International Journal of Education & the Arts

Editors
Terry Barrett Peter Webster
Ohio State University University of Southern California

Eeva Anttila Brad Haseman

University of the Arts Helsinki Queensland University of Technology

http://www.ijea.org/ ISSN: 1529-8094

Volume 17 Number 36 December 30, 2016

Powerful Learning Experiences and Suzuki Music Teachers

Carrie Reuning-Hummel
Ithaca College, USA

Allison Meyer
Ithaca College, USA

Gordon Rowland
Ithaca College, USA

Citation: Reuning-Hummel, C., Meyer, A., & Rowland, G. (2016). Powerful

learning experiences and Suzuki music teachers. International Journal of Education
& the Arts, 17(36). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/.

Abstract
Powerful Learning Experiences (PLEs) of Suzuki music teachers were examined in this
fifth study in a series. The definition of a PLE is: Experiences that stand out in memory
because of their high quality, their impact on one’s thoughts and actions over time, and
their transfer to a wide range of contexts and circumstances.

Ten participants were each interviewed twice. All were Suzuki music teachers who had
PLEs through their exposure to Suzuki and his philosophy. The second interview was
the first in the series of studies to focus on teaching. Though the contexts of the PLEs
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 2

were more similar than in any previous study, there appeared to be a unique set of
factors for each individual’s experience. PLEs appear to be co-created in a complex
system and display what can be described as liminal thinking and attunement.

Introduction
Powerful learning experiences punctuate our lives, offering memories from which we learn and
grow. They seem to offer a leap in perception and even transformation, and yet solidify our
own identity at the same time.

In four studies over the past decade, Gordon Rowland and colleagues explored powerful
learning experiences with adult learners (Rowland & DiVasto, 2001; Rowland, Hetherington,
& Raasch, 2002; Rowland, Lederhouse, & Satterfield, 2004; Rivera & Rowland, 2008). The
definition of powerful learning experiences (PLEs) used was:

Experiences that stand out in memory because of their high quality, their impact on
one’s thoughts and actions over time, and their transfer to a wide range of contexts and
circumstances.

Through these studies, several aspects of PLEs became clear:

 Adults are readily able to recognize, reflect upon, and talk about their powerful learning
experiences.
 The personal changes that occur through PLEs can vary greatly.
 Sometimes the experience occurs in an “aha” moment, where perspective or
understanding is changed in an instant.
 Sometimes the PLE occurs over an extended period of time and it is identified as
powerful only upon later reflection.
 Powerful learning often comes from an experience that is positive, but sometimes can
come from a negative experience that later leads to learning that is positive in nature.

Some factors or characteristics of the learning approach that may contribute to PLEs emerged
from these studies. The most common were:

 Participation in an authentic situation

 Hands-on approach to learning
 Meaningful relationship between the learner and a teacher/mentor or another individual
 Opportunity for reflection

Yet while these were the most common of all reported factors, they were not in themselves
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 3

prescriptive of a PLE. Over 720 factors that led to PLEs were reported in the first three studies
alone and simply combining the most common factors resulted in a recipe for a PLE that did
not fit a single report. The evidence to this point suggests that factors that produce a PLE are
unique to each individual and/or special circumstance.

Overview
In this study we examined a different context in which PLEs occur in order to further
investigate the causes and characteristics of PLEs. We conducted two sets of interviews with
Suzuki music teachers who knew and worked with Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki
approach to music education (described below). In these interviews we sought to explore
questions that had arisen through previous research including a look at the role teachers play in
promoting PLEs. Specifically, we sought to explore the following questions:

 What is the nature of a PLE in this context?

 Is the PLE less unique within this very specific shared context?
 What is the role of a teacher in promoting PLEs?

In the first interview, we asked the teachers about a specific PLE they experienced with or in
relationship to Shinichi Suzuki. The second interview examined specific PLEs that the teachers
thought happened in their teaching environments and explored factors that the teachers felt
contributed to the likelihood of PLEs occurring with their students. This interview built on the
outcomes of the first to help us explore PLEs in terms of their implications for pedagogy.

We describe methods and results of the two sets of interviews below. We conclude with a
discussion incorporating previous research and look at ways in which PLEs manifest
characteristics of complex systems. Specifically, we recognize that the conditions for powerful
learning are more likely fostered by making in-the-moment responses, perhaps guided by
heuristics, than by applying prescriptive principles. They appear to be co-created in a complex
system and display what can be described as attunement and liminal thinking.

Experimental/Materials and Methods

The study involved a mixed methods approach, in which qualitative data were gathered
through the two rounds of interviews, themes emerged from an in vivo coding method, and
frequency of data in themes was interpreted to be one indicator of importance.

The Participants
We chose the interviewees out of a pool of participants in a legacy project undertaken by the
Suzuki Association of the Americas. In that project, people who had personal experiences with
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 4

Suzuki were interviewed with the purpose of keeping his legacy alive. We further selected
interviewees from this pool based on their ability to participate (a number are now quite elderly
or have died) and their access to email for communication. The age group ranged from about
40 to 80 years old and no younger because much of the access to Shinichi Suzuki was limited
in the late 1990s, and the people who had contact with him in a meaningful way were
necessarily of this age group. As a result, all of the participants had many years of teaching
experience, many over forty years. All of the participants were from the United States and
Canada. There were nine women and two men interviewed. Ten teachers were interviewed
twice, and an eleventh once.

Methods
The first interview (see Appendix A) explored experiences that participants had as they were
initially exposed to ideas of Shinichi Suzuki. First, the definition of a PLE (cited above) was
shared to inquire if participants felt that they had indeed had one or more PLEs. Then
participants were asked to describe one PLE that stood out. Subsequent questions probed into
what that experience had involved before, during, and afterward, and when it had been
recognized as powerful. Participants were then asked what had made the experience so
powerful, and the interview concluded with a series of questions that were intended to reveal
how the experience might be characterized as simple or complex.

