The following is a research paper I wrote considering challenges in music education during the COVID crisis and proposed innovations.
I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.
— John Cage
Music educators have faced challenges in adapting to remote teaching during the pandemic. This paper makes a case for change – not only in the way music education is delivered, but also in ways it needs to be improved and how it can be broadened to reach a growing constituency of diverse and multidisciplinary learners. Accordingly, this argument for change will address three specific areas. First, it explores the rise of new learning models in the music industry and evaluates the poor state of teacher collaboration. Second, it examines COVID-driven challenges and lessons learned in the struggle to deliver quality education in a more blended or hybrid way. Finally, to anticipate an emerging multidisciplinary landscape and improve music education, several recommendations are made that leverage pedagogical approaches and recognize a need for significantly expanding the use of online and multidisciplinary resources. As society continues to navigate education in a time of struggle and uncertainty, the courage to see changes through will reveal a renewed music industry defined by quality of education, accessibility and meaning for all in a 21st century landscape.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Music training has expanded in the US, from the earliest community music schools to the rise of organizations aimed with connecting and educating music teachers and students. Famed pedagogue, Frances Clark, pioneered research in the field of music education.[1] Organizations like the National Association for Music Education seek to create a rich exchange between educators.[2] While these efforts have created a dialogue around music education, collaboration amongst music professionals is lacking. An interconnected learning community can increase the productivity of music teachers and quality of education.
Studies have reflected the poor state of collaboration in the music industry. The National Center for Education Statistics has stated that music teachers collaborate at lower rates than other school teachers.[3] One study says that 44% of elementary music teachers and 38% of secondary music teachers never participate in planning time with other arts specialists.[4] Furthermore, 60% to 70% of music teachers have not consulted teachers of other subjects to integrate course work.[5] Music teachers also face isolation and burnout.[6] Teachers may feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped with navigating work environments when alone in these efforts.
Professional learning communities can help music teachers collaborate and thrive. A recent effort that provides a good example of what a learning community can do to provide professional development opportunities for teachers stemmed from the grant program Race to the Top, signed into law by President Obama.[7] A key focus of the program was to promote more frequent opportunities for educators and teachers to collaborate and share ideas. Furthermore, it showed how group brainstorming can help teachers find better solutions to achieve educational goals as well as helping teachers challenge individual perspectives to better serve students.
Music conservatories still lack initiatives to promote professional learning communities. Conservatories developed around a master and apprentice model. The earliest music schools were appealing in offering a space for students and teachers to convene and have a rich exchange of ideas. Additionally, due to the expansion of the music industry in the 20th century, schools sought to codify music curriculum across performance, theory, aural skills and history.[8] Standardizing curriculum helped schools reach larger student bodies, but it also forced students to conform to a strict time line of learning. This can make it difficult for students to draw connections between concepts. Moreover, “music absolutism” has pervaded education, particularly in conservatories.[9] In this model, students learn from one teacher who curates the lesson structure. The teacher is considered the master authority on the subject, and the student models behavior.[10] A teacher in this model is embodying skills and reinforcing desired behaviors.[11] This method of imitation or rote training can help students quickly gain foundational skills in playing. However, students may learn that they do not need to rely on their own authority to measure achievement or strategize for continue growth. Moreover, learning may not come from diverse sources, which may put students at a disadvantage when it comes to evaluating and synthesizing ideas.
While the old master and apprentice model may still have a role for the development of professional music performers, it is no longer sufficient in the modern era. An informal survey of American music conservatories supports this idea as many acknowledge that today’s musicians need much more as evidenced by expanded multi-disciplinary curriculum and programs that expose musicians to more than just performing. A prime example is demonstrated by the Eastman School of Music’s Art Leadership Program (ALP). Initiated in 1996, the ALP states that beyond having “superb technique and artistry,” success as professional musicians requires “the ability to communicate effectively, entrepreneurial skills, fluency with emerging technologies, commitment to audience engagement, and public advocacy for music and the arts.”[12] This acknowledgement that more is a necessary part of a comprehensive music education is also very instructive. If music conservatories recognize that aspiring musicians need to do more outside of the performance-based focus, and they can allocate time and resources to the effort, certainly non performance-based music programs can do the same.
