A master class is a great opportunity to share your expert knowledge and skills and get to know your customers or subscribers better. In this material, we will talk about how to conduct a master class and consider the stages of its preparation.
What is a master class
Master class (MC) is an interactive form of learning and exchange of experience, the name of which comes from the English words: “master”, which means “the best in any field”, and “class” – translated as “class, lesson”. MK is one of the most effective ways to pass on your skill to those who want to master it quickly.
Unlike some other training formats, visuality is important in workshops, and information should be supported by practical skills. Such classes are conducted by professionals who are deeply immersed in a certain field and are experts in it. The specialist demonstrates his experience, helping the participants of the master class to quickly master the skills related to the subject of this class.
Since all theoretical information is supported by practical actions, it is well remembered and easily learned. The specificity of MK is the close contact between the expert, who acts as the host, and the participants, and the possibility of personal communication with everyone who came to the training. Therefore, in an offline format, master classes are usually held in small groups (up to 15 people).
To make classes special, the presenter must have a personal concept of work, the master must have his own techniques, different from the methods of other experts.
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Organization of master classes
To make a useful master class, you need to pay enough attention to it preparation. At this stage follows:
- Choose the MK topic and mark the idea that will be used to reveal this topic. To do this, you need to define in detail the main goal of the master class, and then divide it into several specific tasks that need to be conveyed to the participants.
- The next step is to determine the target audience, taking into account age, profession, interests, as well as the level of their awareness of the subject of the master class. The more accurate the portrait of the CA you make, the easier it is to interest those who came to the class.
- Choose the format of holding the MC, which will help to transfer your knowledge to the participants, as well as to receive positive feedback from the students. We will analyze the forms of conducting master classes below.
- It is necessary to develop a problem that can interest students and motivate them to work in the master class.
- Then you should prepare a plan for a practical lesson with clearly defined algorithms for the time frames that you allocate to the lesson.
- If you are going to conduct a workshop in a non-online format, find a class location that meets the number of participants and other requirements.
After the preparatory actions, the active stage follows conducting master classes.
Before starting MK, check whether everything is necessary at home, test the operation of all technical equipment: speakers, microphone, projector. For master classes held online, set up the video conferencing service on your computer and the ability to connect participants.
At the beginning of the class, do not forget to greet the participants, tell them a little about yourself and give a brief description of the master class. Try to speak clearly, change intonation, present information clearly and clearly. Behave naturally, and do not forget about gestures and facial expressions.
To create an atmosphere of trust, it is good to remember the names of all students so that you can address each one personally. Try to pay attention to each MK participant. Remember the time: solve all the tasks set during the master class on time.
The final stage of the MK is summing up both the students and the presenter. In this case, intermediate results can be added during the lesson. Finally, it is also important to get feedback from participants.
Pay attention to the issues discussed by the audience. For example, you have dedicated a master class to content for social networks, but found that many participants are interested in creating videos for YouTube. Then, if your specialty is working with content, you can tell students about a strong script in the next workshop.
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Master class plan
As a rule, the structure of the master class includes:
- The introductory part, in which the presenter offers the necessary target settings, reveals the goals of the master class in general, and even the content of its individual components.
- Next comes the main demo part.
- The third part of the master class consists of commenting on the most important points. The leader needs to explain those elements of his work that, in his opinion, are the most important.
- The final part of the MC consists of a discussion of the lesson by the students themselves and a summary of the results by the leading master class.
Forms of MK
A master class can be practice session, on which the participants repeat the presenter’s actions. Usually, at the beginning of such a class, the expert gives a short lecture on the topic of MK. After completing a master class of this type, students acquire the ability to perform certain actions, and the result can be specific things, for example, a hand-made bouquet at a floristry master class or a prepared dish at a cooking class.
on simulation master class the presenter simulates the performance of certain actions, for example, carrying out any business training exercise. After the class, the teacher conducts an analysis of techniques and actions with the participants.
A master class can also be itself lecture from video demonstration of the work process Make sure that the video is of good quality so that the participants clearly see all the actions, details and nuances of the process. During the video showing, the expert needs to comment on what is happening on the screen, stop the playback, go back and repeat the difficult moments of the work.
Features of online master classes
Technologies do not stand still, and today many workshops are held online. Let’s consider the pros and cons of this training format.
The advantages of online classes include an unlimited number of participants, since you will not depend on the space of the room, and you will also get rid of rental costs. On the Internet, there are many online sites with an affordable cost of use, where you can conduct master classes.
Online classes are great for busy people. Even if a participant is late for class or has to be distracted for a short time, they will usually be able to see the missed part in the recording.
In addition, online master classes are available to anyone who has a computer or tablet with Internet access. It does not matter whether a person is at home, on a trip, lives in a big city or a small village.
However, the wide geography of the participants can also be considered a disadvantage due to the time difference. It can be difficult to choose a class time if students are in different time zones. Therefore, before determining the time of the master class, it is advisable to conduct a survey among the participants, and to provide a video recording to those who will not be able to attend the class.
Weak feedback can be considered a disadvantage of the online format. The presenter will not be able to track the progress of each student, help a specific participant with advice and point out omissions, which negatively affects the effectiveness of learning.
Conclusion
Finally, we will list a number of important characteristics of a leading master class that should be paid attention to.
The expert who conducts the class must have charisma, good diction, competent language, and have a clearly structured logic of explanation. Communication skills, ability to improvise, manage unplanned situations, lack of stiffness and leadership qualities will come in handy. The ability to adhere to a previously developed lesson structure and the ability to reveal the talents of others are also important.