The second interview (see Appendix B), conducted approximately one month after the first,
shifted perspective and asked participants similar questions about PLEs they had seen or
experienced as teachers.

Both interviews were conducted and, with participants’ permission, recorded by telephone.
They were semi-structured, which allowed consistency of questions along with an ability to
flexibly engage in natural conversation. This allowed each participant to explore subjects in
depth appropriate for that moment (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Neuman, 2000). The first and third
authors then independently listened to each audiotape and made detailed notes, frequently
pausing and replaying the tape to capture the exact words of the participants. The notes thus
represented quasi-transcriptions, shaped by the authors’ judgment regarding salience (Stake,
1994). The two authors proceeded to highlight on their notes what they considered to be the
essential points made by the participant. At that time essential points were transferred to a table
that summarized responses of all participants. The table was constructed by the first author and
then the third author compared the essential points from his notes to the table entries, adding a
second entry to any cell where points were not identical. In this way, coding began with an in
vivo method, staying as close as possible to participants’ own words prior to identifying and
labeling larger patterns (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2013).
The authors then engaged in multiple conversations in which they examined similarities and
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 5

sought to account for differences in the individual cells. Finally, they compared the cell entries
for each question looking to see where themes might or might not emerge, then examined the
table holistically for any additional insights. For example, they sought means to cluster
interviewees and/or responses into meaningful categories. Questions and responses were added
to the table and examined in a similar manner, and a set of summary statements/tentative
conclusions were drafted. As an additional step to enhance trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba,
1985), a final check was performed by the first author, who re-listened to the audiotapes with
an ear toward any instances in which analysis may have led to conclusions that strayed far
from the original data. These were shared with the third author, the analysis path was retraced,
and conclusions were revised. The second author performed important parts of a peer review,
interviewing the other authors with respect to methods, results, and overall coherence of the
study, then revised and completed sections of the manuscript.

PLEs in Relationship to Other Learning Constructs

Powerful learning experiences have a number of similarities and differences with respect to
other constructs and theories of learning. Learning that is “powerful” is said to lead to
important change in one’s beliefs or views, or to special knowledge or skill that changes how
one thinks and acts over time (Brandt, 1998; McPhee, 1996). The similar construct
“meaningful learning” (e.g., Kember, 1991) tends to connote something that is not as unique—
any learning that leads to rich and deep understanding in a domain. Likewise, “understanding”
implies learning that reaches higher-level goals (e.g., Gardner, 1999; Perkins & Unger, 1999;
Reigeluth & Squire, 1998).

PLEs share characteristics with a number of psychological constructs that go beyond or are not
focused specifically on learning, such as peak experience (Maslow, 1971), peak performance
(Privette & Bundrick, 1997), the sweet spot in time (Jerome, 1980), and flow
(Czikszentmihalyi, 1993). For example, previous studies of PLEs have revealed the common
occurrence of heightened emotions and liminal states (Rowland & Wilson, 1994), in which
perceptions of time are altered, much in the same way as the cited authors describe peaks in
sport and other contexts.

PLEs, on the other hand, involve impact on one’s thoughts and actions over time, which is not,
at least not by definition, the case for these other constructs. PLEs are particularly similar to
“pivotal, memorable” experiences that may happen in informal museum settings (Perry, 2002)
and “transformative learning” (Wilson, Switzer, Parrish, & the IDEAL Research Lab, 2007;
Wilson, Parrish, & Veletsianos, 2008). The latter is often defined to include a particular staged
process of learning (Mezirow, 1991), while PLEs are not limited in this way.

Previous studies of PLEs (e.g., Rowland, 2008) have found strong connections to
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 6

constructivism (e.g., Piaget, 1957; Bruner, 1960) and collaborative constructivism (e.g.,
Garrison & Anderson, 2003). According to the constructivist view, learners construct
knowledge in unique ways relating to their individual interpretations of experience.
Collaborative constructivism emphasizes meaning that is made through activity in social
contexts.

Tentative links have also been made between PLEs and the nature of complex systems
(Rowland, 2008). PLEs may be emergent phenomena, resulting from the non-linear interaction
of many components (e.g., Gleick, 1987; Morowitz, 2002).

The Suzuki Approach

The Suzuki approach to music education has a particular philosophy, which all of the teachers
interviewed have embraced.

Shinichi Suzuki was a violinist in Japan, who found inspiration in the ability of children to
readily learn to speak their native language. While others before him had taken note of this
ability, he was the first to take certain principles of learning one’s language and apply these
principles to another field of learning. He chose music, but often said that the principles could
and should be used for any learning.

The main tenet of what he called the “Mother Tongue Method” is that every child can learn his
or her language. We in society expect that all typical children will speak their own complicated
language fluently, and with the accent of the native region. This led to his assumption that
every child has the capacity to be a fluent musician if provided the same environmental
opportunities as with learning language. Branching off of this idea was his belief that every
person has potential far beyond what she or he may actually achieve or realize.

Suzuki then took a variety of principles of learning one’s native language and applied them to
learning to play the violin. These are:

 start young
 immerse children in the sounds of music
 maintain a positive approach to learning
 understand that everyone learns at his or her own pace
 develop close interaction with parents who encourage and help the learning
 include many social opportunities of playing with other children who share the same
“language” of music
 slightly delay music reading so that the ear can be developed first
 keep all of the repertoire in use, just as words are used and built upon, not discarded
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 7

 build upon small steps for 100% success, and celebrate each small step

Although there are aspects of the method that include a set structure, such as a common
repertoire (or “language”) that is learned in a progressive order, there are commonalities with
constructivism. The Suzuki teacher sees that the individual child and his or her unique
understanding is the important goal, just as constructivists see that individuals take
responsibility for constructing personally relevant understanding or meaning (Hannifan, Land,
& Oliver, 1999). The Suzuki teacher, along with the parent, manipulates the environment so
that it is more conducive to that child’s learning. There is a give and take—or a co-creation—
between teacher and child that becomes more and more present over time. It is not uncommon
for a learning relationship to last from age four to eighteen.

