Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T16:25:25.943Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Selecting motivating repertoire for adult piano students: A transformative pedagogical approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2018

Leah Coutts
Leah Coutts*
Affiliation:
Griffith University, 140 Grey Street, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4101l.coutts@griffith.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Selecting repertoire that adult piano students find motivating and musically satisfying is more complex than simply finding pieces that are aurally pleasing. Drawing on theories of motivation, adult learning and transformative pedagogy, this practitioner-based study describes how the author learned to involve her students in the selection process, to align repertoire with their tastes and goals, and to understand the impact of students’ values, expectations and perceptions of learning on their engagement with repertoire learned. It is hoped that the experiences and theories shared herein inspire teachers to reflect on their own pedagogical choices regarding repertoire selection.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , November 2018 , pp. 285 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ABRAHAMS, F. (2005) The application of critical pedagogy to music teaching and learning: A literature review. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 23 (2), 12–22.Google Scholar
AMIN, A. (n.d.) Goal Setting Theory. Retrieved from http://happierhuman.com/goal-setting-theory/.Google Scholar
BIGGS, J. B. & TANG, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University (4th edn.) New York, NY: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press, McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
BOHLIN, R. M., MILHEIM, W. D. & VIECHNICKI, K. J. (1993) The development of a model for the design of motivational adult instruction in higher education. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 22 (1), 3–17.Google Scholar
BOMIA, L., BELUZO, L., DEMEESTER, D., ELANDER, K., GRAHAMSON, M. & SHELDON, B. (1997) The Impact of Teaching Strategies on Intrinsic Motivation. ERIC database. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED418925.Google Scholar
BOWLES, C. L. (2010) Special topics – Teachers of adult music learners: An assessment of characteristics and instructional practices, preparation, and needs. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 28 (2), 50–59.Google Scholar
BUGOS, J. A. & HIGH, L. (2009) Perceived versus actual practice strategy used by older adult novice piano students. Visions of Research in Music Education, 13, 1–26. Retrieved from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/.Google Scholar
CAREY, G. M., BRIDGSTOCK, R., TAYLOR, P., McWILLIAM, E. & GRANT, C. (2013). Characterising one-to-one conservatoire teaching: Some implications of a quantitative analysis. Music Education Research 15 (3), 357–368. doi:10.1080/14613808.2013.824954Google Scholar
CAREY, G. & GRANT, C. (2016). Enacting Transformative Pedagogy in the Music Studio: A Case Study of Responsive, Relational Teaching. Paper presented at the ISME CEPROM Seminar, Saint Andrews, Fife, Scotland, 54–63.Google Scholar
CHEN, H. (1996) An Investigation of Self-Directed Learning among Non-Music Major Adult Piano Learners in One-To-One Piano Instruction (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database. (UMI No. 9635962)Google Scholar
COUTTS, L. (2016) Engaging Adult Piano Students through Transformative Pedagogical Approaches (doctoral thesis). Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.Google Scholar
COOPER, T. L. (2001) Adults’ perceptions of piano study: Achievements and experiences. Journal of Research in Music Education, 49 (2), 156–168.Google Scholar
CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M. (1991) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York, NY: HarperPerennialGoogle Scholar
CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M. (2000) Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: Experiencing Flow in Work and Play. San Francisco: CA: Joseey-Bass.Google Scholar
DABBACK, W. M. (2003) Toward andragogy in music: Examining the gap between theory and emerging practice in the instrumental music education of older adults. International Journal of Community Music, 2 (1), 1–16.Google Scholar
DARLING, E. (ed.) (2005) A Piano Teacher's Legacy: Selected Writings by Richard Chronister. Kingston, NJ: The Francis Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.Google Scholar
DUNCAN, T. G. & McKEACHIE, W. J. (2005) The making of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire. Educational Psychologist, 40 (2), 117–128. doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4002_6Google Scholar
DWECK, C. (2007) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.Google Scholar
ELLIS, C. & BOCHNER, A. P. (2000) Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity. In Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd edn., pp. 733–768). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
FLYVBJERG, B. (2006) Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12 (2), 219–245. doi:10.1177/1077800405284363Google Scholar
GELDER, T. V. (2005) Teaching critical thinking: Some lessons from cognitive science. College Teaching, 53 (1), 41–46. doi:10.2307/27559216Google Scholar
JARVIS, P. (2010) Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: Theory and Practice (4th edn.) London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
JONES, M. (2009) Transformational learners: Transformational teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34 (2), 15–27.Google Scholar
JUTRAS, P. J. (2006) The Benefits of Adult Piano Study as Self-Reported by Selected Adult Piano Students (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3095363).Google Scholar
KELLER, J. M. (2009) Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: The ARCS Model Approach. New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
