“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” (Bill Copeland) An appropriate quote for the onset of football season, this quote also addresses what is currently at the forefront of educational philosophy today – goal setting. Classrooms across the country are now sporting daily goals for each subject, and students are trained to monitor their achievement of the posted goals continually throughout the day. Why? Because, goals give purpose. Goals breed success. In my latter years as a public school teacher, the hottest goal lingo was “S.M.A.R.T. goals” – Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. No longer was it adequate to say that my students would learn how to play the recorder. My new S.M.A.R.T. goal had to sound more like this – “My students will play Hot Cross Buns on the recorder with 3 or less errors by September 23rd”. A S.M.A.R.T. goal makes it pretty clear to both students and teacher exactly what is to be accomplished and also, helps them know when it has been accomplished.
Lucky for all of us who have become members of DVMTA, we have a variety of events that provide built-in S.M.A.R.T goals for students to achieve. Each event has specific performance expectations for students to meet by a specific date. Student success can be measured by the strength of the performance as well as by written critiques in some cases. Motivation to practice naturally increases as students work to achieve their goals, and students receive intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards for successfully achieving those goals. One such event is right around the corner – Music Marathon! I love this event, because all of my students have something to work toward right from the beginning of the piano year! In addition, our Original Composition Festival is another fall event that provides a S.M.A.R.T. goal for students who wish to write their own compositions. Worried about the time it will take to prepare? See the website for a new document just added for helping the beginning composer – a fabulous resource for those of you who aren’t sure how to get started!
I firmly believe that students who lack opportunities to use their piano skills quickly tire of their lessons and soon suspect the futility of learning all those pieces week after week. Don’t let your students run aimlessly up and down the field. Give them a chance to score by providing them with the performance goals that will keep them interested and focused on their music education for years to come!
Read more about our various events below and please feel free to contact me or any of the event chairs for more information. Hope to see you all at Marathon!
Carolyn Rooder
DVMTA President 2018-19
Click here for full newsletter
Lucky for all of us who have become members of DVMTA, we have a variety of events that provide built-in S.M.A.R.T goals for students to achieve. Each event has specific performance expectations for students to meet by a specific date. Student success can be measured by the strength of the performance as well as by written critiques in some cases. Motivation to practice naturally increases as students work to achieve their goals, and students receive intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards for successfully achieving those goals. One such event is right around the corner – Music Marathon! I love this event, because all of my students have something to work toward right from the beginning of the piano year! In addition, our Original Composition Festival is another fall event that provides a S.M.A.R.T. goal for students who wish to write their own compositions. Worried about the time it will take to prepare? See the website for a new document just added for helping the beginning composer – a fabulous resource for those of you who aren’t sure how to get started!
I firmly believe that students who lack opportunities to use their piano skills quickly tire of their lessons and soon suspect the futility of learning all those pieces week after week. Don’t let your students run aimlessly up and down the field. Give them a chance to score by providing them with the performance goals that will keep them interested and focused on their music education for years to come!
Read more about our various events below and please feel free to contact me or any of the event chairs for more information. Hope to see you all at Marathon!
Carolyn Rooder
DVMTA President 2018-19
Click here for full newsletter
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