Teaching for Musical Understanding
... Twenty-first-century learning: Embracing an embodied, constructive process Wiggins (2015) explains that learning is an embodied, constructive process, where understanding is derived from personal experiences, emphasising the need for a learnercentred environment that actively encourages participation in the learning process. In line with this perspective, Ambrose et al. (2010:85) assert that learning is a dynamic process in which learners actively construct understanding through their experiences. ...
... Constructivism, viewed as an educational theory, emphasises the dynamic process of knowledge construction (Mascolo & Fischer 2005:49). In a constructivist classroom that encourages interaction, learners participate in exploratory and selfdirected learning, allowing them to actively explore and discover knowledge independently (Wiggins 2015). The active involvement of learners with their immediate surroundings, leads to the generation of new knowledge, the acquisition of skills and the cultivation of positive attitudes (Wiggins 2015). ...
... In a constructivist classroom that encourages interaction, learners participate in exploratory and selfdirected learning, allowing them to actively explore and discover knowledge independently (Wiggins 2015). The active involvement of learners with their immediate surroundings, leads to the generation of new knowledge, the acquisition of skills and the cultivation of positive attitudes (Wiggins 2015). Teachers play a vital role in this process by designing well-thought-out activities that promote discovery, problem-solving and exploration, thereby facilitating the construction of meaning and the application of concepts and knowledge (Gholam 2019). ...
Background: Embracing the influential role of music in education, teachers an cultivate an environment that fosters learners’ curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge. The first author, experienced in teaching Intermediate Phase music and mathematics, was keen to explore how to bridge the gap between the educational vision for 21st-century knowledge and skills and current teaching practices through the adoption of active music integration and appropriate pedagogy to full engage learners.Aim: The study aimed to explore how general teachers, with no previous formal music exposure perceived and engaged with the process of correlating concepts and learning experiences in music and mathematics.Setting: The research was conducted over nine weeks in three South African, Afrikaans-medium, middle-class governmental primary schools located in the Tshwane North district of the Gauteng province.Methods: This study employed a qualitative case study research approach and was situated within the pedagogical design of constructive alignment for effective teaching and learning.Results: The results underscore the significance of generalist teachers’ ability to effectively incorporate music into mathematics lessons without extensive musical training or instrumental skills.Conclusion: The article challenges the notion that musical expertise is a prerequisite for integration, highlighting the fact that generalist teachers can successfully incorporate music into mathematics instruction by fostering meaningful connections between the two subjects.Contribution: This article draws attention to the importance of constructive alignment in promoting independent thinking and the practical application of knowledge. These findings offer guidance for the development of pedagogical frameworks and instructional practices that prioritise meaningful teaching and learning experiences.
... Internally, the cognitive constructional process provides new insights into knowledge inquiry driven by highly individual learning processes that receive, refine, adapt, and construct (Eni Astuti 2018). From an external perspective, the exploration of social construction has supported an understanding of how social interaction influences and shapes the process of knowledge construction (Wiggins 2015). Consequently, with its strong emphasis on both individual and social knowledge construction, SCE and its related pedagogies, such as autonomous learning, inquiry-based learning, activitybased learning, and project-based inquiry, have become the prevalent learning approaches in the twenty-first century and have been incorporated into many schools' curricula internationally (Biase 2019;Mtika and Gates 2010;Schweisfurth 2013;Sin 2015). ...
... Written documents in the form of lesson plans and reflection journals were also collected as complementary data to support the understanding and strengthen the triangulation of data interpretation (Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña 2020). In addition, to understand the adaptations and challenges of implementing well-recognised SCE pedagogies in the local context, a three-part SCE training series based on the work of Wiggins (2015) was designed to strengthen the participants' theoretical and practical understanding. The two rounds of data collection, before and after the training, and the general working procedure are summarised in Table 2. ...
... The first author, who has seven years' experience as a school music teacher and teacher trainer, was the SCE trainer for this project. The book Teaching for Musical Understanding by Wiggins (2015) was chosen as the main training resource because (a) the theoretical content of the book was based on constructivism from a well recognised international perspective, (b) the book included specific detailed lesson plans arranged by grade levels and aligned with SCE pedagogies, and (c) a Chinese translation of the book had been published in 2019. It was thus determined that the book could build the participants' confidence by helping them gain an international understanding of SCE theory in their mother tongue and by helping them see how it could be implemented in a different cultural context. ...
In the twenty-first century, there has been significant discussion worldwide about students and their learning processes. This study, designing with a student-centred education (SCE) training for three school music teachers over the nine weeks, aims to fill a gap left by the inadequate number of empirical studies examining the implementation of music lessons in China in an SCE era; it also aims to support a global understanding of SCE's pedagogical adaptation to the Chinese context by using a multiple case study conducted in Province X. The findings illustrate that although SCE has been well promoted in China and its adaptation might seem to be characterised by teacher-centred education, there might be within music education an adjusted SCE adaptation with reasonable contextual challenges and difficulties. Thus, in lieu of descriptions of the Chinese adaptation of SCE as a 'failed implementation', this study reveals a more nuanced situation in which SCE is adapted to China's specific cultural and logistical contexts with large classes, in which instruction takes place.
... The goal of music education is to enable students to derive meaning from a musical experience, and to use music as a means of self-expression. Wiggins (2001) explains that in order to learn, one needs opportunities to construct personal understanding. In schools where the principles of constructivism are applied, students' original ideas are valued along with those of their teachers. ...
... In the "Social Constructivist Theory" Vygotsky explains that everything we learn is absorbed first at the inter-psychological level and then at the intra-psychological level. Each student's unique awareness requires the lesson to be designed so that each student can participate on a different level of expertise, within the same experience (Wiggins, 2001). Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. ...
... Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. Musical concepts should be taught in the context of a specific musical piece in which they appear (Wiggins, 2001). Studies show that when children listen to a musical work, they perceive the music as a whole and not as a collection of separate sounds. ...
PHILOSOPHICAL GAMES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH Philosophical games provide an innovative transformative structure in the learning process for all levels
of formal education. The motivation is to provide elementary school teachers with an innovative
methodology for Game-based-Learning of Philosophy/in Philosophy teaching. A combination and
attentive collaboration of Philosophy, Art and games/ Game-based Learning provides new tools in
approaching and solving the problems that education faces today. Since Game-based Learning constitutes
a strong trend in technologically enhanced learning, is the, where/with the employment of gaming
elements both in learning content and learning pathways, the proposed methodology leads to a series of
novel applications about teaching philosophy that enable young agents to cultivate hypothetic-deductive
and critical thinking with a positive attitude towards others and developing feelings of constructive
antagonism. The teaching scenario proposed aims at cultivating hypothetic – deductive and critical
thought/moreover, enhances the linguistic ability in the vocabulary of ancient Greek philosophy as well.
The scenario is part of a game suite entitled “Entering the Socratic school” and targets 10–12-year-old
children. It is easy to implement on any digital platform with open-source tools used by almost every
teacher. The game elements rely on the structure of the learning content rather than on the digital tools
themselves. The methodology consists in designing a concept map and defining the game narrative, the
game levels and transitions between levels, the mechanics to be used, such as polls, badges, and
leaderboards. Online activities include digital games such as quizzes and crossword puzzles, student
generated comic stories, and a digital guide. They are complemented by physical activities involving
movement and dialogue using fishbowl techniques and Socratic circles. The proposed teaching scenario
will be implemented in the classroom in the following academic year and our work team applies
interdisciplinary approaches inspired by at least three different fields of expertise.
Keywords: Socratic games, gamified learning, philosophy, art, Moodle.
p-ISSN: 2184-044X e-ISSN: 2184-1489 ISBN: 978-989-53614-3-4 © 2022
... When "learning and context are separated, knowledge itself is seen by learners as the final product of education rather than a tool to be used dynamically to solve problems" (Herrington & Oliver, 2000, p. 23). The ideal learning and teaching experience promotes a real-life implementation of knowledge (Rule, 2006), empowering learners to engage in the solution of real-world problems firmly based within a real-world context (Wiggins, 2015). ...
... When "learning and context are separated, knowledge itself is seen by learners as the final product of education rather than a tool to be used dynamically to solve problems" (Herrington & Oliver, 2000, p. 23). The ideal learning and teaching experience promotes the real-life implementation of knowledge (Rule, 2006), empowering learners to engage in the solution of real-world problems firmly based within a real-world context (Wiggins, 2015). Authentic learning provides students the opportunity to achieve all the three goals of learning namely "acquisition of skill, understanding of concepts and the application of knowledge" (Wornyo et al., 2018, p. 57), aspects 36 key in a popular music educational environment. ...
... This aligns the pragmatic research philosophy with authentic learning, which is the theoretical framework underpinning this study. Similar to pragmatism, authentic learning deals with the real-world implementation of knowledge and seeks practical solutions (Rule, 2006;Wiggins, 2015). The pragmatic, epistemological foundation of this study is that knowledge is based on experience and shared socially. ...