Results
Interview I
The first interview was designed to help answer the question, What is the nature of a PLE in
this context? By interviewing teachers who all experienced a PLE in a similar context, we
investigated whether certain factors can be identified as constitutive of the experience across
all or many participants.

Experiences
The participants were first asked if they had ever had a powerful learning experience in
relationship to Suzuki and his approach. All eleven felt that they had. As in the previous
studies, the PLEs varied in the timing of the realization about the importance of the experience.
Six in the study felt that they had sudden “aha” moments. Of the six, one said, “I knew in that
moment that I was a Suzuki teacher.” Two people had initially negative experiences that
became more positive discoveries over time. They both studied in Japan and experienced a
period of frustration or bewilderment when they could not hear what Suzuki was hearing or fix
a personal technical issue. The remaining three had positive experiences that became PLEs
with time. The PLE that took the longest time to be realized was with a teacher who was a
young girl when she studied violin with Suzuki in Japan. She was the only one of all the
participants who did not have a strong experience to report from the actual time with Suzuki or
during the introduction to his approach, which may be because she was so young at the time
and the memories were not as accessible to her. In adulthood she came to a very slow
realization that her teaching bore a sharp similarity to his.

Prior to PLE
We asked the participants about their state of mind before the PLE occurred. Going into the
situation one participant had no expectation, two had no intention of ever teaching, one person
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 8

was negative and ready to leave the situation, one stated that s/he was hoping for a PLE while
two others implied the same, two came to the experience “with great anticipation” and ready to
pursue a “teaching passion,” and the last “knew” that s/he would have a PLE. Coming into the
situation, eight of the eleven felt a type of dissonance inside or outside of themselves that was
transformed through the PLE. Of these eight, four mentioned a deficit in their playing, two
reported bad past experiences with “traditional” (non-Suzuki) teachers, one felt that s/he was
looking for acceptance, and one saw deficits in society in general.

During the PLE

The initial PLEs included a variety of manners of initial exposure to the Suzuki teaching
philosophy. Four of the participants experienced their PLE with Shinichi Suzuki in Japan, one
read a key statement in a book, one saw a Suzuki group on television, one heard Suzuki deliver
a speech, and four attended workshops with Suzuki clinicians other than Shinichi Suzuki. Here
we found it worthwhile to place the data into three categories: factors, impetus, and unique
meaning. From many factors mentioned, some broad categories emerged that the participants
felt contributed to their PLE (see Table 1):

Table 1
Emergent Categories that Contributed to Participant PLEs

Frequency Factors
6 Suzuki, the man himself
6 Another mentor
4 The philosophy/method as a whole, or a specific aspect of the philosophy
3 The children who demonstrated beautiful playing
3 The participant’s own playing or teaching
3 Reflection over time
2 Space to experience personal discovery
2 Emotional component
2 Tone—the beautiful sounds that they heard as an emphasis of the method
1 The Eastern approach to learning and being
1 Someone else’s feedback

Impetus
Another way to examine the PLEs was to look at the specific impetus that the participants saw
as a spark to their PLE. These varied greatly:

 A sentence that was spoken by Shinichi Suzuki

 A clip from a television show
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 9

 Seeing Shinichi Suzuki teach another person

 Hearing the tone
 Seeing the children play
 Seeing that this method/philosophy had ramifications for world peace
 Being accepted
 Seeing how the method related to another methodology
 Seeing teachers other than Shinichi Suzuki work (3)

Unique Meaning
No matter what the circumstances, the PLE had deep meaning and emotional content for each
individual. Some words and phrases used were:

 I was walking on clouds.

 I was transfixed.
 My mind was going a mile a minute as if a door opened and you glimpsed something
you hadn’t even thought possible.
 The experience resonated with me; there was a profound shift, a big bolt.
 I knew; it was real and tangible.
 I knew right away; I called Mom; I was slightly confused and skeptical; I was excited
but it was a scary beginning.
 It felt very intense.
 Every single detail was so vivid in my mind; I was meant to be there.
 There was first frustration, and then a body of interactions over time gave surprising
impact; I absorbed full to overflowing.

After the PLE

In all cases except for two, the teachers had not intended to become Suzuki teachers. Some
actively did not want to become teachers or they did not think that the Suzuki approach was for
them. Instead, the plan evolved for them out of the PLE, sometimes quite dramatically, with
their life changing in front of their eyes. Afterward, participants each felt compelled to follow a
path that was revealed to them in the PLE. Individuals stated:

 The experience shaped my teaching.

 This was a new field – way wider than I knew about or expected.
 Every day the experience with Suzuki replays.
 This has become a calling, a life; In 44 years I have never deviated.
 It changed everything about the way I think and play; suddenly there was great
openness.
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 10

While all participants spoke of the changes they experienced in their perception through the
PLE, they also spoke about how they came to know themselves and their path more fully. This
realization points to the paradox of being transformed while simultaneously solidifying their
identity; in other words, becoming more themselves. Leading us in a direction that we will
describe below, this paradox is a characteristic of the emergence of systems at higher levels of
complexity (Stacey, 2001; Waldrup, 1992).

Additional factors
We asked participants which factors were present during the PLE but not constitutive of the
experience, in other words, which could be subtracted without changing the nature or
possibility of a PLE. Participants had difficulty identifying aspects of the experience that could
have been absent, even when prompted with potential examples. On the other hand, while
some people felt that Suzuki himself was key to their experience, others felt that he could be
absent if his approach remained. To be clear, though, ten of the eleven participants said that
they could not remove an important mentor—Shinichi Suzuki or another—from the
experience.

