Observation and Analysis of Suzuki String Teaching

Abstract

This study is an examination of teacher and student behavior in 48 violin and cello lessons taught by 12 expert Suzuki string teachers. One representative excerpt of work on a repertoire piece that had been introduced in a preceding lesson was extracted from each lesson videotape and analyzed in detail. Each excerpt was divided into segments (labeled “rehearsal frames”) that encompassed the instructional activities devoted to proximal performance goals (labeled “targets”) identified by the teacher. Targets were recorded for each rehearsal frame and categorized according to the teacher's description of the target and according to the aspect of performance to which the target pertained. Instructional activities within 338 rehearsal frames were examined in terms of the rates, durations, and proportions of time devoted to aspects of teacher and student behavior. Across all rehearsal frames ( N = 338), approximately 45% of the total time was devoted to teacher verbalizations, 20% to teacher modeling, and 41% to student performance. Episodes of teacher and student activity were frequent and brief, indicating a rapid pace of instruction. Lessons were characterized by high rates of approvals and a clear focus on one aspect of performance at a time.