While collaboration can help teachers expand their capacity to provide quality education to students, the question remains of how learning communities will evolve moving on from COVID. Understanding how educators have approached teaching during the pandemic can provide more context for the future of learning communities.
HYBRID LEARNING
In the Spring of 2020, during the COVID outbreak in the US, schools had to decide how to continue operations while protecting the community. Most universities chose to quickly move in person classes to remote learning platforms.[13] In anticipation of the fall semester, educators made concerted efforts to combine synchronous and asynchronous components into courses to appeal to both in person and remote students. A hybrid classroom can help teachers support students’ development by providing chances for students to customize learning and connect learning to outside the classroom. This can make music training more appealing and accessible.
As schools gradually resume in-person operations, institutions should retain elements of hybrid learning. One source notes that “hybrid courses combine the best aspects of in-person and online learning while making education more attainable for many students.”[14] A challenge of in person teaching is the risk students face of developing passive learning habits, characterized by a lack of question asking, sharing of ideas and self evaluation.[15] As one source notes, “the message is that what goes on in a lesson is solely the teacher’s responsibility.”[16] Teachers can unlock self-motivation and interest in students through a variety of strategies including asking open-ended questions, giving students choice in work, incorporating smaller activities and using group work in curriculum.[17] Research has shown that students learn most deeply from various kinds of work and when given chances to apply learning in new contexts.[18] Teachers can plan activities that challenge skills in writing, reading, analysis, composing, presenting and more. In addition, teachers should provide opportunities for students to learn in and outside of the classroom to help students draw connections between learning and life. One school teacher put on a recital for students to perform excerpts of Mozart pieces in a retirement community. This led to a spontaneous discussion of style with residents who were taking music history classes.[19] By opening learning to the community, students applied skills in new ways and drew new connections between topics.
Another benefit of hybrid learning is that students have more chances to experience the phenomenon known as “flow” – a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.[20] As Csikszentmihalyi explains, “flow is a feeling of passionate focus, a pleasurable time when work and play merge, when you concentrate deeply to overcome complex challenges.”[21] Flow is a sign that students are reaching their potential because they are able to fully engaged efforts towards tasks. Hybrid learning provides a classroom environment rich in various activities that provide more opportunities for students to make learning their own.
Obstacles stand in the way of implementing hybrid learning for teachers and students, across areas of technology, time management, health and access. While data is still being gathered, informal surveys shed light on challenges. Teachers and students alike face additional expenses to invest in quality recording equipment necessary to make music over virtual platforms.[22] Additionally, teachers may spend extra time assisting younger students with technology interface, sometimes requiring the presence of parents to assist children in lessons.[23] Another educator noted the difficulty in convening ensembles or accompanying students, since remote platforms do not easily support synchronous instrument playing.[24] Teachers may also spend greater hours working from home, since boundaries between work and home environments have blurred.[25] Some students enjoy the flexibility in taking classes from home, while others miss the routine from school.[26] An unchanging backdrop of learning at home can be numbing, and students may feel less stimulated due to reduced in person interactions with peers.[27] Schools must also make provisions for students at greater risk in remote learning environments. Students with special needs are disadvantaged by lack of in person care.[28] Moreover, studies have concluded that primary school aged students rely on social learning for cognitive development.[29] One source notes how important it is for teachers to showcase emotions like enthusiasm, from which students can learn.[30] Additional populations at risk of remote education include essential worker families who rely on school as a means of child care and families with less available access to internet and remote technology.[31]
Teachers in schools and universities also face pressure from administration. Schools have set goals for content and timelines in which students need to work through material and demonstrate proficiency.[32] Teachers may feel constrained to stick to certain goals outlined ahead of each class, and not take time to adjust to each students’ needs. As one source notes, harboring students’ learning is a priority while working towards goals.[33] Teachers have to find a balance between covering curriculum and standardized testing while adjusting to each student’s needs.
