Lesson Plans Options

[Violinia]

Who uses them? We were taught the importance of them (with flexibility) on the CTABRSM course but I find it so hard to keep making them and sticking to them! I even make them and then don't consult them in the lesson............aargh.

What I have noticed, though, is how much the students appreciate it when you mention tiny details from the last lesson - it does make them feel very cared for, and I hate myself when I have to consult their notebook to remind myself of exactly what we covered last time - I'm sure it makes them feel your approach to their lesson is a bit slapdash/makes the teacher (me) look unprofessional.

WHY don't I keep their lesson plan open in front of me and teach from that at every single lesson? I'm driving myself mad with this at the moment. MUST DO IT, MUST DO IT, MUST DO IT!!!!

Does anybody else here wrestle with this?

[Dulciana]

Even when the pupil has done the work as required, lesson plans don't really work with individual tuition - not for me, anyway. It only takes the pupil to say "I've got the hang of this bit, but can't get my head round the timing in that," for things to go off on an unexpected tangent which you can't stop and say, "Hey, that's not on the agenda." If I don't get as far as aural tests, or whatever, in a case like this, my 'lesson plan' for next week consists of a note in the child's notebook - "Note to self - start with aural tests." Or whatever is was that we didn't get to! Starting with aurals, in itself, can often mean it will take up a lot more time than I would like, at the expense of other things, but I don't like to just move on when something isn't properly understood - so I prefer to leave this to the end so that the time spent there has a limit! If somebody's struggling to recognise cadences, for instance, I find they want to just keep at them till they have it sussed, but before we know it the 30 minutes can be gone.

The same can happen with scales. I find I really have to pointedly limit the time we spend there or we could get nothing else done. I used to spend a lot of time coaching them through them, but I'm more inclined now just to say, "Go practise," if they're not as they should be - I don't feel that the best use is being made of me if I spend too long on things that are just a matter of practice, so if I plan, I plan to get onto playing pieces for as much of the time as possible, and try to focus on the bits that they've spent most time on at home, trying to put in the expression, dynamics, articulation and so on.

The lessons that I tend to think most about before the pupil arrives are the young kids in the early stages. Older and more advanced pupils' lessons are often largely pupil-led, but I think the little ones require more thinking and planning on the teacher's part - whether it's in your head or on paper. I prefer my head, because once something's on paper it's like a tablet of stone, and things are never that black and white or predictable.

[Clari Nicki1]

The lessons that I tend to think most about before the pupil arrives are the young kids in the early stages. Older and more advanced pupils' lessons are often largely pupil-led, but I think the little ones require more thinking and planning on the teacher's part - whether it's in your head or on paper. I prefer my head, because once something's on paper it's like a tablet of stone, and things are never that black and white or predictable.

I realised however, that with entirely pupil led lessons sometimes things could get missed out. I am trying to develop a sort of overall plan, looking at where to teach what as I discovered that a grade 4 standard pupil hadn't grasped some simple rhythm properly because we have only skimmed over it. Sure she had played that rhythm in pieces but was unsure of it later on. Or I've had pupils who (we're talking clarinet here) can competently "sight read" the higher register notes... but when I say start from the "f" says "I'm not too sure of the note names at that level". It was because when they were learning those notes they were progressing very fast and could read them to play them... I didn't realise they didn't know the name. It was probably my inexperience as an instrumental teacher but I am now finding it helpful to plan as I know what I'm going to teach in that lesson.

I am also finding that with my slow learners or strugglers, if I plan their lesson it is much more structured and less frustrating for them and me!!!!! It made me really think about what I wanted them to achieve and ways of making them learn as obviously my old methods weren't working.
Also planning is also making me think... Ok we worked on posture last week.. let's check that's ok and work on breathing this week. Next week we can look at embouchure etc. It means I am checking that I teaching all aspects of technique etc regularly.

It's helping my teaching right now is all I can say.