I really love reading articles by Dr. Christine Carter. She has so many insights about practicing, and she really changed practicing for me in my last year of university! Before hearing Dr. Carter speak about many of these concepts a year ago, and watching Robert Bjork’s videos, I definitely did not think about learning in this way. I was always a “block” practicer, and I found this way of practicing more ideal for my situation with school. Oftentimes, I would have class from 9:00am-5:15pm, with one two hour break in between. In those two hours, I practiced trumpet, and it always felt like I had very little time to get everything done. I discovered that I was retaining small amounts information and what I had learned in the previous day was not sticking. I was also very distracted by everything while I was in the practice room. Reading about desirable difficulties last year (what is written in this blog) gave me a totally different view point with practice. I started to practice using variability, spacing, and interleaving, and I felt that my long-term knowledge started growing so much more than it ever has before. I find it very exciting that this way of practicing helps in learning material long-term, and it is something I hope to be able to teach my students in the future. With a school system that does not test on a regular basis, and uses a very “blocked” format of teaching, I believe it may be difficult to change this and open the minds of fellow teachers and students, but eventually they should realize that this is a more efficient way of learning. As well, I feel if we all read this article and try to teach in this way OUR FUTURE students will learn at a quicker rate than other students. This should prove to other educators that this is a more beneficial way of learning, and teaching in the long run!
I had a similar experience Charlene...even listening to Christine Carter talk about her research for 50 minutes was life-changing! I had hit a brick wall in terms of practice and using some of her simple ideas invigorated me and made practice exciting again. I had really never thought about using research in the field of memory in my musical learning or teaching, but now it informs both. Ièm so glad you agree!
Having studied with Dr. Carter for two years, I have had the opportunity to experience her research. She always talked about her research and I was fascinated by it. I have used her strategies for the two years I studied with her and I could notice a big difference in my playing. I was making more progress in less amount of time and things that I had learned the day before I could still do the day after.Her concept of interleaving material worked well with me because if I would spend too much time on one piece my brain would get bored. She even does it in her lessons. We would work on some sections and then jump to another and return to the first one after. The rhythmic variations that she mentions is a strategy that I used all the time in my lessons and while practising.Her research has completely changed the way that I think about practising. I definitely think music educators should incorporate this into their teaching. I teach young teenagers during the summer and I have started to introduce the concept of interleaving and the rhythmic variations with those students and they are way more open to learning and using their practice time effectively.
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ReplyDeleteI really love reading articles by Dr. Christine Carter. She has so many insights about practicing, and she really changed practicing for me in my last year of university! Before hearing Dr. Carter speak about many of these concepts a year ago, and watching Robert Bjork’s videos, I definitely did not think about learning in this way. I was always a “block” practicer, and I found this way of practicing more ideal for my situation with school. Oftentimes, I would have class from 9:00am-5:15pm, with one two hour break in between. In those two hours, I practiced trumpet, and it always felt like I had very little time to get everything done. I discovered that I was retaining small amounts information and what I had learned in the previous day was not sticking. I was also very distracted by everything while I was in the practice room. Reading about desirable difficulties last year (what is written in this blog) gave me a totally different view point with practice. I started to practice using variability, spacing, and interleaving, and I felt that my long-term knowledge started growing so much more than it ever has before. I find it very exciting that this way of practicing helps in learning material long-term, and it is something I hope to be able to teach my students in the future. With a school system that does not test on a regular basis, and uses a very “blocked” format of teaching, I believe it may be difficult to change this and open the minds of fellow teachers and students, but eventually they should realize that this is a more efficient way of learning. As well, I feel if we all read this article and try to teach in this way OUR FUTURE students will learn at a quicker rate than other students. This should prove to other educators that this is a more beneficial way of learning, and teaching in the long run!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience Charlene...even listening to Christine Carter talk about her research for 50 minutes was life-changing! I had hit a brick wall in terms of practice and using some of her simple ideas invigorated me and made practice exciting again. I had really never thought about using research in the field of memory in my musical learning or teaching, but now it informs both. Ièm so glad you agree!
ReplyDeleteHaving studied with Dr. Carter for two years, I have had the opportunity to experience her research. She always talked about her research and I was fascinated by it. I have used her strategies for the two years I studied with her and I could notice a big difference in my playing. I was making more progress in less amount of time and things that I had learned the day before I could still do the day after.Her concept of interleaving material worked well with me because if I would spend too much time on one piece my brain would get bored. She even does it in her lessons. We would work on some sections and then jump to another and return to the first one after. The rhythmic variations that she mentions is a strategy that I used all the time in my lessons and while practising.Her research has completely changed the way that I think about practising. I definitely think music educators should incorporate this into their teaching. I teach young teenagers during the summer and I have started to introduce the concept of interleaving and the rhythmic variations with those students and they are way more open to learning and using their practice time effectively.
ReplyDelete