arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing education, both in and outside of music
Learning to manage time and balance commitments can be difficult for high school and college students. It’s something I focus a fair bit of energy on, both with individual counseling and group conversations. Once in a while, the challenge is to empower students to manage their commitments when someone else […]
I don’t play sequenced compositional demos for my students. Honestly, I don’t much listen to notation output for assessment purposes anymore. I’d rather audiate the score or hear it through my own fingers at the piano. I do appreciate it when composers send them to me – it’s a great […]
What is self-determination theory? It’s a framework for understanding motivation, specifically intrinsic motivation – that magical mindset that requires no carrots or sticks to compel hard work. Self-determination theory proposes three basic needs that inspire that intrinsic motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. It’s my position that a well-designed choral program […]
Self-determination is a psychological framework for human success and happiness. Today we’ll explore the third of three basic psychological needs required for self-determination and intrinsic motivation. Relatedness The will to interact with, be connected to, and experience caring for others. via Wikipedia Is there anyplace more focused on relatedness than […]
Self-determination is a psychological framework for human success and happiness. Today we’ll explore the second of three basic psychological needs required for self-determination and intrinsic motivation. Competence Seek to control the outcome and experience mastery. via Wikipedia According to the researchers behind Self-Determination Theory, we all are intrinsically motivated by […]
Self-determination is a psychological framework for human success and happiness. Today we’ll explore the first of three basic psychological needs required for self-determination and intrinsic motivation. Autonomy Desire to be causal agents of one’s own life and act in harmony with one’s integrated self; however, note this does not mean […]
Self-determination is a psychological framework for human success and happiness. One of the underlying necessities for self-determination is a healthy sense of intrinsic motivation. According to the research, there has been a “growing understanding of the dominant role that intrinsic motivation played in individual behavior.” Intrinsic motivation is the motivation […]
The psychological framework of self-determination theory is worth considering in the choral classroom. Self-determination theory, developed by researchers Deci & Ryan, aims to how to more effectively inspire and encourage motivation in people. According to the researchers, “The term self-determination refers to a person’s own ability to manage themselves, to […]
I tend not to think about the projects I work on as jobs. I think of them as educational assignments. The projects are there to help me learn a lesson, develop a skill, or chart a path towards whatever I’m going to do in the future. My writing here? Helping […]
If you own the work, they can’t. As an adult – parent, teacher, or leader: you pick – one of the hardest things to do is to forgo ownership. By that, I mean relinquishing control of a project. Witness the massive number of school projects that are partially or completely […]