Student motivation and the Ultimate Song List (USL)

A recent teen student decided to drop out because they felt the songs in the G4GUITAR METHOD were too old.

This is a clear case of the student focusing on the songs of G4 and not relating the G4 skills to what he thinks is cool. This is where the Ultimate Song List (USL) comes into play. The USL helps both teacher and student to stay clear as to the ultimate goal for the student. It also helps the student to feel that the teacher is interested in them.

So what would I do in this situation?

I would touch on the student's interest as a source of motivation. If I found a recurring song on the student's USLs I would learn the song or at least a part of it and use it to help the student develop a particular skill. An example I like to use is; I found a few years back that the band MCR (My Chemical Romance) kept appearing on teenage girls USLs. So I ask one of the girls to bring me a CD. I listen and worked out 3 songs and used them to demonstrate picking, chords, scales, arpeggios and of course rhythm. It worked like a charm and the girls couldn't wait to get to their lesson each week.

Trick is to be creative about how you teach the G4GUITAR METHOD. The goal is to complete the skills and song on the checklist but you must remember to keep your students motivated by connecting to why they are learning guitar.

Become a succesful G4GUITAR Teacher by following some simple advice

G4GUITARSCHOOLS WEEKLY TEACHING TIPS

Here's some tips that will help with improve your teaching:

• Always check the students practice logs and encourage the students to fill them in. This will be the main indicator of their motivation levels and how likely they are to stay with you.

• Become familiar with the student checklists for each level. Get into the habit of updating these regularly and try not to stray too far from these. This will help to focus your teaching and your students will progress through the levels much quicker.

• Check our teacher training website to see how the songs from memory should be played.

• Always aim to focus on weaknesses that a student may have. Identify these and show the students how to improve in these areas.

• Always Demonstrate. By demonstrating students will always have a better understanding of what you are asking them to do and to what level.

I hope these help...

Regards

Brendan Morello

Student Checklist Report SCL

I have added an SCL report form for students or teachers to fill in so we can track student progress more closely. Please see the link on the Teachers Links at the bottom of the B Links.

Some years ago after reading a book on the success of Checklists I decided to trial them within G4GUITAR. They were an absolute winner for many reasons. Firstly I did not need to keep notes on students. The SCL did that for me. I didn't need to create lesson plans. Students and their parents were able to monitor their own progress and the goal was clearly laid out. But the best result of all was almost 100% success. The SCL single handedly eliminated any confusion students or parents may have had about the G4GUITAR METHOD.

But there is one VERY IMPORTANT element to the SCL. Someone must be monitoring them. Unforntunately we still have a high drop out rate and the reason is students lose focus. I know from experience this is because they are not understanding how the SCL works. By reporting we will be able to track their progress at regular intervals and determine if they are firstly understanding and secondly progressing.

We will be asking students to fill in the form SCL REPORT online but if they don't we will then ask teachers to do so. Students will receive a regular email so please encourage (educate) them to fill in the form so you don't have to. This is also a vital step in working towards our vision of ONLINE LEARNING. Our ticket to freedom.

Thank you..