Do the Learning Beliefs of a Parent Influence the Attributional Behaviours of his Children within a School Music Classroom?

Music making requires many kinds of habits of mind—broad thinking dispositions potentially useful outside of the music room. Teaching for habits of mind is prevalent in both general and other areas of arts education. This chapter reports a preliminary analysis of the habits of mind that were systematically observed and thematically coded in twenty-four rehearsals of six public high school music ensembles: band, choir, and orchestra. Preliminary results reveal evidence of eight habits of mind being taught: engage and persist, evaluate, express, imagine, listen, notice, participate in community, and set goals and be prepared. However, two habits of mind that the researchers expected to find taught were not observed: appreciate ambiguity and use creativity. These two nonobserved habits are ones that arts advocates and theorists assume are central to arts education. The chapter discusses how authentic assessment of habits of mind in the music classroom may require novel methods, including the development of classroom environments that foster additional levels of student agency.

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Democracy in the Middle School Music Classroom

Music Educators Journal ◽

10.1177/0027432118816147 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 105 (3) ◽

pp. 17-22

Author(s):

Amanda R. Draper

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Music Teacher ◽

General Music ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Music Program ◽

Motivation For Learning ◽

Traditional Public School ◽

School Music ◽

Democratic Principles ◽

Student Independence

Including democratic principles in a traditional public school general music program can be challenging, but the benefits are significant, including greater student independence and motivation for learning. Democratic practice is both an approach to teaching and an outcome of the experience. It prepares students to be participants in society by providing space for student voices and encouraging students to think deeply and ask challenging questions. It also involves negotiating a rebalance of control in which the music teacher is more of a teacher-facilitator, learning alongside the students and allowing their choices and decisions to be a driving force in the learning process. This article presents one model for incorporating democratic ideals in middle school general music.

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Informal Learning as a Catalyst for Social Justice in Music Education

The Oxford Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199356157.013.21 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 301-317

Author(s):

Lucy Green ◽

Flavia Narita

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Critical Pedagogy ◽

Music Education ◽

Informal Learning ◽

Critical Consciousness ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Informal Music Learning ◽

Learning Practices ◽

School Music ◽

Teachers And Students

This chapter considers social justice in relation to the incorporation of a set of informal learning practices within the secondary school music classroom and teacher education. It interprets Nancy Fraser’s view of social justice as “parity of participation” in order to suggest that the dialogical approach of informal music learning practices can potentially promote such participatory parity. It then examines Paulo Freire’s concept of critical pedagogy, which emphasizes the need for teachers and students to participate together in the learning process so as to enhance critical consciousness. Through an application of Green’s theory of musical meaning, the authors suggest that critical consciousness in music can be aided through a deeper understanding of music’s sonic materials and their inter-relations. Informal learning in the music classroom may promote both parity of participation and critical consciousness, with the potential to lead to a liberating musical experience.

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Power and Choice in the Teaching and Learning of Music

The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199372133.013.34 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 354-366

Author(s):

Chee-Hoo Lum

Keyword(s):

Skill Acquisition ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Music Educators ◽

Creative Work ◽

Digital Native ◽

Time And Space ◽

Critical Dialogue ◽

Music Classroom ◽

School Music ◽

The Relationship

This chapter opens a critical dialogue about the relationship between technology and the teaching and learning of music, with key emphasis on notions of power and choice. The chapter’s discussions revolve around technology as provision for (1) access to the musical world as sound through digital forms and formats, (2) greater opportunities for the most basic beginner in music to explore and experiment with sound, (3) wide/r choice and variety in listening, performing, and creating for both the “trained” and “untrained” musician, (4) compressed time and space in musical experiences and environments, and (5) questioning what constitutes musicality, a musician, and skill acquisition. Music educators need to draw closer links between the widening gap of school music with learners’ daily musical-technological experiences and become more cognizant of the multimedia and multidisciplinary space that the digital native learner is engulfed in, so as to further notions of creative work within the music classroom that might include these experiences.