Interview II
The second interview asked these same teachers about specific PLEs that may have happened
in their teaching environments and the factors that may have contributed to the likelihood of a
PLE occurring. While we asked about PLEs, we recognize that there has been no conclusive
evidence that one can recognize a PLE in another individual through direct observation or
analysis. The instructors in this study were clearly able to identify PLEs in their own learning,
and we asked them to speculate about occasions they observed in their teaching where a similar
experience may have happened for a student. Whether these experiences actually were PLEs
for the student is not answered here. However, the insights gained in the research may still help
us develop heuristics for PLEs as a contribution to pedagogy.

Powerful Learning Experiences with Students

There was a wide range of reports in answer to the question, “Can you think of a time as a
teacher when a PLE occurred?” We purposely kept this question broad—not specifying who
was having the PLE. Some recalled specific examples and some preferred thinking in terms of
types of PLEs that they considered common in their teaching. The specific examples that the
teachers identified unfolded over varying amounts of time, from instantaneous realizations to
learning insights that took months to develop. When “aha” moments were mentioned, it was
most often pointed out that these moments were prepared over time, that there was an
accumulation of knowledge that led up to the moment, or that the question might simmer for a
long time with the answer coming in a flash.
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 11

There were mixed responses to the question of how often PLEs happen in conjunction with that
teacher’s teaching. Some examples were:

 We are surrounded by PLEs all the time; I just may not be in the right frame of mind to
recognize when flashing by.
 They are happening all the time; I put students on the road so there is no other possible
outcome.
 Daily or weekly, certainly.
 No breakthroughs, they are prepared over time.
 Sometimes they may not remember them later, but they are powerful just the same.
 Many times it happens right then—the stars line up—I say the right thing and it
happens in a split second. Other times there is reflection on the long-term growth
process. This is possible because we have a long-term relationship.

Recognition of PLEs
Next, the participants were asked if they could recognize a powerful learning experience in
their students. Again there was a mix of responses. Of the ten people interviewed, six had a
surety that they could see them, one said that instructors are guessing, but proceeded to talk
about what s/he sees, and three stepped back from stating that they could recognize a PLE in
another. Two of these three mentioned that that they focus only on themselves in terms of
recognizing a PLE. Still, all ten were able to report on what appeared to be PLEs in their own
teaching, or at least powerful in that particular moment/context.

Aspects mentioned when seeing a PLE in another were high emotion, brightening eyes, display
of changes over time afterwards, and immediate physical change and recognition of the change
by teacher, student, and often parent. Four people mentioned seeing the playing of the musical
instrument change more globally—seeing aspects of the playing change or broader
understanding happen.

If the teachers themselves recognized a PLE while teaching, they most often mentioned that
they then used this new information later on in their teaching, generating experience and
expertise from PLEs along the way.

Expectation and Promotion of PLEs

The general feeling of the teacher participants was that the potential for PLEs to happen with
their students was always present, and was in fact why many of them have stayed teaching for
so many years. Of the ten interviewees, six actively expect and promote PLEs. One said that
s/he “very carefully orchestrates” and another said that s/he promotes through empowering the
student. Three did not have a PLE as a goal but reported that if they are awake, alert and notice
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 12

them, they are delighted when they happen. One focused totally on self and did not try and
determine if a PLE occurred in anyone else.

Possible Causes of PLEs

When asked about the factors and conditions that contributed to the likelihood of a PLE
occurring, participants had a wide range of responses. We asked this in order to determine if
the teachers had a sense that certain factors would cause a PLE more than others. Their
responses indicate that teachers, just like learners, talk about the experience of a PLE within a
tremendously wide range of attribution. Below is the full report of responses, grouped into
three categories for discussion purposes: Role of the Teacher; Role of Interpersonal
Relationships, Personal Participation, and Atmosphere; and Suzuki Philosophy. Note that some
of the factors could fit into more than one category.

Role of the Teacher

When asked about the possible causes of PLEs, the majority of factors that participants cited
were qualities of teachers or teaching (See Table 2).

Table 2
Qualities of Teachers or Teaching as Possible Causes of PLEs
Frequency Factors
6 Heightened sense of awareness/receptivity
5 Scientific approach (e.g., trial and error over time leading to accumulation of
knowledge that leads to the experience needed to know what to do)
5 Quick decisions; spontaneous analysis/instinct/“unconscious confidence”
5 Having a plan, developing a plan
5 Presence of emotions and ability to convey them, particularly caring towards
student, but also in terms of love of music, power of music
4 Instinctive knowing (e.g., intuition, gut feeling, hunch, “I just know
4 Expert knowledge of material/structure
4 Ability to gauge feelings
4 Tools/scripts
4 Feedback
4 Enthusiasm
2 Self-knowledge
2 Flexibility
2 Teacher “becomes child” (i.e., a strong empathy for the student)
1 Humility
1 Leads the feeling
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 13

1 Process-oriented, not end goal oriented

1 Ability to stay out of the way
1 Empowering
1 Use of “correct” questions
1 Encouragement
1 Conveying importance of particular work being done
1 Keen observations of motions
1 Ability to give good examples

It is clear from this list that participants saw a number of teacher qualities or pedagogical
practices that can promote PLEs. At the same time, there was no consensus on the degree to
which the teachers felt they were responsible for a PLE happening. We asked, “What
percentage of the PLE possibility is in your hands?” This question was not easy for all to
answer, and the responses again varied. Three of the interviewees answered with high
percentages. Of these, two said 90% and the third said, “a very, very high percentage.” Within
this same group, one person attributed the high percentage to his/her enthusiasm, while another
cautioned that sometimes enthusiasm is a false replacement for excellent teaching. Other
teachers signaled a difficulty in answering this question. One could not answer—implying that
it was not applicable to him/her, and two could not give a percentage because of a belief that it
is up to the student. Comments from these two were, “It is up to the student to practice once
they walk out the door” and “I am not worried about the percent. The child does the learning
and the teacher cannot make a PLE happen. If I cannot measure or cause it, then the things I
can control are what I think will be powerful for me.” Three teachers answered with 50-75%,
but added that these numbers could change depending on whether they include environmental
factors as part of their responsibility (in which case they gave a higher percentage) or, exclude
environmental factors from their responsibility (giving a lower percentage).

