Spoon-feeding in the long run, teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon

E.M.Forster

If you think about it contact time with students is very small. An average lesson is often half an hour a week leaving lots of time in between for students to work on their own

A week is a long time for them to either get stuck (and then frustrated and give up on the task) or learn something wrong which needs unpicking at the following lesson.

If a student is spoon fed then the likelihood of this is perhaps even greater.

We can’t be with our students when they practice at home so giving them the tools to work out things for themselves helps encourage independent learners.

As Maria Montessori said …

The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ’The children are now working as if I did not exist

Maria Montessori

How do you help students develop the skills to work independently in your instrument?