Four teachers from the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Networked Learning Community (NLC) share how they created a safe and inclusive virtual space for all learners during April’s HomeBased Learning (HBL) period
15
Facilitating Learner-Centred Music Education in Diverse Socio-Cultural Contexts
An Introduction to Informal Learning
20
Musical Conversation with Denyse Ong San San Denyse Ong, STAR Champion and HOD Aesthetics from Geylang Methodist School (Primary), shares her journey as a music teacher.
27
EDITORIAL TEAM
Tommy Wong
Liow Xiao Chun Academy Officer, Music
Josephine Chan
Senior Academy Officer, Music
DESIGN
Garçon Design
STAR Highlights
An overview of STAR PD programmes from January to June 2020.
Editorial
Leading the Way Forward!
For the past few months, music educators have innovated in unimagined ways, especially leveraging upon the affordances of technology, to support and deepen learning and extend knowledge, despite encountering unprecedented constraints.
New approaches towards music teaching became eminent when we had to upskill ourselves with new competencies and literacies to navigate this dynamic transition to a new normalcy. In this issue, we salute and feature the creativity and grit of music educators who are equipping themselves with an entirely new array of pedagogical toolsets. Music educators have also collaborated
closely with one another in the community to meet the challenges of change, thereby helping to foster a broader and deeper paradigm for music teaching.
As we face the turbulence of changing norms, let us continue to imagine new possibilities and to work collaboratively as a community to facilitate fresh and relevant musical experiences for our students. Rather than look back, let us imagine and realise the exciting musical landscape ahead!
James Lee Deputy Director, Music Singapore Teachers’ Academy for
the aRts
Heroes on the Frontline How Music Teachers Overcame Covid-19
made possible by online learning, taking their students to new planes of musical learning.
In recent months, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered our way of life. All around the world, people have had to overcome disruptions to daily routines and cope with changes and uncertainty. Amid these challenging times, many teachers have shone as leading lights, ably innovating and transforming their teaching practices, not simply to adjust to circumstances, but to try different teaching approaches
In Singapore, the dynamic situation meant that teachers had to adapt quickly and acquire new skills for remote instruction outside of the physical classroom. Even as healthcare workers and other frontliners were battling hard to contain and reduce the impact of COVID-19, teachers swiftly rose to the challenge and implemented four weeks of HBL from 8 April to 4 May 2020, ensuring that their students’ learning needs would continue to be met while schools were closed. For teachers who had schooling children, the shift towards full HBL also meant that they had to balance additional work and family commitments.
“Many teachers have shone as leading lights, ably innovating and transforming their teaching practices.”
During the HBL period, many music teachers ventured into less familiar territory. The nature of the subject meant that teachers had to vigorously exercise great courage and creativity to engage their students in new ways meaningfully. Students previously
had ready access to instruments, software, and the physical space for musical collaboration in a classroom environment. Music teachers now had to explore alternative platforms to ensure that the students were still able to achieve the desired learning outcomes. Through persistent hard work, personal sacrifices, and support from the fraternity, many music teachers experienced significant professional growth as educators and musicians, emerging savvier and better equipped to take advantage of diverse contexts to facilitate learning.
“Teachers had to vigorously exercise great courage and creativity to engage their students meaningfully.”
The HBL Experience: Overcoming
challenges to design fun and meaningful music lessons
For Kimberley Foo, music teacher at Anglican High School, the situation was reminiscent of her days as a Beginning Teacher. She had to adapt to an unfamiliar work environment as quickly as possible while juggling various tasks and acquiring new content and skills to teach effectively. The time constraint was undoubtedly a massive challenge for all teachers, who had to navigate through multiple resources, try out different apps, hardware, and software to design and execute suitable lessons, on top of fulfilling other deadlines and administrative responsibilities.
Often, the exploration and lesson planning processes required much determination, deliberation, and experimentation, amidst unexpected setbacks that the teachers might experience from time to time. Since remote instruction would typically involve some form of online learning at certain stages, teachers had to make sure that the online activities and platforms were effectively harnessed. To make an informed decision, Kimberley explored various options and drew from her colleagues’ varied areas of expertise, before determining the platforms to use in her teaching context. Sylvia Wong,
music teacher at Alexandra Primary School, spent many late nights watching tutorials to learn how to use apps for screencasting, video conferencing, and the creating of animated videos. To her, the process of designing HBL lessons was a test of one’s resilience and creativity, a sentiment that many teachers would share. When creating a learning experience using a new app, teachers might belatedly discover that they have to redesign the lesson from scratch, because certain features or functions did not achieve the desired effects or outcomes. It was also common for teachers to have to juggle, troubleshoot, and resolve technical issues with integrating multiple apps and devices, morphing into “IT Octopuses” to prepare for lessons.
One concern that teachers had was how HBL might potentially result in a disconnect between themselves and their students, due to the physical distance that separated both parties. Over the years, the role and expectations of a teacher have evolved to entail far more than one’s ability to disseminate information. By establishing a positive presence through both visual and aural communication, a teacher’s “personal touch” forms an integral part of students’ learning experiences. These are further enhanced when students also have opportunities to interact and collaborate with their peers. To address this concern, many teachers explored different ways to bridge the physical gap, such as conducting ‘live’ lessons over video conferencing
“The process of designing HBL lessons was a test of one’s resilience and creativity, a sentiment that many teachers would resonate with.”
Sylvia working with multiple devices.
platforms, or pre-recording lessons for their students.
The act of teaching in front of a camera or computer screen was not necessarily a natural transition for every classroom teacher. To some, presenting in front of a camera, or recording their spoken speech was an unnerving experience, for a variety of reasons. Although some teachers were initially less comfortable with presenting in front of a camera and would take hours to film a lesson that they could be satisfied with, many of them boldly cast aside their inhibitions, for the sake of their students’ learning and wellbeing. To create a sense of familiarity for students who might miss seeing the faces of their teachers, Sylvia often included videos of herself in her pre-recorded lesson materials, so that her students could see and hear her guiding them, as though they were
“Teachers explored diferent ways to bridge the physical gap, such as conducting ‘live’ lessons over video conferencing platforms, or pre-recording lessons...”
physically together. In these videos, she would also pose questions and include an occasional dose of humour through playful instructions such as “Now, you can click on the next link after this video…why are you still here? Go on! Move on!” to make her lessons more fun and relatable, like how she would teach in the classroom.