Role of Interpersonal Relationships, Personal Participation, and Atmosphere of Lessons

Throughout this program of research, interpersonal relationships have been cited as important.
That trend continues in this study, as the single most cited factor contributing to a PLE was the
relationship between teacher and student. The participants in this study also cited a number of
other qualities of participation and atmosphere of the lessons that they considered to be
possible causes of PLEs (See Table 3):

Table 3
Qualities of Participation and Atmosphere of the Lessons as Possible Causes of PLEs
Frequency Factors
10 Relationship
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 14

6 Waiting for readiness (i.e., not in a hurry, waiting until the time is right)
4 Learner is open to learning
4 Positive interaction
2 Atmosphere of wonder and interest, leading to discovery
2 Reflection during the learning as well as afterwards
2 Student feels “high” from doing it well, emotions
2 Trust
2 Atmosphere of openness – open to ideas, changes of plans, acceptance of the
fluidity of the here and now
1 Space, similar to openness; a spacious feel to the teaching climate
1 Teacher/student are fellow explorers
1 Teacher changes along with student
1 Unique approach for unique person
1 Knowledge that a small influence can have a huge impact
1 Exploration
1 Student having the ability to participate in choices and decision-making
1 Clear mind
1 Present in moment
1 Engagement
1 Relaxed
1 Comfortable with mistakes

Many of the teachers pointed out the advantage of having a relationship with children and
families that lasted over many years, so that a certain knowledge and trust could develop over
time. The participants also mentioned that they needed to be authentic and open so that they
can then implement many of the qualities of a lesson they felt contributed to a PLE. All of the
teachers spoke in some way about the importance of the fact that they themselves are present in
the moment and part of the experience.

Role of Suzuki Approach to Music

One of the reasons this group of participants was chosen is that the Suzuki method is built
around a philosophy of learning that would seem to promote PLEs. As discussed above, the
Suzuki approach to teaching involves co-creating learning experiences with the student in a
positive, constructive framework. In analyzing the responses regarding the causes of a PLE, we
isolated several that seemed to be especially attributable to the Suzuki approach (See Table 4):
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 15

Table 4
The Suzuki Approach as Possible Causes of PLEs

Frequency Factors
6 Suzuki, the man himself
6 Another mentor
4 The philosophy/method as a whole, or a specific aspect of the philosophy
3 The children who demonstrated beautiful playing
3 The participant’s own playing or teaching
3 Reflection over time
2 Space to experience personal discovery
2 Emotional component
2 Tone—the beautiful sounds that they heard as an emphasis of the method
1 The Eastern approach to learning and being
1 Someone else’s feedback

Most of the potential factors cited as causing PLEs are integral to Suzuki education, including
many that may spring from the long-term relationship. An additional element of the PLE that
may have strong ties to Suzuki education is the presence of high emotional states and the
conscious use of such states in teaching. Many of the participants were still outwardly
emotional about their own PLE—sometimes in tears about an event that happened over forty
years ago. There were also tears shed about more current PLEs that they experience in their
teaching, many speaking humbly about the honor of the work. Some of the teacher comments
gave clues to how they not only feel but use emotion:

 The teacher leads the feelings. The orchestra follows what I am doing and feels
what I am feeling.
 I always need to notice if the group or child is emotionally ready to move forward.
 The best way to promote PLEs is for the children to feel and express themselves
through music.
 If I don’t feel/project how important it is to me, it doesn’t happen. I enjoy the
transmitting of this importance.
 I get high from doing it well.
 When a child feels what happens when you learn, you want more.
 I get extremely excited. I enjoy it so much with them—it is a dual excitement. I can
cry right in the middle of a lesson. It is a deep experience and they know they have
moved me.

Although the roles that emotion and Suzuki philosophy played for the PLEs studied in this
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 16

paper were not direct research questions, the participants volunteered testimony of their
importance. This topic merits further study.

Additional Factors
When asked if any factors could be subtracted, teachers mentioned lesson plans, expectations
in the moment, and their own ability to play certain pieces being taught. In answer to this same
question of what could be subtracted, some teachers offered what could not be subtracted.
These included relationship, repeated practice of idea so it could stick, plans and strategies,
keeping the encounters positive (not scolding), openness on the part of learner, support from
parent, space and trust, and time.

Discussion
As in the four prior PLE studies, the strongest pattern found is, in fact, the lack of a cohesive
pattern and the uniqueness of all contributing factors. Interview I was designed to examine the
powerful learning experiences that teachers of the Suzuki Method experienced during their
initial exposure to Suzuki and his ideas. From these results we can see that even within a
cohesive group of learners no single factor or set of factors can be directly linked to the PLE.
In almost all of these cases the nature of the PLE can be described generally as relational,
intrinsic, authentic, and reflective, and yet the reported factors varied greatly and in all cases
the factors interacted in an individual and unique way. This suggests that the study of PLEs
may be limited if one attends solely to separate factors; more may be gained by studying them
as whole, complex emergent phenomena. This idea will be addressed further in the upcoming
sections.

In reflecting on their PLEs, many of the participants mentioned that their experiences became
powerful because they were responding to some deficit they felt they had. Some form of block
had previously kept them from fully engaging. The PLE was not on a continuum with previous
experience; rather, something was amiss and the experience responded to this dissonance in a
powerful way that had not been identified in any previous studies.

