Tricks of the Trade

This year, I tried a new idea with the students: The Karate Challenge. For each "belt" color there were several pieces that needed to be covered plus technique work like scales and chord work. Several of the kids earned their colors, even one blue belt which is quite advanced. Instead of real belts, I gave the children certificates and silicon bracelets, which the kids seem to be wearing these days.

The Note Mastery Challenge motivated some kids to win either bronze, silver or gold badges. I had these badges specially designed and made for me. Designated notes had to be learned so well that they could be recognized, the tone played and the note names spoken within 60 seconds. The ones who won also got to sign a special list on the door. It's fun to see who has "done the work" over the years!

Repetition and rehearsal of information enhance a process called consolidation, the process by which memories are moved from temporary storage in the hippocampus (a small structure within the brain) to more permanent storage in the cortex (the outer layer of the brain) (Richards, 2003, p. 24).

Multiple repetitions of the information provide rehearsal, but doing so may bore students. When bored, the brain can go into a pattern similar to the "screen saver" mode on your computer monitor. The student may not pay attention to what he is repeating. Therefore, using strategies with humor, movement, songs, and other forms of novelty are critical in enhancing the value of the repetition.

In the lessons, I used every motivation game I could think of to make repeats more fun. Many students believe that just playing something once is enough. Often, that is not sufficient. We remember something best when it is organized and rehearsed. Repetition is the mother of skill. I used the penguin game, dice, The Memory Game, Sweet Repeat Treats...

Imagine if we as teachers, and parents reinforced kids  for their use of concrete strategies in organizing their information. Pediatrician, Dr. Mel Levine suggests: "I thought that before a test, kids ought to be asked to hand in a memory plan. The same way a pilot would hand in a flight plan. In other words, how are you going to go about getting stuff into and out of your memory? And students ought to be graded on the plan as much as they are on their test" (Levine and Meltzer, 1998). I'll be thinking about this during the summer break. Maybe I can develop some concrete tips!

The students enjoyed THE AMAZING PRACTICE GAME this spring. Each child received a poster with squares (or circles!) on them. The object was to check off one square after 15 minutes of practice. It was also possible to cross off two squares after 30 minutes, which some children did. Along the way, the kids got to pick activity cards (scales, arpeggios, favorite piece, last memorized song, etc.) in the lesson, open the Tinker Bell Music Box, receive an extra goody or two, and finally, open the GOLDEN BOX!

At the beginning of the year, I gave  most of the kids a “practice log”. The idea is to write down what was practiced, how it was practiced and how long. Then they showed the log to me at the next lesson. I hoped it encouraged the kids to think about what they are doing a bit more. I could also see what kind of practicing techniques the kids know (or don’t yet know). I just asked the "newbies" to cross off a square.

I worked on intermediate and advanced practice techniques with some students. I pasted "difficult passages" onto a sheet of paper and the students (with my help) were asked to develop ways to practice them. These were listed below the passage. These "hard parts" had to be played perfectly before I allowed the students to begin the piece in earnest.

I felt like a preacher, exhorting the value of daily practice albeit short at times. I begged students to develop fingerings and really learn them. I cajoled the kids who knew no notes to learn them as a way to independent learning. But it was worth it. Yet some (very few) hardly practiced and some still don't know their notes. But I tried!

This last month was tough: lots of athletic events, final events at school, last exams, etc. Yet the children played a lovely recital - The Piano Party. The Family Picnic afterwards was fun.

I’ve asked the parents to please take advantage of my offer to listen to digital recordings during the summer. They record the piece their child is working on at the beginning (just starting the piece), and perhaps each week afterwards. They send me the recording and I gladly listen to it as well as send back a critique and some practice suggestions. It's a free service I offer. It just takes me a few minutes anyway.

To ponder

Neurons that fire together, wire together.

To understand a motor image, think about struggling to remember a phone number. You may move your fingers in the pattern of the phone number as if dialing it and find that this helps you recall the number.

Repetition and practice trigger neurons (brain cells). When a set of neurons fire together, they develop a "habit" of firing together again. Habits as well as academic learning occur this way. Use multisensory strategies so your child simultaneously sees, hears, and touches or moves with the information.

Did you ride a bicycle when younger? Did you learn to ride your bicycle by reading a book about it? No, you needed to actually practice riding. With enough repetition, you retained a motor image of the procedure. Would you be able to now get on a bicycle and ride with relative ease? Most people will answer yes to this question. Why is that? Our muscles remember information or procedures that were practiced many times. Muscle memory is a powerful learning tool!