Adult Music Learning in Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Contexts

2012 ◽  
pp. 242-256
Author(s):  
Kari K. Veblen
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Nonformal Learning ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Educational Structures ◽  
Informal Practices

This article examines current research and practice in formal, nonformal, and informal learning for adult music students. In a formal setting, the teacher controls the materials, pacing, and interactions in a structured environment. Nonformal learning practices involve systematic and deliberate but less regulated pursuits that occur outside of educational structures. Informal practices comprise aspects of knowledge and skill acquisition that are largely experiential.

Bridging the gap: Informal learning practices as a pedagogy of integration

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heloisa Feichas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Informal Music Learning ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Classical Training ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
The University

This work derives from a doctoral research study which looked at the differences in students' attitudes towards learning music in a Brazilian music higher education institution, while taking into account their different music learning backgrounds. The students' backgrounds (which consist of their set of musical experiences and music-learning processes that had been acquired and developed in their lives before entering the university course) are divided into three types: (i) those who have acquired their skills and knowledge mostly through informal learning experiences, particularly in the world of popular music; (ii) those who have only experienced classical training either within institutions such as music schools, or privately; and (iii) those whose backgrounds consist of both informal learning and classical training. These different backgrounds are termed here formal, informal and mixed. The research also discusses the gap between the way music is conceived and taught within the university and the reality students will have to face outside university. It further suggests that the traditional teaching approaches for music in higher education are possibly inadequate for educating university students from varied music learning backgrounds, especially those with informal music learning backgrounds. After examining some findings of the research, the paper proposes pedagogical strategies in which informal music learning practices might help the integration of students from different backgrounds, encouraging students' diversity and their inclusion in the university music school environment. The suggested strategies exemplify approaches that enable the students to bridge the gap between their own musical practices and those they are expected to learn in their institution. In this case, the students have more autonomy and the teacher becomes a facilitator of the process.

Informal learning and musical performance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Smart ◽  
Lucy Green
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Informal Music Learning ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Learning Practices

If the adage ‘You live and learn’ reflects any truth, then the vast majority of living and learning must take place informally. This can range from unintentional and nonconscious processes such as enculturation, to intentional and conscious self-teaching. While the study of informal learning in music has tended to focus on popular and other vernacular musicians, this chapter adopts a wider approach, considering the perspectives of a range of musicians across several musical contexts, styles and genres. The authors review key sources of knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to these musicians and to their performance, and consider examples of how informal learning practices are valued in underpinning their work. They also examine the characteristics and prevalence of informal learning, how it interfaces with other practices, and how research in the field of informal music learning may serve to promote and champion a richer perspective on the learning of music for the benefit of all learners, intentional or not.

scholarly journals Jazz education in Western Switzerland in the 1970s and 1980s

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-80
Author(s):  
Monika Piecek ◽  
Angelika Güsewell
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Skills Transfer ◽  
Jazz Education ◽  
Educational Models ◽  
Music Training ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
French Speaking

This article aims to complement the understanding of the implementation, expansion, and formalisation of jazz education as well as of how jazz was learnt and taught in the 1970s and 1980s in the Western, French-speaking, part of Switzerland. Focussing on this specific geographical context, it takes a close look at the transition from traditional, informal learning to what are considered as more formal realms of learning in jazz education. Drawing both on documentary analysis and in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with former students, directors, and teachers of the first jazz schools and jazz departments, it provides a description of the Swiss jazz educational landscape at its beginnings. Two educational models that emerged are compared in the light of the formal-informal spectrum. Finally, the music training trajectories of nine students who attended the newly created settings for jazz learning are analysed. Special attention is given to learning practices, skills transfer and the processes of access to and appropriation of music learning environments. These analyses provide evidence of the flexibility and shifting character of organisational boundaries and educational practices during the implementation of new patterns of music learning.

Turn On Your Mobile Devices

2012 ◽  
pp. 39-58
Author(s):  
Shuang Hao
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Turn On ◽  
Learning Practices

The number of mobile devices and active users is growing. Mobile devices expand the reach of technology-mediated communication possibilities for many people. They have become a convenient, and in many instances preferred, way for people to communicate with each other as well as to access the Internet. In terms of learning, this means that people can increasingly access both content and resources from any number of locations. This chapter explores how mobile devices can be used to support informal learning practices, and it provides practical tips for researchers in conducting studies of informal mobile learning.

Informal music learning, improvisation and teacher education

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Wright ◽  
Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Free Improvisation ◽  
Informal Music Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Narrative Methodology ◽  
Communicative Context

This paper1 explores firstly the sense in which improvisation might be conceived of as an informal music education process and, secondly, the effects of a course in free improvisation on student teachers' perceptions in relation to themselves as musicians, music as a school subject and children as musicians. The results of a study conducted in two Greek universities are presented. Using a narrative methodology, examples of data from the reflective diaries or learning journals which 91 trainee teachers kept as part of their participation in an improvisation module are presented and discussed. The argument is made that improvisation, as a particular type of informal music learning process, has an important role to play in fostering the qualities required of teachers to work with informal pedagogies in music education. Furthermore, we would suggest that such musical experiences might gradually lead to the development of a critical perspective on both music education theories and practices. Improvisation might emerge as a moment and a practice of rupture with linearity of progress, working against reification of knowledge and glorification of received information. The findings suggest that improvisation might offer a route for creating an intimate, powerful, evolving dialogue between students' identities as learners, their attitudes towards children and their creative potential, and the interrelationships of the notions of expressive technique and culture, thus becoming ‘an act of transcendence’ (Allsup, 1997, p. 81). We propose that the issue of connecting informal learning and improvisation might be resolved by regarding improvisation as an exemplary case of creating a communicative context where most representations/conceptualisations/struggles to solve problems are left implicit. Such experiences for pupils and teachers alike might further extend the social and personal effectiveness of informal learning as music pedagogy.

