Sage vs. Guide

Sage vs. Guide

            In an experiment to see if my teaching is more based on “sage on the stage” or “guide on the side, I video recorded myself teaching 7^th and 8^th grade orchestra. After recording the lesson, I make a tic every 30 seconds to see which approach was utilized more. My results were as follows:

Sage – 85.7%

Guide – 14.3%

            The results of this experiment did not surprise me. In fact, I expected these results mostly due to the nature of the class being recorded. I observed my teaching of a 7^th and 8^th grade orchestra rehearsal. This rehearsal was in preparation for a regional festival that is taking place in a month. Because of time constraints and the pressure of the festival, my rehearsal technique tends to be more teacher-centered and focused on product rather than process. The festival is a big part of the 7^th and 8^th grade calendar and provides a great deal of motivation for students. The ensemble improves through preparation and participation in the festival. For this reason, I fully expected my classroom strategies to be more “sage” than “guide”.

If I taught the same class again I might include some opportunities for “guide” moments. I do have students critically assess their own playing and make rehearsal suggestions as we get closer the performance date. Adding in more student-centered techniques does help students take ownership of their learning and can help them grow into more thoughtful musicians. I would have liked to guide students to possible solutions to our issue with accents. Towards the end of the rehearsal, we were working on off-beat accents in “North Country Legend.” We didn’t find much success in enhancing the accents, and a chance for students to offer solutions would’ve been a good learning opportunity. Other chances to let students guide the learning would be effective in building long term skills for problem solving and might improve student ownership of the group.

The sage best represents the empiricism philosophy. The sage is concerned with learning the right things in the right way. The teacher is the source of knowledge and leads the classroom from the “stage” knowing what students should know and be able to do. Often, the sage has learned from experts and imparts their wisdom. This reliance on experts is a large part of the empiricist philosophy. The sage, in being the source of knowledge, is not particularly interested in allowing students to explore possible solutions to problems via the scientific method. Instead, they use their time tested strategies to solve issues for the students. My rehearsal method was almost completely in the sage category which fits my stated empiricist philosophy noted in class discussion.

The guide best represents the pragmatism philosophy. Students should be gently guided through the process of learning rather than being led to “right” answers. The guide focuses on the methods of learning the students use. From the side, the teacher can observe and correct rather than dictate the learning that students experience. For the pragmatist, things are always changing and the more important aspect of learning is experience. Since the guide is not “front and center” they can get out of the way to allow students to have those experiences. Unlike the sage who shows students the “right” way to gain skills and knowledge, the guide is more open to failure as a learning experience. Like Dewey, they provide students with a problem to solve via the scientific method.

Both methods have their benefits as do their associated philosophy. Being the sage too often deprives students of opportunities for problem solving, ownership of learning, and the development of non-musical skills. In the future, I should consider possible adjustments to both my philosophy and teaching style that may benefit my students. Perhaps I am making the classic empiricist mistake of relying too heavily on what I perceive to be true. While a sage can impart a great deal of skill and knowledge, giving students the opportunity to lead their own learning with gentle guidance from the side should be considered.