A Teaching Method That Creates Smarter Practicers

I remember my teacher saying to me quite early on in my studies, that her job was not to tell me what to do, but to teach me how to teach myself.I think we all have that goal in our teaching, but like many things, this is often easier said than done. I mean, how exactly do we teach someone how to teach themself?In a 2011 study, researchers recruited six music teachers and 45 students, and evaluated a teaching method that does exactly this. They were curious to see if it would lead to better learning and performance results than the "regular" teaching approach.Spoiler alert: it did. Click below for all the nerdy details: A Teaching Method That Creates Smarter PracticersReferencesBathgate, M., Sims‐Knight, J., & Schunn, C. (2011). Thoughts on Thinking: Engaging novice music students in metacognition. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(3), 403–409. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1842More from The Bulletproof MusicianGet the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.Live and self-paced courses