Hybrid class settings can help students feel more engaged with learning by allowing more customization of content and application to real world settings. Students benefit from a learning environment that values their unique voices and preferences. If implemented in a way that accounts for the needs of students, faculty and administrators, hybrid classrooms can promote learning that is accessible, inspiring and long lasting.
PEDAGOGY INITIATIVES
In the months following the spring semester, universities have increased the focus on educating faculty about remote technology. Learning centers in major universities offer tutorials and workshops for faculty.[34]There are also efforts to convene regularly with teachers to assess progress in reaching goals as the pandemic evolves, and publicity about new technology for music education. Institutions and music organizations should continue making efforts to spread pedagogical research and training for teachers. Such initiatives will strengthen learning communities, effectiveness of hybrid classrooms and ability for music education to be meaningful to expanding audiences.
Music programs should bolster teacher training resources by leveraging support of organizations that focus on pedagogical research. McKinsey & Company is a firm that provides research and strategies for schools and professionals across various industries. The firm recently released a guide for education during the COVID crisis with a focus on how educators can maximize a hybrid classroom in supporting students.[35] The College Music Society has created a forum to invite educators to exchange insights about teaching including materials, methodology and queries.[36] While the piano teaching community is no doubt familiar with pedagogue Jane Magrath’s The Pianist’s Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature, there are many other sources one should consider.[37] For example, musicians can share compositions and arrangements on open notation software like Musescore.[38] Possibilities for students engaging with music in multidisciplinary inspired software are continuing to be developed. One example is Scratch, an app where users combine basic coding skills to create music melodies and graphics.[39] These resources help teachers and students alike learn about repertoire and software that can create a more holistic and stimulating learning progression.
Organizations dedicated to offering private music lessons have also risen and should anticipate a diversification of the music industry and music professional in the coming century. These schools help connect students with teaching faculty, and vice versa, usually through a tuition system. Some programs even include virtual events like masterclasses, where students pay to watch industry professionals play and discuss music.[40] If not careful, these programs run the risk of creating a master and student power hierarchy where the scope of information and student participation are diminished.
Efforts to expand pedagogy studies should connect teachers with each other and rich resources, focusing on increasing the quality of education for students with interests outside of solely performing. Moreover, schools and organizations should anticipate a move to online learning platforms and exchange of experience that is multidisciplinary, easily accessible and capable of forming a hybrid curriculum.
CONCLUSION
Remote learning has posed a challenge to educators and students but also an opportunity to embrace change moving forward. Care for diverse learners and consideration of a variety of perspectives can be guiding principles in the evolution of music education. Rich collaboration amongst music educators can provide confidence in tackling and maximizing hybrid classroom settings. Progress in forging quality education and music content accessible to all learners will reap long term rewards. The music industry can adapt to a multidisciplinary and interconnected environment that welcomes the participation and contributions of every individual. This landscape will also be a reminder of music’s capacity to be a vehicle for growth, expression and meaning for all.
[1] “About Frances Clark,” The Frances Clark Center, accessed November 5, 2020, https://keyboardpedagogy.org/homepage/about-frances-clark .
[2] “NAfME History and Leadership,” National Association for Music Education (NAfME), accessed November 6, 2020, https://nafme.org/about/ .
[3] Sharyn L. Battersby, “Reimagining Music Teacher Collaboration: The Culture of Professional Learning Communities as Professional Development Within Schools and Districts,” General Music Today, April 8, 2019, accessed November 7, 2020, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1048371319840653 .
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Phillip M. Hash. Character Development and Social Reconstruction in Music Education at the turn of the Twentieth Century, (Grand Rapids: Calvin College, 2006), 18.
[9] Walter Ponce. The Tyranny of Tradition in Piano Teaching: A Critical History from Clementi to the Present (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2019), 74.
[10] Marienne, Uszler. That’s a Good Question…How to Teach by Asking Questions (Fort Lauderdale: The FJH Music Company Inc., 2003), 9.
[11] David J. Elliott and Marissa Silverman. Music Matters: A Philosophy of Music Education (2nd ed.) (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 424.
[12] “Arts Leadership Program Overview,” Eastman Institute for Music Leadership, accessed November 10, 2020, https://iml.esm.rochester.edu/alp/overview/ .
