Research into Practice Assignment

MUSIC
Gabriella Kerr
P/J 241

Lived Experience, Inquiry Questions

I love music, I always have. I love the way it makes me feel. I have sung as long as I can remember. I
remember when I was living for a month with strangers and I couldnt sing all the time, I felt less myself
somehow, this is how deeply music runs through me. In terms of performance, apart from serenading
the dishes and the odd elementary talent show I have sung at church, in a choir, team or solo. For me
singing is a necessary connection between words, emotions, body and soul.
One of the things that I regret never learning was how to play an instrument. I think that there are few
skills that are as rewarding as being able to play a musical instrument. When I was in elementary school
my parents signed me up for piano lessons, but not much came of it. I lacked the motivation, practicing
on a paper keyboard was not thrilling and perhaps unsurprisingly swimming afforded a more interesting
pursuit. Middle school may have been a chance to resume piano or some other instrument, there was a
music room full of instruments. Yet unfortunately there was no dedicated music teacher, for a time a
retired teacher came into sing with us but aside from forays into the sometimes ear-splitting land of the
recorder, I did not learn any instrument during this time. By the time high school had arrived it was too
late, those with musical knowledge signed up for band, and I mindful of university entrance
requirements elected for other electives.
Inquiry Questions
As I entered the first day of Introduction to Music in Elementary Grades, I did so with a mixture of
excitement and trepidation. I feel that this mixture of emotions is standard fare when one begins a new
pursuit or tries to pick up a long forgotten pastime. I entered the class both as a learner and a novice
teacher, wearing these two hats I did have a number of inquiry questions.

Not being a classically trained music teacher, how can I teach music theory in an accessible and
practical way for myself as well as for my students?
How can I engage students in the study music and increase intrinsic motivation?
How can I integrate technology into my music practice?

Course reading and inquiry have a conversation

Teaching Towards Musical Understanding: A Handbook for Elementary Grades, by Amanda
Montgomery, was our chief course text. It is a guide formulated, at least in part, for the teacher
candidate music teacher. To this text I brought my inquiry questions. My questions, though on first
glance may seem unrelated, are in fact along the same line of reasoning. At the core of musical training I
supposed, and now do believe, is theory, it is the scaffold, the bars that allow for the creativity and
beauty of the art to shine through. I needed to find a way to teach the theory to myself and then to pass
that knowledge along in meaningful and powerfully fun ways to students. I wondered at engagement, as
I thought back on my own experience of piano classes and briefer still the middle school experience. I
realize upon reflection that I lacked intrinsic motivation to pursue the lessons, which seemed particularly
dry. Engaging students in a task is critical to having them learn all they can, and will build that internal
motivation to continue with the task even when it grows challenging. Lastly, I thought of how I could
integrate technology into my practice as a music instructor as I feel, technology can be a powerful tool
to help instruct and engage learners of all ages.

Teaching Towards Musical Understanding I found help for addressing the concerns of my first two
inquiry questions. Towards the concern of teaching music theory the course text had numerous entry
points for myself as a novice teacher. The definitions, and explanations were particularly useful. The
activities especially the emphasis on combining movement and music instruction in Chapter 8: Moving
with Music, presented fun ways to engage students, especially kinesthetic learners. Children and
movement are natural partners, wrote Montgomery, I found this assertion both true and very freeing
as I began to think on ways I would engage students and teach theory in music (Montgomery, 2002, p.
152). Looking back on my own experience with music theory as I child, I do wish that music instruction
had been approached in a manner similar to what is outlined in our course reading.
We also had number of assigned videos for our course. In terms of addressing student engagement and
integrating technology, the video of Chris Hadfield singing from space, could be a wonderful launching
point from which to pose big questions. How can music connect us around the world? How do we
broadcast from space? Such questions could create cross-curricular lessons and help interest students.
Research and Resources
Integrating Technology into Your Elementary Music Classroom, provides an honest and practical
example of how a novice teacher found ways to integrate technology into their class. The teacher began
at first with a negative view of technology but then began to see it as a tool to differentiate in her class.
The article provided numerous resources to add to the instructional repertoire of the elementary music
teacher. Among the resources listed in the article, the Harmonic Visions Music Ace Maestro computer
program seemed promising. One could do whole group instruction using some of the activities that are
in Montgomerys Handbook and then have students navigate through the Maestro software, which
would act to reinforce what they had been taught. Another technology resource that the writer
mentioned was a site hosted by the San Francisco Symphony. It allows students to play symphony
instruments and compose their own music. Though I am writing of lessons for students I feel that these
same resources and articles could be invaluable to teachers such as myself with limited musical
background. The second research paper I turned to in order to respond to my inquires, was a study that
looked at the exchange between preservice and in-service teachers with technology in their music
program. The study, Music Technology Partnerships: A Context for Music Teacher Preparation, discusses
some of the theories behind the implementation and conceptulization of technology within culture and
the classroom. The author argues that, students are becoming increasingly aware of the disconnect
between school and the real world where technology is common. Music Technology Partnerships,
provides a number of professional associations that can help me to become more informed about
teaching music and incorporating technology. Among the organizations that the article lists are the
Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME) and the Association for Technology in Music Instruction
(ATMI). I also found a number of tablet apps that could be used to increase the learning and
engagement of students in music theory among my favourites were JoyTunes Recorder Master, which
can help kids learn the recorder, which is standard fair for many elementary classrooms. Another great
app is My Note Games, which teaches and allows students to practice music theory and note
recognition. These two apps are yet another way to include technology, increase student engagement
and help myself and my future students learn music theory.

Observations and Connections to Visual Art and Physical Education

While my last placement I had the privilege to observe the Grade 1 and 2 students practicing for a
Remembrance Day performance. It was wonderful to see all students but especially those who struggled
academically meet with success in music. Music can be so important, especially to these students and it
was wonderful to see the pride with which they performed; the performances reminded me of my own
experiences in elementary school. Another observation that spans all the practicum classrooms I have
been able to see is the intersection between music, visual art and technology. The teachers would play
music for the students while they worked on art. Music can bring a new atmosphere to the room,
quieting the room down or enlivening the class during visual arts. I found that sometimes teachers
would even create playlists that matched the topic of the art students were created, for example winter
songs while creating snowflake art. Youtube also figured into these music-art forays, as did health and
physical education, as sometimes teachers would have body breaks, such as playing a just dance video
for kids. I was able to use my love of singing countless times within the classroom, even creating songs
to help kids remember how to sit attentively on the carpet! It was thrilling to then have kids reminding
each other of how to sit and even singing the song for fun! In the same way that music has always spoke
(and sung) to me, I know it can do the same for students, and with the aid of good resources and
technology I feel that I can create a research-based music practice.

References
Burns, A. (2006). Integrating technology into your elementary music classroom. General Music Today,
20(1), 6-10.

Greher, G. R. (2011). Music technology partnerships: A context for music teacher preparation. Arts
Education Policy Review, 112(3), 130-136.
Montgomery. A. (2002). Teaching Towards Musical Understanding: A handbook for elementary grades.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.