Motivation: Creating a Learning Environment Where Our Students Can Thrive
The topic of student motivation has been at the center of many discussions throughout the global piano teaching community in recent years. In our fast-paced, schedule-packed world that is marked by AI, algorithms, and overwhelming digital stimulation, many teachers have sounded an alarm that students appear to be less motivated to engage deeply and fully in their piano studies than in the past.
World-leading motivation researcher Edward Deci has often said:
“Don’t ask how you can motivate other people. That’s the wrong way to think about it. Instead, ask how you can create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves.”
Indeed, creating an ecology where our students will be motivated to thrive in their musical journeys is at the heart of our work as piano teachers.
In this first installment of what will likely be a multi-article series, I would like to share with you some of the most compelling and widely embraced research on the topic of motivation with the hope that these principles can help you build a learning environment in which your students can find immense joy in their music learning and making, today and throughout their lives.
Self-Determination Theory
Self-Determination Theory is a macro-theory generated by University of Rochester psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan that grew out of their research on intrinsic motivation. Deci and Ryan identified three psychological needs that are necessary for sustaining motivation in learning and in life. They have been dubbed the “Three Ingredients for Genuine Motivation” and are autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Autonomy
The first ingredient for motivation is autonomy. This is our need to have some measure of control of our actions – our desire to feel as though we are in the driver’s seat. The research shows that a sense of autonomy and agency not only have a powerful effect on motivation, performance, and attitude, but also impacts our happiness and well-being. Simply put: our students want choices and they want to be involved in the decision-making process. And when we provide these, it improves the conditions for intrinsic motivation.
How do we as teachers facilitate autonomy? It begins by creating a student-centered learning environment where students are provided well-scaffolded options and are constantly encouraged to make decisions and meaningful choices. By doing so, they begin to take ownership of their learning, practice, and artistic decisions.
For our youngest students, a sense of autonomy may be achieved by allowing them to choose the order of activities or pieces they will play at their lesson or in their practice (e.g. sight reading & rhythm cards first followed by technical exercise, rote pieces, reading pieces, and improvisation). For our intermediate students, this can be facilitated by curating and presenting a menu of pieces from which they select to learn. This menu takes into consideration the current technical and musical needs of the student as well as what would be appealing and motivating for them, all while providing a well-rounded musical diet. Beyond this, we should encourage students to explore a variety of interpretative ideas and to make well-informed stylistic decisions. As teachers, we must aim to foster within our students a sense of curiosity and creativity, as well as a spirit of exploration and risk-taking. Part of developing autonomy requires teachers to help their students unravel the fear of failure.
Additionally, when learning a new piece, we can ask students which practice strategies might be best applied to the challenges found in the new work. We can also encourage students to improvise and compose their own music with allows them to find their own artistic voice. Each of these ideas foster a sense of autonomy and builds agency.
It is important to note that autonomy support does not translate to structure free learning. In fact, structure has been shown as essential for the fulfillment of autonomy needs. Remember, it’s guardrails instead of handcuffs. It’s a careful balance of knowing where to be prescriptive and where to let the child lead; when to provide input and when to step back and let the child direct the process. Clearly, the level of decision-making power depends on a child’s maturity and their ability to self-regulate. But even a four-year-old can be involved in making decisions to some degree.
It is wise to use objective, non-controlling, informational language when guiding students, while fostering opportunities for both self-assessment and personal responsibility of learning. We can encourage self-reflection while praising the student all within the form of a question, such as “How did you practice that passage in order to achieve such captivating sound and beautifully contoured and paced phrasing?” Such questions require the student to reflect on their process and the actions taken to achieve a particular result.
Certainly, repertoire choice is a key factor in motivating piano students. The music itself motivates! Because of this, the repertoire we assign to our students must be rich and deeply rewarding from the first lessons. And isn’t it wonderful that even our beginners can experience engaging and exciting music right from the start – even before they can read notation – by way of rote pieces? This is one of the brilliant benefits of the Piano Safari method.
It’s also important to remember that how we introduce a new piece can either make or break a student’s engagement with it. As teachers, we must be prepared to demonstrate the piece in a compelling way. We can also share YouTube performances by concert artists or perhaps by a student at their age or level. We can talk about the humanity of the composer or the historical events surrounding the piece. We do well when we build a bridge between the music and the student performing it. What does this music have to do with the student? Ultimately, the music must be perceived as both relevant and interesting. To be sure, a student’s perception of a new piece can either be a passport or a prison.
