Motivating for success: putting it all together.

It is assumed most teachers go into the profession because they want students to get excited about the subject matter, be successful and enjoy the entire process.

Additionally, many teachers would like their students to feel about them the way they feel about important past teachers who have had a great influence on their own lives. Often a past positive role model is the main reason a person becomes a teacher. While different teachers stress different topics, it is assumed that all teachers desire to be "good teachers." Does anyone really believe that a teacher would go into the profession "to make someone's life miserable.

What happens to many teachers is they get frustrated because they do not achieve the results they intend to achieve. The problem is not in the intention; it is in the function. Most things that do or do not happen have to do with the effect of certain behaviors from the teacher or the effect of other aspects of the student's total environment--not because of the teacher's bad intentions.

Discipline is a process whereby certain relationships (cause-and-effect associations) are established. It is a way of behaving, conducive to productive ends. First, it must be taught; secondly, it must be learned or internalized. Particular patterns of responses are learned from the external world (external stimuli). If a student is "motivated," it is because the student has learned to associate certain behaviors with certain outcomes; motivation does not exist in a vacuum, If the teacher wants a student to behave in a certain way, the teacher must structure the student's external world--in other words, control the environment--to ensure the desired behavior will be learned.

When learning is defined as a change or modification of behavior, three things are necessary: experience, discrimination and association. For instance, a child is presented with a new tempo (experience). After a time the child discriminates this particular tempo from other tempi or the absence of any tempo. Through repetition, an association(s) is made with the tempo. The child may then evidence in some behavior, most often previously learned (such as pointing, matching and playing), that the tempo has been learned. The preceding definition of learning based on reinforcement theory does not quarrel with the cognitive or mediation processes in learning or with the material to be learned. It proposes a method to promote or expedite this learning. In short, it asks, "How should we go about teaching a correct tempo in the best possible manner to ensure correct association?" If the student responds favorably to teaching, we assume the external stimuli are associated in a way that functions as a reward for the child. But what if the student does not respond? We must restructure the external environment so the student receives proper motivation.

How, then, are we to get the student to learn the many behaviors that will provide the necessary skills to achieve a productive life? Within the complexity of many responses to the external environment, we must structure the external world to provide proper relationships to he learned.

We should not sit back and hope that motivation will somehow "get inside." We must structure the environment to provide the student with proper associations. Motivation must first be external; it must come from without before it can be from within. No child is born wanting to learn to read, spell, follow directions, be polite or play a musical instrument. Particular patterns of responses are learned from the external world (external stimuli). If a student is "motivated," it is because the student has learned to associate certain behaviors with certain outcomes. Of greater concern to most music teachers is the rekindling of motivation as most music students want to begin music study; they have problems when their practicing (or lessons) becomes mostly negative.

When this happens, a new program takes courage from the teacher. Few people realize the pressures placed on the music teacher for conformity and popularity. This pressure comes not only from community and parents, but also from colleagues and students. It is much easier to go along, to not rock the boat and to reevaluate one's position, especially in relationship to touchy problems. So, what do we do when we receive no cooperation from parents or others? We have two choices: Play "Ain't it awful," or control what we can and establish discipline within our circle of influence.

It is difficult to face irate parents who insist their child has been dealt with unfairly. It is difficult to explain a simple behavioral approach that rests on direct immediate consequences and not on intriguing deceptions. It is difficult to explain to a parent that the question of discipline (motivation) is not one of strictness or permissiveness, but one of cause-and-effect relationships. It is difficult to help a child when the behavioral interactions required might be different from those the teacher and the child are used to, or to show parents how they can help their child when the teacher's instructions to them require opposite parent/child interactions than those previously established. It is difficult to live through the first lesson of a new program in discipline without "giving in." It is most difficult to lose, for a time, the favorable response of a child.

Every teacher is faced with the problem of wanting to be liked. In our society being liked is an admirable goal. It is indeed easy to demand a little less, hoping to be liked. Some people's desire to be liked is so great they will suffer mild contempt for the privilege. Furthermore, even though most adults do not hesitate to have a young child suffer momentarily for long-term gain (such as medical inoculations, drudgery of learning hard concepts and so forth), many teachers do not have the courage to initiate a program of discipline that might cause temporary disruptions in regular routines, yet would benefit the student in the long run. In addition, most teachers come to realize that even the most sophisticated students often evaluate a teacher's worth in terms of entertainment: "Here I am; what do you have for me today?" The value of discipline is not likely to be cherished immediately. "Why didn't I have anything fun to play today?" Students may even respond negatively when entertainment is not forthcoming. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that the teacher's approval is probably more important to the student than vice versa. The teacher's personal approval is a most effective reward. It should not be given indiscriminately. Indeed, the teacher never does a student a favor by letting the student get away with anything, especially those things the student does not like about his or her own behavior. If we really know what we believe, then we are much less likely to succumb and give in to pressures.