In Kimberley’s case, she took special care to provide a balanced mix of asynchronous and synchronous learning options for her students, while ensuring that they remained connected with each other, be it through listening to her musical demonstrations and explanations in pre-recorded lessons or participating in ‘live’ lessons via
A snapshot of Sylvia's prerecorded lesson
An example of Kimberley's lesson packages on SLS
“The ‘live’ sessions allowed her to see and interact with her students, read their behavioural and facial expressions, and address their questions promptly.”
video conferencing. While she found that asynchronous modes of learning enabled students to learn at their own pace, Kimberley also appreciated how the ‘live’ sessions allowed her to see and interact with her students, read their behavioural and facial expressions, and address their questions promptly.
To provide opportunities for students to collaborate even when they were physically apart, some teachers introduced new projects that created memorable learning experiences for their students. When school closures meant that she had to find
an alternative means for her O-Level Music students to develop ensemble skills, Kimberley designed a virtual ensemble activity for her students. Based on a guide track that she had prepared, her students recorded themselves playing their respective parts individually, before sending her their video clips for compilation. Although the students’ experience was different from that of adjusting and blending their playing in a ‘live’ ensemble setting, Kimberley was able to draw the students’ attention to how playing in a virtual ensemble required them to visualise and co-ordinate collectively to produce a coherent
Click here to view a Virtual Ensemble Performance
by Kimberley’s students
“...teachers introduced new projects that created memorable learning experiences for their students.”
body of sound. Most significantly, this project served as a powerful demonstration for the students to exemplify how they could still connect musically with each other, regardless of their circumstances.
chores, and put their children to bed. Naturally, this also meant that there were minimal pockets of time for them to unwind and interact with their family members.
Nevertheless, teachers grew accustomed to this complex juggling act and established routines to balance both family and work commitments. For instance, Kimberley alternated between assigning asynchronous lesson packages and conducting synchronous learning for her students at designated timings, which enabled her to supervise her child’s participation in ‘live’ online lessons, offer IT-related assistance,
(RIGHT) A Facebook post by Education Minister, Mr Ong Ye Kung, posted on 25 April 2020
The HBL period was especially challenging for teachers who were parents of schooling children. In addition to overseeing their students’ learning needs and well-being, these teachers had to look after their children as well. For some teachers, the only conducive time for them to plan and record lessons was during the wee hours of the night, after they had completed a long day at work, performed various household
"We see teachers conducting ‘live’ streamed lessons during Home-Based Learning (HBL), but what we do not see is the hard work, efforts, and sacrifices they made for these to happen. Many teachers are also parents, and like many parents, they are working and looking after their children at the same time. There are many teachers and parents in similar situations. Some have help in the day, some split the caring of their children with their spouse. Others work till midnight to catch up on what they could not finish in the day. They are all finding their own ways to look after their children, and their students, at the same time."
ONG YE KUNG
and provide guidance when her child worked on assignments. Both Kimberley and Sylvia even tried out their lesson ideas with their children, which provided a useful indication of how their students might respond.
Over the weeks, teachers would have observed that the HBL period encouraged both their children and students to develop greater independence, exercise self-discipline, and take ownership of their learning. As the weeks went by, Sylvia noticed that her children were less reliant on her to set up their laptops and resolve technical issues. In fact, many of her students had also transformed from passive recipients of help to active problem-solvers who were able to troubleshoot and propose solutions whenever their classmates faced difficulties during the online learning activities.
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges that have threatened to overwhelm and isolate us, our teachers have bravely forged on, embraced the changes, innovated, and adapted their practices to create the best possible learning experiences for Sylvia and her child demonstrating an activity in a pre-recorded lesson and stay connected with their students. During the process of overcoming these challenges, both Kimberley and Sylvia were grateful and heartened by how the teaching community rallied together for the common good of enriching students’ learning, generously sharing ideas, resources, solutions, and providing encouragement and feedback for one another. For instance, Kimberley’s experience in working on a virtual musical collaboration project with music teachers from other schools had enabled her to implement a similar plan with her students more effectively. Through online learning circles, many teachers also contributed ideas and benefitted from discussions on various modes of presentation and strategies to engage students, under both broader and subject-specific
A note from Sylvia's child
“The teaching community rallied together for the common good of enriching students’ learning.”
contexts. By uniting and sharing with one another, teachers were collectively exposed to many new ideas and able to broaden their skillsets, thus emerging better equipped to meet their students’ diverse learning needs.
Embarking on musical initiatives to encourage and inspire others
When many countries implemented and eventually tightened social distancing measures, concert halls and opera houses, amongst numerous performance venues, began to fall silent. Yet, music continued to remain an important part of our daily lives through various platforms, regardless of our circumstances,
serving as a source of expression, encouragement, and inspiration. From spontaneous performances from our home balconies to co-ordinated virtual collaborative projects dedicated to frontline workers, our engagement with music adapted to reflect and connect with all that was happening around us.
Since the onset of COVID-19, many music teachers have embarked on different musical initiatives to help their students experience and understand how music possesses the affective power to influence and touch lives. For example, some teachers guided their students in composing songs to express their gratitude to healthcare workers working on the frontline. These songs, along with notes of appreciation from students, helped to provide moral support for the workers, who might have been feeling weary and demoralised.
