Looking Back to Move Forward: Charles Fowler and His Reconstructionist Philosophy of Music Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 153660062093797
Author(s):  
Craig Resta
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Sociological Perspective ◽  
Philosophy Of Music ◽  
Philosophical Beliefs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Teacher Researcher ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Context

Charles Fowler (1931–1995) was an important thinker whose reconstructionist philosophy of music education represents an untold view worthy of examination in the modern context. Fowler described the philosophy in his dissertation completed in 1964, based on the reconstructionist theory of Theodore Brameld. He outlined seven major objectives stating how music education can impact students, schools, and communities, and can serve as an agent of social change. This perspective was the basis for Fowler’s pragmatic and progressive outlook throughout his 45-year career as teacher, researcher, writer, and arts advocate. His philosophy is presented here as another critical viewpoint of music teaching and learning, and for its impact on those who experience it. Following an introduction to Fowler and his connections to reconstructionism, his seven objectives for music education are presented, along with samples of writing showing his consistent philosophical beliefs over time, concluding with a review of his thinking while considering the future through a lens of the past. While prevailing viewpoints center on aesthetic, praxial, and pedagogical views, Fowler’s reconstructionist philosophy is worthy of inclusion in the history of music education as he argued for a sociological perspective that predates most viewpoints commonly read in the field today.

Transforming Music Teaching and Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 102-125
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
Creative Learning ◽  
Teacher Researcher ◽  
Teaching Cases

This chapter aims to explore how the author transformed his approach to music teaching based on his pedagogical practice. As a Japanese violinist who performed, researched, and taught children for the past 10 years in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, the author gradually changed his approach to music teaching and learning. By juxtaposing his voice as a violinist, teacher, researcher, the author provides teaching cases representing a transformation of music teaching and learning. The author also uses the voices of parents, other teachers, and music education specialists from Japan and other countries in describing diverse views on teaching and learning by sharing videos of the author's teaching practice and how Japanese caregivers perceive a progressive approach of teaching and children's creative learning that differs from conventional violin methods pervasive in Japan.

Feminist Cyber-Artivism, Musicing, and Music Teaching and Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 291-312
Author(s):  
Marissa Silverman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Philosophical Investigation ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Music Making ◽  
The Voice

This chapter asks an important, yet seemingly illusive, question: In what ways does the internet provide (or not) activist—or, for present purposes “artivist”—opportunities and engagements for musicing, music sharing, and music teaching and learning? According to Asante (2008), an “artivist (artist + activist) uses her artistic talents to fight and struggle against injustice and oppression—by any medium necessary. The artivist merges commitment to freedom and justice with the pen, the lens, the brush, the voice, the body, and the imagination. The artivist knows that to make an observation is to have an obligation” (p. 6). Given this view, can (and should) social media be a means to achieve artivism through online musicing and music sharing, and, therefore, music teaching and learning? Taking a feminist perspective, this chapter interrogates the nature of cyber musical artivism as a potential means to a necessary end: positive transformation. In what ways can social media be a conduit (or hindrance) for cyber musical artivism? What might musicing and music sharing gain (or lose) from engaging with online artivist practices? In addition to a philosophical investigation, this chapter will examine select case studies of online artivist music making and music sharing communities with the above concerns in mind, specifically as they relate to music education.

scholarly journals Rancang Bangun Game Dreamcatcher : War Of Surabaya Dengan Permodelan Scrum

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Boby Ferdianza
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Learning History ◽  
The Past ◽  
Teaching History ◽  
New Learning ◽  
History Of ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Games Teaching

History belongs to a compulsory element in the teaching and learning at school. It can help students to know and more appreciate the past events. The number of history materials taught at school sometimes causes difficulty for students to learn. The lack of facilities and learning media which can attract student’s interest becomes the main factors of student’s difficulty in learning Social Science. Learning medium is very vital to determine what materials students can learn. One of solutions to solve difficulty in learning history is by creating new learning medium in the form of educational game as it can arouse student’s ability in thinking. One of the games teaching history particularly the history of Surabaya is Dreamcatcher: War of Surabaya. This game was designed based on historical events in Surabaya composed in an attractive story. It is completed with quiz to improve student’s memory. Game “Dreamcatcher: War of Surabaya” can be played with android platform and it is considered successful in teaching the history of Surabaya as it could improve students’ abilities on Surabaya history by 113.7% based on the results of pre-and post-tests.

