Transcript MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE IN MUSIC EDUCATION

MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
•
MOTIVATION: the total of all forces
that cause a person to expend energy
doing one thing rather than another.
Arousing student interest, kindling
group spirit, and encouraging student
actions are all forms of motivation.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
•
DISCIPLINE: the conduct that results
from training. It involves learning to
act in accordance with established
rules, in a manner that is socially
agreed-upon as appropriate in a given
situation.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivation:

there are several natural motivating factors that
come into play when working with teenagers in
some areas of music education
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students involved in elective music performance groups or
classes are already motivated to a certain degree or they
would not be there
peer pressure to conform can be used in an advantageous
manner in motivating students toward elective performance
participation and subsequent achievement.
Teenagers have a strong need for a sense of belonging.
Music groups serve this need as well or better than any
other aspects of public education.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:

Fear/desire: Some music educators feel that there
are only two true motivational elements in education
- fear or desire.

Music educators who base their instructional approaches on
fear can achieve dramatic and immediate results, but
groups that work in a fearful atmosphere tend to perform
“in spite of” rather than “as a result” of that fear.

When students are motivated by desire, limits are removed
and a whole new level of creativity is opened to them.
Building a desire to learn holds long-lasting and farreaching benefits for students, teachers, and an entire
music education program.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Music Contests: Competitive and
noncompetitive contests contain the
motivational elements of both fear and
desire. This system does have a flaw,
in that it promotes students to be
better than the students who attend
the neighboring school rather than to
be the best they can be.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Awards: Some type of awards system
can provide motivational benefits for
school music performing groups, as
well as music classes. Awards provide
an opportunity for recognition of those
students who achieve some degree of
excellence in their work.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Testing and Grading: Tests and
grades both holds some potential for
motivating students toward musical
success, but gradually, due to a lack of
definite criteria for evaluation, such
measures fall short of achieving the
degree of motivation that takes place
in other academic classrooms.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:

Performances: One of the reasons
students become members of music
organizations is because of the performance
opportunities. Young people love the
attention one gets when being on stage.

Correctly spelled names in programs, and
getting alumni to participate in a performance
are both a source of motivation for the
students.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:

Student Involvement: Involving students
in establishing motivational goals and
objectives for music groups in music classes
is simply good program administration on
the part of the music educator. The
establishment of student committees that
support a performing organization gives a
music educator an opportunity to work with
a variety of music students in an advisory,
non-instructional capacity.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Photographs/Recordings: Students
like to see themselves, and
photographs, movies, or videotapes of
performances can serve as an incentive
for excellence.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Group Spirit: Students are also
motivated through group spirit, which
appeals to their need for a sense of
belonging. Group spirit and
identification can be enhanced by such
things as T-shirts, identifying emblems,
jackets, and similar items.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Motivational Factors:
 Compliments: Successful teachers
can motivate learning through their
positive and friendly attitudes, as well
as through their personalities. Such
teachers understand that compliments
only motivate when the person
receiving the compliment is aware that
it is deserved.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION

Tim Lautzenheiser, a notated lecturer on
motivation in music education, feels that
students cannot be given motivation, but
that they can choose to be motivated. It is
up to the teacher to set the example and
creates an educational environment whereby
students feel good about themselves. When
students feel good about themselves, they
perform accordingly.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Teachers need to look constantly at themselves and
determine what motivates them to achieve program
excellence. If it is anything less than providing an
understanding of music as well as creating an
excitement of learning about music, perhaps they
need to rethink that aspect of their work. Selfevaluation can be a threatening experience for
insecure individuals, but it is a necessary ingredient
in determining motivation.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Discipline and Behavior Modification:
The behaviorist approach to classroom discipline is
the rise from the work of the B. F. Skinner, whose
material was first published in the 1930’s and
involves training children rather than educating
them.