Internationally, popular music is developing at an ever-increasing pace and, even though there have been some advances regarding education in popular music in South Africa, these programmes remain the exception at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of institutionalised music education. South African universities are based on a western model of organisation and remain largely Eurocentric. Although eleven South African universities offer music as a specialised degree option, the music departments predominantly focus on classical music and to a lesser degree, jazz, both music styles offering limited career opportunities. As popular music is the most dominant form of music worldwide with relevancy to the largest audience, this study aimed at obtaining a deeper understanding of the needs in South Africa regarding a tertiary degree offering in popular music.
I identified relevant stakeholders who would benefit from a tertiary degree in popular music. These included learners who selected music as a subject in the FET phase; students studying music at tertiary level; secondary school music educators presenting music at FET level; music lecturers in popular music at South African tertiary institutions; and professional musicians from the music industry. Using a mixed methods investigation, I discovered the general needs of music learners in secondary schools regarding options to study popular music at tertiary level, and the specific needs of qualitative stakeholders to answer the research questions posed in this study.
The theoretical framework underpinning the study is authentic learning. This theory suggests that learning connects concepts and theory to real-life complexities and events, encouraging students to absorb and merge knowledge through realistic and genuine situations. Informal learning practices are a vital part of popular music; at its core is authentic music-making. Authentic learning facilitates musical identity development and provides students with the tools to function effectively within the wider popular music community. Internationally, there has been a push in tertiary curricula for more student-centred courses with pedagogy and curricula that include vocational skills development. An authentic learning approach could aid the successful development and implementation of a tertiary degree in popular music.
This study identified an urgent need for a specialised degree programme in popular music in South Africa. The development of such a degree may attract more students; increase the economic viability of music departments at universities; address issues of decolonisation; meet the needs of the local music industry as a whole; and deliver employable graduates that can effectively manage a portfolio career in a diverse and ever-changing environment.
... The goal of music education is to enable students to derive meaning from a musical experience, and to use music as a means of self-expression. Wiggins (2001) explains that in order to learn, one needs opportunities to construct personal understanding. In schools where the principles of constructivism are applied, students' original ideas are valued along with those of their teachers. ...
... In the "Social Constructivist Theory" Vygotsky explains that everything we learn is absorbed first at the inter-psychological level and then at the intra-psychological level. Each student's unique awareness requires the lesson to be designed so that each student can participate on a different level of expertise, within the same experience (Wiggins, 2001). Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. ...
... Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. Musical concepts should be taught in the context of a specific musical piece in which they appear (Wiggins, 2001). Studies show that when children listen to a musical work, they perceive the music as a whole and not as a collection of separate sounds. ...
"One of the functions of education is the transmission of culture from generation to generation. (Taba, 1962). Yet it is questionable whether music educators are fulfilling this mission... Listeners at concerts of classical music (whether of Western or other traditions) are dwindling and the crowd that frequents the concert halls is mostly older. It seems that educational policy does not invest enough to preserve the gifts of previous generations. In many schools, teachers prefer to please their students by focusing on music that the students listen to (with great enjoyment and expertise without any need for guidance from their teachers) rather than challenging them to become acquainted with musical worlds that are not closed to them and thus complex, classical music is pushed to the margins. Yes, the ones who composed this music were mostly men, mostly white and are mostly dead. However, these unfortunate facts do not negate the fact that the music they created is a gift. In this paper/presentation we will argue that what prevents teachers from introducing their pupils to this music is not political correctness but rather the absence of teaching methods that make listening to unfamiliar music challenging, engaging and fun. This introduce pedagogies for teaching classical music in primary schools and preschool. The rationale behind the methods will be discussed while looking at the applications in teaching complex music among elementary and preschool children. One of the innovative methods for teaching is the ""Musical Mirror Method"" which was developed by Veronika Cohen (Cohen, 1997). This method is a tool for teaching music listening using simple movements. Based on the principle that movement gestures are the source of musical gestures, the movements project into space, make visible the underlying source of the musical events. The children observe, and join in the movements of the mirror which to evoke an intuitive and spontaneous understanding of the music. As children develop their own musical mirrors, they learn to reflect deeply about their own musical experience, their hearing of the particular piece. Alternatively, graphic representations are presented to the children and later developed by them. Children play, sing compose in these lessons – all develop familiarity with great music and some feel a deep connection which can enrich their lives. They learn how to construct music out of sound."
... The goal of music education is to enable students to derive meaning from a musical experience, and to use music as a means of self-expression. Wiggins (2001) explains that in order to learn, one needs opportunities to construct personal understanding. In schools where the principles of constructivism are applied, students' original ideas are valued along with those of their teachers. ...
... In the "Social Constructivist Theory" Vygotsky explains that everything we learn is absorbed first at the inter-psychological level and then at the intra-psychological level. Each student's unique awareness requires the lesson to be designed so that each student can participate on a different level of expertise, within the same experience (Wiggins, 2001). Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. ...
... Moreover, since we perceive everything we do through the lens of our previous experience, we are, in essence, a summary of our previous experiences. Musical concepts should be taught in the context of a specific musical piece in which they appear (Wiggins, 2001). Studies show that when children listen to a musical work, they perceive the music as a whole and not as a collection of separate sounds. ...
... These experiences have propelled my interest in seeking connections between what occurs in indigenous learning and teaching settings and contemporary issues in Ugandan formal schools. In my work as a scholar, I became aware of social-constructivist theories of learning and teaching (Bruner, 1996;Rogoff, 1990;Vygotsky, 1978;Wenger & Wenger-Trayner, 2015;Wiggins, 2015) and was struck by the similarities between this educational perspective and the indigenous learning and teaching processes I experienced as a child. I include a brief discussion of social-constructivist perspectives on learning and teaching because my understanding of these ideas also informed my data analysis in this study. ...
... Social constructivists suggest that learning is a process through which learners construct their own understanding (Fosnot, 2005;Goodman, 1978;Wiggins, 2015). Constructivists envision learning as holistic, social, and contextual, occurring through interactive engagement with others through meaningful and meaning-making interactions, both verbal and non-verbal. ...
... Learners work with big ideas and are empowered to evaluate their learning progress. Writing for music educators, Wiggins (2015) summarizes the basic tenets of constructivist learning: ...
This article reports on a study that investigated the namadu healing ritual of the Bagwere people of Uganda. The ritual involves drumming, singing and dancing, as well as sacrificing chicks, birds and animals towards gaining spiritual, emotional and physical healing of afflicted clan members. This music and dance mediated ritual is no longer commonly performed in African indigenous communities, and has not previously received scholarly attention. The current study sought to find out the deeper meaning of this indigenous heritage; what modern society could learn from it; and its viability in a contemporary context. Ethnographic data was obtained through observation, interviews, focus group discussions, and analysis of extant videos and photographs. The findings revealed that the namadu ritual embeds cultural identity, and increases agency in communities. Further, the music and dance have been re-invented into a royal and social entertainment, and a cultural festival for the Bagwere Cultural Union (BCU) and communities, respectively.
... This was a reified (Wenger, 1998) practice that offered opportunity for the learners and me, as teacher, to reflect on the experience (Dewey, 1938(Dewey, /1998. Through discussion, negotiation, collaboration, consensus building (Schweisfurth, 2013), and intersubjective interchange (Bruner, 1996, p. 56), learners constructed deeper musical understanding (Vygotsky, 1978;Wiggins, 2015) of these experiences, which increased "student agency for self-determination" (Darron & Sharon, 2019, p. 732), as "unique and self-actualizing agent[s]" (Mpho, 2018, p.13). ...
... [and] to take part in music activities is of central importance to our very humanness" (Higgins, 2012, p. 45). Participatory musical experiences embed a "decolonization and reinhabitation, [that] makes one more human" (Gruenewald, 2003a, p. 4) and facilitate musical understanding (Wiggins, 2015). ...
... In short, indigenous learning pedagogies, as is also espoused in a social constructivist vision of learning, involve creation of contexts within which: learners actively engage in real-life, problem-solving experiences that make meaning to them as a group and as individuals, which enables them to understand; learners work with wholes, and they think more deeply about the parts and how those parts interact to make the wholes (Wiggins, 2015(Wiggins, , 2016; learners are respected as co-creators of knowledge (Schweisfurth, 2013), which enhances multiple perspectives and deepens understanding; learning experiences are contextual, and learners gain abilities of transfer knowledge and skills to different and related contexts (Darron & Sharon, 2019); learners freely and socially interact with peers and teachers during the experience; learners work to achieve known aims and objectives, and assess their progress; and assessment involves the learners and teachers, and it is part of the process of learning not outside it. ...