In addition, there were teachers who wrote songs to encourage their students to practise socially responsible behaviour. Prior to the HBL period, Sylvia noticed that some of the younger students at her school were forgetting to wash their hands before their meals and needed constant reminders to cover their noses and mouths whenever they sneezed. Together with her colleagues, they created new lyrics to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”
If you’re coughing or you’re sneezing
Wear a mask (“clap, clap”)
If you’re coughing or you’re sneezing
Wear a mask (“clap, clap”)
If you’re coughing and you know it, then you really shouldn’t spread it
If you’re coughing or you’re sneezing
Wear a mask (“clap, clap”)
If you want to eat some food
Wash your hands (“clap, clap”)
If you want to eat some food
Wash your hands (“clap, clap”)
If you’re feeling kinda hungry and your hands are kinda dirty
Then before you eat you’ve got to wash your hands (“clap, clap”)
There’s a virus nowadays
Don’t touch your face (“clap, clap”)
There’s a virus nowadays
Don’t touch your face (“clap, clap”)
If you go to different places, or just tie up your shoe laces
There’s a virus nowadays
Don’t touch your face (“clap, clap”)
If your temperature is high
Don’t come to school (“clap, clap”)
If your temperature is high
Don’t come to school (“clap, clap”)
If you’re running a high fever, then don’t be an eager beaver
Stay at home to rest and come back when you’re cool (“clap, clap”)
and taught their students how to sing the song, to remind them to take safety precautions and keep themselves healthy.
The song was so well-received by the students that some of them would occasionally greet their teachers by singing a portion of the song, or even just a short phrase before snack breaks to remind their recalcitrant friends
“There were teachers who wrote songs to encourage their students to practise socially responsible behaviour.”
to maintain good personal hygiene. Furthermore, the song was certainly more memorable and effective than any attempt to convey verbal instructions for the students’ compliance.
To encourage her students to reflect on how they could make the most of this turbulent period to contribute as civic-minded members of society, Kimberley wrote a song titled “What Are Hands For?” to spread a message of care, kindness, and positivity. Beyond addressing the importance of proper hygiene, she hoped that the song would broaden her students’ perspectives about life and prompt them to be more conscious of how their choices and actions could influence outcomes.
Despite their busy schedules, many teachers also set aside time to hone their musical craft. While some decided to write songs or pick up a new instrument, others collaborated with fellow members of the fraternity
FIGURE 1.
Lyrics by the music teachers from Alexandra Primary School
WHAT ARE HANDS FOR?
What are hands for?
Not for pointing fingers, spreading germs
What are hands for?
They’re for acts of kindness, fixing problems
When we choose to say kind words every day
We keep our spirits up Raise up your hands and say
around her. In doing so, Sylvia also sought to practise what she often challenged her students to do: to push boundaries and try new experiences.
What we choose to do, together me and you
Let’s join our hearts (not hands)
And see what we can do
Lyrics to “What Are Hands For?”, a song composed by Kimberley
Click here to view the Lyric Video for “What Are Hands For?”
What can I do?
What can I say?
How will I use me to make a better day? What can I do? What can I say?
Let’s use our hands for good, come what may
to present creative and engaging performances online. Inspired by artistes who live-streamed their performances and took song requests to connect with their audience, Sylvia decided to create her own “piano requests” programme, spontaneously performing songs that were requested by her friends. Even though it was not an easy endeavour for her to perform ‘live’ and with limited preparation, she saw this platform as an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone and develop her musical and presentation skills, while bringing cheer to the people
Many of these musical initiatives were born out of the teachers’ strong conviction that music is an essential part of our lives, even as it faced the prospect of being sidelined during the COVID-19 pandemic. While these teachers had to go the extra mile to bring these projects to fruition, the resulting impact was that their students have now developed a deeper appreciation for the importance of music and its unique place in society.
Post-HBL Reflections and Professional Growth
While this season presented many challenging and stressful moments for teachers, this experience has undoubtedly broadened horizons and perspectives, opened diverse new possibilities for teaching and learning in the long run, and offered moments of introspection. For Kimberley, this period reaffirmed her belief about the importance of developing a wider range of skillsets to facilitate various modes of learning, as well as providing routines and structures for lessons to be engaging and effective. Another important takeaway that teachers had was that meaningful student engagement encompassed
FIGURE 2.
Click here to view the Lyric Video of Sylvia’s song, “Until the Shadow Passes”, dedicated to those battling COVID-19.
far more than one’s ability to utilise a wide array of sophisticated digital platforms. As Sylvia realised, serving up a sensory explosion of colours, pictures, pulse clicks, rhythmic beeps, and animations might inadvertently create a disorientating learning experience for students. Instead, the HBL experience reinforced the need for careful deliberation, thorough planning, innovative lesson design, and post-lesson reflections for improvement, so that teachers could meet their students’ learning needs and achieve the desired learning outcomes.
While teachers’ rapid acquisition of new technological knowledge was largely due to the need to carry out HBL, the resulting outcome is that many of them have gained new perspectives and skills that better inform how they teach in both physical and online classroom settings. With the support of the fraternity, these new knowledge and skills, when harnessed through careful pedagogical planning, will enable teachers to meet the increasingly diverse needs of their students, and to creatively combine the advantages of both classroom and homebased learning in synergistic ways, advancing students’ musical learning in ways not possible before.
Creating a Safe Virtual Space for Our Students
Four teachers from the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Networked Learning Community (NLC) share how they created a safe and inclusive virtual space for all learners during April’s Home-Based Learning (HBL) period.
Diving into full Home-Based Learning (HBL) in April 2020 was akin to entering a new realm of teaching and learning. It was certainly not easy for teachers, students, and parents to adjust in such a short period of time. Like other music teachers in the fraternity, four teachers from the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Networked Learning Community (NLC) had many concerns and questions on their mind as they started the first week of HBL. With varied learners having a range of needs and abilities, how could they translate that care to every child virtually? How could they ensure that their virtual classrooms were inclusive?