[13] Sean Gallagher and Jason Palmer. “The Pandemic Pushed Universities Online. The Change Was Long Overdue,” Harvard Business Review. 29 September 2020. Web. Accessed 10 Nov 2020, https://hbr.org/2020/09/the-pandemic-pushed-universities-online-the-change-was-long-overdue .
[14] Katherine Boyarsky. “What is Hybrid Learning? Here’s Everything You Need to Know,” Owl Labs. 12 June 2020 Web. Accessed 10 November 2020, https://www.owllabs.com/blog/hybrid-learning .
[15] Brittany Rodriguez. “Active learning vs. passive learning: What’s the best way to learn?,” Classcraft. 6 Sept 2018. Web. Accessed 8 Nov 2020, https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/active-learning-vs-passive-learning/ .
[16] Marienne Uszler. That’s a Good Question…How to Teach by Asking Questions (Fort Lauderdale: The FJH Music Company Inc., 2003), 7.
[17] Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal. Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning (New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2001), 12.
[18] “How Students Learn,” Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. 2020. Web. Accessed 8 Nov 2020.
[19] Janet Bourne, “Outside the Classroom: Community-Engaged Learning Projects in Music Theory,” Flip Camp. 2017. Web. Accessed 10 Nov 2020, http://flipcamp.org/engagingstudents5/essays/bourne.html .
[20] Jeffery N. Swartwood. Educational Psychology: Interdisciplinary Connections (Redding: BVT Publishing, 2012), 214.
[21] Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal. Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning (New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2001), 10.
[22] Sascha Zuger. “How It’s Done: Remote Music Education,” Tech & Learning. 20 March 2020. Web. Accessed 8 Nov 2020, https://www.techlearning.com/how-to/how-its-done-remote-music-education .
[23] Josh Terry. “How Music Teachers Are Adapting to the Awkward Reality of Virtual Lessons,” Vice. 17 April 2020. Web. Accessed 7 Nov 2020, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3a8gvy/how-music-teachers-are-adapting-to-the-awkward-reality-of-virtual-lessons .
[24] Ibid.
[25] “What Students are Saying about the Remote Learning,” The Learning Network, The New York Times. 9 April 2020. Web. Accessed 9 Nov 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-remote-learning.html .
[26] Ibid.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Brian Wagner-Yueng. “Distance Learning for Special Learners in the Music Classroom,” NAfME. 28 July 2020. Web. Accessed 9 Nov 2020, https://nafme.org/distance-learning-special-learners-music-classroom/ .
[29] “Back to school: A framework for remote and hybrid learning amid COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company. 31 Aug 2020. Web. Accessed 7 Nov 2020, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/back-to-school-a-framework-for-remote-and-hybrid-learning-amid-covid-19# .
[30] Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal. Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning (New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2001), 23.
[31] “Back to school,” McKinsey & Company.
[32] Rogers, Michael R. Teaching Approaches in Music Theory: An Overview of Pedagogical Philosophies (2nd ed.) (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2004), 166-77.
[33] Elliott, Music Matters, 402.
[34] “A Pedagogical Guide to Zoom,” BU Center for Teaching & Learning. Web. Accessed Nov 8 2020, https://www.bu.edu/ctl/a-pedagogical-guide-to-zoom-part-1-getting-started-with-zoom/ .
[35] “Back to school,” McKinsey & Company.
[36] “Teaching Music in the Age of COVID-19: A Collaborative Effort by CMS,” The College Music Society. 2020. Web. Accessed 5 Nov 2020, https://www.music.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2968&Itemid=3901 .
[37] Jane Magrath. The Pianist’s Guide To Standard Teaching and Performance Literature (Van Nuys: The Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1995).
[38] Musescore Home Page. Musescore. 2020. Web. Accessed 10 Nov 2020, https://musescore.org/en .
[39] Scratch Home Page. MIT Media Lab. 2020. Web. Accessed10 Nov 2020, https://scratch.mit.edu/ .
[40] ToneBase Home Page. ToneBase. 2020. Web. Accessed 10 Nov 2020, https://www.tonebase.co/ .