scholarly journals Modelling resilience in adolescence and adversity: a novel framework to inform research and practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gin S. Malhi ◽  
Pritha Das ◽  
Erica Bell ◽  
Greg Mattingly ◽  
Zola Mannie
Keyword(s):  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Developmental Perspective ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractRecent conceptualisations of resilience have advanced the notion that it is a dynamic and multifaceted construct. However, its adaptive components, especially those forged by adversity, have not been fully realised, and its neurobiological and psychosocial underpinnings are yet to be meaningfully integrated. In part, this is because a developmental perspective is often neglected in the formulation of resilience. In this review, we consider the findings of resilience research, with a specific emphasis on the developmental period of adolescence. To bridge the gaps in our current understanding, we propose a model of resilience that is predicated on experiencing adversity. Specifically, our model provides a sophisticated insight into the components of resilience, which, together with intrinsic features, involves facilitation of, and skill acquisition via strengthening processes we term tempering and fortification. The model also points to the potential trajectories of adversity-driven resilience and forms the basis of a framework that allows for individual variance in resilience, and the identification of both neurobiological and psychosocial targets for prevention and therapeutic interventions.

Engaging Students with Mobile Technologies to Support Their Formal and Informal Learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 84-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Ciussi ◽  
Gill Rosner ◽  
Marc Augier
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Knowledge Construction ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Digital Natives ◽  
Traditional Classroom ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
Classroom Education ◽  
Students Attitudes

This article explores “Y generation” students’ attitudes to mobile technologies in the context of education, and use of podcasts on their handhelds in particular. Our intention is to investigate how students use mobile devices to support their formal and informal learning practices. One of the “big issues” in mobile learning that we address here is the co-existence of personal informal learning and traditional classroom education. After conducting an experiment and a survey, we conclude that the diversity of student attitudes toward using podcasts in education means that we are in the time of “in between years.” Learning “any time/anywhere” and “digital natives” prove to be a myth for many. The current challenge for podcasting in education is to move from information transmission to knowledge construction and sharing within a formal setting.

scholarly journals Will mobile learning change language learning?

ReCALL ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Kukulska-Hulme
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Mobile Assisted Language Learning ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Formal And Informal Learning ◽  
Significant Change

AbstractThe use of mobile phones and other portable devices is beginning to have an impact on how learning takes place in many disciplines and contexts, including language learning. Learners who are not dependent on access to fixed computers can engage in activities that relate more closely to their current surroundings, sometimes crossing the border between formal and informal learning. This creates the potential for significant change in teaching and learning practices. Taking the broader field of mobile learning as the setting within which developments in mobile-assisted language learning may be understood, the paper argues that an emphasis on mobility can lead to new perspectives and practices. The paper offers reflections on what mobile learning has to offer and considers whether it is likely to change how languages are taught and learnt. ‘Mobile learning’ is not a stable concept; therefore its current interpretations need to be made explicit. Examples of current projects and practices show an affinity between mobile and games-based learning, and can further illuminate what is distinctive and worthwhile about mobile learning.

The Violet experience: Social interaction through eclectic music learning practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob M. Dakon ◽  
Elene Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Peer Learning ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Learning Practices

In this qualitative case study, we used participant observation and interviews to examine Violet, a Flemish string youth orchestra. In doing so, we identify the qualities that constitute an ‘eclectic’ ensemble space, herein defined as a musical environment that uses a blend of informal and formal learning practices. Moreover, we emphasize how members benefit musically, socially, and personally from such spaces. Our findings suggest that a blend of eclectic practices create a music space that promotes social engagement, social interaction, and peer learning among members. Additionally, eclectic music spaces allow for personal development and nurture self-appreciation. An eclectic ensemble space thus provides a rich alternative to more traditional forms of music ensemble instruction.

Inner Ear: A tool for individualizing sound-focused aural skill acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eldad Tsabary ◽  
Danielle Savage ◽  
David Ogborn ◽  
Christine Beckett ◽  
Andrea Szigetvári ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Evaluation Methods ◽  
Music Students ◽  
Aural Skills ◽  
Home Practice ◽  
Informative Feedback ◽  
Additional Work ◽  
Ongoing Development

Inner Ear is a browser-based aural training software designed to improve and better understand the process and means through which students acquire sound-focused aural skills. Its ongoing development follows educational principles established through years of research with undergraduate music students who major in electroacoustic studies, beginning in 2005. It provides users with ongoing detailed feedback about their performance, areas that need additional work, and an accessible notepad for students to record their insights during practice. It collects data on users’ performance and settings that can later be analysed and shared with their instructor. The design of Inner Ear follows insights that emerged in students’ feedback, provided mostly in home practice reports. Primary among these insights are the needs for individualizable practice environments, diversified exercises, speedy and informative feedback and progress evaluation methods.

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