LRAM ESSAY A.A.

2015/2016
RENATA ARLOTTI (GUITAR)
ARL14013327

Answer 1 question. The essay can be up to a maximum of 2500 words and credit
will be given for clarity, relevance and imaginative thinking. In your answers make
reference, if appropriate, to examples from your own learning or teaching
experiences, or from relevant books you have read. Completed essays should be
handed in to the Registry by 5.00pm on Monday 18th January 2016.
5. Some teachers consider group teaching the poor relation when compared
to individual teaching. Is this a valid opinion? Briefly outline the issues
associated with poor group teaching and then describe in detail how an
effective group lesson might unfold.

When someone takes the decision to approach to a music teacher in order to learn
how to play an instrument, we are invested of a great responsibility under many
aspects. A teacher is a key figure and he can be the best way for a student to
quickly improve through the learning process of an instrument and fall in love with
music or - on the other hand - he can be the main reason for his giving up.
As we know, lessons of music can very often individual, but in addition to this
model, group lessons are a reality that is getting really common. While teaching,
especially in groups, there are some principles that might be followed in order to
deliver an effective group lesson.
Groups are made, by definition, by more than one student and there are different
kinds of groups, in terms of levels of each pupils and size of the group itself.
We shall always be aware of the individuality of each student, keeping in mind their
goals, what they like the most, what their inclinations are, and keeping them
constantly interested in learning, make them having fun and enjoying what they are
doing.
In the area of instrumental training, one-to-one lesson between the teacher and the
student is most widespread, and based on the model that Harris and Cozier define
the Master-Apprentice principle.
Group tuition is a different model that occurs often in schools or locally administered
music centers, and is often regarded as the second best.
Group teaching is sometimes considered poorer if compared to individual teaching.
This general opinion is often due to many common beliefs that spread around
group tuition, like the idea that if we are teaching to a group of students we
cannot focus properly on each one, because we have to follow all of them at the
same time, ending up with no effective work with any of them.
There are many others common issues associated with pour group teaching that
revolve around objections like:
The more able students become frustrated because the teacher is busy helping
the less able ones, or the less able ones are left behind because the teacher is
busy developing the more able ones
Another objection might be represented by this following shared opinion:
Only teach instrumental lessons one-to-one it remains impossible to provide high
quality instrumental teaching to groups of players of differing abilities
These are just some of the problems moved by teachers community.
In my opinion, this is due to a wrong approach to group teaching. To be more
specific, it has to be investigated how many teachers deliver a single, coherent
lesson to the whole group, and how many of them will try to give very short single
lessons to the individual? Unfortunately, the second case is displayed more often.
If taught properly, group teaching can be a valuable way for people to learn music
efficiently, with nothing less than individual lessons.

It is proven that group teaching has several advantages that are to be taken into
consideration:
A huge potential of interaction takes place between pupils themselves and pupil
and teacher;
Children enjoy making music with their friends and learning from each other;
Group lessons give a chance to develop ensemble skills at the earliest stages and
to listen to each other sensitively, thus being constantly motivated in terms of
imaginative work, taking the positive things from their friends;
Group teaching is also a way to develop musical ideas from the colleagues within
the group, and to discuss actively about music and instrumental issues;
Moreover, it is a very good mirror of what music is: an interpersonal activity.
As Brian Ley says about the effectiveness of learning in group in the book All
together!: So many human activities take place within groups. And this is most
true: many recreational activities develop in groups; sports, games, musical
ensembles. Moreover, the school classes where we spend most of our time during
our educational path, are organized in groups, in which we learn how to cooperate,
share, and work together. All of this means that we grow with the idea of group
working, and we gain the most by learning together.
It is not to say that, of course, if we want to get the very best benefits from group
lessons, teaching must be organized according to different criteria, if compared to
individual lessons.
Teaching and learning are two dependent fields. It is not something that works just
from one side, and our aim as teachers is to allow the learning process to take
place.
Group teaching requires different strategies and styles to be effective and because
of this is necessary to understand the different ways in which learning takes place.
For example, some pupils learn better by doing, other by listening and by looking at
valid examples. Each student has a different combination of all of these qualities.
In order to give them an effective teaching is therefore necessary to understand
their learning processes and to adapt our lessons according to the way they are.
A good group teaching involves all the pupils all the time, taking advantage of the
good peculiarities of each pupil and making them a strength to allow all the group to
grow.
To set up interesting and exciting lessons is task of the teacher, always aiming
to varied activities that enable the students to really understand what they know,
what they do not know yet, and help to keep their level of enthusiasm always high.
For this reason planning lessons becomes really useful when talking about groups.
As a general rule, we can say that the bigger the group, the more planning we need
to do.
Planning helps teachers to carefully consider all the issues related to group
teaching both for the short and long term.
Long-term achievements are different among groups or individual, and planning
them will help the teacher to offer the most efficient lesson to his pupils.

