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music education

Bringing curriculum to life: Enacting project-based learning in music programs

Tobias, E. S., Campbell, M. R., & Greco, P. (2015). Bringing curriculum to life: Enacting project-based learning in music programs. Music Educators Journal, 102(2), 39-47. doi:10.1177/0027432115607602

My co-authored article Bringing curriculum to life: Enacting project-based learning in music programs is now published in the Music Educators Journal. I really like how the principles and practical suggestions can be applied in pretty much any music teaching and learning context. The abstract of the article is as follows: 

At its core, project-based learning is based on the idea that real-life problems capture student interest, provoke critical thinking, and develop skills as they engage in and complete complex undertakings that typically result in a realistic product, event, or presentation to an audience. This article offers a starting point for music teachers who might be interested in using project-based learning as a teaching strategy and also interested in “building” student competency and “bringing to life” student engagement in the music curriculum. To help music educators enact project-based learning in their classes and ensembles, we outline a process for designing and facilitating projects, provide vignettes that situate theory in practice, and discuss projects in relation to curriculum, standards, assessment, and teacher evaluation.

 

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Reflecting on changes in practice through integrating participatory culture in our classrooms

Tobias, E. S., VanKlompenberg, A., & Reid, C. (2015). Reflecting on changes in practice through integrating participatory culture in our classrooms. Mountain Lake Reader: Conversations On the Study and Practice of Music Teaching, 6, 94-110. My co-authored article with Abigail VanKlompenberg and Catherine Reid  Reflecting on Changes in Practice Through Integrating Participatory Culture in Our Classrooms is published in The Mountain Lake Reader (in varied formats thanks to the work of Janet Cape). The article is a result of a… Read More »Reflecting on changes in practice through integrating participatory culture in our classrooms

Perspectives on garageband and musical engagement?

The article Democracy of Sound: Is Gargageband Good for Music by Art Tavana is an interesting read. It’s also the type of article that could surely include the perspective of music educators, but does not. Coincidentally I had a very productive conversation with students in my Art of Teaching Contemporary Musicians course the other day about how music educators should consider the affordances and constraints of technology when situating them in teaching and learning contexts, another conversation with a music… Read More »Perspectives on garageband and musical engagement?

Re-imagining Sondheim as a Means of Considering Curricular Possibilities and Limitations

I am often inspired by news items to imagine musical possibilities that could play out in varied teaching and learning contexts. A recent NPR story on pianist Anthony de Mare’s commissioning 36 composers to re-work songs by  Steven Sondheim caught my attention in this way. Rather than focus on the story (which is fabulous by the way) or the Liaisons project itself, I’m more interested here in making a larger point about curriculum and the ways we do or do… Read More »Re-imagining Sondheim as a Means of Considering Curricular Possibilities and Limitations

Inspiration or appropriation? Impetus for analysis

NPR’s weekend edition recently featured the story Inspiration Or Appropriation? Behind Music Copyright Lawsuits. The story leads with the question: “Where do you draw the line between inspiration and appropriation when it comes to musical compositions?” This is a fabulous generative, essential, or driving question that could lead to variegated investigations, projects, and student problem solving. As with similar reportage, this story features the perspectives of musicologists, in this case Judith Finell. This and similar generative questions can provide an impetus for… Read More »Inspiration or appropriation? Impetus for analysis