ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between teacher discourse and student experience in college applied piano lessons. Participants included 7 college piano teachers and 14 senior undergraduate students. Teacher discourse was analyzed for the types scaffolding or non-scaffolding language. Subsequent analysis examined how that language was used within complete sequential units of instruction. Student reflective self-reports, completed after each rehearsal, were examined to reveal correlations with teachers` instructional language. According to the results, complete sequential units increased as total scaffolding language increased. Students reported higher levels of perceived challenge and skill during lessons with greater amounts of scaffolding language. This study suggests a strong positive relationship exists between teacher scaffolding language use, complete sequential units of instruction, and quality of student experience during college applied piano lessons.

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