FINAL BLOG POST

Hi everyone.  Wow, how did we get to this point so quickly, when the whole semester felt like it would never end?

I cannot believe we are halfway through this degree, and as many of you can relate, this year has been the toughest so far.  The workload tripled from last year, there was more peer assessment, with one module being ONLY peer assessment and we shared many frustrations on our WhatsApp groups.  We also motivated and supported each other and that my friends, is what is going to make us great teachers!  We are warriors and we have worked ourselves into completing a challenging year successfully and I salute all 2nd-year students from 2021.  Cheers to 2022!

My LSKM Story

I love music.  I come from a family of singers and my fondest memories, that I will treasure forever, is when my grandfather used to play his guitar and sing to us while we were lying down on the “stoep”.  We would fall asleep and he would leave us there the whole night.  My second memory is my mother singing my favorite song, Sweet Music Man – Kenny Rogers, on my wedding day.  For as long as a can remember, music has played a big part in my personal life.  This doesn’t mean I can dance though, haha!

When we started this semester, I had no idea what LSKM was going to be about.  One tends to always think of PE, Creative Arts, and Personal and Social Wellbeing, but never did I imagine that we would be covering music.  I was a bit lost in the beginning, as I couldn’t wrap my mind around incorporating music into the classroom.  For me, music has always been fun, like playing.  I didn’t have music in school, except for being part of the school choir for a short while, so as an academic subject, Nah that was something for the older children who were pursuing a career in music.  Well, that shows how naïve I was.

Where I am sitting today, I can say with pride that I know how to incorporate music into arts, maths, language, PE, and all the different lessons that there are and will be in the future.  My mind has been blown away by this interesting module.  All I can say now is, BRING IT ON! I AM READY!

WHAT DID I LEARN FROM MY OWN INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS?

I learned how to blog and enjoy doing it.  I was nervous in the beginning.  I didn’t know if I was understanding the instructions correctly, or if I was being too ‘out there, but after asking our lovely lecturer during a zoom meeting if I was doing it wrong and she replied ‘There is no wrong way, I relaxed and just started to enjoy the process and be myself.

I learned how to share my thoughts on this module collaboratively and remotely and learn from others and see the module from their perspective.  There weren’t enough hours in the day to comment on everyone’s blogs, sometimes there wasn’t enough time to even comment on a few, but I did make the effort of reading a few and thoroughly enjoyed reflecting on their views and comparing them to my own.

I learned how to incorporate music in the classroom and most importantly, how to incorporate it into other subjects too.

I learned that no matter how unsure you are, doing your best and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, yields the best results.

I learned that open and clear communication is necessary to learning.

I learned to apply the knowledge that I have gained in this module to real-life experiences.

I now possess sound academic knowledge and understanding of music in education, specifically foundation phase education.

WHAT DID I FIND CHALLENGING?

All of the above were not challenging.  Yes, I felt unsure at times, but that was due to my overthinking and not the content of the work.  The Theoretical Framework was challenging for me.

DID I FIND THE INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS MEANINGFUL?

Definitely yes!  It was so nice reading about other students’ personal experiences of music in their younger years and seeing how they developed throughout the semester into very knowledgeable future teachers.  Reading others’ opinions and views made it possible for me to critically analyze and reflect on my own views and opinions and broaden my horizons, so to speak.

WHAT WOULD I CHANGE IF I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY IN THE FUTURE?

I would not change anything about this module, semester, collaborative forum, or blogs.  I enjoyed every minute of this learning experience and hope to connect with my peers again next year.

WHAT DID I FIND INTERESTING AND MEANINGFUL?

In my opinion, the most interesting aspect of this module and music is how it stimulates the brain and teaches a variety of sounds and lyrics, thus exposing students to a large amount of vocabulary in a short period. Through the study of music, students also learn about other languages, which provides a foundation for their ability to understand and communicate in other languages.

WHAT CHALLENGED ME, AND WHAT DO I STILL STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND?

I found the music elements a bit challenging to apply.  I understand what they are, but putting them into action was the challenging part as some of them were similar to me.  It took a while but I am feeling more confident in my ability and skill as a future teacher transferring this knowledge to the learners.

The most challenging for me was the Theoretical framework for arts integration in the Foundation Phase.  That was a tough nut to crack and one I will keep working on.

WHAT DIDN’T I FIND VALUABLE FOR THE FUTURE TEACHING PRACTICE?

Everything in this module is valuable information for teaching practice.  The music elements, the theoretical framework, the implicit and explicit manner of integrating music in the classroom.  How to plan a successful lesson and pay attention to time management, music suitability as well as age-appropriate activities.  Learning how to incorporate music into other subjects is one of the most valuable information in my opinion.

As sad as it is, this is my final blog as a 2^nd year LSKM student.  Thank you to our lecturer, Miss Rina Francis.  You have communicated openly with us from the beginning, our module started on time, we had all the necessary information right from the start and you made effort to have zoom meetings with us where we could discuss and clarify uncertainties.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with you this year. 

All my peers and new friends, God speed for the upcoming exams.  You will do great!

Have a blessed summer vacation, Merry Christmas, Geseënde Kersfees, UKhisimusi omuhle, Le be le keresemese e monate and Krismesi emnandi, and happy new year!!

 

That’s me for the last time 

Cheryl

Hi Everyone

Well, we are nearing the end of this semester and year.  It has been stressful, challenging, emotional, enjoyable, fun, interesting and everything in between.

There is so much information in Study Unit 5 to assist with teaching and planning music in our classrooms and I can’t wait to practise my new knowledge in my classroom when I return to work.

December is a month away!!!!!

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

• Teachers are not fully equipped and educated on performing arts and music integration

• In the past, and today, most teachers feel that music and performing arts are only for enjoyment, and now they don't comprehend the importance of these components in the education process.

• Schools do not have all the resources required for performing arts and music to be possible in the foundation phase.

• The statistic shows that very few students actually pursue careers in music or the performing arts so the children don’t choose to continue studying the subject.

• Most parents want their children to focus on ‘academic’ subjects only.

• In some school’s music is not seen as an academic subject.  It's almost considered like an extramural activity rather than a subject in its own right.

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.

When you want to highlight a problem, having a solution is important. You need evidence and a clear way forward, taking into consideration your school’s resources and the demographic of its learners.  I will bring the following under my HOD’s attention:

• Evidence of how neglected assessment can hinder a child's progress, not just in music but in other subjects as well.
• Evidence of improvement in other subjects as a result of incorporating music in those lessons too.
• Individual learner improvement records show how learners have improved both academically and emotionally after music integration in school.

My solution would be to use the CAPS document as the basis of my supporting evidence.  By using the CAPS document as a guideline, I would show that it is required by the Department of Basic Education to include music in the classroom, but most importantly, I would design a music integration programme for our school, focusing on making use of recycled materials to keep the costs low. I would have recorded meetings with the different subject teachers regarding how music can be used effectively in their subjects, along with their suggestions.  This will help to strengthen my argument as it shows that there is uniformity in our phase.

I would get permission from my HOD to run the programme for a week, and gather as much evidence as I can to support my argument.  At the end of the week, I would have the subject teachers and learners do short feedback on their experience of the week.  The learners will also do a small assessment which the subject teachers will mark to see if there has been any improvement.

I will create and assign assignments to include performing arts in my class. At the end of the lesson, I will give the students a reflection activity and a small assessment task, which will assist me in supporting my statement that children learn important communication skills and cognitive development.  All of the data collected will be combined and submitted to the HOD at the end of the week so that they can make an informed decision based on my evidence and argument.

Well, that is all from me.  I hope this post has made sense and also given you some valuable information, from my view.

Good luck with the last 4 weeks of this semester.  Give one final push.  We are nearly there!  You got this!

Stay safe and stay blessed.  In case I don’t tell you before then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Study Unit   4

Hi everyone!

Well, this week has been better than in previous weeks.  Assignments that I have been working on for weeks have all come together nicely and most are submitted.  The relief and weight off my shoulders is a welcome feeling.

The weather has been confusing.  It's hot then it's cold then there’s thunder then it rains and then it's hot again.  We finally have a break coming up and we have our pool ready. I am looking forward to spending some quality time cooling off.

Here’s hoping everyone has a COOL break

Some people might say that arts integration is a waste of time in Foundation Phase education. Please explain how you would respond to such a statement by explaining your view on arts integration in the Foundation Phase.

• Students benefit from music not only because it helps them develop emotionally and cognitively, but also because it can be a new way of expressing and exploring themselves and their school work.

• Arts offer teachers a means of expressing their creativity and a way of engaging students. Teaching content material to a child should include tapping into their creativity and humanity.

• The study of music sparks both intellectual and social-emotional development, motor development, communication skills, and overall literacy development in children.

• Music engages both the body and the mind. Children who dance to music develop and practice their motor skills as well as their self-expression.

• In young children, music is directly associated with learning words, speaking them correctly, and processing many new sounds they hear.

• A key component of music education is memorization. To succeed in music studies, students must be able to read music by sight, play their instrument correctly, and remember lyrics.

​

Which aspects of study unit 4 did you find the most interesting and challenging?  Please use the following prompts to reflect on your experience:

• What did you find interesting? Please explain why.

I found the strategies for including music in the classroom very interesting.  I never knew that a teacher was allowed to play music softly in class while the learners are working individually.  I can see why it would relax and calm the children while they are working.

There are activities in our study unit for incorporating music into other subjects’ lessons.  Create a pattern of 4 beats… yes!  This will totally work and what an amazing way to get the class excited and boost participation and making learning fun!

The YouTube videos were interesting and I enjoyed watching them.

• What did you find challenging? Please explain why.

I found everything challenging at first, as music in education is really new to me.  Whenever I read something new, I get overwhelmed first with big words and terminology and really have to spend ample time working through the study unit and I am proud to say that I did it and I understand so much more than I did before and I cannot wait to use my new knowledge in my classroom.

​

Well, that is me for this week.  I see some students are struggling to load their blogs on eFundi and I am hoping mine goes through.  Here’s holding thumbs xx

Stay  ​

Part 1

This has been one hectic week.  Just when you think you can take a breath, something else comes up.  Right now, my back aches from sitting in front of the laptop for hours on end, and my 9.5-month baby girl misses mommy’s undivided attention.  My husband had to dish up for himself and I was so busy with WIL that I forgot to feed my baby for the first time ever! 

I have had to make strict changes to my schedule and time management to balance home life, mommy duties, and student life.  This is my hectic life and I must do what I can to make it work because I have always loved teaching and I love being a wife and mother.  I can make this work.

Taking a deep breath.  Tomorrow will be better

 

 

What possibly made some learners uncomfortable during these activities?

Could be the type of music was unfamiliar or I feel that the learners were shy and uncomfortable because they were expected to dance in front of others.  Not everyone has the same confidence as everyone else.  If you are like me, you would feel embarrassed because you lack rhythm and can’t dance, and being placed in that situation just makes you withdraw more into yourself. 

Why were some learners uncomfortable?

Because they did not understand the song that was playing or it is because they did not know how to dance to this type of music.

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

Asking the child why they are not comfortable is the first place to start.  It would help me identify the root cause of the problem.  If the child was just shy, I would pair them with children who are similar where they would feel comfortable and not overwhelmed.

I would choose music that includes all the learners in my class.  I would have a theme every week where we discover a different language, different genres.

I would never force a child to do something that they are not comfortable with.  If it is a formal assessment, I will arrange that the child performs it in private.

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

As I mentioned above, I would incorporate all cultures and genres in my classroom and have weekly themes where the children can participate in group discussions, games, and activities based on the culture of the week.  I would have them dress in the culture of the week's clothing on a Friday and have them give a small speech about what they have learned about their peers and the culture of the week.  They will learn about each other from each other.

 

That's it for me.  I know we are all very busy and it gets overwhelming, but I leave you with the following:

IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT'S DONE - NELSON MANDELA

 

Good evening, everyone 

What a day this has been. Two zoom meetings in one day and my mind is about to explode with all the information and possibilities that have now been awakened in me.  What I thought I knew; I didn’t know well enough.  I am now very much aware of the importance of instruction and using the correct terminologies in class.  Tonight, I asked our lecturer the difference between the meter and beat and while listening to her explain, I came to realize that I know what meter is.  I have used it in my classroom, more than once.  In a song, as an attention grabber, as a game.  I am embarrassed to say that I never took the time to research and find out what it was called.

As the saying goes, you are never too old to learn something new!

Embrace our newfound knowledge, my friends.  This road to discovery is going to be a fun and challenging one as we all venture out of our comfort zones and learn something new.

Individual reflection

1.  As a Foundation Phase teacher, you have to choose between utilizing indigenous African music, Western Art music, or contemporary commercial music (including popular music and film music) in your classes. Which would you choose? Please motivate your answer.

We have been learning a lot about diversity this year, and as a result, I am having trouble choosing between Indigenous African music and Contemporary Commercial music. 

With indigenous African music, I have the opportunity to include learners in the lesson by having them teach me and their peers a song from their culture, as I obviously would not know the words or the correct way to pronounce the words.  This will make them feel proud to share their culture and it would be an exciting experience for their peers.

On the other hand, I feel that commercial music is familiar and recognizable to the learners and everyone would be on equal standing and feel included.

In conclusion, I have opted to choose both because I feel that both will benefit my classroom.  It all comes down to the type of song or activity that I choose and the way in which I present my lesson and what I want to achieve.  There is no limit to being creative and with so many resources out there, I feel I would make use of and introduce as much of it in my classroom as I can.

 

2.  Do you think that the examples and content offered in SU 2 are inclusive? Please motivate your answer.

Definitely!  The content provided for all areas of learning and understanding the different types of music, especially what would be suitable to use for specific grades. There are videos and PowerPoints, a lot of different examples of music activities, music elements, body percussion, loco, and non-locomotor movements.  There is information about the different theories and approaches to the learning of music, how to teach music and integrate it into your classroom, not only for Life skills but in other subjects too.  How and why to teach body percussion to my students.  Strategies for teaching songs and singing in the classroom. Most importantly I learned about Holistic Development. Children learn motor, social, cognitive, and conceptually and learn through play and discovery.  Children that have Down Syndrome are calmed by the use of music.

 

3.  What suggestions do you have for making the content more inclusive? Please provide examples of how the content and activities presented in SU 2 could be changed or adapted to be more inclusive.

Wow, I already feel it is as inclusive as it could be, but if I could think of one thing for me personally, it would be more zoom meetings.  I noticed tonight, as I mentioned in my introduction, that I read something on paper and sometimes don’t make the connection like I would if someone actually explained it to me. I personally find studying off a piece of paper challenging and I learn quicker when I can physically discuss and share views with someone and experience the material from their perspective as well as my own.  (videos help a ton, but aren't interactive per se).

I bid you good night and leave you with the following quote:

“Music is not hard. Climbing Mount Everest is hard. Music merely makes you think.” –Patti Coxwell