This autoethnographic study investigated possibility of incorporating indigenous pedagogies into Ugandan school music and, possibly, general education. School music education in Uganda currently occurs within a colonial-influenced system that does not connect with learners’ indigenous cultures. The colonial system fosters belief that “western” is modernity and “indigenous” is backwardness that should be erased. School music learning is currently experienced in a teacher-dominated, “banking” (Freire, 1970) school system that disempowers learners and produces graduates who cannot address the musical needs of their worlds. Ugandan government measures to improve music and general education have not improved the situation. Literature on the role that indigenous pedagogies could play in a contemporary music education is limited. Through this study, I sought to understand what might happen when indigenous education pedagogies are incorporated in a contemporary, formal school setting. Informed by relevant literature, I interrogated and analyzed my own learning and teaching experiences in Ugandan communities and schools and found that embedding indigenous learning and teaching processes in music classrooms fostered growth in learner leadership, ownership, agency, and identity in the context of mutually shared participatory experiences that learners found relevant and meaningful—experiences that engendered joyful, passionate, collaborative learning, and reification of reflective practice among learners.
... These experiences have propelled my interest in seeking connections between what occurs in indigenous learning and teaching settings and contemporary issues in Ugandan formal schools. In my work as a scholar, I became aware of social-constructivist theories of learning and teaching (Bruner, 1996;Rogoff, 1990;Vygotsky, 1978;Wenger & Wenger-Trayner, 2015;Wiggins, 2015) and was struck by the similarities between this educational perspective and the indigenous learning and teaching processes I experienced as a child. I include a brief discussion of social-constructivist perspectives on learning and teaching because my understanding of these ideas also informed my data analysis in this study. ...
... Social constructivists suggest that learning is a process through which learners construct their own understanding (Fosnot, 2005;Goodman, 1978;Wiggins, 2015). Constructivists envision learning as holistic, social, and contextual, occurring through interactive engagement with others through meaningful and meaning-making interactions, both verbal and non-verbal. ...
... Learners work with big ideas and are empowered to evaluate their learning progress. Writing for music educators, Wiggins (2015) summarizes the basic tenets of constructivist learning: ...
I studied the revival project that involved teaching and (re)learning of a nearly extinct music tradition of the Basoga people from Uganda, to find out what might be learnt about and from those learning processes, and insights that might be applicable in formal educational settings. The revival project activities were documented (with participants’ permission) and publicized through a large number of audio and audiovisual recordings, photographs, and reports from community and school settings. Treating this documentation as extant data, I engaged in a qualitative analysis of the social and musical interactions between and among the two surviving master musicians and the youths to understand the nature and meaning of these learning experiences. Emergent themes reflected that nurturing identity, agency, and joy-filled passion among the learners were the main contributing factors that facilitated a successful transfer of knowledge and skills from the elderly master musicians to multitudes of youths.
... This example illustrates that teachers are cultural and social beings with multi-faceted identities (Cooper et al., 2011), who bring their own life experiences, languages, values and cultures to their classrooms (Kohler, 2015;Lustig & Koester, 2013), and who benefit from (cultural) exploratory and discovery processes. Teachers need, however, to be explicitly aware of this, and also what learners 'bring' to the classroom (Wiggins, 2001). Cencen (HP2/Chinese) goes through a process of personal exploration and reflection in her own time, examining what she already knows and believes. ...
... Similarly, teachers should also engage in processes of self-reflection and exploration around their linguistic and cultural backgrounds, which, eventually, may enable teachers' facilitation of exploratory and discovery opportunities for their learnersalso facilitating the creation of a third space (Kramsch, 1993;Lo Bianco, et al., 1999). Since teachers are cultural and social beings with multi-faceted identities (Cooper et al., 2011), who bring their own life experiences, languages, values and cultures to their classrooms (Kohler, 2015;Lustig & Koester, 2013), they need to develop an explicit awareness of what they and their learners bring to the classroom (Wiggins, 2001). Cencen's (HP2/Chinese) example of an active engagement in the process of (linguistic and cultural) self-reflection and exploration (refer to Section 5.4.1, p. 99) highlights the importance of teachers' development of their own critical cultural awareness (Kramsch & Nolden, 1994), and eventually their ICC, by (re)discovering their own culture(s) and first language (Newton et al., 2010). ...
... Without processes of reflection and discovery of their own backgrounds, teachers might not be able to develop an intercultural approach to language teaching, and therein might fail to help their learners develop their own ICC. Given that teachers are cultural and social beings with multi-faceted identities (Cooper et al., 2011), bringing their own life experiences, languages, values and cultures to their classrooms (Kohler, 2015;Lustig & Koester, 2013), teachers need to develop an explicit awareness of what they and their learners bring to the classroom (Wiggins, 2001). This awareness may support teachers' facilitation of the third space in their learners (Kramsch, 1993;Lo Bianco, et al., 1999). ...
In the last two decades, language teaching around the world have shifted the place of culture from the periphery to the core, acknowledging that cultures shape language and how it is used. This has led to the development of intercultural language teaching. The benefits of this approach and how teachers understand and implement it are part of a growing field. However, few studies have addressed the issue of the influence of language teachers’ level of proficiency in this context. Language teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand schools are encouraged to follow an intercultural approach in their classrooms. In 2010, a report was published to provide language teachers with an intercultural communicative language teaching (iCLT) framework of principles to integrate culture into the teaching of languages (Newton, Yates, Shearn, & Nowitzki, 2010). The report focuses on the development of intercultural capacities to communicate empathetically and respectfully with people of different languages and cultures, rather than simply concentrating on language skills. This study investigated the relationships between language teachers’ conceptualisations of iCLT and their practices. Furthermore, it investigated whether teachers’ level of proficiency in the target language was related to their conceptualisations and practices. Subsequently, potential points of departure (i.e., opportunities) for language teachers’ development of interculturality in their classrooms are illustrated. These examples may also be useful beyond the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. Given that the iCLT framework (Newton et al., 2010) was influenced by intercultural theory from various contexts, this study is part of a global conversation around the implementation and development of the intercultural dimension in the language classroom. Qualitative data were gathered from semi-structured interviews, teachers’ reflections, and classroom observations of 16 language teachers of Chinese, Japanese, French, and Spanish (four of each) in Aotearoa New Zealand. Data were analysed using Newton et al.’s (2010) framework of principles as a lens for interpretation. The findings demonstrated an inconsistent relationship between conceptualisations and practices. Evidence of a principle in teachers’ conceptualisations was not a reliable indication of the principle in their practices, or vice versa. The data were also quantified to provide a visual depiction of teachers’ conceptualisations and practices, and the relative difficulty participants experienced with implementing aspects of the principles in their classrooms. As a contribution to the field of iCLT, the findings suggest that neither being a first language (L1) speaker, nor proficiency in the target language, ensured teachers’ implementation of iCLT. Across all languages and teachers’ levels of proficiency, participants generally demonstrated an implicit potential for intercultural teaching. Implicit potential is understood as unconscious, unplanned, and automatic abilities, conceptualisations and practices, attributes that were investigated to indicate teachers’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and iCLT. Furthermore, the target language did not appear to play a role in the development of the intercultural dimension in teachers’ classes. There was some evidence of the efficacy of teacher professional development on intercultural communicative language teaching, highlighting that professional development appeared to be most effective when interculturally targeted. Finally, another contribution of this thesis is an illustrative narrative for language teachers, constructed to summarise the complexity inherent in the iCLT principles; to demonstrate each principle’s inextricability from the others; and to facilitate their implementation.
https://catalogue.library.auckland.ac.nz/permalink/f/t37c0t/uoa_alma21280604330002091
... 2). Culturally responsive teaching is key to a democratic approach to school music education: it accepts and affirms students' cultural identity, instills critical thinking (Ladson-Billings, 1995), accommodates the increasing number of ethnically diverse students (migrants, refugees), and enables learner agency (Wiggins, 2015). Aligned curricula that are based on the assumption that each student comes to class with their own biography are the way to democratic education (Aróstegui, 2011;Jorgensen, 2023). ...
... In music education, such an approach implies posing problems and questions that emerge in the real music world (Tobias et al., 2015) so that meta-cognitive skills can be fostered in the classroom. Teaching music in ways that parallel its nature and function in real life (Folkestad, 2006;Wiggins, 2015) creates the conditions for the students to develop musicianship of the 21st century. ...
This article reports a theoretical investigation on music curriculum and explores the factors that shape the practice of music education in terms of the official and other music curricula. We drew on relevant literature and explored four key aspects of the design and implementation of music curriculum: policy-making contexts, teaching practices, students’ practices and attitudes, and school contexts. Currently, music education research focuses on student-centredness as an important element in music practice. Embracing students’ various ways of musical engagement as well as their music identities promotes further development of their musical-social skills and enhances their interests. We suggest the development of an updated and comprehensive music curriculum which is student-centred and based on new musical literacies that respond to students’ daily musical needs and address the challenges of today’s social context. Our suggestion is encompassed in five core principles: 1) Getting to know our students, 2) Discussing the teaching-learning goals with our students, 3) Adapting to local conditions, 4) Bottom-up and top-down perspectives: Finding the balance through authentic classroom activities, and 5) Contextualising assessment. The article advocates for the effective use of all types of music curricula so that students become active, responsible and critical thinkers in their personal, social and musical lives.