Why Don't They Learn?

Many questions have been raised in relation to why children do not learn. In every aspect of learning, continued educational research is needed to ascertain and remediate learning difficulties. Yet, at present, the teacher must strive to do the best job possible. Education is stressed in many ways in our culture. Quite naturally, we often assume everyone wants to learn, We even assume they want to learn what we want them to learn. Some students do not want to learn. Others do not want to learn what we think they should. The reaction of the music teacher should not be amazed bewilderment (The teacher's history includes values established through many years of music learning.), but a basic question: Why should they want to learn? Some students must be taught to be motivated, curious or interested, that is, to establish their own goals. Others are just too comfortable to learn. Why should one learn correct hand position if the music "sounds okay"? Why should one learn a difficult music reading system if gazing out the window passes the time better? Why should one practice when one receives more attention wandering around the room, by asking a "special question" or does any number of thing more fun than practicing?

Most children bring a natural curiosity to their first encounters with formal music study. One of the greatest joys for teachers who choose to teach at the early childhood level is to interact with this wonderful naivete. Other children have been systematically taught to love music activities by their parents, who have spent countless hours taking them to performances, listening to them play and explaining things to them. Some students once had a love for music study but somehow experienced an untoward environment or maybe a punishing teacher who extinguished it. For these students the desire to learn must be taught or re-taught. Appropriate learning behaviors that provide some reward for the child, such as good study habits, paying attention or working for long periods, must be established. No thinking adult wastes time in idle pursuits that are difficult and meaningless. How can the teacher expect everyone automatically to want to learn, especially when it may represent work?

Most people assume the responsibility of work. We speak often about work." working on a project, going to work, getting work, finishing our work, yet we have a burgeoning conspiracy to turn work into play. Most teachers realize the importance of making work as palatable as possible. If students get excited about work, they consider it play--and everyone is much happier. The ingenious teacher has strived for years to turn work tasks into play. The great teachers are those who are able to elicit a pleasurable response toward the most rigorous pursuits and make the most difficult tasks pleasant.

Unfortunately, our highly technological society has turned many work tasks into play without a corresponding discipline toward those tasks that entail "work-work" as opposed to "play-work." The young girl's delight in finally building her very own model airplane wanes appreciably when she is confronted with a common battery-propelled toy that flies instantly and can be purchased for a fraction of her allowance. The young boy's joy in actually learning how to read music quickly dissipates when given a computer game where he can play any tune he chooses with very little effort or personal creativity. Most adults will testify with pride to those endeavors that represented, for them, hard work and true discipline. Patience, repetition and arduous industry are still required for long-term achievement and happiness in almost every activity of life. Yet we have more and more "instant avenues to success." The problem for today's teacher is not only in structuring "play-work" (Technology is providing wonderful aids in this regard.), but also in teaching the necessary discipline for long-term rewards as well, for example, establishing maturity.

If behaviors conducive to long-term goals are not acquired t early; it is much less likely they will be acquired at all. If a child does not learn early in life to work hard and long for specific goals, the child is not likely to change with age. Today's society provides many extracurricular activities with almost as much turnover as there are activities. The possibilities for diverse activities become greater and greater for the growing child. Almost all one's time can be spent changing from one activity to another. Consider any specialized field, such as music, art and creative writing. How many times have we heard adults say, "I'd give anything to play like that, or to paint like that, or to write like that?" Of course, they would not. They know what it would take in time and effort. The irony is not that some do not often have such skills, it is that they do not have enough understanding concerning the importance of long-term skill acquisition to appreciate the skill evidenced in others, and to ensure students stay with an activity or task long enough to master it.

