Why Stopping at "Does It Work?" Doesn't Work
As a teacher (of myself and others!), I am extremely interested in efficacy.
What’s efficacy? A fancy word for the vital question that marches unceasingly through the mind of anyone who is interested in the process of improvement: Does it work? If I assign a student a particular series of exercises to do to help facilitate tone production, will it work? If I assign myself a particular method of tackling a tricky passage, is it working? If I try out a particular image with a student, did it work?
Note the mix of tenses: This is a question I’m asking myself at every part of the process, before, during, and after I ask a student (or myself) to complete a task or task sequence. I think (hope!) almost all teachers do, whether consciously or not. And if you’re teaching yourself, you should do the same!
But what happens after you answer the question? If you stop at yes or no, I’d argue that you’re missing a key opportunity for reflection and growth. Because for me, each answer -yes or no- gives rise to a sequence of additional -and important!- questions.
Does it work: Yes!
You asked if it worked, and the answer is yes. Fantastic. Now you want to ask the following.
Is it working for this particular student? Sometimes as teachers we discover something that works, put it in our toolkit, and then leave it there without conducting ongoing reassessment. Not every intervention or technique is going to work for every student, and when your teaching technique is not working as it has in the past, I believe it is up to the teacher, NOT the student, to make a change. Once you write lack of progress off as your student’s fault (they aren’t practicing enough; they’re not motivated; not talented; they don’t get it, etc.), you’ve missed a HUGE opportunity for growth, and quite frankly, when I see teachers do this, it makes me sad. In my opinion, the onus remains on the teacher. Is there something you could do to help the student practice more? Is there a technique that would reach the student more effectively? What could help motivate him or her? Don’t let the fact that something generally works blind you to whether or not it is working now.
Is there a way to get the same results faster? This question is really about efficiency. Say a student plays long tones on every note of the instrument every day, and their tone improves. Terrific! But it took that student two hours, and a future student might only be able to carve out 30 minutes. Is there a more efficient way to achieve the same goals?
Will gains be maintained? Is the student able to independently and effectively monitor themselves moving forward? Can they carry the strategy forward without consistent teacher input? If not, you need to work the development of self-assessment skills into your teaching.
Does it work: No!
Curses! Things are not going well. But before you throw everything out the window, there are some important follow-up questions to ask.
Is it a dose problem? Sometimes it’s not a method issue. Sometimes, especially with a strategy that is generally successful, what you’re trying will work or is working- the student just hasn’t done enough of it AND/OR the student hasn’t done it for a long enough time span. This is particularly true when students are working on skills that typically have longer time horizons, like tone production or free ornamentation. Alas, it can be difficult, as a teacher, to assess whether the issue is dose or method. Getting an accurate picture of the student’s practice routine can help, as can increasing the dose (number of times you ask a student to complete a task each session, e.g.,) and seeing if you get a result. If you’re seeing at least some progress, there’s often a dose issue involved.
I will also add that assuming the problem is method, and not dose, is a an extraordinarily common error made by students who are teaching themselves. Many skills simply require a timescale of months or even years.
Is it a comprehension problem? Sometimes you think you’ve successful explained a concept, but the student doesn’t quite have an accurate grasp of what he or she is to do, or loses their grasp after the lesson is over. This can lead to mis-practicing, in which a student thinks he or she is practicing the assigned skill, but is in fact practicing something different, often to his or her detriment. One way to winkle out comprehension issues is for the student to restate, or “teach” you the desire concept or exercise. Recording is another useful tool. The student can record the entire lesson to refer back to. Or you can provide a short video of a particular task for reference.
Is there a constraint? If there is, you don’t want to miss it! Maybe the student is playing an Adler recorder from the 1970s, and someone’s dog chewed on it. Perhaps the student has short-term memory weakness, or arthritis, or compromised lung function. If it’s a constraint that can be removed, remove it (goodbye, Adler!) If it’s a constraint that can’t be removed, you must think about how to accommodate.
Is it a motivation issue? Sometimes a student just doesn’t see the utility of what you’re trying to do, but is reluctant to tell you so. This can come into play both with goals (e.g., you want to help the student control his uncontrolled vibrato but the student actually likes the way it sounds) or with strategies (e.g., the student doesn’t *really* believe the tone exercises you’re asking her to do are going to work). If it’s a motivation issue, you need to address it. Can you use recordings, or a discussion of tuning, to convince the student of the beauty of a clear tone? Would the student prefer to work on something else for now? Can you ask another student to talk about how similar assignments improved her playing?
What are you going to try next? If it doesn’t work, and it’s not a dose or compression or motivation issue, you have a moral imperative to move on and try to find another way of meeting your goals. What’s next?
