aligning the learning with the learner
Here we go: your first Puzzler!
You are a piano teacher. Your new student, 8-year-old Natasha, comes to you fresh from two short-lived attempts at piano lessons with two different teachers. Her mother explained:
Natasha has been making up her own songs for as long as we can remember. And lately, she has been spending more time at our piano trying to figure out accompaniments for her songs. She really wanted to work with a teacher, but felt that the first one was too strict and the second was nice but boring. It’s been very discouraging. We were referred to you by the parents of one of your students, so we’re hopeful that this will be a better match for her.”
You hope so as well, but at Natasha’s first lesson, it quickly becomes clear that something isn’t working.
You begin to introduce some piano basics as you do with all of your students. But whatever you try to show Natasha—the name of a piano key, correct hand position, a note on the page—she instantly begins to fidget and look around the room. You understand that different children have different learning styles and attention spans, so when Natasha asks “Would you like to hear my new song?” you answer “Of course!” She gets up and paces back and forth, invisible microphone in hand, singing her heart out. “Wonderful!” you say, and mean it. Thinking that the diversion might have relaxed her, you gently maneuver Natasha back to the piano. But again her mind wanders. “Listen to this!” she blurts out, and plays a series of random sounding notes. “Those notes fit my song.” “Ah—interesting,” you respond. After a few more attempts at getting Natasha to focus on what you are trying to teach her, you are beginning to feel a bit drained, and at a loss of what you can offer that will engage her.
What would you do?
