Alejandro Cremaschi teaches piano, piano pedagogy and class piano at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A specialist in the areas of group piano, technology, and Latin American piano music, he has been a presenter at national and international conferences. An active performer, he has recorded for the labels IRCO and Marco Polo. Dr. Cremaschi holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota.
Alejandro Cremaschi
College of Music
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, CO 80309-0301
303.492.6510
alejandro.cremaschi@colorado.edu
During the session devoted to Teaching and Mentoring International Students, four panelists drew from personal experiences to address the critical and sensitive issue of how to teach, interact with, and meet the needs of international students enrolled in pedagogy classes in American universities. Two of the presenters were students the piano pedagogy program at the University of Cincinnati: Maira Balacon, who was born and raised in Romania and came to the US as a teenager, and Di Zhu, from China, who arrived in this country as a college student. The other two presenters were faculty members in American institutions: Oscar Macchioni, an Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Texas El Paso, a native of Argentina and former international student in the US and Poland, and Kenneth Williams, an Associate Professor of Piano Pedagogy at Ohio State University, whose interest in this area was awakened a few years ago when he was confronted with the fact that most of the students enrolled in his pedagogy courses came from non-western cultures.
Maira Balacon immigrated to the US with her family as a refugee when she was 14 years old. She went through a difficult period of adaptation when she entered high school - everything, from language, food, cultural traditions and the educational system, was new to her. During her presentation she focused on several aspects teachers should take into account when dealing with international students, and offered useful tips and advice. She addressed how to overcome the language barrier by using clear, simple words, avoiding American idioms, and having a patient disposition when explaining new expressions or repeating ideas using different words. She offered suggestions for lectures: allowing time for note-taking, correcting students in a gentle and tactful way in front of others and using discussion groups to allow the students to practice the new language in a non-threatening environment. Also, she cautioned pedagogy teachers that students coming from other cultures may not be as fluent as Americans in things such as using technology or elementary teaching methods. When advising students, don't assume that they can navigate the "red-tape world" as well as Americans do - students may need help with things that seem natural to us, such as registering for a course, contacting a professor or choosing classes. Observe student teaching and be aware of cultural differences; in some cultures teachers are used to exercising a totalitarian role in the classroom, and your TAs may be used to being either too strict or too lenient with their students. In conclusion, Maira suggested that international students may need special emotional support, and advised teachers to be sensitive, open and caring.
Di Zhu, from China, has been in the US for six years as a graduate student. He pointed out characteristics of the American system that might be completely foreign to a Chinese music student. For instance, in the US students are responsible for registering, classes tend to have a tighter and faster-paced schedule, there is more student participation and discussion, different points of view (even if they conflict with the teacher's) are welcome, and there is much more writing and critical thinking. In the Chinese system, students tend to regard the teacher with great respect as an authority that is not to be challenged with questions or differing opinions, there is much less discussion, students are less independent, and even things like direct eye contact are avoided, as they may be construed as signs of disrespect. Zhu advised teachers to instill creative and independent learning skills in their Asian students, to involve them in active learning by asking frequent questions and to encourage the flow of communication. He also suggested the teacher be aware of students' personal lives, as they may be going through difficult times adapting to the new culture.
Oscar Macchioni warned teachers that international music students may come to the US very well prepared in some areas, but with tremendous gaps in others. This is the case with many international pianists who enter American schools with a formidable technique and a vast repertoire, but are completely uninformed in the area of teaching elementary repertoire or class piano. He pointed out that, unlike the US, many schools in western and non-western countries do not include adequate piano pedagogy training. Oscar reminded teachers that not only may the spoken language be different from country to country, but also the musical language; a simple example: the notes "C-D-E" in the English-speaking world are called "do-re-mi" in countries that speak Spanish. He also drew attention to the fact that administrators often do a poor job understanding the needs of international students, and advised teachers to help students with administrative paperwork.
Kenneth Williams indicated that there is a great number of international students currently attending American music schools. Problems posed by differences in cultural and educational values between the American and Asian systems became evident when he first taught a pedagogy course to a group of Asian students. He had planned several activities for the course, but later had to revise them to accommodate the students' cultural background. His students had problems, for instance, with practicum teaching because of communication difficulties or cultural differences; students had troubles comparing and evaluating methods because they were not used to thinking critically or challenging the authority of the book; students had problems engaging in discussion and exchanges because this modality of learning was new to them. He then sought help at places like the ESL (English as a second language) program in his university, and read articles and books about cross-cultural communication and multiculturalism. This developed an awareness of cultural differences such as gender and authority perceptions, and prompted changes in his approach to teaching this class. He started asking students to compare methods or articles to encourage critical thinking, and tried to stimulate discussion by addressing specific students with specific questions rather than expecting voluntary participation, among other things.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|---|