The second interview was designed to use the expertise of experienced Suzuki teachers to help
us better understand the role of a teacher in promoting PLEs. We asked teachers to reflect on
times when their students had experiences that appeared unique and powerful. In the course of
these interviews, four key findings emerged:

1. Teachers did not agree on whether they can always recognize a PLE.
2. Teachers did not agree on whether they can promote a PLE.
3. The range of potential causes of PLEs cited was wide and varied.
4. Teachers agreed that interpersonal relationships are a key component of PLEs in
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 17

this context.

Despite the fact that teachers offered a high number of potential factors that contribute to the
PLE, none emerged as directly causal across multiple cases. Rather, this study and all previous
studies point toward PLEs being highly unique and complex phenomena. It appears to us,
therefore, that a continued search for common, independently causal factors will not be
productive. Several concepts have emerged, though, that we believe are on the path toward a
better understanding of these transformative experiences.

The reflections and testimonies of the participants in these studies repeatedly alluded to the
complex nature of the experience, particularly to a special state of mind and body in which
everything seemed to come together. This special state has been called “liminal,” it may result
from “attunement,” and both of these are consistent with descriptions of complexity in human
systems.

Liminal Thinking
Liminal states are those where two ideas that seem contradictory are held simultaneously, and
through that holding, a third state is created. Jackson (1990) calls this the state of “betwixt and
between,” and gives an example of twilight, which holds properties of both day and night, and
has third properties of its own. Such states can be seen in design (Rowland & Wilson, 1994)
and in leadership. Martin, for example, sees the idea of holding on to “two conflicting ideas in
constructive tension” (2009, p. 7) as an important trait that innovative leaders share. He writes,
“Integrative thinking shows us a way past the binary limits of either-or” (p. 9). Palmer (1998)
also addresses either-or thinking, which he feels has given those in our society a fragmented
sense of reality. He finds it profound to “think the world together” (p. 62) as so many of the
Suzuki teachers seemed to say.

Participants in this study would often make contradictory statements in describing the causes of
a PLE. The teacher-student interactions they described were not simple or straightforward but
were taking place in that balanced third space between the contradictory assertions. A sampling
of such statements includes the following:

From the data:

 Stay out of the way…. Relationship is the key

 Pre-prescribed plan…. Modify plan instantaneously
 Orchestrated…. Use intuition
 Solid background of instruction…. Freedom of spontaneous decisions
 Many variables not related to the teacher…. What I do sets things off
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 18

 Cumulative…. Something happens in that moment

 Fix now/get it right…. Let it go
 Expertise of teacher…. Not controlling, not able to control
 Quiet/open/listening…. Active and proactive
 Part of the whole…. Conscious of myself and my impact
 Giving…. Receiving

From Shinichi Suzuki:

 Vision for potential…. No expectation in the moment

What do these seemingly paradoxical statements mean? First, we find it informative to think of
each as a single liminal state, difficult as it is for our western culture to embrace this type of
thinking. Secondly, it seems to be one way to attempt to embrace the complexity that is
revealed in PLEs. And thirdly, the statements are a caution that a simplistic view of
teaching/learning is not an answer to reaching an understanding of what is truly happening
within the relationship between student and teacher.

Attunement
Many of the factors brought up by the teachers involve intangible ideas that contribute to an
open response of the teachers to the children and with the children. This openness seems to
allow unfiltered information to reach both the teacher and student, making PLEs more likely.
As one participant said, “I am getting cues from everything—what I see, hear, and sense. I then
take direction from those cues.”

Psychologist, Carl Rogers (as cited in Griffin, 2009) looked at “necessary and sufficient
conditions for personality and relationship change.” These included three principles that
needed to be perceived by the client:

 Congruence – the match between inner feelings and outer display; the counselor is
genuine and real
 Unconditional positive regard
 Empathetic understanding—the skill of entering someone’s world as if our own

Although these ideas came from a therapeutic setting, Rogers felt they were just as important
in all interpersonal relationships (Griffin, 2009, pp. 49-50). Rogers’ ideas subsequently evolved
into the work of Psychoanalytic Therapy and Integrated Psychotherapy (Stern, 1985), and
generated the term attunement. Attunement seems to encapsulate many of the intangibles about
which the teachers in this study spoke.
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 19

Attunement begins with empathy. Empathy means being metaphorically in someone else’s
skin. As one participant teacher reported, “I become the child.” Attunement then takes the
moment beyond empathy, to finding a resonating response. In fact, the word resonate was used
several times in the interviews. Participants described a particular kind of involvement and
presence, coupled with a response that resonated or perfectly matched the uniqueness of the
child and the situation/moment.

Attunement behaviors “recast the event and shift the focus of attention to what is behind the
behavior, to the quality of feeling that is being shared” (Stern, 1998, p.141). Most of the
teachers reported the sharing that happened in the relationship with their students, which went
far beyond simple teaching technique and basics of teaching the musical instrument. This ties
in with the intuitive nature of the teaching experience that many noticed. As one participant
noted, “It is a gut reaction. I just get a feeling, I just know.” Another said, “You think of saying
the right thing and luckily it all comes together. The stars line up. You have the opportunity to
do the right thing in a split second for a tremendous result.”

Complexity
Given the contra-indication of common factors, and the relevance of ideas such as liminal
thinking and attunement, we believe that PLEs and/or the means to promote them will be better
understood as complex. By complex we mean emergent phenomena that are unpredictable,
nonlinear, and sensitive to action in the moment. Teachers and students having PLEs can be
thought of as complex adaptive systems—diverse agents that learn, interact with each other in
multiple ways, self-organize, and co-evolve with their environment (McDaniel, 2007). The
qualities of openness, receptivity, and engagement cited by teachers in this study make this
possible. And teachers responding to the uniqueness of each child, each interaction, and each
relationship can be seen as “complex responsive processes in the living present” (Stacey,
2001). We believe that exploring PLEs through the lens of complexity in future studies has
great potential.

