An Orientation to Musical Pedagogy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birch P. Browning
Keyword(s):  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Specialized Knowledge ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Professional Educators ◽  
Instructional Context ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Service Music

Novice music educators often experience conflict between their roles as teachers and their roles as musicians. The broad purpose of this text is to assist pre-service music teachers as they begin the transition from students to professional educators and musicians by challenging what they think they know about those two distinct yet complementary roles. Rather than perpetuating existing practice, these future educators are encouraged to build their own new vision for music curriculum and education by examining the "big concepts" of teaching and musicianship based on several research-based ideas: (1) There's no such thing as talent, (2) effective teachers have specialized knowledge about their subject, students, pedagogy, and instructional context, and (3) musicianship is not magic. More important, through deliberate thought and action, pre-service music teachers can learn the concepts and practices of expert teachers and musicians and incorporate them into the music classroom. Attention is given to how students learn and to designing and delivering engaging classroom instruction.

Integrating Social-Emotional Learning Into Our “New Normal” Teaching Elementary General Music

2020 ◽  
pp. 104837132096137
Author(s):  
Taryn Raschdorf ◽  
Brittany Nixon May ◽  
Amie Searcy
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Social Emotional Learning ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
General Music ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Elementary General Music

As social-emotional learning (SEL) initiatives are being adopted by many states and school districts, many music teachers have been actively and successfully integrating SEL into their elementary general music curriculum. Whether teaching in person or remotely music educators can create an environment conducive to SEL by practicing mindfulness, building relationships with and between students, encouraging family music engagement, and engaging in inclusive music activities. In this column, you will find resources and ideas about SEL, discover how it looks and functions in the music classroom (virtual or not), and hear from music educators who currently incorporate SEL in their teaching.

The Value of Learning Collective Free Music Improvisation: Preservice Music Educators’ Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-53
Author(s):  
Hoon Hong Ng
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Music Improvisation ◽  
Free Improvisation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Skills ◽  
School Music ◽  
Collaborative Skills

I conducted a case study to explore preservice music teachers’ behaviors, thoughts, and feelings when engaged in collective free music improvisation. Nine preservice music teachers were taught how to freely improvise within groups as part of a teacher education course and participated in interviews and focus group discussions. Major themes highlighted learning across three segments that emphasized communication and collaborative skills, entrepreneurial skills and risk taking, and reconciliation and transformation. I concluded that the sociomusical outcomes produced by collective free improvisation may complement those of more formal and idiomatic improvisation practices, and that by introducing preservice music teachers to free improvisation activities, they may be more willing to engage PK–12 students in free improvisation lessons that enhance the existing school music curriculum.

scholarly journals Creating a Meaningful Music Curriculum for Students With Disabilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-49
Author(s):  
Ellary A. Draper
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Traditional Curriculum ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Functional Curriculum

When teaching students with disabilities, it is important for music teachers to consider the functionality of the skills taught and learned beyond the music classroom. In special education, a curriculum centered on the life-long skills important for students to be independent in their communities is called a “functional curriculum.” Before considering how to adapt a traditional curriculum for students with disabilities, music teachers can used the ideas based in functional curriculum to develop a functional music curriculum, ensuring that both students with and without disabilities are learning the skills to engage in life-long music experiences.

Choosing Engaging Tools for the Music Classroom

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
James Thomas Frankel
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Software Designers ◽  
Music Making ◽  
The World ◽  
Software And Hardware ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Music Classrooms

Over the course of the past fifty years, countless software and hardware products have been introduced into music classrooms around the world with varying degrees of pedagogical success. The majority of these products were geared toward professional and amateur musicians and composers, only to be introduced to music teachers, either organically (teachers bringing real-world products into their classrooms) or through the efforts of manufacturers to obtain a new revenue stream for their products by selling them to schools. Knowing this, teachers often find it difficult to become aware of, identify, and choose these tools for use in their classroom instruction. The chapter presents key elements in successfully identifying and implementing creative, intuitive, and engaging tools for teaching, learning, and music making in the music classroom, as well as measuring their efficacy. Case studies focusing on the practices of several music educators are presented, including interviews with the software designers to illuminate the process behind innovative design. In addition to these case studies, a discussion of current products and their individual features and design ethos is given, with an emphasis on concepts instead of brands and devices.

Toward a New Vision of Equality: Perspectives of Male Teachers in the Elementary Music Classroom

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Andrew Lesser
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
School Level ◽  
Elementary Music ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Predominantly Female

Research concerning men working in predominantly female environments has suggested that stereotyping can occur when gender norms are violated, such as men teaching at the elementary school level. The present study investigated the presence and perspectives of male elementary school music teachers in specific geographical regions of the Northeastern United States. A qualitative analysis of six public school districts representing multiple states in the Northeastern United States revealed that women still hold a majority among elementary music teachers. Interviews were then conducted with three selected male elementary music teachers to determine if any of them felt discriminated or marginalized among their female colleagues. While these men did claim that their masculinity indeed caused various issues relating to male discrimination, all three felt content with their positions regardless of their gender identification.

