 2016 [1988]).
[3] Four Days in Bristol by Don Weed (1445 Publications, 1998).
[4] Teaching the Alexander Technique – Active Pathways to Integrative Practice by Cathy Madden (Singing Dragon, 2018).
[5] Teaching by Hand, Learning by Heart by Bruce Fertman (Mouritz, 2018).
[6] ‘Let’s get rid of “group teaching”!’ by Donald Weed in The Congress Papers 1991, A Spirit of Learning Together edited by Jeremy Chance (Direction, 1992), pp. 150–68.
[7] ‘Group teaching: Preparing the receptive field’ by Meade Andrews in The Congress Papers 2004, Exploring the Principles edited by Anna Oppenheimer (STATBooks, 2005), pp. 12–16.
[8] ‘The art of group teaching’ by Meade Andrews in The Congress Papers 2008, From Generation to Generation Vol. 1 edited by Jean M. O. Fischer (STATBooks, 2009), pp. 14–19.
[9] ‘Group teaching and learning from the words of beginners’ by Cathy Madden in The Congress Papers 2008, From Generation to Generation Vol. 2 edited by Jean M. O. Fischer (STATBooks, 2009), pp. 72
[10] ‘Guided sensory education in group lessons in the Alexander Technique’ by Bobby Rosenberg in AmSAT News issue no. 79 (Spring 2009), pp. 26–30.
[11] ‘Working with actors’ by Lee Warren in The Alexander Journal no. 21 edited by Francesca Greenoak (STAT, 2006), pp. 15-17.
[12] ‘Working with groups’ by Lee Warren in The Alexander Journal no. 20 edited by Francesca Greenoak (STAT, 2003), pp. 10-12.
[13] ‘Work successfully with groups’ by Lee Warren in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), pp. 1, 17–18.
[14] ‘To teach a group AT class, you need to know group teaching works!’ by Cathy Madden in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), pp. 10–12.
[15] ‘Do’s and don’t’s’ by Grant Ragsdale in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), p. 13.
[16] ‘Talking to group does change things’ by Jill Payne in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), p. 14.
[17] ‘Group work and training Alexander teachers’ by Brita Forsstrom in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), pp. 15–16.
[18] ‘Some whys and wherefores of working with groups’ by Sue Fleming in STATNews vol. 9, no. 7 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, May 2017), pp. 19–20.
[19] ‘On taking groups’ by Penny O’Connor in STATNews vol. 9, no. 6 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, January 2017), pp. 26–27.
[20] ‘Finding strength in structure’ by Angelique Swallow in STATNews vol. 9, no. 9 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, January 2018), pp. 27–28.
[21] ‘What I’ve learned about group work’ by Alazne Larrinaga in STATNews vol. 9, no. 9 edited by Jamie McDowell (STAT, January 2018), p. 29.
[22] ‘Creating dynamic learning communities for performing artists’ by Ariel Weiss in The Congress Papers 2018, Advancing Global Perspectives edited by Paul Marsh (STAT Books, 2019), pp. 177–82.
[23] ‘Research in using the Alexander Technique for balance training in the elderly’ by Glenna Batson and Sarah Barker in The Congress Papers 2008, From Generation to Generation vol. 1 edited by Jean M. O. Fischer (STATBooks, 2009), pp. 33–41.
[24] ‘Preliminary evidence for feasibility, efficacy, and mechanisms of Alexander Technique group classes for chronic neck pain’ by Jordan J. Becker, Shawn L. Copeland, Emily L. Botterbusch, Rajal G. Cohen in Complementary Therapies in Medicine vol. 39 (2018) pp. 80–86.
Taxonomy: 
Approaches to Learning and Teaching

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