Teaching, as we all know is a noble profession. Instilling knowledge into the minds of the young (and not so young) is an art that has been used for centuries. There are many different ways to teach people how to learn almost anything, repetition, research & study familiarity, visual aids.

The EDI + C is a method of instruction that I was taught as a Physical Training Instructor. It can be applied to almost any skills training that you would want to do. One way or another, we are all teachers. We all teach our children lessons, values & skills we believe they need in life.

EDI + C stand for:

EXPLANATION.
DEMONSTRATION.
IMITATION.
+
CONFIRMATION.

To teach someone how to do and perform a simple push-up correctly, let us use this method:-

EXPLANATION

“Now class, a push-up is an upper arm strengthening exercise whereby you force your arms to raise your body upwards to its full extent and lower it again to a resting position to complete the repetition. To do this you will assume the prone position and place the flat hands, palm downward alongside your shoulders. While holding your body and neck rigid and looking approximately 1m to your front, as well as holding your toes rigidly downward, exert pressure downward and raise your body to the full extent of the arms. Release the downward pressure to lower the body to the rest position.”

Now you have EXPLAINED what you want them to do, it is time to move to the second phase.

DEMONSTRATION

Using all the previous information you explained to the people, perform the task you wish to teach them. If necessary, have an assistant who is aware of the task at hand available, to provide the demonstration. Talk to the people as you perform the task until completed and everyone knows what is needed.

Having DEMONSTRATED the task, we now move onto the third phase.

IMITATION

The person/s must then perform the task at hand as you explained and demonstrated. Supervise, advise and correct where necessary until satisfied they are able to perform to your satisfaction.

Now everyone has IMITATED the task needed. Now for the final phase.

CONFIRMATION

This is where you now ask the people questions about how and why we do a push-up as explained in the beginning. This ensures people remember why they were doing it in the first place and the benefits it brings them. You can now expand a little and tell them the next phase where you will teach them the variations of push-ups.This ensures learning is a continuous progression.

You can now apply this method to almost anything. We as Toastmasters can actually use this simple method when coaching or presenting a skills session.

Happy Teaching!

Terry Burns
Benoni Club