After we teach the basic strokes, we will ask you to demonstrate these strokes in a series of maneuvers on flat water.  Spinning your boat in place is best done with a combination of forward and backward sweep strokes.  We will bark out the direction of the spin to have you quickly transition from one turn to the next.  Turning is important in most rapids to avoid hitting rocks that may be in the way.  The following article has demonstrations of this drill and many others: Spin Drill.