Heart of Gold II: Heart for The Community

4-min read

Musical activities are platforms that can help to develop empathy and social responsibility amongst our students. Therein lies in its unique ability to also inspire creativity, collaboration, and promote civic literacy. All this becomes a powerful catalyst for developing 21st century competencies (21CC) in students. It is no wonder that music is a popular tool for schools and students to use to reach out to the community. As the students engage with the community through their music-making, it helps them to better understand other people’s needs and issues. Students discover the ways in which their musical skills can contribute to the betterment of others.

Boon Lay Gardens Primary School Community Engagement

The ‘What’ and ‘How’

The Digital Music Makers Programme was a collaboration between the Music team and Applied Learning Programme (ALP) teams, building on the existing collaboration of a level-wide digital music programme. HOD PE & Aesthetics

Mdm Chua Huay Wen, Music Coordinator Mrs Rachel Por and ALP I/C HOD Curriculum & Innovation (Internal) Mrs Sherrie Chang came together to cocreate an enrichment programme for students with strength and interest in digital music creating and coding, with an emphasis on lifewide learning. The programme was an avenue to encourage students to apply their learning beyond the classroom, and use their knowledge and skills to help others.

It began with a 10-week lesson module on digital music where all P4 students were taught to create music using GarageBand on iPads in their music lessons. Selected students from P4 and P5 were on the Digital Music Maker Programme. As part of their learning experience, the students interviewed seniors in their community, for example, their grandparents, about the songs that they had enjoyed listening to. The students had observed that the seniors had positive emotional connections to their selected songs. The students created an arrangement of the seniors’ preferred songs; arranging using different instrumentation, tempo, and other additional musical elements. Community songs like Chan Mali Chan and Di Tanjong Katong were given a modern twist with the enhancement from GarageBand. These musical experiences helped students to develop critical listening skills as they create and produce music using music technology.

The finished arrangements were downloaded into a portable playback system and installed in a series of interactive artefacts in the form of vintage furniture like cathode ray tube televisions (CRT TVs) and radios created using recycled materials. The students also learnt Micro:bit coding, where they programmed different light and sound effects that were activated by ‘on-gesture’ sensors. Some students were involved in the coding of motion sensors which programmed the music arrangements to be played when there was physical interaction with the artefacts.

The students’ works were showcased as an interactive exhibition for the residents at Toh Guan Park, as part of PAssionArts Festival organised by Toh Guan and Bukit Batok East Community Centre. Such opportunities in community partnerships and service learning open doors for students to gain confidence in their musical and public speaking skills. There was positive feedback from the community on the students’ creations and how they generated a strong sense of nostalgia from the displays.

Initially, some students were unsure about the project and needed more motivation and encouragement. However, as the project progressed, the students began to take ownership of their work and were more motivated. Students also developed their critical and inventive thinking skills, as they creatively and logically worked through the music-making and coding process. They strengthened their collaborative skills as they worked with peers from different classes and levels, to achieve the group goals.

Students demonstrated better communication with their families, particularly with their grandparents, whom they had interviewed. They were surprised and intrigued by their grandparents’ musical tastes, which led to more conversations. This helped to form a deeper understanding of their family’s history and past musical experiences. Students also became more empathetic and confident in communication as they interacted and shared their work with the community. More importantly, the students developed a greater understanding of how their learning could be applied to real-world situations to help others.

Empowering Learning Partnerships

As this was an interdisciplinary project (i.e. a combination of music, art, and computer programming), involvement of teachers from these diverse disciplines was necessary. Additional time and effort was required to come together to plan the programme. The teachers had to ensure that the project was not just about producing a product, but also about providing a valuable learning experience for the students. Forming sustainable and continuity in the partnerships between the school and the receiving community is also important. This means that the school needs to be responsive and open-minded in their efforts, so that goals of all parties involved are aligned and met. There is also a need to refine the project ideas to ensure that the learning objectives in the music syllabus are included. As part of students’ learning, it is critical that the learners have opportunities to reflect on their behaviors and actions. This allows the students to make connections and draw new insights between subjects and their real-world applications and experiences.

Final Thoughts

The Music and ALP teams at Boon Lay Gardens Primary School demonstrated passion and commitment to serve the community and took it upon themselves to role model social awareness and empathy. Together with their students, they strived to be an active contributor for their community, uncovering their hearts of gold.