This should not indicate that the teacher ought to take pride in being a punishing taskmaster. It is extremely unlikely that students will want to continue learning past formal experiences if their true "reward" for learning/working has been merely to have the gruesome experience stop. The secret for developing the capacity for work is to stretch the length of time between rewards so the student will strive through some misery to seek long-term goals--goals that culminate in a college degree, creative writing skills, continued reading of great literature, ongoing enjoyment when listening to music masterpieces or an insatiable desire for scientific precision. Thus, the problem for the teacher is not only to make work tasks pleasurable, but also to develop the capacity for work. This constitutes a process of teaching for delayed rewards over an ever increasing temporal span,

Structuring the Learning Environment.

Various "token systems" are generally effective in the initial stages of motivation and come closest to representing our own monetary system. Token systems may be set up at all levels of sophistication in preparation for eventual adult employment. For very young children, a token or sticker actually might function as its own reward and does not have to be redeemed. For other students, correct responses can earn "tokens" that can be exchanged for tangible goods, such as purchasing one's own piece of sheet music. The music teacher must keep accurate records, and the very act of recording may be used as an effective control. It is critical for the teacher to try very hard to catch the child being good and reward the child with points paired with words and expressions of praise instantaneously.

One extremely important issue concerning all of the above is for teachers to be aware of potential hazards when starting any new program. It is always wise to think ahead and ask oneself, "If what I do does not work the way I intend it, what might happen?" And afterward, when it didn't work the way I intended, I have to do something else, and then what might happen? And then, "What might happen after that?" If a teacher can anticipate students' reactions, the desired effects of any new program are generally assured. Accurate assessment occurs when the teacher fully understands teaching principles and has observed enough student behavior to have a good idea of what will work in each specific case--or at least has a high probability of working in each case. If the teacher institutes a program that fails, the teacher must live with the failed results. It is the residual effects of many failed programs that constitute the greatest challenges for today's teachers, Sometimes this residual accumulation seems to be solidly entrenched in certain youngsters, The very best teachers are those who generally "know" what the effects of their interactions will be; others are constantly "trying something," desperately hoping that "it will work." The teacher's value system combined with the reinforcement history of the students determines what contingencies ought to be used. Contingencies, in both approving and disapproving ways, the teacher can use include:

1. Words (spoken and written)

2. Expressions (facial-bodily)

3. Closeness (nearness-touching)

4. Activities and privileges (social-individual)

5. Things (tokens, materials, food, playthings, money)

Other than the rewards of the activity itself (Sometimes there are none.), these categories constitute the entire resources the teacher has for structuring. Music teachers should develop them well. The basic premise is to arrange the stimuli of the external world to shape the behavior of the students--to structure the environment so the student receives approval/disapproval contingent on appropriate/inappropriate behavior. Therefore, effective motivation necessitates structuring approval and disapproval across time in precise intervals, to shape desired behavior toward specific goals. Experimentation in learning demonstrates that (a) if students know specifically what is expected and (b) they want to do it, then (c) they probably will. The necessity for specific measurable goals (expectations for students) has already been mentioned. The crux of the problem rests with (b), arranging the contingencies of reinforcement so a student will want to do what the teacher expects.

Five techniques used in structuring contingencies are:

1. Approval (rewards)

2. Withholding of approval (withholding rewards--hope)

3. Disapproval (corrective feedback)

4. Threat of disapproval (fear of disapproval)

5. Ignoring (not attending in any manner, verbal or nonverbal)

Approval is easily understood. Approval is anything that is generally thought to be related to "happiness": words used as praise; expressions, such as smiling; closeness, such as embracing or touching; activities that are enjoyable; things, such as games, badges, food, trinkets, stickers and so forth. Music teachers must be sure, however, that what they believe is functioning as positive reinforcement is truly positive. After all, some children don't like ice cream.

Withholding of approval or rewards is used when withholding approval functions to produce "hope" for the attainment of approval the next time when the behavior is improved. In a way, this procedure functions as "punishment" or disapproval, although with potentially greater effect for improvement and less wear and tear on everyone concerned. Teachers also may place the responsibility for improvement on the student and perhaps avoid negative emotional reactions directed toward themselves following punishment, "I'm sorry you didn't practice this week, Now you cannot get a sticker. Perhaps next lesson you will finish on time. Then you may get a sticker."

Disapproval also is easily understood. Generally, music teachers conceptualize this as corrective feedback. Disapproval comes in such forms as words, when one is told their playing is wrong; expressions, such as frowning; closeness disapproval, when one is being physically reprimanded; activities, as when one is deprived of something one wants or made to do an unpleasant task; and things, such as feared objects.

