Proactive v Reactive OR both

[pianowelsh]

What kind of teacher are you?? It has just occured to me that I am predominantly reactive in my style of teaching.  I tend to lsiten and observe and then react.  Some teachers I have had have been very much the other way and have been proactive in telling me do this this way and copy me etc. I suppose as a teacher it is realistically the case that we do both sometimes we will need to spearhead a development other times we may be best advised to sit back and observe more before diving in with a suggestion.  I noticed this is a general tendancy of mine too. I rarely begin a discussion but will often react to one which has begun, having weighed the pros and cons.   What do you guys think? What are your natural tendancies in this way and how does this affect the way your students learn/recieve from you.  It occured to me that the teachers who were highly proactive with me tended to have a crushing/stunting effect where as the ones who planted seeds and watched tended to see me make more progress.  I would be really interested to know how different personality types react to this situation.  I think it has a great deal of significance in the effectiveness of our teaching.

[hyrst]

I see teaching as inter-active.  I give my students independence, and work with the things they have shown me.  I also provide some structure and direction, sometimes specific and sometimes overall.  I think both are necessary, and I get the impression most teachers here are the same.  There is also a difference between the amount of structure I use for each student - learning style and motivation have a lot to do with how teaching functions.

If I had my own teacher, I would want them to respond to the things I am doing to show me how to improve and to give me advice and choices on repertoire that would help to build my skills and experience.  On the other hand, I am not too good at being told what to do - I am pretty stuborn and self-directed.  If I had a teacher who told me what I had to play and how I had to do it, I wouldn't be a very good student - I just don't 'do what I am told'!  I guess I find it important to understand why I am doing something rather than simply being told to do it.

[tiasjoy]

Both.  Depending on the age and experience of the student.  At the moment I only have one advanced student.  I'm completely reactive with herbecause she doesn't neccessarily have to be taught anything - just guided, or given suggestions.

For beginners I'm VERY proactive when teaching technique, and even when I'm guiding them through new pieces - at this stage it's important to avoid mistakes, not correct them.

I have most intermediate students - so it's a little of both with them.

[pianowelsh]

Good - thats really interesting MORE people please!  I can empathise with you hyrst. I found the prescribed method of tuition very unrewarding.  Can people share their own experiences of how their teachers have influenced the way they react to students in their lessons now.  Im really interested in this. So much of teaching comes from our own experiences and not text books - it would be really interesting to see how these partnerships we submit ourselves to shape our characters later on as teachers.

[tiasjoy]

Can people share their own experiences of how their teachers have influenced the way they react to students in their lessons now.  Im really interested in this.

One of my teachers would play EVERY new piece.  I heard how it went, I copied her.  I did that for three years!

(I had other teachers later)

When I first began teaching (12 years ago) I emphasised note reading A LOT because I was so afraid of becoming my first teacher.  (ANd playng by ear only, got me into a bit of trouble, and so I thought that approach was b a d ....)

It was quite a few years later that I learned people have different learning styles and to get the best out of THAT student, I should teach the way THAT student would best respond.

Now I'm much more balance with the eye and ear thing.   (There's more, but the post would be too long and boring!)

[lenkaolenka]

What kind of teacher are you?? It has just occured to me that I am predominantly reactive in my style of teaching.  I tend to lsiten and observe and then react.  Some teachers I have had  I would be really interested to know how different personality types react to this situation.  I think it has a great deal of significance in the effectiveness of our teaching.

I was a student of music school in former USSR and from the 1st to 5th grade had no idea, what I was doing! My teacher was definitely not motivated by money – she was not proactive or reactive – she was 'ignorative' : most of the lessons she was chatting with her girlfriends-colleagues about more interesting staff then music (clothes, make up, shoes etc). 

I quit. After that I started to hear perfect pitch of every sound and had decided to go back to school, because I understood, how to read music and play piano intuitively. My new teacher was very reactive! She said: I know, what to do and how to do it! Due to the fact, that I was 'new in field of prodigies', I submitted and it was a good idea! I graduated with honor and passed very hard tests to music secondary school.

After that I was rebellious all the rest of my study. My teachers and I had completely different goals: they wanted me to become concert pianist or at least musicologist, which is writing scientific projects and teaches in universities. I wanted to study everything about music methodology, pedagogy and find what's wrong in music education, if we can teach only selected few prodigies and the rest of population is staying absolutely illiterate. In conservatory (12th – 17th year of study music) my teacher was trying to be reactive and eventually gave up on me. I was making my theses on my own and graduated with honor any way.

Now I am a teacher myself. Today I teach both – students-beginners and teachers. With students I am proactive most of the time. I develop and use a system, that teaches them basics so effectively, that my job is to watch, direct a little and help just they ask for help and ready for my help. With other music teachers I am very reactive, because I have so much knowledge and information to offer and it is so new and unusual for them that we can't interact, before they would get to my level. But later, when they learn, our study is 'interactive'.