Conclusions
Although the purpose of this descriptive study was not to prescribe pedagogy, we do suggest
areas for further research based on our findings.

In this study we learned that even when learners experience a PLE in the same context, their
PLEs cannot necessarily be traced back to a set of core common factors. PLEs appear to be
highly unique phenomena, and we recognize the need for a different approach for capturing
this uniqueness. The research methods up to this point have involved a search for distinct
factors whose presence will make a PLE more likely to occur. As Elliot Eisner writes in his
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 20

essay, Artistically Crafted Research (1998), “… artistically crafted work achieves many of its
effects by virtue of the relationships…. Collectively, these relationships display a sense of
coherence, a holding together that is so well integrated that a discussion of ‘parts’ of the work
seems awkward. In organic systems there are no parts, at least not independent ones” (p. 152).
Perhaps an approach based on narratives would better serve this type of investigation. There
are constructs here that are clearly worth further research, and a narrative approach, such as
gathering stories from students’ and teachers’ perspectives (e.g., Visser & Visser, 2000), may
help us to understand these constructs better.

We have seen across all the PLE studies that the attempt to look at people’s experiences that
are more and more similar in terms of who they are or the surface level nature of the learning
environment have not resulted in common factors, attributes, or causes. In this study with the
most similar group ever, that trend continued. This leads to stronger support for the conclusion
that PLEs are complex and highly individual. Future investigations using the narrative
approach may take us further in our understanding of these whole, complex, emergent
phenomena.

One result that was new in this study was the notion of a deficit or dissonance present in the
individual prior to the PLE. Here we saw that the PLE responded to that deficit in a profound
and personal way. We also considered for the first time the role that emotion, music, and the
Suzuki method might play in the promotion of PLEs. It is clear that there is a strong
relationship between the deep respect for the child that is a foundation of Suzuki education and
the attunement involved in many PLEs. Since these ideas all came up organically from the
interviews, a future examination of these specific attributes could be fruitful.

Finally, this was the first time we spoke with teachers about learners’ experiences and this
conversation opened up space for further inquiry into how we might be able to promote PLEs.
For example, are there skills related to liminal thinking and attunement that teachers could
develop and consciously employ? Would they be able to more accurately probe, sense, and
respond to students’ mental, physical, and emotional states as a result? Perhaps simply having
a knowledge of these terms and their meaning would move us towards more understanding of
the complexity of Powerful Learning Experiences.

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About the Authors

Carrie Reuning-Hummel is a long-time musician and Suzuki violin/viola teacher and teacher
trainer with an MS degree in Communications from Ithaca College. She has taught hundreds of
workshops throughout the continental US as well as Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, and
Israel. Carrie combines her passions for music, learning, communication, and change
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 23

management into educational designs for classrooms, businesses, and for individuals and
families. Her particular interests are in research of powerful learning experiences, helping
people find their individual strengths, and in teamwork training. Carrie is director of the Suzuki
school, Ithaca Talent Education, and also teaches at Ithaca College heading the two-year
Master’s Degree in Suzuki Pedagogy in the Music Department.

Allison Meyer completed her Masters in Communication at Ithaca College. Her areas of
research include critical theories of education and visual communication.

Gordon Rowland is Professor in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College,
Ithaca, New York, where he serves as a Faculty Member in Residence at the Center for Faculty
Excellence, and as Co-Director of the IICC Project on interdisciplinary and integrated learning.
His scholarly work focuses on systemic design, design education, and powerful learning
experiences.
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 24

Appendix A

Interview #1

We are looking at powerful learning experiences in this study. Our definition for this is:
Learning experiences that stand out in memory because of their high quality,
their impact on one’s thoughts and actions over time,
and their transfer to a wide range of contexts and circumstances.

Did you experience a powerful learning experience in the context of working with Suzuki the
man, or the approach? (If yes, proceed.)

I will be asking some specific questions about what you consider to be factors involved in your
powerful learning experience, but first, could you describe your experiences with Suzuki: the
man, the approach, and whatever leads you to make a connection to powerful learning?

Others in our studies have suggested that circumstances that preceded the experience may have
contributed to the experience. Do you feel that was the case for you? Describe this in as much
detail as you can. Do you feel there were factors of setting, or other conditions, internal or
external (e.g., your own mental state or preparation) that contributed? Did you know you
would have a powerful learning experience before it happened?

Now please describe the actual experience in as much detail as you can.

How about after the experience? For example, what has it come to mean over time? What
consequences has the experience had for you?

When did you first know the experience was or would be powerful?

What was it that made this experience so powerful? If any of these factors were changed in
any way, would that have changed the experience?

Next I am going to give you some opposing descriptions, and I would like you to let me know
how these descriptions relate to your experience.
• gradual, little by little additions of knowledge vs. sudden and large leap in understanding
• clear and predictable methods leading to a clear and predictable outcome vs. result of a
unique combination of factors in the moment
• similar to the way bricks contribute to a wall, one added on top of another to build the wall
higher, the parts contributed the experience vs. the parts came together and
(interview #1 continued)
• interacted with each other to produce far greater impact, like when gasoline and oxygen
combust in an engine
• the experience occurred according to a predetermined plan vs. the plan came from the
process
Reuning-Hummel, Meyer & Rowland: Powerful Learning Experiences 25

Appendix B

Interview #2

First, I want to ask you if you have had any thoughts about powerful learning
experiences since we talked a month or so ago.

