Since my first journal post, I have been in the critical research and information exploring stage of my capstone project. I have stumbled across many pivotal sources on the Internet, which include collegiate and doctorate level theses, experimental studies, and psychological research. Most of the information that I have found thus far has helped me rebuild my essential questions in order to construct my improved working thesis. At first, I had a lot of trouble with formulating a coherent essential question because I was not confident of the foundation for my topic, however, once I obtained numerous sources, I was able to have a clearer vision of my purpose for my capstone topic.
I think that the answer to my essential question “How do you motivate orchestra students to practice their music?” relies directly on the teacher’s efforts. Without a confident, dedicated, and passionate motivator, the majority of the students might not be intrinsically motivated to improve their musicianship. Through my own experience in my orchestra classes throughout the years, I have experienced and seen this epidemic (bad teacher = students lose interest in music, entirely). Depending on the age level of the students, there have been studies and research that proves how different teaching strategies work and their success of motivating students. I believe that the music educator must be optimistic, excited, and energetic in order to gain the interest of his or her students, and then he or she will be able to implement different teaching strategies.
I think that the answer to my essential question “How do you motivate orchestra students to practice their music?” relies directly on the teacher’s efforts. Without a confident, dedicated, and passionate motivator, the majority of the students might not be intrinsically motivated to improve their musicianship. Through my own experience in my orchestra classes throughout the years, I have experienced and seen this epidemic (bad teacher = students lose interest in music, entirely). Depending on the age level of the students, there have been studies and research that proves how different teaching strategies work and their success of motivating students. I believe that the music educator must be optimistic, excited, and energetic in order to gain the interest of his or her students, and then he or she will be able to implement different teaching strategies.