Peer reviewed articles:
Music Education Meets Critical Literacy A Framework for Guiding Music Listening by Pamela Beach and Benjamin Bolden
Podcast creation as transformative music engagement by Benjamin Bolden and James Nahachewsky
21st-century learning, educational reform, and tradition: Conceptualizing professional development in a progressive age by Theodore Christou
Key Takeaways of Articles
Beach and Bolden (2018) discuss the value in using Critical Literacy to inform pedagogy for analyzing and responding to music. Critical Literacy is deconstructing and analyzing complex issues from a variety of genres and historical standpoints. Educators can foster a classroom environment that incorporates purposeful music selection and curriculum. Students are encouraged to connect music to personal, meaningful experiences and make inferences (Beach & Bolden, 2018). Incorporating Critical Literacy in music classes encourages students to apply these practices to their own music listening habits, while considering the creator or composer’s artistic choices. It combines musical knowledge, critical thinking, and application (Beach & Bolden, 2018).
“Podcast creation as transformative music engagement” considers the advantages of podcast assignments in the music classroom (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015). The article describes the benefits of these projects where students combine spoken narrative stories and musical excerpts to create audio podcasts. This strategy promotes 21st Century Learning as it enables students to use technology to connect personal experiences with musical listening examples, exercise creativity through the presentation, and communicate their findings through text and music (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015). Repeatedly speaking, thinking aloud, and listening back on their own words has students expand their mental capacity and arrive at deeper understandings about their learnings (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015).
Lastly, Christou (2016) argues that Canadian Faculty of Education programs need to adopt 21st Century Learning strategies and integrate them with classroom pedagogies. Professional development is vital to keep practicing teachers up to date with learning and teaching in a digital age. Christou (2016) also describes the Hamilton-Wentworth School Board’s testament to educational reform. The statement encourages schooling systems of today to look away from out-dated, industrial-aged models that no longer meet the needs of 21st Century Learners (Christou, 2016). Our structures, curriculum, and school calendar still operate on an “assembly line method of production.” (Christou, 2016). The Hamilton-Wentworth School Board states that while health care and transportation have made advancements since the 1900s, education systems have been slow to innovate their methods (Christou, 2016).
Implications for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
21st Century Learning skills are derived from learning and innovation. They consist of the four C’s: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Creativity and Innovation, Communication, and Collaboration. These skillsets are essential for students to learn and practice, as these are tools that can be applied to meet the needs of the classroom and beyond.
Music educators can encourage critical thinking and listening by presenting musical selections and facilitating dialogue about musical texts. This innovative teaching practice allows for students to become the focus of learning. It encourages them to make meaning of new understandings and decode explicit and implicit messages within the musical selections (Beach & Bolden, 2018). 21st Century Learning promotes collaboration, interaction, and experimental approaches to learning, which contrasts more traditional methods of learning. Educators can design their lessons with Differentiated Learning and Universal Design for Learning in mind, to meet the needs of all learners.
The podcast assignment as Bolden and Nahachewsky (2015) describe, has opportunities for 21st Century Learners to construct, practice, and represent their knowledge. Learners reconnect with their experiences to tell a story, which promotes creativity and self-expression. They participate in a collaborative learning culture. By rearticulating their words and hearing their thoughts spoken aloud, learners explore innovative connections between text, their experiences, and music (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015).
Beach and Bolden (2018) suggest strategies to implement these innovative teaching strategies into the classroom. Strategies include: creating and presenting the learning goals with students, hosting guided discussions on the musical excerpts, and utilizing small-group and whole-class discussion (Beach & Bolden, 2018). Scaffolding the learning and providing students sufficient time to complete tasks is also recommended.
Strengths, Weaknesses, and Significance
Students who participate in 21st Century Learning partake in a transformative process. Learners can manipulate and interact within their own artistic and cultural ideologies in a way that allows them to make meaningful connections to the learning (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015). The student voice is empowered, as students become the center of learning; while the teacher is a facilitator, a source of knowledge but not the primary focus of learning (Bolden & Nahachewsky, 2015). These are skills that students can apply to other areas of education, disciplines and beyond. Learners share their findings and collaborate with their peers and teachers to make meaning of their understandings. They will discover connections between socio-cultural and socio-political associations (Beach & Bolden, 2018).
As Christou (2016) states, not all educators are well-equipped with the tools for modern digital age practices. 21st Century Learning benefits from the access to technology, which is not always feasible in communities of lower socioeconomics and lower levels of support at home. Many educators and school systems are used to following a more “traditional” model and mentor teachers are the embodiment of tradition (Christou, 2016). Society has advanced but educational institutions are still behind on the digital age and integrating these tools into the classroom. Furthermore, the generational gap between teachers and students applies to mentor teachers and teacher candidates (Christou, 2016). At times, this divide proves to be a barrier to innovation in teaching and learning.
Since I am a high school Arts classroom teacher, 21st Century Learning is incredibly applicable and significant to my teaching practices. Looking at teaching and learning from this lens is not only beneficial to my students but to myself as an educator. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, distance learning came into the forefront of education. Traditional music classroom approaches such as performing instruments in an ensemble setting was no longer an option. Music educators turned to digital practices and more theory-based approaches that could be conducted in the online format. As we transition back to “the new normal”, there are strategies from virtual learning that are applicable to the in-person classroom. It is my responsibility to ensure that I am encouraging students to engage in the dialogue, find their voices, and make meaningful, personal connections to their learning.
Implications for My Teaching Practice
As seen in the articles analysed and the course content, 21st Century Learning is becoming a differentiated and highly applicable approach to learning in the digital age. My role as an educator is to ensure my students are practicing and enhancing these skills, so that they can transfer it to real-world applications.
From the research that Christou (2016) collected and debriefed, I will become more aware of how generational differences play an important role in education. As a recent Faculty of Education graduate, I have an interesting perspective whereby the generational gap between my students and myself is not very large. This has its disadvantages such as the everyday challenges of being a new educator, power imbalance at times and feeling as though I must work tirelessly to be taken seriously. However, the small age gap provides many advantages. I am well-equipped to using technology and connecting with my students and their interests on a more personal level. I am accepting of looking at teaching and learning methods through a non-traditional lens because this was how I was trained in my Faculty of Education program. When collaborating with other educators and administrators, I will be mindful that we may have various approaches to teaching and learning because of generational differences.
Lastly, as Beach and Bolden (2018) suggest, scaffolding the learning for my students is an important implication for my own practice. Reflecting on one’s own learning journey and critiquing dominant ideologies requires practice, communication, and life experiences. I cannot expect my students to know how to do this by default, and it is my responsibility to give them the right tools and training to do so. I will provide students with multiple opportunities for reflection and hold discussions in an open and safe classroom environment.
Queen's University, Victoria Hall, October 2016
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