This time we are going to talk about powerful learning experiences from the vantage
point of you as the teacher. We are going to look at three aspects of PLEs.
1- What happens when PLE occurs and how is it different from normal/typical
learning?
2- Why does it happen? What is involved?
3- How can we influence teaching or learning in the future?

Can you think of a time as a teacher when a PLE occurred? Tell me about it.

[If they have trouble thinking of a specific time, ask about it in general terms]

*Who do you think the experience was powerful for? Was it solely that of the student,
or did others in the room experience something different from the norm as well? What
do you think happened? Describe everyone in the room and what you think they
experienced. How would you describe your role? How about their roles? How did this
compare with a normal lesson?

[what about the experiences make them stand out for you? Who do you think is
experiencing PLEs in these circumstances? Tell me about what you think is happening
during these times.]

*Why do you think it was powerful? (You can think broadly and specifically, possibly
taking into consideration the people, the preparation of the student and/or you the
teacher, the atmosphere, the method itself, the decisions you made, the mood of the
room etc.)

[Is there something that you do when these experiences happen? What is your role?
What other factors are in place when these experiences happen? What is the atmosphere
or mood of the room like? Are there tangible factors? Are there intangible factors?]
What aspects of the PLE possibilities are in your hands? In the students hands?

*When did you get a sense that it was powerful?

[When do you know that the experience is or was powerful?]

*Were there moments where there might have been different paths to take and you
decided to take one rather than another? What led you to make the decision(s) that you
made? With what consequences?
IJEA Vol. 17 No. 36 - http://www.ijea.org/v17n36/ 26

[Are there times when there might be an opportunity to go down one path or another?
How do you know which path to take? What leads you to make these decisions? What
are the consequences?]

Do you seek to promote PLEs in your teaching? Is this a goal of yours? In general,
what do you feel is responsible for them taking place? What percentage of the PLE
possibility is in your hands (if any)? What are the factors that must be in place? What
factors could be subtracted?

Anything else you would like to add? Feel free to send me an email or call if you think
about something more in the next few days.
 International Journal of Education & the Arts
Editors
Eeva Anttila Terry Barrett
University of the Arts Helsinki Ohio State University

Brad Haseman Peter Webster

Queensland University of Technology University of Southern California

Managing Editor Media Review Editor

Christine Liao Christopher Schulte
University of North Carolina Wilmington Penn State University

Associate Editors
Kimber Andrews Marissa McClure
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Sven Bjerstedt Kristine Sunday

Lund University Old Dominion University

Deborah (Blair) VanderLinde

Oakland University

Advisory Board
Joni Acuff Ohio State University, USA Margaret Macintyre Latta University of British Columbia Okanagan, Canada
Jose Luis Arostegui University of Granada, Spain Deana McDonagh University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA
Stephanie Baer University of Nebraska-Kearney, USA Barbara McKean University of Arizona, USA
Julie Ballantyne University of Queensland, Australia Gary McPherson University of Melbourne
Jeff Broome Florida State University, USA Regina Murphy Dublin City University, Ireland
Pam Burnard University of Cambridge, UK David Myers University of Minnesota
Lynn Butler-Kisber McGill University, Canada Jeananne Nichols University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA
Laurel Campbell Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA Samantha Nolte-Yupari Nazareth College, USA
Patricia S. Campbell University of Washington, USA Joe Norris Brock University, Canada
Katie Carlisle Georgia State University, USA Peter O'Connor University of Auckland, New Zealand
Juan Carlos Castro Concordia University, Canada Eva Osterlind Stockholm University, Sweden
Sheelagh Chadwick Brandon University, Canada David Pariser Concordia University, USA
Sharon Chappell Arizona State University, USA Michael Parsons Ohio State University, USA
Smaragda Chrysostomou University of Athens, Greece Robin Pascoe Murdoch University, Australia
Cala Coats Stephen F. Austin State University, USA Kimberly Powell Pennsylvania State University, USA
Veronika Cohen Jerusalem Academy, Israel Monica Prendergast University of Victoria, Canada
Tracie Costantino University of Georgia, USA Clint Randles University of South Florida, USA
Teresa Cotner California State University-Chico, USA Bjørn Rasmussen Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Melissa Crum Independent Scholar Mindi Rhoades The Ohio State University, U.S.A.
Victoria Daiello University of Cincinnati, USA Martina Riedler University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA
David Darts New York University, USA Doug Risner Wayne State University, USA
John Derby University of Kansas, USA Mitchell Robinson Michigan State University, USA
Ann Dils University of North Carolina-Greensboro, USA Joan Russell McGill University, Canada
Kate Donelan University of Melbourne, Australia Johnny Saldaña Arizona State University, USA
Paul Duncum University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA Jonathan Savage Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Laura Evans University of North Texas, U.S.A. Ross Schlemmer Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Lynn Fels Simon Fraser University, Canada Shifra Schonmann University of Haifa, Israel
Susan Finley Washington State University, USA Ryan Shin University of Arizona, USA
Jill Green University of North Carolina-Greensboro, USA Richard Siegesmund University of Georgia, USA
Eve Harwood University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA Tawnya Smith Boston University, USA
Luara Hetrick University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Robert Stake University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Rita Irwin University of British Columbia, Canada Susan Stinson University of North Carolina-Greensboro, USA
Tony Jackson University of Manchester, UK Mary Stokrocki Arizona State University, USA
Neryl Jeanneret University of Melbourne, Australia Candace Stout Ohio State University, USA
Koon-Hwee Kan Kent State University, USA Matthew Thibeault University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, USA
Andy Kempe University of Reading, UK Rena Upitis Queen's University, Canada
Jeanne Klein University of Kansas, USA Raphael Vella University of Malta, Malta
Aaron Knochel Penn State University, USA Boyd White McGill University, Canada
Carl Leggo University of British Columbia, Canada Jackie Wiggins Oakland University, USA
Lillian Lewis Youngstown State University

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