[pianowelsh]

go on tiasjoy...i wouldnt be bored. Share what you feel you are able.
Very interesting comments Lenka

[penguinlover]

I suppose I am reactive mostly, but that does depend upon the student and his level.  Beginners are definately in need of a proactive teacher.  I think that the proactive teacher would have more plans, either in his head or written down.   I have nothing against that, plans are good.  But I have found that with plans, they get changed every lesson anyway, so I guess that's why I react.  I think I live life that way anyway, I react. 

My teachers all taught me that way.  I had one teacher that played every song for me, and that really aggrivated me, so I went home and did three extra songs a week just so she wouldn't play  for me.  I was, and even now am, rather obnoxious.  My brother never learned to read music for four years because she  did that!  I don't teach that way at all.   I only play for the student if they request it, or to demonstrate a technique or sound. 

Now that I think of it, I like to think of myself as an inter-active teacher too.  I like that idea.  We interact with our students, on many levels, some different from music. 

[hyrst]

Yes- the interaction is on many levels. 

I like to have slightly longer lessons with most of my students (and the parents are mostly willing and able to pay for this).  This gives a lot of time to develop relationships.  I enjoy my teaching on this level.  The kids share with me things about school, ask questions about projects, share their successes and diappointments.  The adults do similar.  I know this isn't directly what is being asked, but I think it is connected. 

I find that teaching is about responding to the needs of the whole student at the given moment.  Sometimes the moment requires a little more directive teaching, and sometimes exploration and reaction.  Each student is different, because of personality, level, mood, learning style, self-motivation and many other reasons.  I relate differently to each one as well, as a reults of the student and how my personality gels with them. 

I think a certain amount of teaching needs to be explicit - it saves a lot of time rather than leaving everything to discovery and correction.  However, discovery learning is often the deepest learning and I think room needs to be given for this.  It provides and stimulates creativity and problem solving - which are very useful in music. 

In the background, whether on paper or in my head, I do have a list of things the student needs to learn or correct in the short term and eventually.  This is the guiding principal behind  my lesson structures and directions, in general.  But, the moment by moment is situation dependent - I think everyone has basically said the same.

[pianowelsh]

Yes Hyrst> Id like to take what you were saying about the discovery learning being a deeper level of learning.  I in my own learning experience have found this to be true, and I believe quite strongly in making sure that the student understands why they are doing what they are doing and plant questions in order for them to consolidate a principle. BUT my real question is it possible that this could conflict with the learning styles of some students who are not inclined to engage proactively in the lesson who perhaps like to be fed information and the work on it over a long period of time for example.  My concern is that to be too strong on one side of this fence could be harmfull for the student. At at least one level of my scholarship I was actually told ' you think too much' and by another teacher ' you ask too many questions'. Im sorry but that was my style of learning. I learn by pondering things and reasoning discussing them out based on what I have read and studied or heard via masterlessons etc..I have from the age of about 8/9 so I found it extremely restictive to be prescribed methods and told not to question.  I suppose really I want to examine what is the relationship between our stance as teachers on being proactive (leaders) or reactive (mentors) on the psychology of our students  - how can we observe the influence we are having etc.

[okietransplant]

I think I am mostly reactive.  I want to see what the student presents to me at the beginning of the lesson.  I want to listen first.  I feel they should be allowed to present to me their best, without much interuption.

I am also proactive, because I have certain things that must be presented and goals that must be in the forefront (mostly for recitals and festivals.)

My high school teacher never played a piece for me.  I taught like her for my first twenty years.  My college professor always demonstrated for me. (He was an awesome professional!)  I have started demonstrating more in the last few years, and also requiring more listening.

This is a very interesting topic......

[pianowelsh]

I have observed that I teach different students differently. One student I had really couldnt handle the way I kept asking her questions and to think and apply principles. She liked to take it down and then learn it. Other students I have dont have a note book they make their own notes on the music and they like to mentally graps each concept point by point. So with them I state the principle which they know and ask pointed questions to bring them to a new point of revelation.. that way they make the connections and feel they 'own' their learning.   I wonder however if I was to disregard the differences in these students and teach them all the same way how that would effect their learning and consequently their self esteem - thats a point which really interests me and concerns me! I feel more and more stongly that we as teachers have a duty to know the student and find the best way to teach them and not become regimented in our approach.  I have had some teachers who have clearly taught the same way to everyone for years and nothing is going to change them - despite their insensitivity causing talented youngsters to change teachers because they felt so strongly, quit, EVEN feel suicidal because they felt alienated and msunderstood.. And these are people who are held up as naional and world class teachers.  It has caused me to examine what effect is my attitude and personal teaching style having on the students i teach??!