... 2). Culturally responsive teaching is key to a democratic approach to school music education: it accepts and affirms students' cultural identity, instills critical thinking (Ladson-Billings, 1995), accommodates the increasing number of ethnically diverse students (migrants, refugees), and enables learner agency (Wiggins, 2015). Aligned curricula that are based on the assumption that each student comes to class with their own biography are the way to democratic education (Aróstegui, 2011;Jorgensen, 2023). ...
... In music education, such an approach implies posing problems and questions that emerge in the real music world (Tobias et al., 2015) so that meta-cognitive skills can be fostered in the classroom. Teaching music in ways that parallel its nature and function in real life (Folkestad, 2006;Wiggins, 2015) creates the conditions for the students to develop musicianship of the 21st century. ...
This article reports a theoretical investigation on music curriculum and explores the factors that shape the practice of music education in terms of the official and other music curricula. We drew on relevant literature and explored four key aspects of the design and implementation of music curriculum: policy-making contexts, teaching practices, students' practices and attitudes, and school contexts. Currently, music education research focuses on student-centredness as an important element in music practice. Embracing students' various ways of musical engagement as well as their music identities promotes further development of their musical-social skills and enhances their interests. We suggest the development of an updated and comprehensive music curriculum which is student-centred and based on new musical literacies that respond to students' daily musical needs and address the challenges of today's social context. Our suggestion is encompassed in five core principles: 1) Getting to know our students, 2) Discussing the teaching-learning goals with our students, 3) Adapting to local conditions, 4) Bottom-up and top-down perspectives: Finding the balance through authentic classroom activities, and 5) Contextualising assessment. The article advocates for the effective use of all types of music curricula so that students become active, responsible and critical thinkers in their personal, social and musical lives.
... 362). According to Wiggins (2015), processes of learning to understand and use musical concepts are best approached in context and within a social constructivist frame where learning is interactive and interrelational, with the intention to 'foster and support learners' and teachers' capacity to create and understand music in the most meaningful and productive ways ' (p. 35). ...
... This expansion reinforces the importance of developing not just the ability to understand music through a preconceived theoretical lens ('learning music theory') but also the ability to apply and generate theory through real-life experience. Following Wiggins (2015), we see educational and scholarly advantages in talking about how students learn to actively 'theorise' and 'conceptualise' music. For the purposes of this article, we define 'theorising' as the active processes of students developing their own ideas and theories about the structures, forms, and functions of music and testing them through active application and reflection. ...
This study examines the learning processes that take place when upper secondary students apply and generate theories while drawing on their preferred music and writing songs of their own. One music theory teacher and two researchers collaborated to design an emergent sequence of lessons focusing on students’ interests, questions and creative work. Interpretive and musical analysis of students’ progress suggests that learning to theorise through modes and sounds from popular music was experienced as motivating, involved similar difficulties as traditional major/minor-based approaches, and resulted in original songs that the students enjoyed and were proud to perform for their peers.
... The notion of "agency" has been explored within educational research in general (e.g., Bourdieu, 1977), as well as music education research in particular (e.g., Wiggins, 2015). ...
... In educational contexts, the individual learner must possess a sense of personal agency over their thoughts and actions. Related areas of scholarship that inform learner agency include critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), student-centered learning (Blair, 2009), constructivism (Scott, 2011), and musical agency (Wiggins, 2015). There has been a number of scholars who advanced theories of agency development philosophically (Bourdieu, 1977) and empirically (Calabrese Barton & Tan, 2010). ...
Creative musical activities typically include improvising and composing (Running, 2008) as well as arranging (Piazza & Talbot, 2020). Composition activities have been examined within secondary instrumental ensembles (Hopkins, 2015). The notion of creative agency has been examined philosophically (Kanellopoulos, 2015; Katz-Buonincontro, 2018) and empirically (Muhonen, 2016). However, few, if any, studies have explored creative agency within instrumental music contexts. The purpose of this study was to describe creative musical agency within the context of composition activities in secondary instrumental music settings. Research questions included (1) How do participants (teachers and students) describe the instruction of composition activities to foster creative musical agency? (2) How do participants (teachers and students) describe the social considerations of composition activities in fostering creative musical agency? (3) How do participants (teachers and students) describe the negotiation of power in relation to composition activities to foster creative musical agency? Through a multicase study design (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016), three sites were selected that included secondary instrumental music programs participating in composition activities during the spring 2022 semester. Participants included three secondary instrumental music teachers as well as three to five of their students within each instrumental ensemble. The “cases” were bound by the specific instrumental music program at each site. Data included multiple individual interviews with teacher participants, focus group interviews with student participants at each site, observations of rehearsals and lessons, artifacts (including video recordings of observations, video recordings of final performances of compositional products, and any instructional materials including books or worksheets), and field notes. Data analysis began following data collection at each site. All interviews with teacher and student participants were transcribed and coded, and codes were collapsed into themes. The themes that emerged included the pedagogy of composition activities, the role of power, and individual as well as social aspects of agency development. Findings revealed similarities among teacher participants in how they approached composition activities, including the use of improvisation as a precursor to composition (Thornton, 2013). Teacher participants also shared the intended goal of deeper musical understanding as a result of the composition activity. Each teacher participant approached the role of power differently, from being held primarily by the teacher, to being shared between teacher and students, to being fully transferred to students during the composition activities. The ways in which students flexed against the parameters and the social considerations of classroom environment and collaboration were considered in relation to creative musical agency. A framework for creative musical agency is offered, based on the framework developed by Calabrese Barton and Tan (2010) involving the assertion of identity within figured worlds. Implications for teaching practice and recommendations for future research are presented.
... Therefore, although there are doubtless many intermediate or mixed stances between these two extremes (see the conceptions described in chapter "How Teachers and Students Envisage Music Education: Towards Changing Mentalities") and many nuances in this respect, research has convincingly shown that a student-centred learning leads in the medium to long term to more long-lasting and transferable outcomes. This is not just the case for music learning (e.g., Green, 2017;McPherson & Welch, 2012;Wiggins, 2015) but also for many other domains of learning (e.g., National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018;Pozo, 2014;Sawyer, 2015). Here too, as in music teaching, the traditional approach has been on the learning of formal codes (grammar in the case of language whether this be the mother tongue or a foreign language, equations in mathematics and physics, syllogisms in philosophy), with fairly poor results. ...
... This is the basic foundation of learning assumed in this book, based on the work of Pozo (2008). Of course, the reader could find alternative, or rather complementary, stories in other sources (e.g., McPherson, & Welch, 2012;Shively, 2015;Sloboda, 2005, Wiggins, 2015. Likewise, in order not to exhaust the reader's patience, many of the statements made below are supported by recent research in Psychology of Learning (e.g., Bransford et al., 2000;Haties & Yeats, 2014;National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018;Pozo, 2008;Sawyer, 2015), so we refer to these sources for further developments or to seek theoretical or empirical support for them. ...
If we asked any music teacher or even any student what you must actually learn to be a good musician or, specifically, to play an instrument well, we would perhaps find there was some agreement that you have to learn to technically master musical language and the actual instrument in question.
... Presently, I teach future m usic educators. When I discuss my curriculum in class, they typically ask me why I choose to teach composition and what I had hop ed to accomplish by foc using m y curriculum on a typically peripheral aspect of m usic education (Hickey, 2003;Wiggins, 2015). They also ask me what m y students gained from this approach . ...
... Teaching music as global learning lo 1 Elements of learning theories and practices combined to teach the individual Figure · When teaching an inherently subjective discipline such as music composition in the formalized context of school, I probed questions such as, How do I measure students' progress in developing musical understanding (Wiggins 2015)? How do 1 define progress in an environment where learning is individual and subjective? ...
For many music teachers, assessment of student work holds several challenges: How to employ a concrete grading system for an inherently subjective, artistic experience; how to organize and present content for PK-5 grade levels so that learning is both meaningful and assessable; and how to design a music curriculum that ultimately encourages a powerful connection to music long after students have left the classroom. To help teachers face these challenges, the chapter demonstrates a music composition–based curriculum in which students use an iPad and other technologies to assess themselves and demonstrate their musical thinking, their progress, and development of compositional skills through self-reflective discussions of their work. Four sections describe iAssessment: (1) the background, context, and description of the music composition curriculum; (2) the techniques used to combine technology with composition effectively; (3) a description and analysis of student work that demonstrates the development of their musical thinking; and (4) thoughts and conclusions.
... Music education scholar Jackie Wiggins explains that scaffolding occurs when "a novice works side by side with an expert, with the novice performing the portions of the task in which he is competent and the expert filling in and providing support where necessary." 23 In both modern band and elementary general music classrooms, teachers can add scaffolding, such as using a dry-erase marker to write the names of pitches on a plastic keyboard. 24 As students play the keyboard, the pitch names begin to disappear. ...
