Developing Tools for Supporting Music Instrument Studies: Model for Reflection

1. IntroductionThe usage of active learning methods is an inseparable part of contemporary education, including music education (cf. e.g. Brown, 2008; Kahrik, Leijen & Kivestu, 2012; Scott, 2010; 2011). When using active learning methods "the pupils will employ an analytical approach to answer questions and solve problems". Through these processes the learners broaden their existing knowledge and grow into independent musicians who perform as singers, instrumentalists, composers, improvisers and listeners. In line with the increased attention towards student activating learning methods, supporting students' reflection has also gained somewhat more attention in the music instrument pedagogy (see e.g. Draper, 2007; Okan 2010) in recent years. However, a comprehensive model for supporting students' reflection in this context is currently missing. For this reason, the aim of the current study is to develop a model for supporting students' reflection in music instrument pedagogy context based on the literature on supporting students' reflection in other fields, such as teacher training, medical education and dance education. Below we will present the definition of reflection, describe the four general processes of reflection and elaborate on the difficulties students encounter with the different processes. Supporting students in overcoming these difficulties forms the basis of developing the comprehensive model for supporting students' reflection in the context of tertiary music instrument pedagogy.1. 1. Definition and processes of reflectionReflection is defined as a cognitive process (e.g., Benammar, 2004; Dewey, 1933; Mezirow, 1991; Schon, 1983) carried out to learn from experience. Reflection allows the creation of knowledge about one's own cognition and regulation of that cognition (Simons, 1994). The four general processes of reflection in an educational setting, according to Procee (2006), are describing an experience, evaluating an experience, learning from multiple perspectives, and reflecting on the reflection process. Studies have indicated that the pupils experience several difficulties when employing different processes of reflection (Benammar, 2004; Leijen, Lam, Wildschut & Simons, 2009a; Wade, 1994). The general problems observed in connection with students' reflection is that there is a tendency to make superficial remarks (e.g. there is yet a lot for me to learn, to practice etc.); there are difficulties managing emotional and personal problems (e.g. acknowledgment of the limitations of one's coordination); there are difficulties expressing one's thoughts (Leijen et al, 2009a). Concerning the process of describing, the main difficulty that has been recognized is the discrepancy between awareness and action (Argyris & Schon, 1974). In addition, the problem is the inadequate recognition of details related to one's own as well as others' experience and difficulties recalling one's previous experience (Leijen et al, 2009a). Concerning the process of evaluation, the main problem is the inadequancy or lack of evaluation criteria. Further problems that have been observed are that the students are expecting the instrument teacher to correct them and are not ready to evaluate themselves; the main focus of concentration are the faults, thus the positive aspects are neglected; it is considered shocking that the conceived plan was not realized in practice; stopping at the describing level (Mountford & Rogers, 1996). Concerning the process of relating, it has been observed that the teacher's corrections and proposals are considered absolute truth and not called in question; the focus is solely on "correct" performance and finding alternatives is complicated; shame keeps from sharing and suggesting one's own ideas; feedback focuses only on shotcomings (Leijen et al, 2009a). Such problems indicate, on the one hand, the peculiarities of social communication and group dynamics (Mackintosh, 1998; Wade, 1994) and on the other hand, the issues of power and authority (the teacher as an authority) (Leijen et al, 2009a). …