If you are a music or instrumental teacher, it is very important to monitor your work, as you probably work in isolation both from other teachers and from other aspects of the pupil’s learning processes. Such isolation necessitates a rigorous approach to self-evaluation.
If it is all too easy to rely on familiar and comparative yardsticks and to let them become a substitute for active monitoring.
For example, the teacher who uses the same two books or pieces repeatedly may be inclined to measure the progress of one pupil against his or her peers, rather than against the individual and kept capabilities or potential.
Related Post
10 Powerful Strategies for Creating a Music Teaching Curriculum
In this way, difficulties or shortcomings may be overlooked, or rapid progress may be hindered by a failure to match the teaching material to learning requirements.
If you do use one tutor book regularly, avoid comparing one pupil’s progress with that of another. There’s very little more dispiriting for one pupil to be told that another reached stage three in two weeks and it’s taking you 25!
Effective monitoring requires vigor and objectivity. An effective way to monitor your work process is to use either ordeal or video recording. With the agreement of your pupil, record one or two lessons and then sit back, be observant analyze your performance!
There are several areas to consider.
1. Language – Praise and Criticism
The language you use and how you say things are very significant and may indeed be a crucial factor in the success of your teaching. Make a note of the positive and negative comments made.
Remember that there’s always more than one way to say the same thing: the following examples may help:
Positive Comments
Well done you produce a good tone, but I wonder whether we can work on…
I enjoyed the phrasing here, but we need
to hear it throughout the piece.
Good you remembered this F sharp, but what about the rest?
You remembered some of the things we talked about last lesson, but how did you get on with…
You started with a much better posture, but…
That is beginning to communicate a real sense of performance, but we need to hear more…
Let’s do some more work on rhythm.
Negative Comments
The tone is still not good enough.
is that phrasing the best you can do? Why do you ignore phrasing in this section?
But what about the F sharps?
You must practice more.
You still haven’t sorted out your posture.
It is still not very expressive.
Don’t you know the difference between a quarter note and an eighth note yet?
Language – Technical Terms
How many technical music, and or Italian terms are you using during a lesson? Does your pupil seem to understand them? How often do you ask pupils to explain them to you?
These words and expressions are important and enable pupils to operate efficiently in teaching tender some situations so any gaps in their knowledge may have serious ‘knocks-on’ effects.
2. Planning and Preparation
Monitoring assumes each lesson is planned and prepared. Using lesson plans/record sheets will help track what work has been done and how well.
Record these notes, as they will remind you where you are with each pupil and serve as a useful tool to monitor your work.
The evaluation boxes can be filled in with a grade of A to C. A lesson might move in a direction quite different from that originally intended, but this does not necessarily diminish its value – it may well get to it!
3. Music and General content
After about 10 lessons, assess the balance of content for each pupil: the number of pieces played, scales learned, and how often areas like aural, sight-reading, and improvisation are included. Is the pupil receiving a balanced musical diet?
Many instrumental teachers measure success by whether or not they retain pupils, by examining festival successes, and by the existence of a waiting list of children wanting to study with them.
These are important, but equally important cases for the teacher to develop skills as a reflective practitioner, always questioning the choice and effectiveness of materials and teaching strategies.
In this way, long-term success is more likely, and the freshness of approach, which characterizes old good teaching, may be assured.
4. Reflection on Pupil Progress
Occasionally, you might like to sit back and reflect on a particular pupil, especially if you feel old is perhaps not going as well as it might.
Consider the following questions carefully:
- How do you rate your pupil’s general attitude to the work set?
- What are your feelings toward a pupil?
- What are your feelings about what you are teaching the pupil?
- How do you rate your ability to teach what the pupil is studying?
- What is your perception of the pupil’s progress?
- What is your general frame of mind about the pupil?
By reflecting in this way you may well identify a particular areas of concern that can be improved on or dealt with by subtle changes in attitudes or approach.
In addition, if you are feeling anxious, under pressure, unhappy, or underconfident, these emotions can sometimes be transferred onto your pupil and of course vice versa. This is known as receiving a feeling by psychotherapists.
It is as well to consider your state of mind at the beginning of the teaching session particularly in the case of any problem pupils. It could have quite a significant effect on the success of that teaching.
5. Reflection on a Specific Lesson
Even though instrumental in singing teachers tend to have extremely busy lives it is a good idea to sit back and reflect occasionally on a specific lesson.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What were your main objectives?
- What did you actually do?
- Do you feel you achieved your objectives?
- What contributed to the success or otherwise of the lesson?
- Would you have done anything differently?
Conclusion: The Importance of Reflective Practice
As a music teacher, long-term success comes from developing reflective practices. Continuously question the effectiveness of your teaching materials and strategies. With this approach, you ensure a fresh and engaging teaching style that benefits both you and your students.