Modern band programs have spread throughout the United States to create learner-centered and culturally affirming school music experiences for children. The four key concepts of modern band, (1) approximation and scaffolding, (2) decision-making, (3) iconic notation, and (4) culturally sustaining (music education), are congruent with many elementary general music philosophies and pedagogies. This article examines intersections of modern band and general music practices and demonstrates how typical classroom instruments (e.g., unpitched percussion, ukuleles, xylophones, and metallophones) can be used to implement key modern band concepts in an elementary school general music setting.
... Representing that valued and distinguished by educational systems and their stakeholders as the goals of music and artistic education, the examples described reflect dialectically and within the context of various educational systems, cultures, and concepts of music, learning, education as well as teaching practices in which the values and ideals of the active school encounter little resonance. Indeed: composition practices as well as improvisation; the exploratory experiences associated with student-centered teaching, learning, and assessment pathways -attributing priority to the challenge of imagining sounds and sound relationships as ways of solving musical problems; ways of interpreting, problematizing, relating and comparing, classifying and transferring constructed on sound and musical experiences and realities (thinking in sound, thinking in music, sound before symbol, audiation); the importance paid to motivation and its selfregulatory processes and, for this reason, also to the social, cognitive, psychological, and cultural contexts most favorable to the "natural" and authentic conditions in which it thrives (social interaction and co-operation, non-formal environments, group work, access to and contact with diversified instrumental experimentation and listening activities); connections between the musical reality of the world and culture (contact with different musical styles and languages with practices and cultures approximating their interests and reality)-account for some of the concepts, formulations, and proposals that, in what they reveal from an educational perspective and echoing different theories and authors, seem to more closely resemble the scope for the co-constructing of meaningful music learning (Webster, 2011;Wiggins, 2001Wiggins, /2003. Furthermore, through this approach, alternative models to teacher-centered methods may be considered, discussed, planned, and researched. ...
El Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP), uno de los modelos centrados en el estudiante, prioriza el aprendizaje cooperativo/basado en desafíos, los docentes como “facilitadores” y procesos de evaluación formativa. En música, la búsqueda de formas para mejorar la (co)construcción del aprendizaje y respuestas complementarias a los métodos expositivos resuena con propuestas de composición, algunas de las cuales se han incorporado en los planes de estudios de Educación Musical en Portugal. Lo que caracteriza el ABP, qué datos existen sobre su aplicación y qué vínculos podemos establecer con el aprendizaje musical para sistematizar su implementación y estudio a través de la composición reflejan las preguntas de esta revisión bibliográfica. Pensar en el sonido/música, aprendizaje holístico, pensamiento creativo, proporcionan los conceptos a través de los cuales discutimos los fundamentos del modelo. Los resúmenes generan las siguientes conclusiones: el estudio del ABP arroja tanto beneficios como limitaciones, y la investigación sobre sus principios teóricos es más abundante; la composición representa un proceso de resolución de problemas, y el aprendizaje musical a través de la composición puede tomar forma que se alinee con el ABP; el ABP funciona como un modelo orientador para la planificación, acción e investigación musical/educativa, particularmente a través de la composición.
... Representing that valued and distinguished by educational systems and their stakeholders as the goals of music and artistic education, the examples described reflect dialectically and within the context of various educational systems, cultures, and concepts of music, learning, education as well as teaching practices in which the values and ideals of the active school encounter little resonance. Indeed: composition practices as well as improvisation; the exploratory experiences associated with student-centered teaching, learning, and assessment pathways -attributing priority to the challenge of imagining sounds and sound relationships as ways of solving musical problems; ways of interpreting, problematizing, relating and comparing, classifying and transferring constructed on sound and musical experiences and realities (thinking in sound, thinking in music, sound before symbol, audiation); the importance paid to motivation and its selfregulatory processes and, for this reason, also to the social, cognitive, psychological, and cultural contexts most favorable to the "natural" and authentic conditions in which it thrives (social interaction and co-operation, non-formal environments, group work, access to and contact with diversified instrumental experimentation and listening activities); connections between the musical reality of the world and culture (contact with different musical styles and languages with practices and cultures approximating their interests and reality)-account for some of the concepts, formulations, and proposals that, in what they reveal from an educational perspective and echoing different theories and authors, seem to more closely resemble the scope for the co-constructing of meaningful music learning (Webster, 2011;Wiggins, 2001Wiggins, /2003. Furthermore, through this approach, alternative models to teacher-centered methods may be considered, discussed, planned, and researched. ...
El Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP), uno de los modelos centrados en el estudiante, prioriza el aprendizaje cooperativo/basado en desafíos, los docentes como “facilitadores” y procesos de evaluación formativa. En música, la búsqueda de formas para mejorar la (co)construcción del aprendizaje y respuestas complementarias a los métodos expositivos resuena con propuestas de composición, algunas de las cuales se han incorporado en los planes de estudios de Educación Musical en Portugal. Lo que caracteriza el ABP, qué datos existen sobre su aplicación y qué vínculos podemos establecer con el aprendizaje musical para sistematizar su implementación y estudio a través de la composición reflejan las preguntas de esta revisión bibliográfica. Pensar en el sonido/música, aprendizaje holístico, pensamiento creativo, proporcionan los conceptos a través de los cuales discutimos los fundamentos del modelo. Los resúmenes generan las siguientes conclusiones: el estudio del ABP arroja tanto beneficios como limitaciones, y la investigación sobre sus principios teóricos es más abundante; la composición representa un proceso de resolución de problemas, y el aprendizaje musical a través de la composición puede tomar forma que se alinee con el ABP; el ABP funciona como un modelo orientador para la planificación, acción e investigación musical/educativa, particularmente a través de la composición.
... This article reports on a creative collaborative project that I realised with students at the Uni- Informed by social constructivist and sociocultural perspectives on creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999;Rogoff, 2003;Sawyer, 2003Sawyer, , 2007Wiggins, 2014Wiggins, , 2016, the article focuses on the group creative process of four undergraduate music educa- ...
This open access book on the theme of group creativity in music education gathers the contributions of an international team of experts who participated in the 2022 conference Creative Interactions at the University of Music and Theatre Munich, Germany (https://creativeinteractions2022.eu/).
The focus of the volume is on creative learning, creative teaching, and teaching for group creativity in music education. These are distinct, but interconnected aspects of educational situations in which learners can develop their creative agency and identity, teachers devise imaginative approaches to make learning more meaningful, and adopt opportune strategies to foster the learners’ collaborative creative abilities.
Related themes that are referenced in the contributions concern:
• the design of creative processes, i.e. how to plan for effective group creative learning,
• the relationship between creativity and artistry, i.e. how to sharpen the learners’ aesthetic sensibility and integrate perception, cognition, emotion and artistic action in the learning process,
• the role of interdisciplinary connections between music, movement/dance and the arts in enriching the learners’ creative experiences,
• relevant psychological and cultural aspects as well as therapeutic implications of creative processes in education.
The chapters provide both research-based perspectives and accounts of creative practices from diverse educational contexts, including primary and secondary education, higher education, instrumental tuition, out-of-school contexts, and online learning.
... I see this kind of teaching/learning activity as a possible strategy to cope with the apparent opposition of tradition and creativity in the context of classical music training. The resulting group composition -a chamber music quartet for flute, two violins and piano -was presented at the performance offered within the Conference Creative Interactions 2022. 1 Informed by social constructivist and sociocultural perspectives on creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999;John-Steiner, 2000;Rogoff, 2003;Sawyer, 2003Sawyer, , 2007Sawyer, , 2012Wiggins, 2014Wiggins, , 2016, the article focuses on the group creative process of four undergraduate music education students within the module 'Artistic Practice' led by the author in the context of the course of studies Elemental Music Education (Elementare Musikpädagogik -EMP). The EMP programme is a learning environment in which creativity is an integral and foundational part of the micro-culture of the relatively small group of students (around 20 in total) that attend the four years of the Bachelor. ...
Higher music education students often have limited opportunities to unfold their musical creativities during their Western classical music studies. The interpretation and performance of the works of great masters still largely dominates instrumental music instruction, thus reducing the possibilities for students to nurture their personal artistry as well as to develop creative skills that are important for their pedagogical activity as music teachers. However, students’ creative development does not necessarily have to be at odds with the classical tradition, but rather it may find valuable stimuli in it.