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The Promise and Pitfalls of the Digital Studio

The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199372133.013.22 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 232-240

Author(s):

Ethan Hein

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Music Education ◽

Informal Learning ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Group Activity ◽

Educational Settings ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

School Music ◽

Imaginative Play

Whether or not we make the best use of technology in the music classroom, young people will continue to find unexpected uses for it elsewhere. There is no historical precedent for the informal learning possibilities afforded by inexpensive and ubiquitous computers. Are young music learners best left to their own devices, literally and figuratively? Or can we structure a classroom around these devices, combining independent play with guided group activity? Will formal educational settings always compromise or even negate young people’s autonomy and independence? Perhaps if we think of the music room as a maker space rather than a classroom, we can admit some of the imaginative play and authentic expressiveness that students find outside school. Music education will happen wherever people gather together, using whatever materials are at hand. A school is necessarily an ad hoc society; ideally, it can be a genuine artistic community as well.

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From Cage to Glass: Lessons for the Late Twentieth Century

British Journal of Music Education ◽

10.1017/s0265051700007488 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 15-24

Author(s):

Patricia Shehan Campbell

Keyword(s):

Twentieth Century ◽

Art Music ◽

Pop Music ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Steve Reich ◽

Historical View ◽

School Music ◽

Late Twentieth ◽

Terry Riley ◽

Late Twentieth Century

Because art music of the late twentieth century has received little attention in North American school music settings, this paper proposes a rationale as well as procedures for the teaching of one of its emerging styles: minimalism. A brief historical view of the development of minimalism is offered, the influence of Cage's concepts of music as an ongoing [if indeterminate] process is recognised, and the relationship of minimalism to other musical sytles and genres is noted. Listening lessons for works by composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass are devised, along with suggestions for performance and composition experiences in the music classroom. Due to its eclectic nature, including the influence of rock and pop music, instruction in the music of the minimalist composers is viewed as a gateway to other art music styles and techniques of the late twentieth century.

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Honoring Gender Diversity in Music Classrooms

10.1093/oso/9780197506592.003.0005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 98-126

Author(s):

Matthew L. Garrett ◽

Joshua Palkki

Keyword(s):

Gender Stereotypes ◽

Instrumental Music ◽

Teacher Educators ◽

Music Teachers ◽

Gender Diversity ◽

Inclusive Classroom ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Vernacular Language ◽

School Music ◽

Curricular Materials

In this chapter, attention is given to specific ideas that school music teachers can use to honor TGE students. Examples for sharing and displaying TGE-inclusive names, pronouns, and titles are presented within a variety of music classroom contexts. The authors describe how school music teachers can select inclusive classroom curricular materials by reviewing them for bias against gender diversity, by incorporating inclusion in elementary classroom discourse, and by working to avoid gender stereotypes in instrumental music settings. Further discussion focuses on the need for age-appropriate interactions with children, the implications of gendered vernacular language in classrooms settings, and considerations for music teacher-educators working with pre-service teachers at the college level.

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Student perceptions of the classroom environment, student characteristics, and motivation for music lessons at secondary school

Musicae Scientiae ◽

10.1177/10298649211055832 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102986492110558

Author(s):

Ioulia Papageorgi ◽

Natassa Economidou Stavrou

Keyword(s):

Secondary School ◽

Classroom Environment ◽

Teacher Support ◽

Student Characteristics ◽

Task Orientation ◽

Music Classroom ◽

Music Lessons ◽

Orientation Order ◽

School Music ◽

Rule Clarity

The literature suggests that there is often no alignment between student preferences and what and how it is taught in the music classroom. A total of 749 Cypriot secondary school students, aged 12 to 14 years, responded to a survey addressing enjoyment of music, motivation for school music lessons, and perceptions of the music classroom environment. The survey included a questionnaire with six subscales: Involvement, Affiliation, Teacher Support, Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity. High ratings for Affiliation, Teacher Support, and Rule Clarity suggest that, overall, students’ perceptions of the classroom environment were positive. They were not uniform, but varied on the basis of student characteristics. Girls rated Rule Clarity higher than boys. Younger students tended to rate Task Orientation, Order and Organization, and Rule Clarity higher than older students. Higher-achieving students tended to rate Affiliation and Teacher Support higher. Older boys rated Involvement lower than younger boys, whereas older girls rated Involvement higher than younger girls. It can be inferred that boys experienced a gradual increase in perceived Affiliation as their achievement improved, although the pattern was less consistent for girls. Girls tended to report higher motivation for school music lessons than boys. Motivation was enhanced by classroom environments in which students experienced higher levels of enjoyment of music, engagement, and support from teachers. The findings show that the music classroom environment should be characterized by student engagement, clarity of rules, good organization, clear goals, teacher support, and affiliation between classmates.

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