Diane Denicola Orlofsky is an Associate Professor of Music at Troy State University. Orlofsky has earned music education degrees from Cedarville College (B.M.E.), Wright State University (M.M.), and Florida State University (Ph.D.). She is the music education methods (P-12) specialist at Troy State and is the primary instructor for piano principals. She is active in the Music Educators National Conference, having served as state, divisional and national adviser for Collegiate MENC, in addition to organizations such as the College Music Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Association of Teacher Educators. She is an active researcher whose articles on teacher education and keyboard training have appeared in the Music Educators Journal, the Journal of Research in Music Education, The National Forum, Contributions to Music Education, Teaching Music, Clavier, and the Bulletin of Research in Music Education. Orlofsky was named an American Fellow in 1997 by the American Association of University Women and has received numerous teaching awards while at Troy State. Her book, Redefining Teacher Education: The Theories of Jerome Bruner and the Practice of Training Teachers, will be published by Peter Lang Publishing in 2001. Other current research interests include the use of collaborative learning in the music methods classroom environment.
Diane Denicola Orlofsky
Long School of Music
Troy State University
Troy, AL 36082
334.670.3381
dorlof@trojan.troyst.edu
Being able to encourage a younger student was worth all the time I spent. Being involved in this program will help me in the future as l plan to teach piano privately. (College student on collaboration with middle schooler)
It was nice to have input and feedback from someone who appreciates the art form. It's good to get feedback from someone other than the teacher and it helps enhance relationships within the studio. (College student on collaboration with peer)
I liked hearing my student helper play. It was fun and it taught me a lot. (Middle schooler)
Private piano study can be a lonely, even isolating experience, particularly for younger students. Granted, there is weekly feedback from the teacher, general supportive comments following performance opportunities, and maybe an occasional studio class. But most of the dialogue occurs in the solitary confines of practice sessions... between the pianist and the piano.
And yet, few people would question the belief that students should be active participants in their own learning. The teaching/learning paradigm is rich with possibilities, not the least of which encourages the learner to logically formulate ideas and beliefs separate from and along with other people.
Enter collaborative learning. There is a large body of research that supports claims that collaborative learning enhances a student's cognitive and social development. Special thought processes are required during this type of student-to-student learning. Even early research identified collaborative learning as an opportunity for students to "co-construct", working to devise plans together and to communicate as equal partners.1
As a university professor, I teach music education majors who have piano as their principal instrument. I am constantly trying to find opportunities to move them out of the isolation of the practice room and into situations where they exercise their pedagogical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. Since little exists in the literature that uses collaborative learning in the private piano studio, I launched out on my own.
In the fall term of 1998, 1 took six of my piano principals and paired them with six middle school pianists from the surrounding community (upon the recommendation of their piano teacher). In addition to weekly lessons, the collegiate and community students met with each other weekly for seven weeks. During these sessions, the collegiate students had the opportunity to practice piano pedagogy techniques while listening and responding to their younger colleagues' pieces. The collegiate students would also play one of their own works-in-progress for the younger students. Each piano principal was required to keep a journal of their experiences. At the end of the seven week period, all participants were invited to perform in a studio class setting. Everyone also filled out a reaction questionnaire at the conclusion of the time period.
In order to further expand collaborative learning opportunities, I paired college piano principals with each other for an additional seven-week period, following the same format as before.
The overall response to this program was favorable. All of the younger pianists loved the sessions and perceived an improvement in their performance as a result of the sessions. Sixty percent indicated that their practice time also increased. The collegiates responded in kind, except they reported no substantial increase in their individual practice schedule when they were paired with peers. It was very interesting to note that the college students practiced more when they knew they would be playing in a "mentor" situation rather than when they were participating in a "peer" performance situation. The most difficult element of this program involved the coordination of time schedules and logistics. Piano teachers are keenly aware that they are "in competition with other after-school activities and this program was not an exception to that challenge. Yet the j ournal entries reveal that the pianist-to-pianist dialogues brought an extra spark to the acquisition of playing skills and musical understanding. Here is a sampling of the collegiates' journal entries during the collegiate to community collaboration:
The things she needs work on most are dynamics and playing eighth notes evenly. She tends to run the eighth notes together. Throughout the whole piece, she doesn't pay attention to dynamics, so I showed her where she needed to follow them and also pointed out crescendos and decrescendos.
I shared my struggles about bringing out the independence of hands and making the dynamic changes match the shape of the melodic line. This compared well to the piece she was currently playing.
I showed her that in order to play the piece evenly and in tempo, she must think about how fast she will play the sixteenth notes and then play the half note accordingly. One thing that has helped me help her is that she has trouble with many of the same things I do.
After I played Moonlight Sonata, she said, " When you started playing that song, I fell in love with it! " Kind of boosted the old ego. She likes to play and hear soft, arpeggiated music, although she didn't use those exact words.
After I played Arabesque No. I for her, we talked about painting pictures with our music, and discussed what this particular piece made us think about. I said water, and she said she imagined someone in a long dress playing for a dinner party or in a shopping mall.
And here are a few comments taken from the collegiates' journals during their collaborative pairing with peers:
Today I played Traumerei ... She told me about the importance of connecting the phrases and making them separate and distinct. We talked about the high points of each phrase and how to crescendo to the point and decrescendo to the end Everything she said made perfect sense and she said it in terms that I could easily understand and interpret into the piece.
On the fifth and sixth phrases, her fingers got tangled It was only in these two phrases that I noticed her discomfort, less dynamic contrast, and expression. She admitted to feeling the same way and seemed a little frustrated at not being able to deliver what she felt the music should present. It was wonderful to see her care, though. She is very technically efficient, and her lyricism and expression are coming along very nicely.
Meeting with another musician on a higher level and with more experience was very helpful because she knew where I needed work because she had gone through the some problems.
Since I was looking for problems in my partner's pieces, I became more aware of the problems in my own pieces.
As a piano teacher, I see great potential in collaborative learning techniques as they are applied to the university piano studio. Scheduling aside, motivation to learn can be initiated and maintained by the sense of belonging that exists within part of a collaborative learning team.2 The opportunity to dialogue with others encourages would be piano teachers to "find the words", to make connections, to hone their listening skills, to explore performance practices - to make an investment, if you will, in their instrument of choice. An investment that will, hopefully, yield a great return.
Notes
1. Sullivan, H. S. (1953) The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton.
2. Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in the classroom. New York: Harper & Row.
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