Informed by social constructivist and sociocultural perspectives on creativity, this article focuses on the creative process of a group of undergraduate music education students within the module “Artistic Practice” led by the author in the context of the course of studies Elemental Music Education at the University of Music and Theatre Munich. The musical activity aimed to enhance students’ creativity by using the classical instrumental literature that belongs to their cultural identity as musicians – the one they daily interpret or listen to, but do not usually creatively intervene on – as the starting point for a group creative journey. Students analysed and deconstructed some pieces of their own choice, identified interesting musical ideas – e.g. harmonic structure, musical texture, or rhythmic organisation – rearranged and recombined these elements in new ways, integrated further ideas of their own, and eventually assembled them to construct new music pieces. This collaborative creative process of manipulation and transformation of the material went through recursive phases of exploration, improvisation, evaluation of the outcomes, up to writing the final score of a group composition that was presented live among the artistic performances in the context of the 2022 Conference Creative Interactions in Munich.
The article also discusses relevant pedagogical strategies, the role of the teacher as designer and facilitator of creative learning processes as well the challenges and artistic/pedagogical implications of this kind of creative approach to classical music.
... Certains auteurs relient la créativité musicale à des activités comme la composition, les arrangements, l'improvisation (Azzara, 2002 ;Elliot, 1995 ;Jorgenson, 2008), tandis que d'autres (Hickey, 2003 ;Wiggins, 2001) affirment que la créativité musicale devrait être étudiée en réponse aux particularités d'un processus créatif et non d'un produit final. Parmi les théories qui prennent en compte ces différents aspects de la créativité, Kaufman et Sternberg (2010) parlent de théories systémiques qui présentent une vue d'ensemble de la créativité. ...
Cette recherche sur la créativité musicale a pour objectif de dégager les éléments clés du processus créatif et la trajectoire de la créativité d’élèves du primaire. Elle propose un modèle explicatif du processus créatif musical alimenté par la technologie numérique. Il s’agit d’étudier le processus créatif d’élèves de 8 ans qui ont travaillé avec le logiciel GarageBand. L’analyse des données est faite à partir du discours de chaque élève enregistré avec des entretiens d’explicitation. Les résultats montrent qu’un élève engagé dans son acte créatif suit un parcours transformateur qui peut amener l’originalité et une nouvelle forme d’apprentissage en milieu scolaire.
... Alternative approaches to music curriculum have generally focused on musical participation rather than knowledge content (see Chapter Three) (Campbell, 2004;Elliott, 1995;Green, 2008;Nzewi, 2005;Wiggins, 2001), but the current research focuses primarily on the nature of musical knowledge, which is why Bernstein's knowledge theories and LCT provide the framework for investigating the curricular clash presented by the CAPS. ...
This thesis considers African music curricula in South Africa. It explores the problem of recontextualising a musical practice into the formal space of curriculum. Theoretical lenses are provided by Bernsteinian Theory and Legitimation Code Theory. These allow an indepth consideration of musical knowledge as it is articulated in curricula.
... Several graduating students each year would pursue tertiary music study. The curriculum class music (also known as classroom or general music) program was informed by social constructivism (Wiggins, 2015), praxial music education (Elliott, 1995;Elliott & Silverman, 2015), and the lifework and philosophy of Zoltán Kodály (Kodály, 1974(Kodály, , 2019). An example of pedagogy and curriculum used in this context can be found in the unit textbook by Goopy (2008). ...
Adolescents require meaningful and achievable musical possible selves to imagine a future that includes music. Previous research has investigated how to support tertiary music students in their career identity development; however, adolescents make consequential decisions regarding future music study and career intentions in secondary school. This article reports on the intersections and conflicts between adolescent boys’ musical possible selves, university study intentions, and parent values. Research was conducted at an Australian independent K-12 boys’ school using one-on-one semi-structured interviews incorporating a “draw and tell” artifact elicitation technique with Year 12 students and their parents. Two resonating narratives of adolescent boys studying class music are presented as a means of examining their developing musical identities. Findings reveal the vulnerability of students’ musical possible selves at the end of secondary school as they re-evaluate the role of music in their lives. The mothers of these two students did not highly value music university study and careers and actively intervened to disrupt their sons’ developing musical possible selves. This article proposes the development of specialized school music pathway education, enabling adolescents and parents to make more informed decisions on prospective university music study, careers, and the role of music in their futures.
... Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, οι εκπαιδευτικοί θα γνωρίσουν μέρος των μουσικών προτιμήσεων και της μουσικής ταυτότητας των μαθητών τους. Οι φωνές των μαθητών στην τάξη και η επικύρωση των γνώσεων και εμπειριών τους από τους εκπαιδευτικούς είναι βασικές προϋποθέσεις στις διαδικασίες διδασκαλίας και μάθησης (Wiggins, 2015). ...
Η συγκεκριμένη εισήγηση έχει ως σκοπό να παρουσιάσει τον τρόπο προσέγγισης της τέχνης, αξιοποιώντας το εκπαιδευτικό παιχνίδι σε ένα περιβάλλον μη τυπικής εκπαίδευσης. Η παιδαγωγική αξία του παιχνιδιού είναι αναμφισβήτητα μεγάλη και τα οφέλη του πολλαπλά, καθώς ψυχαγωγεί, αναπτύσσει τη δημιουργικότητα και τη φαντασία αλλά και συμβάλει στην νοητική και πνευματική καλλιέργεια των παιδιών. Η τέχνη αποτελεί κι αυτή ένα μέσο δημιουργικής έκφρασης, επικοινωνίας και κατανόησης του κόσμου και του πολιτισμού. Σημαντικός παράγοντας στην επίτευξη των παραπάνω αποτελεί το περιβάλλον και το πλαίσιο στο οποίο πραγματοποιούνται. Ένα περιβάλλον μη τυπικής εκπαίδευσης, όπως τα μουσεία, οι χώροι προαγωγής παιδείας και πολιτισμού, τα ψυχαγωγικά πάρκα κ.ά. δύναται να ενισχύσει τη μαθησιακή εμπειρία των παιδιών, καθώς στηρίζεται εξολοκλήρου στη βιωματική μάθηση. Σε αυτούς τους χώρους οι μαθησιακές εμπειρίες των παιδιών χαρακτηρίζονται από τα προσωπικά τους κίνητρα και ενδιαφέροντα και κυρίως από τη συνειδητή επιλογή τους στο τι, πότε και πού θα μάθουν. Ένας τέτοιος χώρος είναι και το κέντρο ξένων γλωσσών και δανειστική βιβλιοθήκη το Σπίτι της Αντουανέττας, στο οποίο δραστηριοποιείται ο Σύλλογος Ελληνογαλλικής Φιλίας «Το Σπίτι της Αντουανέττας» στην Αλεξανδρούπολη. Οι εκπαιδευτικές δράσεις του Συλλόγου καλύπτουν ένα ευρύ φάσμα ενδιαφερόντων. Πέραν των άλλων δράσεων πραγματοποιούνται και δημιουργικά εργαστήρια μία φορά την εβδομάδα για παιδιά προσχολικής και πρώτης σχολικής ηλικίας, όπου μέσα από το παιχνίδι, τη δημιουργία, την καλλιέργεια της φαντασίας και την ψυχαγωγία επιδιώκεται αφενός, η δημιουργική απασχόληση των παιδιών και αφετέρου η ενίσχυση της ελληνογαλλικής φιλίας, η προώθηση της γαλλικής γλώσσας και του γαλλικού πολιτισμού καθώς και ο εντοπισμός κοινών στοιχείων αναφοράς ή αντιθέσεων που μπορεί να υπάρχουν ανάμεσα στις δύο κουλτούρες. Στη συγκεκριμένη ανακοίνωση θα παρουσιαστούν κάποια από τα δημιουργικά εργαστήρια που υλοποιήθηκαν για την προσέγγιση και γνωριμία με διαφορετικές μορφές τέχνης, αξιοποιώντας ποικιλία μουσικοκινητικών, επιδαπέδιων, γλωσσικών παιχνιδιών καθώς και παιχνιδιών μυστηρίου και κυνήγι θησαυρού.
... Visual, Aural, and Kinesthetic Scaffolding During activities in which learners were engaged in problem-solving to match melodic contour with iconic representations (Blair, 2009;Wiggins, 2015), singing volume and participation also diminished. Many learners, self-initiated or with teacher prompting, pointed to icons or moved upper bodies while sitting, to match visual iconic representations of pitches shown on a SMART Board. ...
The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight into learner perceptions of their singing agency (their belief in their capacity to sing aloud) in their elementary school music class. Guiding research questions focused on children's ideas about learning experiences that might foster or hinder singing agency. Data included field notes from classroom observations, video recordings of class sessions, semistructured interviews with 93 individual learners and the music teacher, and written responses from 175 children ages 8–11. Data analysis revealed four emergent themes: Participants ages 8–11 linked perceptions of singing agency with both (a) vocal skill and (b) musical understanding. At around age 9, (c) pervasive characteristics of perfectionism emerged, relating to perceived mistakes or quality of performance, hindering singing agency, and (d) participatory, authentically meaningful singing experiences enhance singing agency, despite psychological phenomena developmentally occurring at age 9. Implications for music education practice and further research are discussed.
