Teaching the Individual, Part 4: Lesson Planning
This week we are discussing ways that we can maintain standards of excellence in our studios, while at the same time adapting our teaching styles to help each individual student succeed.
Lesson Planning
As you approach each individual lesson, have a plan! Obviously this will have to be a flexible plan at times, depending on the preparation of the student and on things that may come up during the lesson. But it is always good to know what you would like to teach the student that day. Depending on their age and level, you may want to have some type of game ready to introduce a new concept. You may want to focus on an important concept they have been struggling on in the past, maybe on counting, keeping those fingers curved, memorization, sight reading, etc.
Sometimes it’s helpful to jot down a few notes after each lesson – note the challenges and difficulties a student is having in a particular piece, or a concept they need help really learning. Note the successes and strengths and things they have really done well in. When it comes time to teach them the next week, get out your notebook. Decide what you want to focus on that day to help them. Even if it is a five-minute activity, or game, or demonstration. Let’s strive to be teachers who plan for each student to succeed, who know the things our students need to learn, and who think of creative and innovative ways to teach these concepts. Let us not be teachers who merely turn the page and see what concept the book tells us to teach next.
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