general music
What Were You Thinking? Karen Tordera, WMEA State Chair, General Music
It’s not about you. Hard to read, per- haps, but it’s the truth. Education is (or at least should be) about students and what they are learning. Teachers want their students to be good at solving
problems and thinking critically. Are we letting them do that? Do we allow them to identify the positive and negative aspects of their performance? Can our students think of ways to solve their problems or fix their mistakes or are teachers doing most of the critical thinking in our class- rooms? Students are often left out of the analyzing and evaluating that is done in a music classroom, but teachers can give them opportunities to start.
Are we asking the right questions? Webster’s (www.websters-online-diction-
ary.org) defines critical thinking as “a mental process of analyzing or evalu- ating information.” Yes, it is important that students get the correct answers, but are we asking the right questions? Do our questions lead students to analyze or evaluate what they have done, or are we analyzing and evaluating for them? Are our questions leading them to think criti- cally about their work?
When they finish I ask, “How did it go?” Some students (especially at this age) will just say “good” and expect to go on. But if I ask, “Were there any places where we weren’t quite together?” some students will identify the problem area (typically the third beat of the third line). So far, so good. But to take it a step further, I ask the class if they can tell my why some students had difficulty with that particular spot. When I ask them to think about the reason the problem occurred, they start to analyze. They look at the pattern of the first two lines, which are identical, and discover that the problem lies in the place where the third line diverges from the pattern set by the first two lines. Once they discuss and identify the problem, the
Practical Pointers Who is doing the thinking?
Here is an example of a class of first grade students: The students read the rhythm (see Fig. A) of the poem “Pease Porridge Hot” orally.
Fig. A
students can more easily read the rhythm without mistakes.
If I were doing most of the thinking in this example, I might take a wholly different approach to their mistake. After they read the rhythm of the poem orally, I could say, “We are having problems in the third line. Here is where you were not together. Now this is what you will do so the prob- lem gets fixed.” If I address the mistake in this way, I rob them of the chance to think critically about their performance. They don’t have to think about where the mistake is and don’t even begin to think of why the mistake happened. Plus, who knows how much time it would take the class to perform that third line correctly if I have them fix it “my” way!
Students who are accustomed to think- ing critically about their work will start to think while they are performing. They won’t wait for the teacher to figure out where the problems lie. They will be ready and willing to tell exactly what happened and be more engaged while the problem is being solved.
Where to start?
In rehearsal, after students perform a piece of music, the teacher can ask: “How did it go?” or “Did you stay together?” or “What could you do to make it better?” When the students identify problem areas and give ideas for fixing them, try their suggestions! The students will start to feel comfortable after awhile and have their hand raised before you even start asking
~ Karen Tordera
There is a group of Wisconsin educators who are committed to this approach to teaching. It is called Student-Centered Learning in the Arts (SCLA). We meet three times a year to share how we are using student-centered strategies with our students. Visit our web site at
www.sclawisconsin.com.
30 April 2011
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