... Με αυτόν τον τρόπο, οι εκπαιδευτικοί θα γνωρίσουν μέρος των μουσικών προτιμήσεων και της μουσικής ταυτότητας των μαθητών τους. Οι φωνές των μαθητών στην τάξη και η επικύρωση των γνώσεων και εμπειριών τους από τους εκπαιδευτικούς είναι βασικές προϋποθέσεις στις διαδικασίες διδασκαλίας και μάθησης (Wiggins, 2015). ...
Το ελεύθερο παιχνίδι σε εξωτερικούς χώρους, όπως ο δρόμος, η γειτονιά και η φύση, ήταν κάτι δεδομένο για τα παιδιά που μεγάλωσαν μέχρι και τις δεκαετίες του 1960 και του 1970. Σήμερα σαφώς αποτελεί ένα λιγότερο συχνό θέαμα, ωστόσο αυτό δεν συνεπάγεται και την έκλειψη του παιχνιδιού. Αυτό που έχει συμβεί είναι ότι το ελεύθερο παιχνίδι έχει αντικατασταθεί από το επιτηρούμενο παιχνίδι και τείνει να λαμβάνει χώρα σε περιβάλλοντα που οργανώνονται από τους ενήλικες. Από τη δεκαετία του ’90 οι ερευνητές των άτυπων πρακτικών των παιδιών άρχισαν να αναζητούν τα σύγχρονα άτυπα πλαίσια στις αυλές των σχολείων. Σε αυτά τα περιβάλλοντα, τα παιδιά αλληλεπιδρούν μεταξύ τους και αναπτύσσουν ποικίλες μουσικές συμπεριφορές. Στις παιγνιώδεις δραστηριότητές τους χρησιμοποιούν το σώμα, τη φωνή και στοιχεία από το περιβάλλον τους. Συχνά εκφράζονται με μουσικό τρόπο, καθώς κινούνται ρυθμικά, τραγουδούν μελωδίες και επινοούν ρυθμικές απαγγελίες και κινητικά μοτίβα. Το παιχνίδι αποτελεί για τα παιδιά μια αυθόρμητη και αναγκαία έκφραση στην καθημερινότητά τους, ακόμα και όταν υπάρχουν χωρικοί ή χρονικοί περιορισμοί. Στο παρόν άρθρο παρουσιάζεται μέρος ευρημάτων από εθνογραφική έρευνα που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο πλαίσιο διδακτορικής μελέτης με αντικείμενο τα μουσικά παιχνίδια των παιδιών. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε το 2017 στις αυλές 9 ελληνικών δημοτικών σχολείων σε τρεις γεωγραφικές περιοχές της Ελλάδας και διήρκησε 6 μήνες. Η ερευνήτρια και συγγραφέας του παρόντος άρθρου παρατήρησε σε καθημερινή βάση τις μαθήτριες και τους μαθητές κατά τη διάρκεια των διαλειμμάτων και κατέγραψε ποικιλία μουσικών παιχνιδιών που έπαιζαν τα παιδιά αυθόρμητα. Συνολικά καταγράφηκαν 50 περίπου μουσικά παιχνίδια. Στο παρόν άρθρο παρουσιάζονται τα χαρακτηριστικά των μουσικών παιχνιδιών της έρευνας και προτείνονται τρόποι αξιοποίησής τους στη σχολική τάξη. Η μελέτη επιχειρεί να συνεισφέρει στην επικαιροποίηση της ερευνητικής βιβλιογραφίας για τα μουσικά παιχνίδια που παίζουν τα παιδιά στον ελεύθερο χρόνο τους. Ειδικότερα στην Ελλάδα διαπιστώθηκε ερευνητικό κενό σε αυτό το αντικείμενο. Το άρθρο προκρίνει τη σημασία της συστηματικής παρατήρησης των δραστηριοτήτων που αναπτύσσουν τα παιδιά σε άτυπα περιβάλλοντα και την ένταξή τους στην τυπική μουσική εκπαίδευση.
... In the music context, the processes of comparing, evaluating, judging, and classifying for listening, composition, and creative music projects provide students opportunities to apply critical thinking skills. The research in music education shows that, in general, teachers can enrich students' musical experiences by the implementation of critical thinking (Wiggins, 2015). Kokkidou (2013) and Elliott (1995) concluded that critical thinking strategies should be employed in various fields of music activities, including creativity, performance, and appreciation and listening; students can reflect their critical responses by using appropriate presentation media in different musical fields. ...
This study aimed to create the double bass workbook that focuses on critical thinking and the efficiency of learning. studied. The research tools were: 1) The double bass workbook for children (7-9 years old), and 2) an assessment and interview form, to analyze the data was percentage. The research used that to teach those six students and gathering data by observation during the academic year 2018-2019. The findings were: The organizing music activities will make children's music lessons interesting in communication, cooperation, and critical thinking through listening, singing, game playing, recording, filling notes (adding a melody), accompanying practice to practice double bass. The teacher's assessment with the workbook was at 93% that means the teacher was highly effective in using the double bass workbook. The children passed the exam, the average score was 33 from 35. In the future, this workbook both practicability and operability.
... The starting point for the present study is that methodological exploration and reflection is justified and relevant for research on learning to theorise music, and that a combination of approaches might help us better understand aspects of learning processes that would otherwise remain hidden. Moreover, outside of the seminal work by scholars and music educators such as Jeanne Bamberger (2013) and Jackie Wiggins (2015), studies on learning to conceptualise and theorise music at the precollege level are rare (Kuoppamäki 2015, 29). ...
Learning how to actively theorise music is a complex process which is challenging to observe and describe for teachers, students and researchers. In this study, we explore the potential of a mixed-methods research design for understanding how theorising is developed and how the different methodological approaches used in the study can improve our understanding of precollege students’ experiences of learning to theorise music. The study combines (1) qualitative methods such as observation, analysis of video and audio recordings and interviews, (2) software development as music education research, (3) eye tracking and (4) musical analysis. We suggest that a considerable advantage of a mixed-methods approach is that it can make students’ thinking visible and audible. In addition, it can improve precision in identifying novelty and surprise during the learning process. Such moments of new musical conceptualisation are particularly important in a context of abundant access to many musical genres and styles.
... In novice studies, techniques used to access composers' creative process include saving progressive drafts (Nilsson & Folkestad, 2005), saving communications between collaborators (Seddon, 2006), passive observation (Stauffer, 2002) and recording musical sound and thinking-aloud (Wiggins, 2001). Collins' (2005) study of a professional composer's process used saved progressive drafts, spoken reflections at the end working sessions, and interviews. ...
Many studies of creativity have proposed models of creative processes, identifying distinct stages. Music composition researchers, especially, have challenged the implicit linear nature of these models, proposing more recursive processes and recognising that exploration and inspiration occur throughout. Studying the creative process of another person is an investigation of those things which can be externalised: ideas written in verbal language, conventional or graphic musical notation or expressed through speech or performance. An autoethnographic approach, with a self-studying researcher, offers an additional body of less tangible information with which to interpret the experience of creating new work–experiences which, since they are exploring the new, may not be easily conveyed right away. This paper reports on a comparative case study of the author’s processes of composing two chamber music works. One was composed very quickly; the other over a long period of time. Striking differences in the compositional processes were noticed, particularly in regards to preparation, research, and incubation. The process of slow composition appears to add to the composer’s knowledge and skill in a ‘formative’ manner, whereas the quickly composed piece depended upon learning occurring in previous slowly composed works, and could be seen as a ‘cumulative’ work.
... Other works can be listened to, with the focus on the duration of the compositions being selected due to limited children's attention (Rojko, 2012;Svalina, 2015). The results of previous studies show that younger students are more accepting of different and unknown musical styles and that they have greater preferences of all styles compared to older students (Dobrota, & Reić Ercegovac, 2016;Fung, Lee, & Chung, 1999/2000Wiggins, 2001). Therefore, children should be introduced to music of different styles from young school age and listening to music should be a prominent teaching area and equally represented in all grades at the primary level of education. ...
This article examines the preferences of first, second, and third grade primary school students towards activities carried out in music teaching. The results of the research showed that in music teaching, singing activities are most commonly performed, and students prefer to participate in musical games. The results also showed that there were significant differences in students’ responses to their satisfaction with playing Orff instruments and musical creativity activities according to their age.
... autism spectrum disorder, choral music education, empathy, inclusion, intersubjectivity To foster inclusivity in music-learning settings, teachers endeavor to provide safe, welcoming environments through which all learners may interact with peers, enabling musical abilities of all to grow (Fuelberth & Todd, 2017). In a social constructivist vision of learning and teaching (Rogoff, 1990;Vygotsky, 1978;Wenger, 1998;Wiggins, 2015), teachers foster these environments by offering learning experiences in which peers may mediate understanding through goal-directed solving of meaningful problems as they scaffold one another. Within these intentionally musical and socially interactive contexts, social constructivist music educators seek to empower learners to make choices as learners take responsibility for and share ownership of collaborative learning processes and outcomes. ...
