Thoughts on Thinking: Engaging Novice Music Students in Metacognition

Summary: Achieving expertise in any area requires extensive practice and engagement with the subject one desires to master. As not all practice yields good progress, methods must be found that lead learners to practice effectively. Many experts employ highly tailored practice involving metacognitive processes, but novices rarely engage in frequent and explicit metacognitive strategies during practice. As a result, novice progress may be impeded through repetition of systematic errors and ineffective techniques. Our study provides evidence of the effectiveness of teaching metacognition to novice music students through weekly lessons. Thirty-five adolescent students of six instructors were randomly assigned to metacognitive focus or existing practice teaching conditions. Students receiving metacognitive teaching achieved higher performance ratings when compared with students receiving control instruction, even though practice time did not vary between groups. These results suggest that having students explicitly verbalize and reflect on their learning process produces more efficient practice and greater end performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The ability of musicians to mentally maintain large, complex pieces of information while performing the dual task of fine motor performance is impressive for both audiences and cognitive scientists alike. The extensive engagement and practice necessary to produce this expert performance offers insight into the cognitive changes involved in learning a complex skill. Thus, expertise and skill acquisition literature has frequently used music education and performance as a platform for understanding the progression from novice t