An analyzation of the 3 articles I've read, and their major overarching themes. Bauer, W. I. (2014). Assessment for music learning. In, Music learning today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music (pp. 130-150). New York: Oxford University Press. My response here.
Bledsoe, R. N. (2015). Music Education for All?. General Music Today, 28(2), 18-22. My response here. Hammel, A. M., & Hourigan, R. M. (2017). Chapter 1: Public education within a democracy. In, Teaching music to students with special needs: A label-free approach (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. My response here.
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In Bauer's Music Learning Today, Project-Based Learning is "...an approach to instructional design that operationalizes contemporary learning theories...". He further explains this through 8 elements.
1) focus on significant content that is derived from the standards and other concepts that are central to a discipline 2) develop 21st century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration 3) engage students in in-depth learning where they ask questions, utilize pertinent resources, and ultimately come to conclusions 4) are organized around an essential question, which is often ill-structured and open-ended 5) motivate by helping students understand their need to have the knowledge, concepts, and skills that will be necessary to complete the project 6) allow students freedom to make choices in how they approach the project, an element that will vary according to the developmental level of the students and their previous experience with PBL 7) include opportunities for students to receive feedback in order to revise and reflect on what is being learned 8) present students to an audience beyond classmates and the teacher These 8 points are very important because as a teacher you always want your students to stay engaged and excited in and outside of the classroom. Backward Design is a teaching tactic that when you start a concept you have the end in mind. Bauer mentions the three stages of backward design. 1) learning outcomes 2) means of assessment 3) activities and structural procedures I find this useful as an educator because it is important that I view my students as individuals rather than a group. Each student will have individual needs and if you plan ahead then you should be more efficient. Technology differentiates students paths to success. Differentiation helps students have a more individualized and personalized path. In a performance ensemble differentiation can help bring different expressive elements to the creative process when figuring out the emotion of a piece. In an innovative music learning setting differentiation can help students and teachers learn from each other from different viewpoints and possibly different ways of looking at things. Learning is defined by Bauer to be contextual, active, social, and reflective. Learning is contextual as stated by Bauer: "Students make sense of new material in terms of the context within which it is presented, which is informed by their prior knowledge of the topic." (147) The most important part is that they have prior knowledge. Learning is active because people learn by creating and making their own ideas.. Learning is social because you can talk to your professor or colleagues. Learning is most effective in the transactional rather than linear model; instead of being lectured at, having a conversation about the topic. Learning is reflective because once you reflect on a topic you can begin to apply it. Bledsoe, R. N. (2015). Music Education for All?. General Music Today, 28(2), 18-22.
Summary In this article, Bledsoe, writes about his own experiences in high school as a saxophonist. He talks about how he valued large ensembles and all that entailed in current public music education. Bledsoe also recognizes that not everyone gets the same satisfaction or meaning out of the current music education programs offered in public education. He talks about how public education hasn't changed in many many years. Bledsoe brings up three other people who have excelled in music after secondary education. These three people are unique because none of them actively participated in an ensemble in high school for more than a year. These three people focused on electric guitar, voice (rockstar), and piano. All of these professions are not offered a place in the current curriculum. Yet all three of the students attended college with a focus in music. Bledsoe tells us that as music educators we need to be versatile in the genres of music we teach. He tells us of the instrument that no one wants to call an instrument, the computer. He also tells us that getting rid of large ensembles isn't the answer. Adding options and opening more opportunities is the best way to expand the music curriculum. Thoughts I agree that our current music curriculum is very westernized and narrowed. I stray from the fact that music teachers should be teaching multiple genres based purely on students interests. I think that if we cater to every students individual needs, a sense of curriculum will disappear. I think a better solution would be to have more electives that focus on things like making music through computers and how to excel on non westernized instruments. I think that Bledsoe was on the right track that we need to broaden, but I think broaden and expand is a better use of words. Music education needs to expand to the needs of the students. Music education needs to expand, not band specifically. When we look for the source of our problem in music education, its lack of funding programs. Why don't we hire rock singers, and electric guitar teachers. I don't necessarily think its because we don't think of them as musicians. I think its more because schools don't have the funding or opportunity to hire them. I understand that enrollment is down, but I don't think it directly links only to the lack of inclusion of all instruments. A lot of the time a decrease in enrollment is due to the style of teaching and the goals that teachers make for their programs. It the whole ego vs experiences problem. Students can learn more in a grade 2 piece than a grad 6 if you focus on the experience and not your own ego. The whole purpose of band is to come together and make music. When we lose sight of that and begin to put our own ego first, band becomes less fun. Questions What are some examples of ways we can include rock/hip-hop (non-"band") music in the classroom? What are some ways we can prepare future teachers to be versatile enough to be able to teach multiple genres? |
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