The 21st


Century Music Educator


“How is music significant?” “How does music impact life?” and “Do stake holders recognize the complexities and demands of being musicians?” are just a few of the questions explored in the 2011 MENC Music Education Week Supervisor’s Academy. While the focus of the two-day meetings has been on designing 21st


century curriculum and


the assessment thereof, the recurrent question has been, “How do we advocate for music and inform students, parents, administrators, and the general public of what music educators do?” As one of a handful of college-level music educators (among the numerous music supervisors) attending those meetings, I came away with a mandate – that we in Music Teacher Education must “front load” our pre-service teachers with the 21st


century skills. They need to


recognize that they are already using 21st


century skills - Creativity and


Innovation,Collaboration, Communica- tion, and Critical Thinking/Problem Solving – on a regular basis; they just have to articulate these skills in their


curricula. Ever since the 2011 AMEA Winter Inservice, I have been inspired by Scott Schuler, president of MENC, to study up on 21st


century skills (www.p12.org).


Today’s schools must prepare students for jobs that don’t even exist. According to Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow – Today (ACOT2


), 21st century learning is


at the confluence of three major influences: globalization, technology, and research on how people learn. The music classroom is exactly the kind of learning environment that encapsulates this model through the use of world music,


iPods, and differentiated


instruction, just to name a few. ALCOT2 suggests that new curricula must, besides focusing on 21st


century skills


and outcomes, be contextual problem- based and project-based learning.


I


cannot think of anything more authentic and relevant than curricula associated with the arts, especially music.


Exactly how can we turn the general music class, band, or choral rehearsals


The job market for music teachers is grim. Instead of seeing it as a hopeless situation, we must forge ahead and take on our professional crisis as a glorious opportunity with endless possibilities. According to the 21st


Century Workforce


Commission National Alliance of Business, the current and future health of America’s 21st


Century Economy


depends directly on how broadly and deeply Americans reach a new level of literacy. Fellow musician-educators, let us rise up and lead the way.


into dynamic learning environments? Ken Robinson (2006 TED conference) talked about a “loose-tight” model for education: tight in curricular goals, but loose in instructor autonomy. In the context of music education, such a model would allow individual instructors the freedom to choose quality repertoire that are most relevant and appropriate for specific settings. It will allow the musician-educator to become an “architect of human potential” and cultivate ownership in their students. To ensure that pre-service teachers are ready and able to design diverse and valid learning experiences, they are encouraged to visit or revisit the New Bloom’s Taxonomy that comprises both the six levels of cognitive processes and the four dimensions of knowledge.


Moya Nordlund, EdD, Samford University, serves


as


advisor to Alabama CMENC.


faculty


20


August/September 2011


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