Teaching Teachers (aka 'Train the Trainer')

[David Corbett]

what about learning or being taught.. how to teach? Much as a student is best served by a good teacher, and does not learn bad habits, which then have to be broken and relearned..

is it not a good idea for us not to learn bad teaching habits, which then subjects our first students to lesser quality instruction? They suffer as we learn. Or is this overcome by early instructor exhuberence?

[Neilkiwi]

I couldn't agree more that if we are going to instruct we need to provide the best quality instruction we can. I drifted into instructing because the P/M asked me to. No background in teaching, what I call learning by disaster!

For me the only thing that saved the early students from disaster was that I followed the College of Piping tutor (green Book) and that I could play the excercises and tunes reasonably well. :rolleyes: Even more important, I knew what everything should sound like!

I also spent a lot of time reviewing posts on this (and other) forum to try to learn as much as I could about what worked for others when tutoring. (Still spend a lot of time checking forums for tips and ideas).

After much discussion our band produced a Tutors hand book, designed to improve the standard of tutoring. Our way of trying to tutor the tutors. We are also debating having bi-monthly tutors tutorials, to review hwta has been working and what needs to be improved.

[PortlandPiper]

Note to those interested in teaching: Take instruction from more than one instructor if possible!

Even if it is just weekend workshops or week long summer/winter schools, spend some time working with different instructors or at least observing some new (to you) teaching techniques.

[Scott.Williams]

I retired in June from 32 years of teaching school. During that time, I've worked with kids from Grade Primary to Grade 9, and have learned a lot about how kids learn.

I have been teaching piping for more than 35 years and I still enjoy going to summer schools and workshops, especially for piobaireachd, but also to see how other instructors teach so that I might keep upgrading my skills in this area too. Every year I see something that hits me -

"That's neat! I'll try that with my students when I get back home!"

[Gary Krueger]

Scott:

I agree 100% I am teaching only because no one else in the area has come forth to fill the need. I teach mainly adults. I am smart enough to know that I need a more experienced teaching partner (more than my 6 years on the pipes although almost 60 years as a musician) so I have a co-teacher who has been playing since age 11 (30+ years as a piper) I am not the best piper around but I am an excelent teacher, especially for older adults, having started at age 58 myself. While that my 35 years teaching experience was in non piping field, it was with adults and older students at that. There is a difference between pedagogy and androgogy. Adults learn and need to learn differently that children.

I have worked with and learned from some of the best teachers in the area via the Windsor Police and now with a local band Cabar Feidh in the Royal Oak, MI area.

I am happy to have just gotten Dale Brown as my instructor. He has been working with our band for the past year and has helped us really improve our unison playing. But I find that I need the discipline and "push" that comes from having a one on one teacher/student relationship. It is something I am encouraging all our students at the college to do, that is, find an instructor outside of the group lessons we do at the college. Also, I am pushing them to start registering for some of these workshops held locally, Like Windsor Police offering of a few months ago. Many are too shy and/or self concious to actually attend, but we keep trying to convince them.

I find having the opportunity to experience folks like Bob Worall and Rob Crabtree at the sessions similar to the ones held in Stratford, ON. has been invaluable.

Teaching beginning pipers has made one thing apparent to me...I need to learn more and improve more.

[David Corbett]

Gary said: "Teaching beginning pipers has made one thing apparent to me...I need to learn more and improve more."

Amen:

Just started getting some time with Scott McCleod (former of Grandfater Mountain, I'd love to hear some stories if anyone has them of him).

Totally back to basics.. "A what doubling?"

Feel like I'm back at week one.

[Gary Krueger]

Back to square one is the key... Just spent the last two lesson sessions working to relax and begin to enjoy playing the pipes once more. I sorta lost it over the past year (due to a debilitating injury to my right foot)

All I heard from Dale at the band practices (where he teaches the whole band) "Gary, relax your hands are so tight that you make it difficult to make the transitions necessary in piping." Absolutely correct, I must add.

At the end of last nights lesson where we went through two jigs and began to work on a couple of 2/4 marches, Dale said "Now that's the most relaxed I have ever seen you play. Did you notice the difference? You are playing with confidence and correctness." Something I have not been noted for when playing and trying to keep up with the better players in the band.

This is helping me reach out to the students I have at the college. Dale's reassuring way and gentleness with an old fart like me...well, enough said.

As he says, relax! don't get anxious...that's my job.

[PipeFuzz]

Some people should not teach:

1. Not everyone, regardless of their personal playing skill is cut out to teach. Teaching is an art and skill by itself.

2. There are too many players out there that do teach - but haven't mastered the basics themselves, therefore we end up with some pretty horrible players. This is one area that irks me -if you can't do it, where do you get off teaching others?

My two cents

Fuzz

[Gary Krueger]

(please delete this post) I hit the wrong key.

[Gary Krueger]

Originally posted by PipeFuzz:
Some people should not teach:

1. Not everyone, regardless of their personal playing skill is cut out to teach. Teaching is an art and skill by itself.

2. There are too many players out there that do teach - but haven't mastered the basics themselves, therefore we end up with some pretty horrible players. This is one area that irks me -if you can't do it, where do you get off teaching others?

My two cents

Fuzz I agree. I've had some of them as teachers.

In my case I am sensitive enough to the problem of passing on bad habits that I have a co-teacher who is a Grade 1 player and who can pick up from where my ability leaves off. I teach the scale, grace noting, embelishments, rythmic excercises etc. Dave deals with expression and the fine points and handles the more advanced students who are generally up on the pipes or at least about to get up on the pipes. Dave and I make a good team. Dave has the fingers and I have the patience.