EARLY CHILDHOOD Jennifer Wetzel-Thomas, Chairperson
Roots to Grow
21st Century Skills–Innovative, Deep and Limitless Take Away
21st Century Skills are often viewed as a something to implement into cur- riculum. Educators often believe they are addressing 21st Century Skills every time they use technology in their classroom; however this is only one component of 21st Century Skills. How would schools look if curriculum was written based on 21st Century Skills?
Te Industrial Age helped prescribe definitive goals for students to achieve due to the needs of workers. If a stu- dent was going to work in a factory, he needed to be able to complete a set of tasks necessary for the job. Schools were developed based on this premise. Today’s workforce demands a much different sort of skills; however the majority of schools continue teaching based on the practices developed during the Industrial Age.
Eliminate the Box
Curriculum is often based upon a number of competencies students should be able to achieve. Students are placed within confining parameters as they are graded based upon their ability to demonstrate achievement of these competencies. How can students be expected to be creative and innovative, when the very curriculum created demands constraints?
When teachers remove the box and students are able to demonstrate knowledge in a way that makes sense to them, students can work to their fullest potential. Students can demonstrate understanding using many facets other than traditional tests. One method uses a portfolio style system to highlight learning. Tis might include song compositions, a class created WebQuest, instrument inventions, performance, a
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video of playing instruments or singing, or dance creations. Students help devise a way to demonstrate this learning. A portfolio could begin when children enter school, continue throughout a student’s educational process, and even be a requirement for graduation.
Innovative Practices for Growth
When teachers teach as they were taught, education becomes static. Teachers are most effective when they meet students at their level to help them grow. For schools to best prepare children for their future, teachers must innovate. Students best respond to an education that relates to their interests. 21st Century Skills require a continual revision of technique to make learning relevant.
Go Deep
How many songs does the typical early childhood teacher use each week, month, year? How many total songs do the students learn in a year? Is the goal of music education learning to sing a large number of songs, or learning about music? Young children require much more repetition than adults can easily tolerate. When teachers grow weary of a song, young children need to continue experiencing the song many more times to be able to internalize the music. Once this internalization happens, the child’s growing understanding can facilitate the learning process.
Teachers are able to use a new type of depth in their curriculum when they are focused on teaching more than songs. Fewer songs will help provide the possibility for greater depth. When considering curricular approaches, the depth of musical understanding should be a paramount factor for a quality music education.
Te youngest learners can benefit from opportunities for musical responses. Te music curriculum should include oppor- tunities to experience musical opposites. Children should experience chants and songs. Music should include some songs without words. At the end of a chant or song, teachers can feed their students a rhythmic or melodic pattern. Students have an opportunity at this point to choose whether to echo that pattern, or respond musically in some manner. Children are free to respond creatively with support and acceptance from their teacher.
When children are given the opportunity for an open musical response, they are able to express their musical experiences and development level. By listening to the child’s response, the teacher can determine what the child is processing. Some children will sing in tune and find pitches in the song, perhaps even ending on tonic. Others might sing on a single pitch with a rhythmic pattern. Another child might hum tonic. When the music educator is observant, she can help the child grow and develop by knowing how to best challenge the student. As children further experience a song as the result of much repetition, their responses will often change. Tis can often signify a greater understanding of the music.
An effective curriculum that prepares children for the 21st Century should be innovative, deep, and limitless. 21st Century Skills should be used as a basis for the curriculum writing process. If education gives children roots to grow and space to develop along with a strong curriculum, it will prepare children for success in life.
Jennifer Wetzel-Tomas
thomasj@mokena159.org
Illinois Music Educator | Volume 71 Number 2
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