Independence Pending: Teacher Behaviors Preceding Learner Problem Solving
Journal of Research in Music Education
Published online on November 23, 2016
Abstract
The purposes of the present study were to identify the teacher behaviors that preceded learners’ active participation in solving musical and technical problems and describe learners’ roles in the problem-solving process. I applied an original model of problem solving to describe the behaviors of teachers and students in 161 rehearsal frames extracted from 43 lessons with five artist-teachers. Results indicate that the number and type of learner problem-solving components varied according to the preceding teacher behavior. The teacher behaviors that most often preceded learner problem solving were varying the specificity of feedback and directives, asking questions, demonstrating contrasting options, stating principles, and refraining from answering learners’ questions.