Skinner’s theory is based on the assumption that
people relate to pleasant situations and reject
unpleasant situations and that they are likely to
repeat a behavior pattern if the consequence of that
behavior is pleasant, and vice-versa.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Discipline and Behavior Modification:

Such action can be influenced by what is known as operant
conditioning and the use of positive or negative reinforcement
in conjunction with specific behavior sequences.
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Music educators use operant conditioning much more than they
might think: if a musical group automatically becomes quiet when
the director steps on the podium, they have, at some point, been
conditioned to do so.
When a teacher uses a “counting” method in controlling a
classroom situation, the response to counting one, two or three is
a result of operant conditioning.
Assertive discipline techniques can also be considered related to
behavior modification in that they spell out very clearly for the
students what type of behavior is expected and consequences,
both positive and negative, that are associated with that behavior.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Discipline and Behavior Modification:
 Behavior modification has had a
profound influence on classroom
discipline techniques in all areas of
education.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Preventive Discipline:
Avoidance of discipline problems is the key to
preventive discipline and is most successful when
the students themselves are involved in establishing
goals and objectives of classroom behavior. Many
educators feel that such involvement on the part of
students in constructing their own classroom
atmosphere goes a long way toward creating a
positive learning situation. Students are less likely
to break the policies or rules that they have
established than they are to violate procedures
established for them by an “outside” source.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Three Common Approaches to Discipline:
► Authoritarian: An authoritarian teacher
compiles strict classroom rules and
regulations that are enforced by severe
punishment. An authoritarian offers no
explanation of the reasons behind the strict
restraints. Such an approach produces
conformity that leads to resentment, which
in turn creates an unhealthy learning
situation.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Three Common Approaches to Discipline:
► Permissive: A permissive teacher makes
little attempt to set limits on children's
behavior. An air of egocentricity and selfassertiveness prevails on the part of the
teacher. Because students do not know
what to do and behavior limits are not
established, they often start to feel insecure.
Chaos is the rule rather than the exception.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Three Common Approaches to Discipline:
► Democratic: The democratic approach to
discipline is generally considered the best
approach for teachers. In such an approach,
children receive explanations of how they
should act. Good behavior is rewarded with
praise and inappropriate behavior is
punished. The democratic approach creates
a positive learning atmosphere based more
on “do’s” than “don’ts.”
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Components of Good Discipline:
► Goals and Objectives: If behavioral
goals and objectives are decided upon
with the cooperation of the involved
class, progress is likely to be measured
and evaluated through group effort as
well. Students must realize that the
reason they need to behave is so that
they can learn.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Components of Good Discipline:
► Developing Social Skills: The manner in
which people treat one another is
another important ingredient in
creating a positive classroom climate.
Unless students learn social skills along
with learning the subject matter, very
little of the latter will take place.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Components of Good Discipline:
► Physical Size: A teacher's physical size has
little to do with his or her success in
motivating students toward a disciplined
classroom atmosphere. Most people can
recall at least one educator in their life who
was a petite woman who really “ran a tight
ship” in all her classes. Even the largest
young man in the class could be put in his
proper place by a firm comment or warning
glance.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline:
There are numerous problems that can
surface during a school year, but here
are the ones that a prospective music
teacher must deal with from the very
first day he or she walks into the
classroom:
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline:
 Talking: young teachers must realize
early on that they are wasting their
time and effort teaching or giving
instruction over conversations or other
extraneous talking in the classroom.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music Education
Discipline:

Students who can't participate: sore
throats, cold sores, bad colds, and dental
problems are just some of the reasons music
students were legitimately offer to request
that they be excused from one or several
rehearsal periods.
o
In dealing with such problems, music educators
need to instill in the students the need for making
the request prior to the beginning of rehearsal
and follow the activities taking place in the
rehearsal.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline: participation cont…
o
Students with excuses for not participating in a
particular rehearsal should not be allowed to
study (they can't practice flute in English class),
or perform library or other work in the music for,
and they most certainly should not be excused
from the room.
o
students who are allowed to study during a
rehearsal or who are permitted to leave the music
room because of minor ailments can develop a
habit of afflictions in and around test time in
other academic classes.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline:
 Rehearsal and Performance
Attendance: Rehearsal and class
attendance is normally not a problem
for music groups and is governed
largely by the administrative policies of
the school. Attendance at any extra
rehearsals, and more specifically
performances, is another matter.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline: rehearsal
attendance cont…
o
o
If students are notified far in advance of the
event, there is absolutely no reason for an
unexcused absence from a performance.
Students who missed a performance without
permission are sending a signal to the music
educator concerning their feelings towards the
group, and with very few exceptions they should
be told to resign from the organization
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline: rehearsal
attendance cont…
o To allow students with an unexcused
absence from a performance to remain
part of the group creates morale problems
within the organization and reduces the
importance of a quality music performance
in the minds of all participants.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline:
 Chewing Gum: Some schools have a
general policy against chewing gum in
school. Those schools without such a
policy place the music educator in a
position of policing action that has no
place in the music education classroom
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline: Chewing Gum
Cont...
o
This seemingly insignificant part of classroom
discipline in music is actually an important step in
establishing teacher credibility
o
By being clear about this rule, the teacher
demonstrates their seriousness about creating a
classroom atmosphere conducive to quality
education.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Primary Areas of Concern in Music
Education Discipline:
 Posture: student posture is another
requisite for good behavior and
necessary to create an optimal physical
situation for music performance. It's a
known fact that students who maintain
good posture and class are more alert
and attentive and behave better than
those students whose posture is poor.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the Music
Education Classroom:
It is easy to understand why so many young music
educators begin their teaching careers apprehensive
about their ability to control a classroom
environment. For the four or five (six ) years of
their undergraduate work, they have lived in a very
controlled and generally comfortable atmosphere.
In three short months following graduation, the
“students” must suddenly become “teachers of
students.” The following will deal with practical
suggestions that can facilitate that transition.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in
the Music Education Classroom:
 Appearance: the visual impression
the young music educator makes on
the students will influence the behavior
of those students before a note of
music is taught or before the students
can become aware of the depth of
musical knowledge of their new
teacher.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:
•
Teacher/Student actions
o Public-school students are quick to pick up on
how their music teacher acts. They can respect a
teacher who is friendly but not determined to be
their friend.
o Many young music educators have failed because
they attempted to establish the type of friendship
with their public-school students that they
themselves enjoyed with one of their favorite
college instructors.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the Music
Education Classroom:

Preparation: there is nothing that can build an
individual’s confidence more when approaching a
particular project than being well-prepared for the
task. Teachers who prepare diligently for every class
are able to anticipate and prevent potential behavior
problems, prepare answers in advance for difficult
questions, and, in general, provide a setting in
which optimal learning can take place. Absolutely
nothing greets confidence like preparation.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:

Confidence: there are three primary
ingredients in establishing confidence in the
music educator’s approach to instruction –
knowledge, preparation, and experience.
Young teachers lack experience so they must
rely on knowledge and preparation.
Confidence must not be confused with
arrogance
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:

Eye Contact: an inability to maintain eye
contact with the people can be considered a
sign of insecurity. Eye contact with students
in music classes is a key to preventive
discipline and is also a primary ingredient in
projecting an image of confidence to one's
student.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:

Sense of humor: the finest music
educators are blessed with a good sense of
humor. Maintaining a disciplined classroom
atmosphere does most certainly not mean
that the environment should be humorless.
A sense of humor prevents walls from
developing between teachers and students
and places the instructor in a more
humanistic light in the eyes of his or her
students.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:

Admit Mistakes: admit when you make a
mistake; the fact of the matter is that almost
all students are completely aware of when
and instructor makes a mistake. Ignoring
the mistake is bad enough, but attempting to
cover the error or explain it away results in a
slight feeling of resentment on the part of
the students. Students will admire a teacher
more when they acknowledge errors rather
than not.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in
the Music Education Classroom:
 Motivation and Praise: individuals
respond in a positive manner to praise.
Praise makes students feel good, and
when they a feel good they work
harder, perform better, and learn
more.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in
the Music Education Classroom:
 Discipline and the Reprimand:
when reprimanding students for some
unacceptable behavior or action,
extreme care must be exercised not to
resort to sarcasm or to personalize the
reprimand. Remember to criticize the
action, not the person.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in
the Music Education Classroom:
 Consistency: students quickly come
to realize whether or not a particular
teacher is consistent in his or her
praise and punishment of students.
Inconsistency in administering praise
and disciplinary action can only create
insecurity on the part of the students.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Practical Suggestions for Discipline in the
Music Education Classroom:

One-on-one Conference with Students:
when a student commits some infraction or
otherwise misbehaves in some way during a
class or rehearsal; one that can't be handled
by a look of disapproval or a quick
reprimand, music educators are advised to
handle the matter in a teacher-student
conference away from class time. Harsh
reprimands should be handled in private.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Out-of-control Classrooms:
•
Should a young music educators find
themselves with a classroom or rehearsal
situation that, over a period of time, has
gotten out-of-control, one natural tendency
is to attempt to restore complete order.
•
Another way is to basically to “give up” or
“hang in there” until the next semester or
next year and start all over again, this time
with a specific set of stiff rules and
regulations.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Out-of-control Classrooms: cont…
A better approach might be to schedule
individual meetings with the apparent
leaders in the class and involve them in
establishing policies governing only one
of several aspects of misbehavior.
Discuss the problem, discuss this
solution, and discuss the punishment.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Rehearsal Discipline:
►
Pacing Rehearsals: Teachers need to become
accustomed to conducting a fast-paced rehearsal.
Rehearsal pace is one of the greatest areas of
deficiencies present in the work of young music
educators. When a director stops a rehearsal, clear
and concise, straight to the point instructions for
improvement must be provided, and little should be
said that is unnecessary. Name the section, the
error, and the prescription for improvement. Talking
on the part of students when rehearsal stops is
unacceptable behavior.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Rehearsal Discipline: Cont…
► Preparation: all music educators owe it to
their students and themselves to be wellprepared, if not overly prepared, prior to
stepping before their performance groups.
Students can quickly detect an unprepared
director and they respond accordingly.
Music directors expect their students to
practice and learn their parts. They cannot
expect anything less from themselves.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Rehearsal Discipline: Cont…
► Rehearsal room: if at all possible,
chairs and music stands should be in
place prior to rehearsal. A confused
and disorderly rehearsal room
atmosphere has a tremendous negative
subconscious impact on young
ensemble members. Students want
and appreciate order in their lives.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Rehearsal Discipline: Cont…
► Rehearsal rules: rules and regulations
associated with music rehearsal should be
few, simple, and direct. Posture, gum
chewing, talking when the director is on the
podium, attendance at rehearsals and
performances, grading policy, and practice
expectations are several points that need to
be considered. Be sure to put this in writing
and present it to the students.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Rehearsal Discipline: Cont…
► Eye contact in rehearsals: many
experienced and inexperienced musicians
simply ignore the conductor. The only way
this can happen, though, is if the conductor
allows it! Why should the performer's watch
the director if he or she never looks at them
during a rehearsal or performance. To earn
and maintain control of a performing group,
the director must sustain some degree of
eye contact with ensemble members
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Serious discipline problems:

Sending students to the office: music
educators should not be reluctant to
send misbehaving students to the
office, but they should do whatever
they can to prevent it from becoming a
regular practice.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Serious discipline problems: cont.

Professional in-school assistance: a student who is a
serious discipline problem in a music class is very
likely a problem in other classes as well. Music
educators experiencing difficulty with a particular
student should consult other classroom and
homeroom teachers to determine if there is a
behavior pattern and if a combined approach toward
a solution to the student’s problem might be in
order. School counselors, school health staff,
principals, an assistant principals are all available to
provide assistance to the music educators should a
particular difficult or serious disciplinary situation
arise.
MOTIVATION AND DISCIPLINE
IN MUSIC EDUCATION
Serious discipline problems: cont.

Detention: most schools have some means of
retaining misbehaving students after school hours
for both relatively minor, as well as more serious,
offenses. It is often best to have the student do
nothing during this time. Boredom will often
persuade students from getting detention.