Annabelle Porter

MUED 376

Dr. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy

January 21, 2022

Reflection of Effective Music Teaching

This is a reflection and summary on Paul Mayhew’s study, The Effect of Initial

Impressions on the Perception of Teaching Effectiveness in Choral Music Student Teachers. In

this study, observers examined the overall effectiveness of a set of choral student teachers within

a 15-second period of classroom instruction. Types of observers included undergraduate music

education majors and secondary school teachers, all with varying backgrounds and experiences.

The participants found that teaching strategies and rehearsal strategies were the two most crucial

aspects that influenced their evaluation of how effective a teacher was. High-rated teachers often

excelled in factors such as verbal instruction, rehearsal effectiveness, and usage of Solfege and

Curwen hand signs. On the other hand, low-rated teachers often struggled with organization

skills, classroom management skills and teacher personality characteristics.

Mayhew remarks that while it is true that there is no one factor that correlates with

affecting teaching, there are many factors that do translate to better, more effective instruction.

Factors such as high levels of intensity, competent verbal and nonverbal communication skills,

eye contact, feedback, physical gestures, pacing and sequential patterns of music instruction all

were found through this study and various other studies to help facilitate effective teaching and

instruction in the choral music classroom. He adds that many of these are not always

immediately apparent, but some behaviors such as teacher intensity, verbal and nonverbal
communication skills, eye contact, posture, and physical gesture can typically be clearly

apparent.

Mayhew also discusses the concept of teacher intensity. Modeled after Yarbrough’s

model of a high-magnitude teacher, Madsen, Standley and Cassidy define teacher intensity as

“sustained control of the student/teacher interaction with efficient, accurate presentation and

correction of the subject matter combined with enthusiastic affect and pacing.” Relating to this,

Mayhew adds that some studies found that a teacher’s intensity correlates more than one’s

accuracy of instruction or classroom management.

Another concept discussed at great length is Conducting and nonverbal behaviors and

their relationship with effective choral music teaching. Nonverbal communication such as

posture, facial expressions, and eye contact often influences how an ensemble perceives a

conductor’s ability before a rehearsal even begins. Mayhew claims that a high intensity teacher

that has expressive conducting often leads to more passionate and adept ensemble members.

Overall, he found that expressive conducting, eye contact, facial expressions, and many other

nonverbal behaviors are widely preferred by ensemble members and lead to a high likelihood of

teacher effectiveness in the choral music classroom. I find these observations to be extremely

applicable to my experiences. For example, my high school choir director was extremely

expressive, always made direct eye contact, and was an extremely expressive conductor. I

believe these factors led her to be an extremely effective music teacher who has had much

success with her program. Teaching patterns are also discussed as a factor relating to teaching

effectiveness. A pattern of a sequential presentation of academic musical information, student

performance, and specific approval reinforcement often contributes to teaching effectiveness. I

look to incorporate this teaching pattern into my future classrooms as it is an extremely efficient

way to produce effective musical instruction.

This article helped me tremendously to reflect on my teaching and how effective I am as

a vocal music educator. I am also more aware of my past and current teachers, and now can

clearly identify the characteristics in their teaching that makes them such effective teachers.

Incorporating concepts such as being an high intensity teacher, eye contact, expressive

conducting, and effective teaching patterns all will help contribute to my success as an effective

choral music teacher in the future, and as I student teach.