Strange to some, one of the most enjoyable parts of teaching for me is designing a course. Perhaps it engages with the same strategizing and detail required in crafting a composition. As I was running/walking yesterday, I started to think about the parallels between running goals and creating a syllabi and schedule for a class…
It seems like few people enjoy running if they never built the habit into their lives early on. Even those who like running, however, typically motivate themselves with goals. I do not write this claiming to be a professional runner—quite the contrary! I admit to being out of shape and have a serious uphill battle against exercise inertia. These realizations, some offered to me as advice, help me stick to the program:
Determine realistic timeframes. For example, a weight-loss goal shouldn’t exceed 1-2 pounds a week. Any average person doesn’t have the time to burn the required calories to go beyond that (unless there are some major dietary shifts to accompany it). So, to lose 20 pounds, a beginning runner should plan on 3-4 months of running. It sounds slow and perhaps like a major commitment. But it sounds simple, clear, and plausible. Let’s dig into this further:
Many people like to divide such a timeframe into parts. We know that 1-2 pounds should be the weekly goal. I built the habit of weighing myself weekly at the same time. Why not daily? Weight changes constantly, and there are too many variables! It can be discouraging and perhaps obsessive to constantly weight oneself. Weekly check-ins allow for sufficient time intervals where real change can be assessed.
On the other hand, it is helpful to think beyond the mark. If I can lose 20 pounds in 3-4 months, then I can potentially lose 100 pounds in a year and a half! Or, in my case, if I can achieve good running times in 4 months, then I can focus on swimming for the next 4 months, and then put it together with cycling for another 4 months to be ready for my first triathlon in summer 2023. And what could I do in 2 years? 3 years? 10 years? Yes, life throws wrenches into plans, but such projections are motivating. They reveal that an activity limited to a certain timeframe can be forever expanded in scope to change someone’s very nature.
While #1 and 2 are valuable insights, the most important is that first milestone, set out far enough to form habits but not so distant that it seems to be a dream. Wouldn’t it be nice if classes were about this long?
The first day of running need not be a continuous jog. Run until you cannot run. Then walk. Then run when you have energy again. And then walk when you are out. I love this advice because it allows every person a starting point. Every second of running counts, and nothing is wasted. The goal becomes to simply finish the course. The magic of this tactic is that your body is made to adapt. Within a week or two, the body gets used to the running and goes for longer distances. Before expected, the body can run the entire time, even if at a snail’s pace. And then, as the months progress, speed and endurance increase to the point that a longer course should be pursued.
I suppose if I were teaching a new running class (for which I would be vastly unqualified, but this is about curriculum design, remember?), I would try to begin the class in a way that allowed each student to go at one’s own best pace. This is extremely tricky because it’s very possible that some students will run far ahead of the other students. And we certainly will have some people who haven’t run all summer. A week or two of review might be in order in such a setting, especially if this isn’t their first jog in the park.
Students need this vision. Those who struggle need to see past moments when they feel like they are walking or even trudging rather than running. To keep enthusiasm high, each day could be slightly different. Different trails could be ventured and different perspectives shared. Over time, with consistent best efforts, a student will not be walking anymore, and the entire class will run faster as a result. Thankfully, tutoring helps more than runs on top of runs would.
Set daily time expectations. My greatest weakness has been prioritizing running over other important matters. Obviously, some things are more important than it. But something’s gotta give in the schedule. Some people are motivated by the 15-minute per day squeeze-it-in method. But we know that most positive effects with running cannot happen in 15 minutes. I have found that for any habit I begin, a full hour is a worthy sacrifice.
What happens in the hour changes based on the needs. During a recent heat wave, I could not run far at all without stopping. Unlike previous days, I brought a water bottle and took step by step forward. I was shocked to see that, based on my watch’s calculations, I had burned just as much calories as on days when I had run much more. A day of struggle and a day of a-ha moments might be equally valuable, even if one felt easy and the other hard.
Some people find it motivating to go running with a friend. I have found that motivating before; however, any schedule shift that compromises one person or the other ends the activity altogether. Rather than be dictated by circumstance, I find it helpful to take the lead on my own goals. Too many times I have waited and planned and arranged and coordinated and a month passes without progress. If going with someone else works, then great! But a day cannot be excused for the reasons for another person.
I am the king of distractions, and I know what it’s like to have my brain divided this way and that with competing priorities. So, calendars and checklists are helpful. Reminders are wonderful and it seems like I can never get enough of them. It’s awesome that automated reminders exist now that could be potentially planned out months in advance.
There are many other lessons learned while running and designing curricula. I value a clear framework, high standards, some flexibility in scheduling within clearly defined checkpoints, counsel on good practices, and exceptional vision for how a class can benefit someone well beyond the semester. It is important to help students from where they currently are and to provide the best opportunity for their growth. Activities should be able to benefit students at multiple levels of ability, which is often a benefit of creative projects over bookwork. I’ll let you dig into these analogies deeper and create your own. Feel free to share yours!