What Makes a Good Teacher?
Choosing a private music teacher is an important decision. Music teachers have a big impact on their students because of the intimate one-on-one interaction and nurturing afforded by the nature of private studios. A quick and easy way to judge whether students and parents are happy with a teacher is to look at his or her retention rate. There are certainly other things to keep in mind.
Many musicians trained in performance also teach children. However, knowing how to play an instrument and knowing how to teach children are two very different things. It seems evident that being an expert in Shakespeare does not make anyone better at teaching little Sally how to read. Similarly, having performance skills does not automatically translate into having the ability to teach children. Good teachers need to have the ability to diagnose the learner’s needs and come up with solutions to break down concepts and to translate content to be learned into metaphors, images, examples and demonstrations that make sense to a particular child’s mode of thinking. A teacher also needs to know how musical concepts are organized, represented, and adapted in ways that appeal to students’ diverse developmental levels, interests and abilities.
In fact, without training in teaching children, high levels of expertise can actually result in greater difficulty communicating introductory concepts to novices. An expert’s skills have become automatic and operate below the level of awareness making it difficult to share with others. [1] If you’ve ever taught a young child to tie their shoe-laces — something you can do without thinking — you get the picture. You likely found it difficult to explain how you do it.
Peter Walsh says that parents should ensure that the music teacher is competent in teaching children in addition to having the skills to perform music.[2] Walsh thinks this is perhaps the most important factor in choosing a teacher. Studies have shown that young students are more likely to do well with teachers who provide a familial-type relationship and who are concerned about the whole child, not just their musical prowess. [3] Daniel Willingham, cognitive psychologist and author of When Can You Trust The Experts? says it is the emotional bond between students and teacher which determines whether students learn [4] so you need to look for a teacher who puts relationship first. Davidson, Moore, Sloboda and Howe surveyed young music students and found that they preferred teachers who were friendly, chatty, warm and relaxed. They suggest that the personal relationship may be more important than the teacher’s other skills in learning to play an instrument.[5] When teachers are supportive and caring, students are more likely to value the education and have high expectations for themselves.
(Check back soon for blog article on choosing a teacher for older students.)
References
[1] Davis, B., Sumara, D., & Luce-Kapler, R. (2015). Engaging minds: Cultures of education and practices of teaching (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge
[2] Walsh, P. (2015). The non-musician’s guide to parenting a piano player. Middletown, DE.
[3] Wentzel, K., (2002). Are effective teachers like good parents? Teaching styles and student adjustment in early adolescence. Child Development, 73(1), 287-301. Retrieved from:
[4] Willingham, D. (2009). Why don't students like school? A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass
[5] Davidson, J., Howe, M., Moore, D., & Sloboda, J. (1998). Characteristics of music teachers and the progress of young instrumentalists. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46(1), 141-160. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/stable/pdf/3345766.pdf