In a normal face-to-face lesson, teachers would be able to adapt and adjust the lesson content and mode of learning on the spot as they respond to students’ needs. In a virtual asynchronous lesson, immediate tweaks to the lesson are not quite possible. Realising this, Marianne Woo, Level Head Aesthetics at St. Stephen’s School, provided detailed scaffolding for all students and ensured that her instructions were short and succinct. Apart from written instructions on the Student Learning Space (SLS) platform, she also created video guides to help students navigate new online tools. She had to anticipate and provide
FIRST SCORE:
Music score for All Through the Night
SECOND SCORE:
Graphic score for All Through the Night
various support measures to enable all students to experience success in completing various online tasks.
Supporting students’ needs through a multimodal approach
Knowing that students in her class had diverse learning styles, Marianne pulled together various resources and organised the information into bite sizes to engage students meaningfully
and in a variety of ways. An example would be a lesson where she taught students to play a song on the recorder using the SLS. To facilitate her students’ learning, Marianne customised the musical score by colour-coding the notes and fingerings (see First Score). She also prepared an audio recording, a video, and a graphic score for students to refer to (see Second Score). This multimodal approach provided students with a variety of ways to process information, which scaffolded their learning of the recorder. The multimodal approach plays an important role in helping learners build referential connections, so learners can readily infer the music elements rather than memorise them (Yu, Lai, Tsai & Chang, 2010). Lessons should use aural-visual-tactilekinesthetic techniques for maximum student understanding (Sobol, 2017). Thus, music teachers could explore presenting a single concept in a variety of ways.
Using different ways to assess students’ understanding
Choices, options, and variety in instructional strategies and techniques are critical elements in a virtual classroom that is inclusive
Yu, P.-T., Lai, Y.-S., Tsai, H.-S., & Chang, Y.-H. (2010). Using a Multimodal Learning System to Support Music Instruction. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (3), 151-162. Sobol, E.S. (2017). An attitude and approach for teaching music to special learners. United States of America: Rowman & Littlefeld.
Lesson Design for Blended Learning
Consider the following when designing lessons for blended learning:
How do we bring out the musical voice of every student in blended learning?
How do we create a safe environment for our students to express themselves freely?
How can we support all learners in blended learning?
for all students. Gracia Lim, a music teacher at Anderson Primary School, made provisions for her students to demonstrate their understanding of their learning through multiple methods and formats. She allowed students to use drawings, audio and/ or video recordings, drag and drop question and answer submissions, or free response submissions to assess their understanding. The different modes of assessment enabled her to engage her students more effectively.
One tool that Gracia used to assess her students’ learning was Padlet. Students had to submit their individual audio recordings on Padlet to demonstrate their learning of a
new song. Through this tool, her students were not only able to hear their classmates’ recordings, but also able to listen to their schoolmates’ recordings. This was an unintended surprise for her as her students shared that they were fascinated by the prospect of hearing a friend from another class sing. Through this experience, Gracia felt that this was indeed a rare opportunity for students to be able to access and appreciate other students’ voices. This is an example of how technology has enhanced the learning experience of students.
Learning at students’ own pace and space
HBL has brought about new ways of teaching and learning. In HBL, there are some areas where teachers have little control over, such as the students’ home environment and the kind of resources available to them at home. Skye Gan, a music teacher at Xingnan Primary School, shared that he had to continually innovate, revisit, reimagine, and redesign his lessons to cater to the needs of his students. Students in his classes love playing musical instruments during his classroom-based lessons. Thus, the absence of physical musical instruments was a concern for him. He decided to learn how to create virtual instruments to engage his students in HBL. He created a
virtual xylophone (Pentatonic) and set of boomwhackers using Scratch for students to play along as they sang. In one of Skye’s SLS lessons, students had the opportunity to sing the Korean folk song, Gom Se Mari, play on virtual instruments, and record their performances. One of his students, who has delayed language development, was able to sing the song Gom Se Mari in its entirety with actions, record her playing on the virtual xylophone, and post her video on Flipgrid. Skye observed that this student successfully sang the Korean folk song with confidence through this HBL lesson, even though she often struggled to pronounce the lyrics of the songs during his classroombased lessons.
Why do some students seem to learn better during virtual learning?
It dawned upon Skye that online platforms allowed his students to learn at their own pace and students who needed more revision could watch the video multiple times, or even pause at a particular point, to master that section before continuing.
Students, especially those with difficulties in learning the task, seem to thrive when they are able to learn at their own space and have more control over their pace of learning. During HBL, students were able to access the lessons anytime, relisten or re-watch them, or pause and speed up the lesson materials. Furthermore, relatively shy students would also take comfort in recording their singing or performances at home and not have to sing in front of the whole class. Gracia shared that some students who were rather shy in her classroom-based lessons submitted online vocal performances that were surprisingly commendable during HBL. After the May break, when Gracia managed to meet her classes, she intentionally played some of these recordings, and she noted how the featured students were beaming with pride. This served as a positive beginning to boost these students’ confidence and self-esteem.
With the use of technology, students were able to learn at their own pace and space. Thus, we would need to rethink how we design our lessons to cater to all students, as we move into blended learning.
Partnering Parents & Teachers
Listening to audio recordings of students’ work during HBL is something that all music teachers
“HBL has opened our eyes to new ways for students to rehearse, express, and learn music.”
can relate to. Mdm Jessica Chaw, Senior Teacher from Edgefield Primary School, was amazed to hear parents singing with their children in the audio recordings. They were also prompting them to be in time, clapping and cheering for them at the end of the performances. It was indeed heart-warming for Jessica to be able to witness the participation of parents in encouraging their child’s musical learning. Prior to HBL, Jessica had always worked closely with parents. She strongly believes in building a positive rapport with parents, so that they could better support every child’s learning and socialemotional development. With HBL kicking in, she was able to enlist the help of her students’ parents to support and assist their children in completing the online tasks. This was especially important for students with special educational needs, where two-way parent and teacher communication has to be in place in order for a child to have smooth and positive learning experiences.
