Effects of Internal and External Focus of Attention During Novices' Instructional Preparation on Subsequent Rehearsal Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of internal versus external focus of attention during novice teachers' instructional preparation on their subsequent rehearsal behaviors. Thirty-two undergraduate instrumental music education students led bands in a series of three, 6-minute rehearsals on their assigned excerpt. Prior to these rehearsals, participants engaged in condition-specific score study and rehearsal preparation activities. Internal group (n = 16) participants' preparation related to knowledge of the score, whereas external group (n = 16) participants focused their preparations on observable rehearsal behaviors with a minimal amount of time devoted to score study. We systematically analyzed video recordings of these rehearsals, calculating rates per minute of teacher verbalizations across several performance and teaching variables. We found that compared to the internal group, the external group exhibited higher rates of positive/specific feedback, conducted more frequent and briefer performance segments, and more often asked for the ensemble to start without providing a directive. The internal group mentioned ensemble balance in their rehearsals more frequently than did the external group, and their verbalizations reflected greater concern for Tone Quality. A panel of independent evaluators viewed all 96 video recordings of the rehearsals (presented to them without sound) and rated the clarity and the expression of participants' conducting. We found a significant time by condition interaction for Expression, with scores for the external group increasing over time and scores for the internal group decreasing. We suggest that these results reflect the distinct and complementary benefits of each of these preparation methods for novice music teachers.