Philosophical and Theoretical Foundations

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Dorfman
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Graduate Degree ◽  
Philosophy Of Music ◽  
Musical Skills ◽  
Art Form ◽  
School Music ◽  
Broad Subject ◽  
Teaching Music

Many authors have explored the ideas of philosophy and educational theory and how those ideas can serve as a foundation for teaching practices. Philosophy is a broad subject, and it is not the purpose of this book to create a new philosophy of music teaching and learning; however, we can beneficially draw on philosophical and theoretical works of others to form some foundations. By necessity, a theory of technology-based music instruction begins with a theory of music education. To deviate from this would be to neglect the important theoretical work that forms the guiding foundation of teaching in our chosen art form. The critical role of theory in this new method of teaching is to help technology-based music instructors develop dispositions that make this type of teaching less forced, more natural than it might otherwise be. The most successful technology-based music teachers are those who recognize the capacities of their students to engage with technology, to be creative, and who are willing to modify some beliefs—possibly long-held ones—to allow their students the freedom to explore and construct their musical skills and knowledge. These are difficult dispositions to develop. Understanding some important theoretical and philosophical work can help in treading that path by helping teachers acknowledge findings that have come before, and by letting us make critical decisions about the ways we teach and our students learn. The teacher in the following Profile of Practice has developed trust in his students and himself, assurance that he can promote students’ creativity, and confidence in his TBMI abilities. He knows that students come to his classes with unique worldviews, and with experiences, both musical and otherwise, accumulated over each of their lifetimes. While he does not place great emphasis on theoretical models of creativity or on articulating his own music teaching philosophy, his teaching reflects some of the most important philosophical dispositions found in effective TBMI teachers. Mr. E teaches middle school music in a relatively affluent suburb. He is fortunate to have experiences teaching music at many levels and has a wealth of formal training in music technology from both his undergraduate and graduate degree work.

scholarly journals Music Teacher Rankings of Selected Core Teaching Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-99
Author(s):  
J. Si Millican ◽  
Sommer Helweh Forrester
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Technical Vocabulary ◽  
History Of ◽  
Service Music

There is a decades-long history of music education researchers examining characteristics and skills associated with effective teaching and assessing how preservice music teachers develop those competencies. Building on studies of pedagogical content knowledge and the professional opinions of experienced music educators, researchers are now attempting to identity a body of core music teaching practices. We asked experienced in-service music teachers ( N = 898) to think about the skills beginning music teachers must possess to investigate how respondents rated and ranked selected core music teaching practices in terms of their relative importance. Developing appropriate relationships with students, modeling music concepts, and sequencing instruction were the top core teaching practices identified by the group. Results provide insights into knowing, naming, and framing a set of core teaching practices and offer a common technical vocabulary that music teacher educators might use as they design curricula and activities to develop these foundational skills.

Music Education in P-12 Schools to Learn From Each Other

2020 ◽  
pp. 176-196
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Music Learning ◽  
Technical Aspects ◽  
K 12

This chapter describes cases of music teaching and learning from Pre-K-12 schools. As a trait of book, instead of focusing on how-to instruction and technical aspects of music teaching, the author puts a special emphasis on music learning in a social context. Both music and music education consist of social interaction among learners, teachers, and community members. This process is especially unique to music because we always learn from each other and perceive music in a shared sense. The author wishes you also learn from these cases and implement the idea of your practice for students to learn from each other.

Music teaching and the process of enculturation: A cultural dilemma

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Debrah Otchere
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
African Music ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Educational Curriculum ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
Multicultural Music ◽  
History Of ◽  
Education In Ghana ◽  
Formed Part

The history of music in Ghanaian school programmes can hardly be separated from the general history of education in Ghana. Since the time of colonial administration in Ghana, music (especially as manifested through singing) has formed part of the educational curriculum for different reasons, one being a tool for promoting the culture of the colonialists. Several advances (particularly after independence in Ghana) have been made to incorporate aspects of the Ghanaian culture into the educational curriculum. Over 50 years down the line, what is the extent to which Ghanaian (African) music is studied in Ghanaian schools? In this paper, the extent to which African music is taught in African (Ghanaian) universities is analysed by looking at the undergraduate music course content of two Ghanaian public universities. Although African music is taught, it only forms an infinitesimal proportion of the total music courses that are offered to music students in these two universities. Considering that the process of music education is also a process of enculturation, the concluding recommendation is that although a multicultural music programme is necessary, the teaching of African (Ghanaian) music in Ghanaian universities should be the dominant feature.

Nonregulated Assessment in Music Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 494-511
Author(s):  
Nasim Niknafs
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Proactive Approach ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Local Activism ◽  
Do It Yourself

Without access to official state-sanctioned, public music education, Iranian youth, specifically rock and alternative musicians, follow a self-organized and anarchistic path of music making. Expertly negotiating between the act of music making and the unpredictable situations they face daily, they have become creative in finding new ways to propagate their music and learn the rules of their profession. Meanings attached to assessment in these circumstances become redefined and overshadow the quality of music being created. Assessment becomes a local activism that countervails the top-down, summative model. This chapter provides some characteristics of assessment in music teaching and learning in urban Iran that follow Nilsson and Folkestad’s (2005) ecocultural perspective, consisting of four elements: (a) Gibson’s (1979) concept of affordances, (b) orality, (c) theories of play, and (d) theories of chance. Consequently, assessment in urban Iranian music education can be categorized as follows: (1) do-it-yourself (DIY) and do-it-with-others (DIWO), (2) interactive and decentralized, (3) local anarchism, and (4) lifestyle. This chapter concludes that the field of music education should take a “slightly outside perspective” (Lundström, 2012, p. 652) and proactive approach toward assessment, rather than the reactionary approach to music teaching and learning in which assessment becomes an end goal rather than an approach embodied within learning.

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