Practice Rooms and Practice Fields: Connections in Character Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-41
Author(s):  
Jared B. Critchfield
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Related Field ◽  
Music Classroom ◽  
Moral Atmosphere ◽  
Positive Character

Most music teachers desire to positively influence the development of their students’ character; however, the practicalities of doing so have been understudied in music education. This article draws on research from the related field of sports education and presents possible strategies for developing strong character in music students. Cultivating a moral atmosphere, developing a teaching orientation that encourages student mastery, and listening to student perceptions about their experience in the music classroom are research-driven approaches that music educators can use to encourage positive character development in music students.

Observations of Music Educators for Teacher Evaluation

2019 ◽  
pp. 829-850
Author(s):  
Johanna J. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Teacher Effectiveness ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Teacher Observation

This chapter explains the rationale supporting current practices in teacher evaluation as demonstrated through the main event of the teacher observation, with a focus on their application to the professional practice of music teachers. Formal teacher evaluation models and their observation protocols are described that include recommendations for use in improving teacher performance and contributing to ongoing professional growth. The value and integrity of such practices in music teacher observation is discussed, supported by participants’ responses to a nationally administered survey that queried music teachers’ observation experiences. Of particular interest are music educators’ feelings of dissatisfaction with their observers’ lack of content expertise, both in supplying informed feedback and in evaluating their performance as effective teachers. Suggestions for addressing music teachers’ concerns are offered that reflect the goals of teacher evaluation, improved teacher effectiveness, and their inclusion in the actualization of a “well-rounded education” for all students.

Charles Faulkner Bryan's Legacy for General Music

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-238
Author(s):  
Carolyn Livingston
Keyword(s):  
Music Teachers ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
General Music ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Work Habits ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Student Interests ◽  
Multicultural Music ◽  
Musical Knowledge

Charles Faulkner Bryan (1911-1955), music educator and ethnomusicologist, was best known as a composer who was influenced by Appalachian folk music. This study focuses on his ideas about general music and the qualities of exemplary music teachers. Bryans own general music curriculum and his teaching attributes are also examined. Bryan believed in solid planning for instruction and maintained that the general music curriculum should be eclectic, experiential, community-oriented, founded on local culture and student interests, and include both vernacular and art music. Bryan valued adaptability, resourcefulness, and creativity in music educators. He believed that a teacher should demonstrate thorough musical knowledge, strong technical skill, an attractive personality, good work habits, and positive attitudes. By all accounts, he displayed these qualities in his own teaching. Bryan designed and taught a general music course that included multicultural music and curriculum integration. His work may have influenced present practices and curricula.

A Music Educator’s Guide to Saving the Planet

2019 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 15-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Shevock ◽  
Vincent C. Bates
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Ecological Literacy ◽  
Ecological Diversity ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Musical Concepts ◽  
Musical Practices

As music educators, we always teach much more than the musical concepts and skills outlined in music curriculum standards. In this article, we discuss how music teachers can address what we believe is the most pressing issue of our time: environmental degradation. We first outline some specifics of ecological literacy in music education. This will include discussion of some songs that could form the center of a music curriculum for increasing ecological literacy. Next, we discuss cultivating ecological literacy using local musical practices and sounds of nature. Finally, we share an example of soundscape pedagogy aimed at increasing awareness of and propensities to care for the natural environment and ecological diversity. These components, singing, songwriting, and soundscape composition, are recommended as part of an overall creative pedagogical approach.

Curriculum Philosophy and Theory for Music Education Praxis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Regelski
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Curriculum Planning ◽  
Basic Question ◽  
Music Curriculum ◽  
Educational Benefits ◽  
Service Music ◽  
The Aesthetic

Curriculum Philosophy and Theory for Music Education Praxis is offered for advanced pre-service music education students, in-service teachers, and doctoral students. “Curriculum” is often poorly understood by music teachers. It also is a typically ignored topic in their teacher training where emphasis is on “methods,” but without prior planning of the musical goals those methods supposedly serve. The basic question of curriculum planning in this book, “What of all that could be taught is most worth learning?,” is not usually what teachers usually have in mind. In any case, too often their answers are not supportable by the rigorous philosophical and theoretical scholarship of this monograph. The result is the present anarchy of “programs” that fails to promote pragmatic and long-lasting results. This leads to the ever-growing “legitimation crisis” that advertises the aesthetic benefits of music education in schools. However, since these benefits are vague and intangible, music teachers constantly must engage in “advocacy” of their “programs.” This scholarly monograph accepts that pre- and in-service readers can understand the challenges of curriculum planning. It begins with a brisk survey of philosophies of music and music education inherited from the Greeks—included because they too often still dominate contemporary music teaching in negative ways. Then more recent and substantial bases of music curriculum and praxis theory of music and music education are examined as alternatives for planning curriculum built on intellectually substantial philosophical and theoretical grounds. The study concludes with a model curriculum based on recent praxis theory where musical and educational benefits are evident to students, administrators, and taxpayers and lead to “artful” living through music.

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