Besides parents, Jessica also gathered a group of teachers in her school at the start of this year, from the areas of Physical Education,
Art, and Music, to collate and compile good stories and strategies for creating an inclusive classroom. This team of teachers is supporting each other in its efforts to meet the needs of all students and tailor their teaching for all students.
As the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ suggests, having a good relationship with parents, as well as a support system among fellow teachers in the school or across schools, would go a long way in supporting all students in their learning journey, be it in classroombased or home-based learning contexts, or as a blend of both.
Conclusion
HBL has opened our eyes to new ways for students to rehearse, express, and learn music. Attention to learning styles and developmental levels of students need to be addressed and practised if we are to reach and teach all students effectively. Varied modes of engagement and detailed scaffolding on online platforms are some ways in which we can create a safe and inclusive virtual space for all learners.
Facilitating Learner-Centred Music Education in Diverse
Socio-Cultural
Contexts
An Introduction to Informal Learning
The music classroom is an increasingly complex and diverse learning environment that comprises students of varying social-cultural backgrounds, musical abilities, and preferences. Classroom teachers strive to design lessons that can engage students of all profiles, from students who have exposure to music learning to those with little or no music experiences.
Many music teachers know that their students listen to all kinds of musical genres and, perhaps, have realised that some of the music that their students enjoy is less familiar to them. In our globalised and digitally connected world today, we now have convenient access
to music from a wide range of diverse cultures. Streaming platforms, such as Spotify and YouTube, allow users to obtain instant access to millions of tracks in multiple styles and genres, and also allow users to create customised playlists. Consequently, students have differing exposure and possess greater control in curating the music that they listen to.
As such, music teachers often face a dilemma when determining how to contextualise what they teach their students and how to give them a voice, especially when considering
Group Performance Activity during the Informal and Non-Formal Approach in Teaching Music Workshop
their personal expertise alongside the multitude of options available to them. At times, some teachers would also have experienced lessons where their students appear uninterested and disengaged, despite having chosen certain lesson materials and teacher-led activities with the very best of intentions to excite and engage. Whether it is during a faceto-face lesson in the classroom, or during a home-based learning session for students, teachers must factor in numerous considerations to meet their students’ learning needs.
Learners’ levels of engagement and initiative are critical in determining the quality of their learning experiences. Given their students’ diverse socio-cultural contexts, how can teachers facilitate a learner-
centred music education that privileges the students’ voice and choice? To make music lessons more meaningful, interesting, and engaging for students, teachers have to be cognisant of the musical cultures that have captured the imagination of their students (Lum and Dairianathan, 2013). At the same time, teachers should not expect their students to be passive recipients of any music that they eventually come to value. As consumers of music, all of us are active agents in choosing the music that we would take the time to listen and respond to, or even discard (Campbell and Wiggins, 2013). While some teachers might prefer to plan their lessons based on the music they would like their students to learn, teachers should also consider how they might tap on their students’
Dairianathan, E., & Lum, C.H. (2013). Refexive and refective perspectives of musical childhoods in Singapore. In T. Wiggins & P.S. Campbell (Eds.), Oxford handbook of children’s musical cultures (pp. 332-349). New York: Oxford University Press. Campbell, P. S., & Wiggins, T. (Eds.). (2013). Oxford handbook of children’s musical cultures. New York: Oxford University Press.
Formal learning practices usually involve:
• Being introduced to music which is often new and unfamiliar, normally chosen by a teacher
• Learning through notation or other written or verbal instructions
• Learning through expert instruction and receiving adult supervision
Informal learning practices usually involve:
• Learning music which is personally chosen, familiar, and which the learners enjoy and strongly identify with
• Learning by listening to recordings and copying them by ear
• Learning alongside friends through talking about music, peer-assessment, listening, watching and imitating each other, usually without adult supervision
• Following a progression from simple to complex, often involving specially composed music, curriculum, or graded syllabus
• Gradually specialising in and differentiating between listening, performing, improvising, and composing skills; often tending to emphasise the reproduction more than the creative skills
FIGURE 1. Comparison between Formal and Informal Learning practices in music
Click here for Interview with Lucy Green: What is Informal Learning?
• Assimilating skills and knowledge in personal, often haphazard ways according to musical preferences, starting with ‘whole’, ‘real-world’ pieces of music
• Maintaining a close integration of listening, performing, improvising, and composing throughout the learning process
personal musical interests to develop musical learning outcomes.
Facilitating a learner-centred music education through the Informal Learning approach
In contrast to strictly “formalised” teaching methods, where a teacher would deliver a pre-determined lesson and expect students to listen, copy, and refine in a progressively complex manner, Informal Learning could be
Green, L., & Walmsley, A. (2006/2009). Classroom resources for informal music learning, teachers’ pack [Personalising music learning teachers’ resource pack, section 2]. London, UK: Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Retrieved from www.musicalfutures.org
Analytical Extension
Not all songs and music are written and performed with a sense of moral responsibility. While learners are given a voice and assume ownership in their learning, how can teachers guide students to make appropriate choices and inculcate a sense of social responsibility?
Analytical Extension
While students have the autonomy to choose the friends that they wish to work with, how can teachers promote a sense of inclusion and respect for diversity in our increasingly heterogeneous classroom contexts?
seen as a less prescriptive approach that encourages self-directed learning.
In Informal Learning, the emphasis on student ownership enables teachers to heighten and harness students’ motivation towards learning, whilst providing a learning environment for students to develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. Students are given the responsibility and autonomy of choice to make decisions across multiple aspects of their learning, such as in the selection of music, the peers
that they collaborate with, and the direction of their musical endeavours. By giving students the space to exercise greater independence, teachers empower the students’ voices, acknowledge their musical identities, and provide opportunities for richer musical exploration and expression.