Having a strategy when planning becomes then essential. It might be over a period
of time, like a school year and related for example to graded examination syllabus.
Once a strategy is settled down, reporting weekly improvements towards the longterm goals is something that helps to understand better how the group in
proceeding through the learning process and where some adjustments or changes
might be done according to our pupils needs.
Demonstrating and modeling is another essential tool when working in groups.
Pupils can have several benefits from this.
On a more detailed basis, if we are teaching our pupils a piece in - say - C Major,
we could:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Model a good and bad sound (squeaky, clean, ecc.);

Each pupil plays in turn and the others comment on the sound;
Pupils play C and then internalize it;
They clap a steady pulse;
We get them to play C Major chord;
We use their feature to model to others;

In my experience as a teacher I have noticed that pupils tend to learn easier and
faster when I play them before what they have to do. If pupils have a clear idea of
what the exercise should be like, we are already giving them a final goal to aim at.
I have noticed that pupils tend to repeat the exercise carefully and very ofter make
themselves right on their own if they are not doing exactly as I did.
By giving them demonstrations, we encourage the pupil to listen actively and to
copy a musical phrase, focusing in the same time on posture and tone quality. In
the same time, if we, for example, ask someone in the group to show a particular
technique in which he or she is particularly good at, we can take advantage of this
peculiarity to ask the others to analyze and comment on specific issues, like How
much nail did he/she use to pluck the string for the first note?. This kind of
approach which comprehend the student to be an active part of the process, can
help to develop a better level of analyzing technical points and develop further their
own understanding of the instrument.
In order to deliver an effective group teaching, also having a strategy is vital. It is
so, not just when planning, but also in the kind of teaching approach we choose
for our pupils.
This is probably the most critical aspect of group teaching and relies entirely on our
hands.
Teaching strategies vary according to the size and make-up of the group.
We shall always bear in mind that pupils starting lessons of music have different
goals and expectations. Some pupils are interested in a particular kind of music
(Classical, Jazz, Pop etc.) while others show interest in more than one. Some
pupils are very extrovert and really easily play in front of an audience, while others
are quite shy; Some are very fast learner, others might be needing a bit more time
and so on.

Children do not make progresses at the same pace, and this is more noticeable
when teaching in groups. Therefore choosing a teaching strategy that is flexible
and aware of individual needs is essential.
As we previously pointed out, if we want to deliver effective group teaching, each
student should always be constantly engaged, by playing, singing, responding and
listening.
There are several ways in which a teacher can capture his pupils attention.
For example, using a range of open and closed questions and setting up group
activities are ways that keep pupils always engaged.
The true challenge while teaching to a group is certainly to let everybody do
something while we are focusing on the individual.
When I need to focus for a moment on a single child, I try to tell the others to clap
out the rhythm, follow the music and get ready to enter the piece from a certain bar,
or in case of more advanced pupils to play the same melody a third higher.
Sometimes I ask them to suggest what changes might be done in their friends
performance.
I found that this kind of approach is really worth. If pupils have to clap out the
rhythm they are unconsciously playing the peace in their head, and this also help
them to clarify themselves all the issues related to rhythmical aspects. When they
are asked to enter the piece at a certain moment, they follow the melody that their
friend is playing and at the same time they review the part that they have to play
later. If they are asked to play a third higher they are carrying on an incredible
number of actions at the same time: they are following and listening the melody
played by their colleague, they are playing in ensemble, they are working on rearranging a melody according to the needs. Moreover, when they are asked to give
suggestions they feel all the importance given by the role and they are stimulated
to build up useful advices and analyze carefully.
Different elements build up our groups. The fact that a group has different pupils,
each one with his own individuality, strengths and weaknesses, does not mean that
it is something against a proper learning. We shall always use pupils differences in
a positive way: the fastest learner of the group might be an example for the other,
motivating them to reach the same level, according to a correct approach towards
the slower learner in order not to let him feel demoralized or demotivated. On the
other hand, also the slower learner has his own strength points and can lead part of
the lesson at the proper time, feeling part of the group and becoming motivated.
The best effective group teaching is therefore the one that engages all the students
at the same time, by involving them actively and leading them to cooperate, share,
help each other and, of course, have fun!
Interaction is the key of a successful group lesson and as teachers we must always
keep our musical antennae constantly tuned to notice all the dynamics within the
group and the individuals.
This translates into the natural work of monitoring and evaluating. This is part of the
planning process we have been talking previously. At the end of the lesson we shall
always think to what it did achieve, which activities allowed the pupils to learn

effectively, if there were any particular strategy that worked better than other and so
on.
Such consideration will help the teacher to understand the best way to proceed and
also to plan future lessons more efficiently.
Keeping our pupils motivated and enthusiastic towards learning and music in finally
a major task for each teacher. Motivation is something that help the pupil to learn
an instrument in a positive and enjoyable way. It is likely to increase when they feel
valued, when they thoroughly understand what they are doing, when receive
effective teaching that help them to improve and have fun.
In conclusion, learning in groups is something that requires a specific approach
from the teacher to their students that come with different approach, goals, and
level of learning.
Effettive group teaching relies in some basic principles and we could resume that it
is more effective when:
1) It promotes pupils understanding and enjoyment by constantly evolving them in
numbers of activities like listening, following, participating and analyzing;
2) there is a safe context in which teachers can provide their corse of study (in
case of bigger groups we shall always check classrooms: safety, lights, tools
ecc.);
3) the individual differences of each member of the group is taken into
consideration and turned into something that stimulates the whole group;
4) A whole commitment by the teacher is given to teaching;
5) Lessons are carefully planned and organized to adapt to all the members of the
group;
Teaching to groups is often considered as the second best, but this is mostly due to
a wrong approach to it. If the right measures in teaching many pupils at the same
time are taken, group teaching can be effective and valuable. After all these
consideration, the most important thing to keep in mind is to always enjoy our job
as teachers, which might be very hard but also full of rewards and enjoyment. To
transmit this to our pupils is in my opinion the main goal, and group teaching is not
the poorer choice compared to individual teaching, and allow us to make our pupils
have fun and learn their favorite instrument in a productive and funny environment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) The Associated Board of the Royal Scools of Music: All toghether!, 2004,
London, ABRSM publishing;
2) Paul Harris and Leonora Davies, Group Music Teaching in Practice, 2009,
London, Faber Music, Ltd;
3) Paul Harris and Richard Cozier, The Music Teachers Companion, 2000,
London, ABRSM publishing;
4) Paul Harris, Improve your Teaching, 2006, London, Faber Music, Ltd;