Threat of disapproval or fear should be used rarely, if ever, yet it is profoundly effective once the knowledge of disapproval is established. Individuals learn how to behave to avoid disapproval or unpleasant consequences. Although fear is an extremely effective suppressant of many inappropriate behaviors, it does little to establish the joy of learning and living. Children or adults who are completely negatively motivated usually are tense, unenthusiastic, quiet, shy, passive and generally fearful. Some of these children do eventually succeed, although this negatively motivated "success" usually comes at the high price of guilt, compulsivity, generalized anxiety and, perhaps later, stress-related medical problems.

Ignore--just that--ignore.

Effective Scheduling

Variable schedules are used in many ways to increase or decrease certain behaviors. The effect of these schedules is to teach one to go for longer and longer periods of time before receiving approval. When the teacher is dealing with appropriate behavior and wants to build perseverance so a student will go for longer and longer periods of time without needing reinforcement, this schedule is extremely effective. However, this variable schedule also is what keeps some people going for long periods of time exhibiting inappropriate behavior. Remember that the definition of what is appropriate or inappropriate depends on value issues, not on the schedule of reinforcement, A student may have been "inadvertently taught" to go for longer and longer periods of time exhibiting inappropriate behavior just to anger the teacher or perhaps their parents.

The final concept that must be understood when considering schedules of reinforcement is fading or thinning. Fading is where approval is initially scheduled to be quite frequent and then the amount of reinforcement is gradually extended to where the reinforcement occurs less often. This usually progresses to the point where reinforcement is then put on a variable schedule. Eventually, naturally occurring feedback will take the place of the music teacher's need to supply the reinforcement. When a person achieves this state, the person is usually described as being "self-motivated." Yet, some people go for such long time periods without extrinsic reinforcement from their environment that they actually become impervious to this very environment--even when reinforcement eventually comes, These people are not described as self-motivated; they are often described as asocial or even mentally ill.

Over time and because of a good deal of repetition, all humans develop habits. We develop many, many habits, both good and bad. Parents and teachers attempt to develop "good habits" with their children and students; they also attempt to get rid of "bad habits." A habit is something we do that we do not think about. Remember for a moment when you were first learning how to drive a car. There were many aspects of driving you needed to think about before driving became automatic. Now, as an adult, you probably do not think much about these skills because most aspects of driving have become habitual. Now think about other physical tasks, such as playing a sport or a musical instrument, or a game involving perfecting neuromuscular skills. Now think about small children learning how to open a book, hold a pencil, stack toys, put on shoes, sit at the piano or any other task involving skill development.

It should be obvious that in the initial stages of development, learning how to coordinate takes a great deal of concentration and time. Initial skill development takes the entire core of our concentration, and we are not capable of doing or even thinking about much else at the same time. Afterward, these skills become perfected--sometimes so much so that we have to concentrate on something to keep ourselves on task, such as when driving a car or operating dangerous equipment. And even if certain skills have not become perfected, they generally become habits or even bad habits because of repetition. After developing such skills, we generally "coast on automatic." We have developed many patterns of responses that seem to serve us well as we navigate throughout life.

Putting It All Together

Every lesson or practice time needs to have some alteration of rigor and something reinforcing. And every teacher needs to remember that it cannot be fun all the time. The teacher must develop cycles of learning, beginning with something fun, then alternating with something rigorous (fun-rigor-fun-rigor-fun) Over time, the rigor, for example scale practice, will feed into music making and eventually become reinforcing, but not at first.

Suggestions:

* Start with a solid, realistic value base.

* Take data on an entire lesson. Are you achieving a contingent high positive interaction?

* Is the student performing at least 65 percent of the time?

* Always try to be proactive, setting up success, versus only reacting to mistakes.

* Work toward musical excellence through successive approximations.

* Teach for transfer.

* Other complicating personal issues--motivation begins with you!

* Family/friends--with whom do you interact and in what () patterns?

* Home--where do you really live at work and at home? Mixing causes clutter.

* Health--stress, physical activity and eventual burnout.

* Finances--money management and resource management (real problems).

* Free time--healthy structuring of life's free time.

Personal reinforcement--who daps for you?

Author's note: Portions of this article are adapted from Madsen, C. K & Madsen, and C. H. Jr. Teaching/Discipline: Behavioral Principles Toward a Positive Approach. Contemporary Publishing Company, Inc., Fourth Edition, 1998, Raleigh, NC. ISBN 0-89892-178-3.