Informal Learning in Action
In terms of the acquisition and application of musical knowledge and skills, the Informal Learning approach primarily revolves around aural learning, which could also be accompanied by the use of visual guides that are not necessarily rooted in music theory. At times, students might also choose to learn music that teachers would normally deem to be too technically complex, or beyond their current abilities, especially if they have limited prior experience in the musical endeavour(s). However, it would still be possible for the students to engage in authentic and meaningful musical experiences, even without a pre-determined and sequenced study of music theory or instrumental playing. Students would still be able to experiment, self-assess, and create satisfying musical outcomes, especially when they work on musical styles that they are familiar with.
For instance, students could learn to sing a song by replaying and listening
An example of a ‘Just Play’ Slide by Musical Futures, which could be used to teach different musical parts and facilitate collaborative music-making
purposefully to an audio recording, instead of referring to a notated score, for which interpretation would require a specific set of schemata that they might not already possess. The students might even choose to refer to a karaoke video, where certain words light up to provide a rough indication of rhythm and tempo, in the absence of precisely notated rhythmic patterns.
When learning to play an instrumental part of a song, students might not possess certain technical skills or theoretical knowledge as prescribed by a graded music syllabus. However, it is still possible for students to learn by referring to their preferred video tutorials at their own level and pace, or even through consulting their peers or teachers. In this case, the emphasis is on learning to perform a piece of music, through which techniques and musical understandings are acquired and applied in a more fluid and organic manner. This process is unlike formal instrumental tuition, where teachers
tend to introduce techniques and pieces sequentially and at increasing levels of difficulty.
During group-based musical activities, students might not necessarily be playing music according to notated scores, or co-creating compositions through conventional music notation. Instead, the focus would be on discussing musical ideas, examining their effects, and making adjustments collaboratively. When the musicmaking process is no longer tied down to a specific process and format, students are now free to negotiate infinite possibilities and trajectories for their music to take flight. Using various technological tools, such as virtual instruments, audio and video recording and editing software, and digital audio workstations, students are also able to extend their musical collaboration beyond the confines of the classroom.
The Teacher-Facilitator
In Informal Learning, the teacher is a facilitator who listens to and respects the students’ voices. If teachers are to be responsible for students’ education and welfare, there ought to be occasions when they sit back to watch students at musical play and to learn about their knowledge of and regard for music (Campbell, 2000). However, this does not mean that there is a total release
Musical Collaboration during the Informal and Non-Formal Approach in Teaching Music Workshop
“Teachers should continue to cultivate their musicianship and engage in musical practice.”
of responsibility, where teachers completely step away from the learning process to take on a passive observational role. While students assume greater ownership in their learning, the teacher continues to play a fundamental role in guiding students to make appropriate choices, inculcating in them a sense of social responsibility, and promoting a sense of inclusion and respect for diversity.
Group play has an energy of its own that may be eroded by too much control from an outside source, such as the teacher (Lum, Campbell, 2007). Instead of dictating the problemsolving process, teachers could promote self-directed learning by asking questions that help students to think of possible solutions, or by providing a suitable amount of information, knowledge, and skill that leaves enough room for them to work things out for themselves.
Click here for Interview with Lucy Green: Role of the Teacher in Informal learning
Click here for Interview with Lucy Green: Teacher facilitator in the Informal Learning Setting
Effective facilitation is also about knowing when to provide advice and scaffolding where it is appropriate and stepping back when it is not.
Most importantly, teachers should continue to cultivate their musicianship and engage in musical
Campbell, P. S. (2000). What Music Really Means to Children. Music Educators Journal, Vol. 86, No. 5, Special Focus: Vision 2020, 32-36.
Lum, C. H., & Campbell, P. S. (2007). The Sonic Surrounds of an Elementary School. Journal of Research in Music Education, 55:31, 31-47. DOI: 10.1177/002242940705500104
Group Drumming and Rapping activities during the Informal and NonFormal Approach in Teaching Music Workshop
practice to constantly broaden and deepen their familiarity with as many musical styles, traditions, and practices as possible. By developing a keen understanding of the diverse range of music genres and their associated teaching and learning practices, teachers would be better equipped to facilitate effectively and bring about richer musical experiences for their students.
Conclusion
To find out more about the Informal Learning Approach and other pedagogical approaches, click here to read Providing A Rich Music Learning Experience (2020) , a publication which presents and discusses a collection of music pedagogies that are practised in our Singapore music classroom contexts.
Music knowledge is both transmitted and acquired multi-modally and often encourages learners to actively participate in music knowledge processes (Barton, 2018). When teaching strategies are centred around students’ interests, their learning experience becomes more authentic, bringing about greater motivation to discover, explore, and inquire. Concurrently, teachers should identify opportunities to
skilfully weave in novel and unfamiliar elements to extend their students’ learning beyond the confines of the familiar. Informal learning processes are not limited to take place within the confines of the classroom environment, but can also be tapped on for students to extend their musical learning independently, or collaboratively, even from home. While the Informal Learning approach came about from an understanding of how pop musicians learn outside of school, it is not restricted to popular music and can be applied to other styles of music.
The Informal Learning approach is one of many pedagogical approaches that teachers can adopt to engage their students in the music classroom. Depending on their contexts, teachers should employ the most suitable teaching approach(es) to meet their students’ diverse needs and bring out the desired learning outcomes in the music classroom.
Barton, G. (2018). Music Learning and Teaching in Culturally and Socially Diverse Contexts: Implications for Classroom Practice. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Musical Conversation with Denyse Ong San San
Denyse Ong, STAR Champion and HOD Aesthetics from Geylang Methodist School (Primary), shares her journey as a music teacher.
Share with us how your journey as a music teacher started.
me into the music programme, even though I did not have a Grade 5 ABRSM certification at the time. He recognised my passion for music, which has driven me ever since I was a member of the School Military Band for eight years, from when I was in Primary 3 to Secondary 4.
I played the baritone in primary school and picked up the French horn in secondary school. I was also mesmerised by the sound of the flute and learnt to play it with my friend’s help in secondary school. In 2018, when I learnt that the instructor for my school’s Angklung CCA was a flautist, I sought his guidance and challenged myself to perform alongside the school’s choir for the song ‘Take These Wings’. It was a proud moment for me, and I am still keeping up with the flute till today.
(TOP)
Denyse performing on the Flute for ‘Take These Wings’
I initially wanted to be a Physical Education (PE) teacher as I had been very sporty and active since young. As it turned out, I was offered a place in the General Education course at the National Institute of Education and was given the opportunity to pursue music as my CS3. I am grateful that Mr Peter Stead, then lecturer at NIE, took a chance on me and accepted
My experience in the band was an integral part of my development as a musician-educator, as I was amazed by how different composite parts could come together to create an ensemble of cohesive and beautiful music. This translates to what I hope to emulate for my students in classroom situations and musical
experiences – that we can achieve so much more when individuals come together to create a collaborative work.
In 2015, I had the opportunity to attend the Music Teacher Practitioner Programme (MTPP) at STAR to deepen my practice and pedagogy. This eight-month course was a rejuvenating learning experience that motivated me to continue upgrading my Subject Content Knowledge (SCK) as well as my Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). While it was challenging to manage my learning and work commitments, the eight months proved to be incredibly enriching and rewarding. One of the greatest moments in my teaching career was when I achieved my ABRSM Grade 5 theory certification. In turn, this encouraged me to extend my learning further, and I successfully completed the Advanced Diploma programme in 2016. These positive and rewarding moments provided a great sense of achievement and boosted my confidence as a musician. As an educator, I share these personal experiences of grit, resilience, and eventual success with my students, and I hope that they will be inspired to always believe in themselves and be grateful for opportunities to learn and grow.
“I had the opportunity to meet friends from many diferent classes and we bonded through all our band practices.”
What does music education mean to you?
I cherish the spirit of camaraderie and friendship formed through music and experienced this during my involvement in the School Military Band. I had the opportunity to meet friends from many different classes and we bonded through all our band practices as we practised hard to put up performances. One performance that I remember vividly was the musical extravaganza that I helped to organise at my primary school. I was given the opportunity by my principal and teachers to organise the performance even though I
“I worked with a teacher mentor to liaise with performing arts groups, and learnt to curate the programme and fow of the performance.”
was only eleven years old then. I worked with a teacher mentor to liaise with various performing arts groups, and learnt to curate the programme and flow of the performance. At the end of the concert, I was acknowledged as the organiser in front of the audience and that gave me great pride and confidence. The faith that my mentors had in me was very empowering and has impacted me significantly. In turn, I strive to create opportunities for students and equip them with the skills to lead, take ownership, and shine, so that they too will build their confidence and self-esteem.
her challenges and successfully managed to play three notes during an Angklung performance. While this might not seem like an achievement to many, the small but valuable moment of success that she experienced was significant to me and my student. Having benefitted from rich learning opportunities and musical experiences, I feel that educators should provide students with an array of musical experiences to help them forge deep friendships that would last a lifetime. Musical experiences can bridge gaps when students learn to communicate, connect, and collaborate with one another, regardless of differences in their background and academic capability.
As a Primary STAR Champion, you had the opportunity to collaborate with Secondary STAR Champions to design a spiral curriculum that spans musical learning across the primary and secondary syllabuses. What are your thoughts about this?
Once, I had a student who struggled to read and write. However, she overcame
W hen primary and secondary STAR Champions work together, we get to see the link between primary and
Denyse with fellow STAR Champions after a workshop
“I gained invaluable insights and ideas from the sharing and was challenged to view things from diferent perspectives.”
secondary schools and ensure that there is continuity in musical learning for our students.
The collaboration also allowed us to share our varied teaching approaches across levels and gain a better understanding of how to plan a continuous curriculum that focused on students’ development and learning outcomes. I benefitted from the professional development sessions with the Master Teachers and fellow STAR Champions greatly as I gained invaluable insights and ideas from the sharing and was challenged to view things from different perspectives. The learning environment and synergy with my zonal STAR Champions during various stages
of planning, micro-teaching, and role-playing gave me a more holistic picture, and that inspired me to share pedagogical approaches during last year’s East Zone Star Champions workshop.
In the recent Home-Based Learning (HBL), how would you describe your experience, and why?
It was initially challenging as music lessons had always been very interactive physical experiences for both teachers and students. As HBL lessons had to be taught through a screen, some of my concerns were
“I tried to align my lesson objectives to musical activities which I felt could connect more with my students.”
regarding student engagement, checking for students’ understanding, and assessment of students’ learning, especially in areas like singing and moving to a beat accurately.
As we navigated through planning and preparing for HBL, I became more aware of the direction I should take in preparing HBL lessons by referencing lessons in the SLS Community Gallery and lesson ideas shared by other teachers around the world via social media platforms. I was thankful for the passion and openness of the international fraternity of music educators in sharing and benefitted
from them by joining many live sharing sessions. In one example, the presenters shared how simple daily appliances like plastic cups and chopsticks could be used to create simple rhythms and music. Since students may not have access to percussion instruments at home, this idea encouraged me to explore how students could still create music using household items and/or body percussion. Another takeaway was how I could promote the Joy of Learning during HBL. I attended a webinar by the NAMM foundation titled ‘Bridging the Gap: Teaching and Learning Music Online’, which advocated the need to focus on students’ interests. Subsequently, I tried to align my lesson objectives to musical activities which I felt could connect more with my students.
An example of Denyse's SLS lesson for Lower Primary which focused on music creation using body percussion
“Instead of focusing solely on what I should teach, I have started to think about what and how my students would want to learn.”
Share with us some interesting ideas that your team of teachers came up with during this HBL period.
In our school, there was a group of students who had to come back to school every day during the HBL period. The team designed simple activities such as song and dance lessons for lower primary students and a ‘Popular Songs on Ukulele’ module for upper primary students. Students were actively engaged, and it was a good break from their normal routine.
During the May holidays, the team also planned an online talent event for students to participate in individually or with their whole family. Students were encouraged to sing, record their performances, and upload the clips for others to view. Since everyone would be at home for the entire May break, bonding as a family through music would be a fun and meaningful way to build relationships.
Do you find there is strong mutual support
and sharing of ideas from the community of music teachers that helps tide through this challenging time?
Definitely, as seen by how we are able to get instant access to many lessons in SLS and the rich lesson ideas in the SLS Community Gallery shared by fellow music teachers as well as Master Teachers and AEB. These resources were very helpful as we could use and adapt the lesson ideas to suit the profiles and needs of our students.
Having attended the Informal and Non-Formal approach in teaching music workshop, what are some of your key takeaways/insights?
These pedagogical approaches have made me a more confident music educator. I now have a wider range of teaching approaches to choose from to suit the varied profile of students in my classroom. I have also developed broader perspectives that encompass both the teacher’s and learner’s mindsets. Instead of focusing solely on what I should teach, I have started to think about what and how my students would want to learn. That way, I can create an engaging and
an activity during the Informal and Non-Formal Approach in Teaching Music Workshop
non-threatening environment for all students to learn at their own pace.
One of the key takeaways from the workshop was about empowering student choices and decisions in an effective way. Before the workshop, I used to think that informal learning was about providing students with total freedom of choice, but now I see that with modelling and good scaffolding by setting parameters, students can be equipped with thinking skills that can lead to better decision-making. I look forward to explore how I can vary the extent of informal learning in various stages and implement these ideas and strategies after HBL to encourage students to take ownership of their learning.
As a teacher-leader, what are the ways you see the fraternity
moving forward in the coming years? How do you see your role in that evolution?
As a teacher-leader, I hope that all music teachers will continue to inspire students, not just through their passion for teaching, but also through their passion for music. By keeping up with our craft and being active practitioners, we would be setting examples for the students which, in my opinion, is the best takeaway for students.
I also hope for music teachers to be open to the voices of students and to guide them to achieve the school’s vision for music education, which would inculcate students’ ownership and pride in their learning. Together as a fraternity, we can make schools and the nation more vibrant than we ever imagined.
Denyse participating in
STAR Highlights
Another semester of new musical experiences with STAR. We’ve put together a roundup of highlights that have been taken place.
01 Creating instrumental arrangements at our Orff Plus workshop
02 Participants exploring the Groove Pizza app at our Technology in Music Education Workshop
03 Experiencing a song through imitation and creative movement at our Orff Approach for Student-Centric Music Lessons Workshop
04 Sharing session during a curriculum design workshop for STAR Champions
05 Experiencing Jazz through movement at our Teaching Jazz with an Orff-inspired Approach workshop
06 Performing as a percussion ensemble at our Informal and Non-Formal approach in teaching music workshop
07 Group composition activity at our curriculum design workshop for STAR Champions
08 Exploring speech rhymes, rhythms, and dynamics at our Orff Plus workshop
09 Experiencing Jazz through playing different layers of an Orff arrangement at our Teaching Jazz with an Orffinspired Approach workshop
e-AEC 2020*
Arts for the Future: Imagining Possibilities
SAVE THE DATE!
10 & 11 November 2020
Time: 2.30pm to 5.30pm
Participants: All Art, Music, Drama, and Dance teachers
Our biennial Arts Education Conference (AEC) is going online! Participate in two half afternoons of e-learning, e-making, and e-sharing in the comfort of your own e-conference space.
Presenters and participants will have opportunities to:
1) SHARE NEW PERSPECTIVES on studentcentric practices and e-pedagogy in the contexts of school-based and home-based learning;
2) SYNERGISE DIVERSE IDEAS and imagine the future in arts education as we embrace efforts such as ‘SkillsFuture for Educators’ and ‘One Secondary Education, Many Pathways’ to develop our students to be lifelong learners; and
3) EXPAND PRACTICE POSSIBILITIES through the collective imaginative capacities of local and overseas pedagogues, the local arts community, and creative industries.
Strands
There are three e-conference strands to focus our learning and exchange:
STRAND 1: DIVERSITY IN PRACTICE
challenges arts educators to draw upon a wide range of ideas and insights, and to harness the power of arts engagement to prime learners in navigating and creating new meaning from a diversity of viewpoints. #differentiatedstrategies #communityofvoices #joyoflearning
STRAND 2: ARTS AS LIVED EXPERIENCES
explores artistic expression as a space for teachers to guide students in forging identity and values, as well as a mode for learning about culture, heritage, and society. #identity&values #authenticity #artisticexpression
STRAND 3: TRANSFORMATION THROUGH CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
asks arts educators to engage in exchange about creative learning possibilities and promising teaching practices. Besides tried-and-tested ideas and best practices, what else?
#homebasedlearning
#blendedlearning #newliteracies
Calling for submission of proposals to present at e-AEC 2020. All MOE Education Officers teaching Art, Music, Dance, and Drama are invited to submit proposals for:
1. TALK SHOPPRE-RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Talk Shop refers to prerecorded presentations on completed research work, critical inquiry projects, or term-long lesson units. Presenters may record the voiceover narration for presentations using the “Record Slide Show” feature on Microsoft PowerPoint or screen recording software.
There are two types of Talk Shop:
I. Individual presentations. Individual presenters have 20 minutes to present his or her work.
II. Group presentations. Group presentations are limited to 30 minutes and can consist of 2-3 presentations connected by a common topic.
2. POP-UP 10LIVE-STREAMED DISCUSSIONS
Pop-Up 10 are live-streamed discussions where individual presenters will pop-up for 10 minutes in pre-assigned virtual rooms at an allocated time to ‘sell’ certain key ideas or principles related to their work in teaching and learning (e.g. homebased learning, blendedlearning) or discuss a research study in progress. Presenters will then facilitate discussions by posing open-ended questions where participants can respond directly in the virtual rooms or using applications such as Padlet or Mentimeter.
Submit proposal here or scan QR code.
We look forward to e-meeting everyone and co-creating possibilities for teaching and learning in arts education for the new decade.
