Meeting students & mentees where they are
One of the best teaching philosophies I have learned is taking the students where they are at and building upon their knowledge. No student is the same, and I am constantly trying to discover ways I can be a more effective teacher with every student. I now take this same approach with mentees. When I started working with mentees, I would assume each colleague needed the same help and would show them how I teach. I quickly learned each mentee is unique and I needed to discover and focus on different pedagogical approaches with each mentee. For instance, one mentee had fantastic classroom management and structure, but struggled with breaking down concepts and scaffolding instruction for better comprehension. I worked with them on how they would practice complex rhythms and note patterns. They explained how they would teach themselves beautifully, so we applied those ideas to a lesson plan. I worked with another mentee who had a strong ear and concept of sound. They had their interpretation of the piece and knew exactly how it should sound. However, there was a disconnect with the students and the director’s concept of sound was not being produced. We discovered that they were good at telling the students the sound they wanted but not good at teaching the students how to produce that sound. We worked on bow placement, bow speed, bow path, and bow style to achieve the sound. This mentee has become a master on teaching all things bow and proud to say they could do a clinic on this topic.
As you work with mentees, focus on where they are at and build upon their knowledge. There have been many times that I learned and stole a new approach when I observed a mentee. When you first observe, take note of their strengths and areas for improvement. Identifying their strengths will give you an idea of what knowledge you can build upon. And lastly, there are several ways to be an effective teacher, so what works for you doesn’t always work for someone else. I have often made the mistake of pushing my way of teaching that resulted in an ineffective lesson plan. I have learned to ask questions and only offer my way of teaching if I think it fits with their personality and style. The result has been rewarding and I have seen mentees grow significantly faster when they are building upon their knowledge and feeling comfortable with trying new approaches.
Brian Coatney