KITSANTAS, A., REISER, R. A. & DOSTER, J. (2004) Developing self-regulated learners: Goal setting, self-evaluation, and organizational signals during acquisition of procedural skills. The Journal of Experimental Education, 72 (4), 269–287. doi:10.3200/JEXE.72.4.269-287Google Scholar
KNOWLES, M. S., HOLTON, E. F. III & SWANSON, R. A. (2011) The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development (7th edn.) London, UK: Elsevier.Google Scholar
LANKSHEAR, C. & KNOBEL, M. (2004) A Handbook for Teacher Research: From Design to Implementation. Maidenhead, England: Open University Press.Google Scholar
LEHMANN, A. C., SLOBODA, J. A. & WOODY, R. H. (2007) Psychology for Musicians: Understanding and Acquiring the Skills. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
LEIPER, T. (2012) The Impact of Critical Reflection on a Private Practice Singing Teacher's Thinking (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3417.Google Scholar
MacDONALD, R., HARGREAVES, D. J. & MIELL, D. (2012) Musical identities. In Hallam, S., Derek, I. C. & Thaut, M. (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199298457.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199298457-e-043:Oxford.Google Scholar
MAEHR, M. L., PINTRICH, P. R. & LINNENBRINK, E. A. (2002) Motivation and achievement. In Colwell, R. & Richardson, C. P. (eds.), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (pp. 348–372). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
MARIS, B. E. (2000) Making Music at the Piano: Learning Strategies for Adult Students. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
McALLISTER, L. S. (2008) Evaluating teaching effectiveness in music. The American Music Teacher, 58 (3), 14–17.Google Scholar
McCORMICK, J. & McPHERSON, G. (2003) The role of self-efficacy in a musical performance examination: An exploratory structural equation analysis. Psychology of Music, 31 (1), 37–51. doi:10.1177/0305735603031001322Google Scholar
McPHERSON, G. E. & ZIMMERMAN, B. J. (2002) Self-regulation of musical learning. In Colwell, R. & Richardson, C. (eds.), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning: A Project of the Music Educators National Conference (pp. 327–347). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
MEZIROW, J. (1991) Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
MEZIROW, J. (2003) Transformative learning as discourse. Journal of Transformative Education, 1 (1), 58–63.Google Scholar
MIZOK-TAYLOR, R. J. (2008) Promoting Self-Directed Learning in Adult Piano Instruction (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database. (UMI No. 3376459)Google Scholar
NIELSEN, S. G. (2004) Strategies and self-efficacy beliefs in instrumental and vocal individual practice: A study of students in higher music education. Psychology of Music, 32 (4), 418–431. doi:10.1177/0305735604046099Google Scholar
RENWICK, J. & REEVE, J. (2012) Supporting motivation in music education. In McPherson, G. & Welch, G. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Education (Vol. 1, pp. 143–162). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
RICHARDSON, V. (1994) Conducting research on practice. Educational Researcher, 23 (5), 5–10. doi:10.3102/0013189X023005005Google Scholar
RINALDO, V. & DENIG, S. (2009) A Constructivist Approach to Learning Music: What Role, if Any, does active engagement play in the Learning Process? Retrieved from http://www.jpacte.org/uploads/9/0/0/6/9006355/2009-1-rinaldo_denig.pdf.Google Scholar
RYBAK, C. A. (1995) Older adults and ‘flow’: Investigating optimal experience in selected music leisure activities (Doctoral thesis, Arizona State University). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 9611711.Google Scholar
SCHUNK, D. H. (2012) Attributions as motivators of self-regulated learning. In Zimmerman, B. J. & Schunk, D. H. (eds.), Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 245–266). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
SMELTZER, R. C. (n.d.) The Adult Piano Student as an Adult Learner: Exploring Motivation and Retention. Retrieved from http://web.utk.edu/~rsmeltze/Additional%20Coursework/EP525/SmeltzerAdultPianoWiki.pdf.Google Scholar
SWENSON, T. S. (2006) Profiles of Career-Aged Keyboard Students: Attitudes, Preferences, and Demographics (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest database. (UMI No. 3211367)Google Scholar
TAYLOR, A. (2011) Older amateur keyboard players learning for self-fulfilment. Psychology of Music, 39 (3), 345–363.Google Scholar
TAYLOR, A. & HALLAM, S. (2008) Understanding what it means for older students to learn basic musical skills on a keyboard instrument. Music Education Research, 10 (2), 285–306.Google Scholar
TAYLOR, E. W. (2008) Transformative learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 5–15.Google Scholar
THORNTON, D. H. (2010) Adult Music Engagement: Perspectives from Three Musically Engaged Cases (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3442897)Google Scholar
USZLER, M. & UPITIS, R. (2000) The adult student. In Uszler, M., Gordon, S. & Smith, S. M. (eds.), The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher (pp. 55–78). Belmont, CA: Schirmer.Google Scholar
VANCOUVER, J. B., MORE, K. M. & YODER, R. J. (2008) Self-efficacy and resource allocation: Support for a nonmonotonic, discontinuous model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93 (1), 35–47.Google Scholar
WEINER, B. (2010) The development of an attribution-based theory of motivation: A history of ideas. Educational Psychologist, 45 (1), 28–36.Google Scholar
WIEZBICKI-STEVENS, K. (2009) Metacognition: Developing Self-Knowledge through Guided Reflection (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/126/.Google Scholar
WRISTEN, B. (2006) Demographics and motivation of adult group piano students. Music Education Research, 8 (3), 387–406.Google Scholar
ZIMMERMAN, B. J. & SCHUNK, D. H. (2012) Motivation: An essential dimension of self-regulated learning. In Zimmerman, B. J. & Schunk, D. H. (eds.), Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications (pp. 1–30). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar