1. The knowledge I had in music was that I knew music as songs and some genres not what music is and that   there is beat, rhythm and tempo also not what they are. I didn’t look into these before doing the module. At the end of the module, I know what they are and the difference in these music concepts. Having listening skill is an advantage as in music education we listen to music trying to pick out the beat, rhythm, tempo, pitch, and other music concepts in songs. At the end I learned that we listen to music to measure volume levels and performance of dynamics.

 My experience in music is one which music can calm down and relax when listening to music, there those   people who use it as a coping mechanism when they are overwhelmed. My attitude towards music education wasn’t a pleasing one, as I thought to myself, we do not have to learn music as we will not be teaching music at school. Surprisingly so, that changed along the way as I learned that music can be used to teach in classes and learners can excel in their studies because they love music using that method.

2. - I found music activity challenging because I think I do not know or understand it as I did not do well in the music activity assignment.

• Yes, I was able to see where I had challenges and have to improve my work.
• Read more about music concepts, try to understand music activities.

3. That music impact positively in a learners’ academic performance, helps in developing social skills and creativity in the child’s development.

• Nothing, I found all of them valuable to my future teaching practice.

What could the possible reasons be that assessment is neglected in Performing Arts and Music in the Foundation Phase? 

• lack of music experience from teachers
• insufficient resources
• subject knowledge
• time to teach music 
• low priority given to Performing Arts and Music 
• no support from Senior leadership teams
• no local and national support structures
• effect of latest education policy changes
• flaw in curriculum and teaching

Please explain how you would advocate for and heighten awareness about the importance of assessment when speaking with your HOD about your concerns in this regard.

I would advise that assessment is important for learners, should be used to integrate grading, learning and serves as motivation for learners learners. Assessment tells teachers what learners have learned and how they learned, where they had difficulties. Assessment betters long-term memory for learners, gives proof of learning, familiarize instructions or curriculum, give the chance to lessen test anxiety in students and assist build subject ability. 

What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?

The first learner was not happy that they used a Zulu song and he did not understand anything, the second one was felt uncomfortable dancing in the presence of boys also dancing to the house music due to religious reasons.

Why were some learners uncomfortable?

Some learners were uncomfortable because of the language used, dancing in front of boys and their religious reasons to house music.

Can you think of ways to address these issues in future? What will you change?

• Choose a suitable song that will accommodate all learners
• activities which will not make anyone uneasy
• and a genre music that will not make others feel somehow due to their religious reasons.

How can we accommodate diverse learner profiles in our classrooms? What must we beware of?

• motivate active learning among learners by arranging them in groups
• boost collaboration and communication among learners
• elevate independent learning
• withdrawing complications in the classroom
• permitting classroom movement
• have time to time contact with parents

Contemporary Commercial Music

Contemporary commercial music is a renewed name for what was used to name pop/popular/western music. The collective name is produced to back everything which are music hall, pop, rock, gospel, R&B, soul, hip hop, rap, country, folk, experiment music and other tastes which are not regarded as classical music.

Contemporary commercial music is some taste of music which is on-going or modernized, directing present matters in a way that is attractive to the audience. The way of interest may entail blending multiple original music style combined.

Contemporary commercial music examples are:

• pop
• country
• folk
• jazz
• musical theater
• rock 
• and gospel

I would choose Contemporary Commercial Music because it can help students acquire teaching expertise to teach in a broad scale of techniques including musical theater, country, pop, jazz and blues.

I do not  think the examples in Study unit 2 are inclusive as they only talked about pop, folk songs ang nursery rhymes. It would have been better if rock, music theater, country,  were somehow included as kids love music and they can learn a lot from these other genres.

Suggestions for making the content more inclusive

• promoting a positive classroom environment
• embracing learners' diversity
• increase cultural competence
• encouraging student interactions
• and fostering a community of learners in our classrooms.

Arts integration is not a waste of time in Foundation Phase as it helps learners develop creative problem solving skills. Teaching through arts can presents difficult concepts visually, making them more easy to understand. Integrating art with other disciplines reaches students who might not be engaged in classwork. 

Arts integration have benefits : 

• Growth mindset 
• Boosts self-confidence 
• Improved cognition 
• Communication
• Deepening cultural and self-understanding.

Teaching and learning about music is what I find interesting as learners will be able to know more about many instruments and when listening to a song they will be able to differentiate the tempo/dynamics, beat and the rhythm of the song.

Teaching and learning in music is what I find challenging because the focus is on one music concept and if the concept is incorrectly identified teaching and learning will not be easy to take place.

Holistic development is the development of intellectual, mental, physical, emotional, and social abilities in children so that they are capable of facing the demands and challenges of everyday life. 

Aspects of holistic development are personal and physical growth, social skills, emotional understanding, intellectual development and environmental values.

During foundation phase children are obtaining new skills. They obtain these skills at different rates and must be encouraged to develop them at their own pace.

Learning theories 

Erikson's stages of psychological development - the trust versus mistrust stage is most important in one's life as it builds the way we view the world and also our personalities.

Piaget's cognitive development theory - Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities.

Vygotsky and the zone of proximal development is the difference between a child's actual and developmental levels as determined by independent problem solving and the child's potential development through problem solving under adult guidance or on collaboration with more capable peers. 

Music and movement teaching has been shown to improve children's memory, cognitive development, learning skills and expressive ability. Using theme songs for changes, hook learners on new content with tunes, using music as a timer in classrooms.

I would choose incorporating music education because it helps children improve their co-ordination which helps in muscular development. They start to understand what they can do with their bodies as they run , skip, crawl, stretch and balance.