If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of providing piano student assessments for parents… but the idea of writing out pages and pages of comments has prevented you from doing so, this post is for you!
Piano Student Assessment Sheets… and How You Can Do Better
I’ve always found written assessments to be so one-dimensional (and ugh… time consuming!). And, unless your piano students’ parents are also all very musical it’s unlikely that much of what you say will truly hit home. However, parents DO want to know how their children are progressing. Thinking as a business person, it’s a good idea to provide some sort of assessment to parents as knowing their child’s strengths will solidify their commitment to keeping them in lessons.
However, we’re not only in this for the parents! Piano Student assessments should also be meaningful to your student. Seeing one’s own progress is very motivating, and for kids who need a boost of encouragement, a meaningful assessment can make all the difference to their level of interest.
This coming year, I plan on embracing technology; I’m bringing my student assessments into the 21st century. And… I’m going to save myself a heck of a lot of time!
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Starting next year, I’m going to be providing video assessments of my piano students. If this sounds intimidating consider this: video assessments can be completed within lesson time saving you tonnes of out-of-teaching time hours. Video assessments are effective; even non-musical parents will be able to really see the progress. Video assessments are a lovely keep-sake and are share-able material… what a cool thing to email to Grandma and Grandpa across the country, share on a Facebook page, Tweet about etc! Word of mouth opportunities abound from this way of assessing your students.
How to Produce Piano Student Assessment Videos
Using my smartphone and a video editing program like iMovie, I’m going to create quick and cool assessment videos that are separated into the main categories that I find to be particularly important. My videos will be separated into:
1. “Look What I Can Do”: A recording of my piano student playing the piece they are currently working on, and answering questions pertaining to that particular piece (ie. what key is this piece in? Can you show me the primary chords in this piece? What accidentals do you see in this piece etc.)
2. Practicing and Performing: My piano student doing one of the following a) announcing number of days they have practiced up to that point in the year or b) completing a fun practice activity, and then briefly listing what performances they have participated in up to that point.
3. Composing: My piano student performing their latest original composition and answering 2 questions about the methods they used. Looking for a cool composing method?… Check this out!
You’ll need to video each piano student at 3 times during the year (very first lesson, 6 months later and last lesson of your spring term).
In the Editing Room
Keep. It. Simple. Here’s a template I’ve created to give you an idea of what it could look like. There are place holders in the spaces where you would upload your student’s videos, but this gives you an idea of what it could look like. Come the end of year (and the busiest time in your studio) all you need to do is publish the video and email it to the parents! I timed myself and this template took just over 9 minutes to create. Once it’s done you literally use the same template for each student and simply drag in the appropriate video clips.
Meaningful End-of-Year Assessments for Piano Students
The wonderful thing about video assessments is they are understood by everyone. Parents with no piano background will be able to clearly see the progression. Your piano students will have a meaningful keep-sake of their year in piano lessons with you, and everyone involved will be motivated to create next year’s video!
Anyone with a smart phone can save themselves hours and hours of writing comments that are read and then recycled. Give it a try!
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Jeannie says
I use a camcorder but when the camera is set up, the kids tend to be a little more mindful of the lesson. Helps with unruly students. Parents love it. I take orders for the DVDs that show my recitals — out of state grandparents love them — and use the money to update computer games, etc.
Andrea says
Great ideas (as always!) Jeannie 🙂
Kim Wright says
Great idea…..I can’t get the video to work…..is it on my end?
Andrea says
Hi Kim – yes, it must be. Try refreshing your browser.
Leia says
I am SO trying this next year! My fingers are tired of typing up progress reports!
Andrea says
Hi Leia! I’m really excited about it and I think my students will be too. Banishing written assignments all the way from Canada to India… I love it! 🙂
Michele Tamtom says
I am tired of writing thousands of pages of material that students/parents never pay attention to. Im thinking Ipad video recording and then a post to facebook my indeed help…although you know students….LOL.
This years end of the year performance is a virtual recital posted on YouTube! The kids are so pumped about it…
Andrea says
Cool recital idea Michelle!
Rebecca Brown says
I love this idea! I’m pretty technologically challenged, so I’m not sure if I could pull off a complete video like that. But, I am doing face-to-face assessments in their last lesson this semester. At the very least, it would be very helpful to show the parent a video of their child playing a song in their lesson in August…..and then follow that with the video of them playing in the recital in April. They really do lose touch with how far their child has (or has not) come, otherwise. I include the “has not”, because there are plenty of parents who really think their child is doing amazing, but they really have made very little progress. Showing them the amount of progress is a good springboard for discussing a plan for the year ahead.
Thanks for yet another great idea!
Andrea says
Hi Rebecca
Have you ever tried animoto.com? It’s so easy to make a video (I used to to make the sample one). It’s literally drag and drop – it can’t get any simpler. Well worth looking at to save yourself some time. Yes, you are totally right. Parents forget how their child was playing at the start of the year vs. the end. This is a great reminder of just how much they (and you!) have accomplished.
Bonnie says
I love the idea of a video progress report! Will do the first video this month. A question about one of the other comments. What copyright issues would arise from selling recordings of the recital? Or posting recordings to youtube? Thanks!
Fred Green says
As long as you have a photo/video release form signed by parents when they enroll their kids and you create the video yourself, you are not infringing on any copyright laws. HOWEVER (disclaimer), I am not an attorney and you should check with one in your State to ensure compliance with local laws.
Julia says
That’s a brilliant idea! I am so using it as soon as possible . Your blog and the piano geek week are great help to all the teachers. You make me smile when I am thinking about my next lesson. Thank you for that!