Igniting the Spark

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. – William Arthur Ward

As summer draws to a close, I reflect on my studio goals for the coming year. September always provides an opportunity to begin anew! This year, I will strive to empower students to be accountable for their own learning. As the above quote states, the most effective teaching is that which inspires the learner. I would like to inspire my students to learn, not for me or for their parents, but for themselves. A tall order. For the students that already have a passion for music, this is easy. My job is simply to keep that flame glowing by assigning appropriate repertoire and challenges. For others, however, it can be difficult to ignite that spark.

Here are 5 steps to inspire deep learning:

1. Connect with students. Develop rapport – learn about their interests and hobbies. Establish trust and respect.
2. Be Passionate. Show your enthusiasm, it is contagious! Demonstrate with joy.
3. Teach with Relevancy. Present material at the student’s level in a way that relates individually to them.
4. Remember the 3 R’s: Review, Repeat and Reinforce. In other words, practice! Be sure to spend time in each lesson going over practice suggestions. Take the action – have them do it in the lesson and have fun! Celebrate accomplishment! I am a firm believer that if it doesn’t happen in the lesson, it won’t translate at home. Students learn by doing. Telling them to do something isn’t as effective as having them physically do it.
5. Encourage Self-evaluation. Again, rather than telling a student what is wrong or evaluating how they did something, ask them how it went. They usually know what they did wrong or what they could do better. This creates empowerment and a sense of mastery. Once they have identified the problem, they are on the path to finding a solution.

Teaching in this manner requires patience and a two-way street of trust. Students need to trust us to guide them, but we need to trust that they can process information and make it their own.

In closing, I am reminded of a quote from the book Illusions by Richard Bach:

Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you.