Hattie Saunders FA '20 MUED 376

09-13-2020 Dr. van der Vat-Chromy

Mayhew Teacher Effectiveness Article

Paul J. Mayhew discusses several characteristics of effective teaching in his article The
Effect of Initial Impressions on the Perception of Teaching Effectiveness in Choral Music Student
Teachers. To begin, he describes various qualities of effective teachers such as effective verbal
instruction, pre-conducting behaviors, intensity, magnitude, and sequential education. All of
these qualities require extensive practice and preparation and do not occur by chance without
effort.

While preparation for any lesson is vital, it is especially important for pre-conducting
behaviors to be well-thought-out and prepared, as these behaviors directly correlate with the
effectiveness of a conductor. Ineffective pre-conducting behaviors are particularly noticeable,
as an ensemble will immediately perceive these behaviors to mean that the conductor is
ineffective. Preparation to conduct a rehearsal is the most vital contributing factor of effective
music teachers.

Intensity and magnitude are also essential to teacher effectiveness, with high-level
magnitude being the most effective behavior. In music, high-magnitude teachers are described
as “maintained eye contact with students throughout the room, varied proximity by
approaching and departing the group often during rehearsal, used expressive conducting
gestures, maintained a rapid and exciting rehearsal pace, used facial expressions that reflected
a sharp contrast between approval and disapproval, and varied the speed, pitch, and volume of
his or her speaking voice.” (Mayhew, p. 3). Yarbrough (1975) determined that high-magnitude
of teaching decreased off-task behaviors and lead to more positive student attitudes. This
creates a positive choral culture.

Sequential instruction is crucial to establish effective teaching. This is particularly

imperative during direct instruction, in which a teacher directs students to a task, the students
respond or perform that task, and the teacher provides feedback related to the task. Not only
does this strengthen the bonds between teachers and their students, but it also reinforces the
cultures that teachers have created. Providing specific feedback allows students to successfully
correct mistakes.

On page 23, Mayhew writes “Bergee identified three interpretable factors (conducting
technique, teacher-student rapport, instructional skills)… [which gave] the highest rated
responses.” This furthers the idea that teacher effectiveness relies more on interpersonal
relationships and communication than on the accuracy of information. In other words, how a
teacher portrays that information is more important than the information itself. To increase
this positive rapport, teachers engage in micro-interactions with students before and after
class. Positive student-teacher relationships increase trust in the nonverbal communication
process (facial affect and conducting, for example). In contrast, attempting to use nonverbal
communications without first establishing this positive student-teacher relationship would
drastically reduce teacher effectiveness.

The effectiveness of a teacher is constantly being measured, consciously or

subconsciously. For music teachers in a public school setting, this effectiveness is measured by
choral sound, choral scores, and observations. If a teacher is aiming to become more effective,
Mayhew suggests improving “effectiveness and time use, musicianship, accuracy of
presentation, performance quality, enthusiasm, intensity, pacing, and personality” and put
them in their current teaching pedagogy,” (Mayhew, p. 25) into his or her teaching practices.
While it is never too late to become a more effective teacher, this article stresses the
importance of exposing pre-service educators to these teacher behaviors, as this allows these
educators to adapt these practices into their curriculum and pedagogy prior to taking over a
classroom.