One of the manifold benefits of giving our students weekly listening assignments is that, in addition to being exposed to a wide variety of literature, sounds, and styles, they also begin to develop their own personal musical tastes and interests. Through this process, we should ask students to articulate what they find interesting or captivating about their favorite works. This will give you as the teacher an idea of the music that resonates with them and will help guide you as you prepare the next list of pieces from which they can choose to learn. Furthermore, I have found it beneficial to ask my students to give me a listening list. This encourages them to listen regularly and explore new music, while also demonstrating to them that I value their interests.
Competence
The next component is competence. This is our innate desire to get better at something; the belief that one can tackle and master a challenge, can achieve proficiency and then demonstrate these skills to others. It is about building a sense of self-efficacy. Humans are motivated when we feel we are competent and capable. And when we feel these, we are more likely to persist in the face of challenge, engage in difficult tasks using thoughtful practice strategies and skills, and ultimately feel more command of our learning.
So how can teachers foster competence? The answer lies in finding what is often called the “sweet spot” in learning and teaching. This is when the task is just a bit beyond our current abilities, enough to stretch our minds and bodies. It’s about finding the right amount of challenge: not too easy, not too hard, but just right. It’s the Goldilocks Effect! It is what is often referred to a “desirable difficulty” in the research literature. For teachers, this involves engineering and sequencing the learning into bite-sized, challenging yet very achievable, manageable chunks. This type of learning makes the effort a delicious reward. Charting progress and achievement of musically measurable goals can be hugely motivating and can demonstrate one’s connection with music through music.
As teachers and parents, we can engineer opportunities for our students/children to share the fruit of their hard work and passion with others by facilitating a variety of mastery experiences. These can be performances or informal music sharing for parents at home, or for others in group classes, recitals, festivals, church, retirement homes, schools, community events, or FaceTime performances for family or friends who live just down the street or in another country. We do well to always focus these experiences on the value and the joy of “the thing” and that is sharing the beauty of music.
Progress and achievement generate enthusiasm and perseverance. Success breeds success and with this comes satisfaction in our efforts. We love and are motivated to do the things we do well, and to do well at something, thoughtful, focused practice is necessary. Competence and mastery are achieved through practice. So one of our primary jobs as teachers is to train our students to be excellent problem solvers and intelligent practicers.
Relatedness
The third human need is relatedness. This is our desire for meaningful human interaction and connection – to feel heard, cared for, and understood. As teachers and parents, we must endeavor to create learning and emotional climates that provide a culture of mutual trust, warmth, and care.
At the heart of relatedness in piano teaching is capitalizing on human connection through music. This can be achieved through sharing music with family, friends, and peers. Group lessons are a powerful way to build a sense of community, relatedness, and identity. Here, students experience the power of a positive social learning environment and are surrounded by like-minded peers who share in their passion for music. Collaborative music making, such a duets, duos, ensembles, and chamber music, feed our sense of share purpose as musicians. Other ways to foster relatedness include forming practice partnerships between students (i.e. peer feedback and encouragement) and encouraging older students to mentor younger students.
Ultimately, we want to cultivate an attitude amongst our students and children that hard work, effort, and even struggle in learning and practice is worth the commitment because of how our learned skills can bless, serve, and even transform the lives of others. Our aim should always be deeply connected to the world beyond ourselves. One example of a purpose-driven practice initiative is a “Practice-a-thon”. Here, students solicit pledges of sponsorship for every minute they practice over the course of a month, and they log their practice time each day. All donations received are given to a charity that has specific meaning for the child.
Sadly, there is evidence throughout the research literature that shows that children demonstrate markedly lower motivation when parents and caregivers ignore or disregard the child’s work or interests. Genuine, positive emotions from parents are a bridge between their child’s motivation and practice and this is particularly important when mitigating moments of student frustration and struggle. When this happens – and it will – we do well to focus the child on the learning goals they helped create, and that working hard and using smart practice strategies is far more important than a perfect performance or high mark on an exam.
Summary
We as teachers have the significant task of assisting our students in developing a proper and powerful motivational framework. Our job is to create a stimulating space where motivation can thrive while supporting and empowering the development of our students’ emerging musical skills. And we can do so by orchestrating opportunities for them to fulfill their need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