Through a case study of Jad (pseudonym), a music learner with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I sought to understand his experiences as he engaged in peer scaffolding activities of a choral ensemble. The study illuminated the role of intersubjectivity (or shared understanding) in socially mediated music learning within an environment of inclusion. Through inclusive, play-full, intersubjective attunement of younger children to Jad, he increasingly took on a role as an empathetic teacher-helper, initially with his younger sister, then with other young children, then with the entire ensemble. Jad also increasingly displayed musical agency through physical movement during music-making, contributing to others' understanding and musical agency. The findings describe intersections of play with intersubjectivity, focusing on learner attunement to affect and emotion in fostering an inclusive music education experience. Making space for peer scaffolding and playfulness within this music learning environment fostered shared understanding and empathy among all learners, including one with ASD.
... One participant chose to sing while learning to compose, two chose to join choirs as adults, and four began singing instruction, seeking scaffolding within social constructivist learning environments (Hogle, 2018a(Hogle, , 2018bRogoff, 1990;Vygotsky, 1934Vygotsky, /1994Wiggins, 2015). Choice pervaded each strategy: song choice, using comfortable pitch range, scaffolding tools, motivating purposes such as gift-giving, and safe socio-contextual situations. ...
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain insight into experiences of adults who expressed personal discomfort with singing, either alone or when others might hear them. Singing agency in music learning, one’s belief in one’s own capacity to sing aloud, served as the guiding lens for the study. Narrative analysis of interview data, from 15 adults who self-identified as non-singers, provided understanding of experiences that they believed undermined their capacity for singing agency. Four initial themes emerged as participants described wounding incidents with resultant perceptions of deficit, disability, and shame; personal strategies to enhance or protect singing agency; perceived obstacles to singing agency; and personal definitions of good singing. Findings describe vocal skill development through emotional differentiation, linking singing agency with principles that underlie a social constructivist approach to music learning and teaching and a Universal Design for Learning.
This article discusses strategies for developing music teaching materials that do not only focus on artistic aspects, but also consider human literacy as a key element in the learning process. Learning the art of music is not only a place to develop artistic skills, but also as a means to improve students' reading, writing and critical thinking abilities. In the context of the OBE Curriculum, the Case Method approach is used to present contextual and relevant learning. Case studies in learning the art of music not only cover technical aspects, but also relate them to real situations that allow students to apply their knowledge in the context of everyday life. The research results show that the development of music art teaching materials that combine human literacy and the Case Method can increase learning effectiveness. Students not only master musical arts skills, but also develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between musical arts and everyday life. This research contributes to the development of the music arts curriculum in elementary schools by strengthening the integration of human literacy in music arts learning.
Music is a powerful process and resource that can shape and support who we are and wish to be. The interaction between musical identities and learning music highlights school music education’s potential contributions and responsibilities, especially in supporting young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Through the distinctive stories and drawings of Aaron, Blake, Conor, Elijah, Michael and Tyler, this book reveals the musical identities of teenage boys in their final year of study at an Australian boys’ school.
This text serves as an interface between music, education, and psychology using narrative inquiry. Previous research in music education often seeks to generalise boys, whereas this study recognises and celebrates the diverse individual voices of students where music plays a significant role in their lives. Adolescent boys’ musical identities are examined using the theories of identity work and possible selves, and their underlying music values and uses are considered important guiding principles and motivating goals in their identity construction. A teaching and learning framework to shape and support multiple musical identities in senior secondary class music is presented.
The relatable and personal stories in this book will appeal to a broad readership, including music teachers, teacher educators, researchers and readers interested in the role of music in our lives. Creative and arts-based research methods, including narrative inquiry and innovative draw and tell interviews, will be particularly relevant for research method courses and postgraduate research students.
An undergraduate music class was examined that incorporated the creation of students’ individual original raps. Research was conducted to understand the value of studying rap and its impact upon students’ education. This instrumental case study utilised students’ individual raps as an art-based research component to address three research questions: 1.) How, if at all, does studying hip-hop through the creation of a rap provide a transformative experience and growth in students? 2.) How are student experiences reflected in the use of music composition through the creation of an original rap? and 3.) How does the process of creating an original rap provide insight into students’ experiences?
Teaching music often focuses on developing musical concepts, through comparisons and discriminations. This paper contributes to the discussion on concept development in music through recognition of common elements in a situation and a shift from a local to a general level, considering theoretical approaches to mathematical generalisation. It sets to explore preschool children’s understanding of tempo and its use in new musical situations. The research involved a musical intervention in six preschool classrooms. Critical incidences from focus group discussions and non-participant observation recorded children’s understanding of tempo from their musical actions, drawings, responses and reflection to teacher questions. The findings highlight that children could go beyond the specific content of the activities and focus on the basic characteristics of tempo, integrating them into their song creations. A teaching approach oriented to generalisation through concept development can assist teachers to elaborate musical content and realise students’ level of understanding.
未来が予測不可能な現在、これからの創造社会においては、だれもが持つ創造性(natural creativity)を発揮しながら生きることが不可欠になってくる。本稿では、だれもが楽しめる「音 楽づくり」を取り上げ、それを応用して社会に広がりをみせている持続可能な社会の実現に向け た取り組みを調査し、音楽づくりがどのような意義をもつのか「エージェンシーの発揮」という 観点から分析した。また音楽づくりの教育的意義や可能性についても言及する。
キーワード:音楽づくり SDGs エージェンシー 創造性の育成
Developing the learners' thinking and learning skills can be defined as helping the latter not only to acquire a deeper understanding of the content they have to learn, but also to master a method enabling them to become independent learners. Learners should be guided to reflect on their learning, in order to be aware of their own learning strategies, to understand which advantages and drawbacks characterize each strategy, to distinguish how and when to use the different strategies, to identify the most suitable one on a case-by-case basis, and to be able to apply it to further their learning. After a reflection on the pedagogical issues raised in particular by the instrumental lessons, the study puts forward a proposal of how to develop the students' thinking and learning skills, focusing on a masterpiece of the flute literature: Johann Sebastian Bach's “Allemande” from the Partita in A minor, BWV 1013.
Musical creativity is represented through the activity of “creation” in the curricula for music education in both Montenegrin and Slovenian primary schools. Starting from the assumption that this activity is insufficiently realised, a survey of the teaching practice of the specialist music teachers in the two countries was conducted ( N = 154). The obtained results show that creative musical activities are moderately represented in teaching practice and that Slovenian teachers achieve programme-defined goals related to the activities through which pupils create their own music to a greater extent. The results also indicate the particular circumstances that, in real school conditions, make it difficult to systematically realise this activity within regular music classes.
Teacher Efficacy (TE) refers to teachers’ confidence in their ability to promote student’s learning. Research shows that generalist teachers’ TE for music education is generally low, with many teachers associating music education with innate musical talents – a problem exacerbated by music education programmes that focus on singing or playing instruments. Musical play is a form of music education in which young children more or less freely explore and create with sound with limited guidance from a teacher, requiring fewer musical skills. This paper reports on an in-situ professional development program (PD) that focused on musical play as a means of enhancing early years teachers’ TE for musical play and for music education in general. For this study, a mixed method exploratory multiple-case study was used. Three early years teams (N = 14) took part in a PD that focused on knowledge and skills related to facilitating musical play. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. Findings demonstrate that taking part in the PD enhanced teachers’ TE for musical play and for 50% of the respondents for music education in general. The PD’s design features longer duration, collective participation, active learning and qualitative curriculum materials had contributed to teachers’ learning.
Socio-kulturološka dimenzija kreativnosti nezaobilazni je aspekt u teorijskim razmatranjima fenomena glazbene kreativnosti. Empirijska istraživanja i iskustva iz prakse dovela su do potrebe za rekonceptualizacijom i reinterpretacijom pojma glazbene kreativnosti u obrazovanju. Upravo se kroz socio-kulturološki kontekst razvio i pojam ‘kolaborativna kreativnost’ (eng. collaborative creativity). U školskoj praksi kolaborativna se kreativnost može ostvariti među učenicima, ali i među nastavnicima koji surađuju kroz realiziranje integrativne nastave, izvannastavnih aktivnosti i projektne nastave. U ovom radu predstavit će se neki oblici poticanja kolaborativne glazbene kreativnosti, s posebnim osvrtom na iskustvo učenika i utjecaj koji su zajednički stvaralački procesi imali na njihovu socijalizaciju, motivaciju, ali i na praktičnu primjenu usvojenih znanja. Za metodološki okvir iskorišteno je akcijsko istraživanje provedeno u jednom odjeljenju petog razreda osnovne škole tijekom školske godine 2017./2018. Cilj rada je otvoriti pitanja o mogućnostima poticanja kolaborativne kreativnosti u redovitoj nastavi glazbe, ali i ukazati na objektivne poteškoće za realizaciju ovog oblika kreativnog procesa u školskim uvjetima.
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