What teacher doesn’t have the dream that their students will practice, improve and perform simply for the feeling of accomplishment? Since I became a parent before I became a teacher, I already had cold water dashed on this idea! From the get-go, I’ve put my creative juices to work, constantly inventing new rewards to motivate my students. Some of them are given out weekly, some about once a month, some “as earned” (maybe a couple times a year if the student works hard), and some just once a year, at the year-end recital. Awards are earned for a variety of efforts and outcomes. Almost any student can earn some awards, with younger students eligible for more awards than older ones. The most diligent students get the biggest payoff. Sounds a lot like life, doesn’t it? 🙂
Rewards are given for:
- Meeting weekly practice goals (minutes and/or assignments)
- Completing technique and repertoire checklists: Technique Tassels
- Completing a menu of music-learning activities over the course of the lesson year: MusiQUEST
- Participating in extracurricular music activities, like orchestras, competitions, festivals, etc.
For each of these areas, I’ve developed tools for students and teacher (me) to track their progress.
The first level is the weekly practice tracker and sticker card. Every time the student completes 4 weeks in a row of 100% meeting their practice goal, they earn a mini candy bar. The sticker card is also used for year-end rewards: students who received a sticker on 30 of the 36 weeks in the lesson year, get a DIY S’mores Kit with a personalized tag.
Check for other posts under this topic as I add more incentive program descriptions and resources.
