I loved these last three chapters of Green’s book because it was easy to grasp and agree with the conclusions on group cooperation and student enjoyment she had formed based on her data collected. At first, I returned to my skeptical thinking about the effectiveness of informal learning and students being given absolute free reign of their music making experience. I could not conceive of how with all that freedom students could truly be productive all the time. However, Green addressed this with the teachers’ comments and her own conclusions that there was some “mucking” around, but in the end, students were able to take initiative and stay on task because they had circumstantial autonomy. The students might not have always sounded organized, but their playing and noodling around was a fundamental part of the learning experience that is sometimes forgotten about.
I was extremely interested in Chapter 7 of the book where informal learning was done with classical music. I shared similar expectations with the teachers and was also surprised when the students grew and enjoyed the project more than thought possible. It was interesting to see how my ideas need to be adjusted. For example, differentiation in the classroom may not mean creating different levels of difficulty for activities; instead, it could be differentiation by outcome like Green mentions. Also, students who may seem uninterested in the topic may actually be the ones who are most musically skilled, but they are just daunted by the task at first glance because the musical meanings are so far beyond their realm of interest. Green, L. (2008). Chapter 3: Making music and Chapter 4: Listening and appreciation. In “Music, informal learning, and the school: A new classroom pedagogy” (pp.40-91). New York: Routledge.
As I continue to read through Green’s book, I am becoming less skeptical of the idea of informal learning within a formal music education setting. Through her transcriptions and conclusions drawn from data, I am beginning to see how students are improving their aural skills and group ensemble skills even though they may have had worse results for a time. I enjoyed reading about how the students are certain that the way they listen to music at home is full of more awareness as they progress through the different stages. Although the students may not be able to articulate this clearly with musical terminology, they are understanding that change is occurring and as a result they are enjoying music class more and feeling in charge of their learning. In Chapter 4, Green mentions that while celebration might be a good aim for music educators, a better goal would be critical musicality. I agree with her in that celebration is a good, but vague goal for students. Her definition of critical musicality is clearly explained and gets to the core of music education---to help students come to a place of learning where they can explore and listen well to the basics of music, as well as underlying meanings, regardless of the style of music they listen to. It is good for teachers to want their students to appreciate all kinds of music, but we must have the skill to define how to do so in a way where students are the initiators. |
Davina MiawOn this page, I will present examples of my scholarship in the form of reflective essays and philosophical assignments. Archives
November 2019
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