Final Blog Post!

Wow, we have made it to the end of the Study Unit, what a journey it has been. I am so excited for this blog post.

In preparing for this post I realised I am experiencing a feeling of accomplishment and excitement, and no it is not because of the end of the semester nearing, it is because of the subject itself.

I always tend to enjoy the Life Skills orientated subjects and when I realized that this semester the main focus is going to be music, I was very anxiously curious to find out what it is going to entail. I have no musical training or knowledge and even singing is not one of my strong suits. Therefore, having a subject that is focused on music and music education, felt way out of my comfort zone.

When we received all the module information and assessment tasks I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the uncertainty and workload. But now looking back I can honestly say it was a very well thought through plan that actually guided me successfully through the subject content. I feel empowered and can say with confidence that I do have the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to teach music as well as incorporate music and arts into teaching activities. I can still not sing, but I can teach with the arts!

The blogs was a good platform for reflection and made me stop and consider that which I had learnt. It was an extremely helpful tool in mastering the content. Although at times when the overall workload got heavy it felt as an extra burden, but I can admit that at the end of every blog post I felt a sense of understanding for the reason for having these blog post. I could actually appreciate the method and reap its benefits. The blog posts also allowed opportunity for me to make the new information my own and to think of how it can relate to my future classroom. I actually started to incorporate musical aspects in lesson plan activities of other subjects and it was so much fun doing so.

I have gained so much appreciation for this module, and not only the content but also for the manner in which it was presented. Everything was well structured with clear expectations and guidelines, I always knew exactly what was expected of me. It gave me a good indication and guideline for future reference. It was the first time that I actually not only looked at the content of a subject but also at the overall plan and method of teaching. I was so enlightened.

Study Unit 5 was the most challenging and provided me with the most practical guidance for incorporating arts in other subjects when not teaching music explicitly. Oh and Study Unit 1 and 2 was so much fun, actually, all the study units was fun. For some reason Study Unit 4, specifically the Champions of Change study resonated with me on a different level, a very emotional level and I for the first time felt the value of music and arts education. It was as if all the benefits became real and I developed a different understanding and approach to the subject content. This caught me completely off guard.

Teaching ought to be fun and inspiring. It should be an environment that accommodates all and provides for all. I am now convinced that by the incorporation of the arts teaching can live up to all its expectations.

Good luck to everyone and may you also find value and joy in teaching and the arts.

Bye!

Study Unit 5

Hello everyone, trust that you are ready for the last stretch of the year. I cannot believe that we are nearing the end of the semester and this module. Time has gone by so fast. I am starting to feel the exhaustion of managing all my responsibilities, and am looking forward to a summer vacation.

Study unit 5 was probably the most difficult to unit for me. For some reason I struggled to make the content my own and to develop a clear guideline for myself of the practical application and assessment of music lessons where musical outcomes are the primary goal.

Having learnt so much during the semester about music and teaching music I was quite confident in my skill and understanding, yet when I thought about assessment I felt very uncertain. How will I be able to instruct music if I am not fully comfortable/knowledgeable with the instruction thereof? As a direct result of my self-doubt and uncertainty I almost immediately felt overwhelmed by the idea of creating assessment activities for music specific outcomes.

Assessment in itself is an important tool for any teacher. How else are we going to determine if we were successful in all our teaching endeavours? Assessment provides a set guideline for effectively measuring so many aspects of the teaching and learning events. Both the teacher and learner is afforded the opportunity to determine their successes as well as their shortcomings.

I can understand that some might think that assessment is not suited to the foundation phase music instruction, as it provides a free and safe environment wherein learners may create and interpret as they form their own understanding and interpretation. Assessment would then be very limited as you do not want to discourage learner engagement. Assessment can also be somewhat tricky, as the degree of assessment may be a challenging as the establishment of a baseline is not as simple as it may seem. Many factors contribute and are worth considering in determining a baseline. So much focus is put on other subjects as they have much more clearly definable lesson outcomes and is restricted to one element or subject matter. Music has the luxury of options and with such luxury comes the difficulty of choosing. A variety of elements could be considered as assessment activities or possible outcomes. So how do you choose one above the other?

I thought a lot about this and really struggled to come to a simple solution. The table with the different categories of assessment of, for and as learning helped put everything in perspective and simplified assessment for me. I am now able to think of different types and ways of assessment that involves music and the arts.

Should I consider motivating for or highlighting the importance of assessment in situations where these are not considered to be much of a priority? Most definitely yes!

Assessment allows time for reflection and improvement. It is not a burden or a measure of failure, rather a guide as to what are the goals, are they measurable and was these met effectively or how can I better myself. We as teachers encourage learning and that learners do their best. We hold learners accountable and I think we should measure ourselves at an even higher standard. Our learners and classrooms are always going to be evolving and if we do not take time to reflect and measure our efforts how are we going to stay relevant and adaptable. Assessment is the answer and key to betterment and ensuring effectiveness in my opinion.

Hopefully we share at least some of the same ideals for our future classrooms and may we all find the relevance and value of self-reflection through assessment.

Enjoy your week!

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well and are winning these endless amount of deadlines. My week has been a whirlwind and I’m still trying to find my feet. Luckily I have a wonderful group of peers that are supportive and helpful. Having a group of likeminded peers is a must!

Let’s talk about Study Unit 4…

This was a fun and very interesting study unit. Working through the content was so easy as the content kept me intrigued and thinking of all the ways how I would incorporate music in my teaching. As I’m digesting the content and considering the place of arts in the Foundation Phase I was shocked at the idea of that some might see it as a waste of time?! I mean really? I can’t even imagine a Foundation Phase classroom or any other classroom or schooling environment where there is no place for the arts. What a sad and miserable place it would be.

Here is my take on arts in the Foundation Phase.

Arts is synonymous to opportunities and options, it colours in the content and gives life to lessons. It is fun and engaging, it’s an “all for one and one for all” type of subject. Arts can be threaded into every single aspect of schooling and it has scientifically proven benefits to learners and teachers. How can one then not want to include the arts and really take advantage of this unlimited source that provides for cognitive development as well physical, emotional and social development. It speaks to all learning styles and can create an equal platform for all children to develop and learn while finding joy in their education. They are more actively engaged with their own learning and development which creates the platform where learners can take ownership of their work and responsibilities.

I can go on and on as I am so convinced and motivated for arts inclusion at school. There is one aspect that struck me close to the heart and immediately made an emotional connection with me. Upon reading it I felt the warmth and safety of arts integration. “Learning in and through the arts can help "level the playing field" for youngsters from disadvantaged circumstances”. WOW! The Champions of Change (1999) study is an absolute must read. It highlighted an aspect which I felt I missed in all the other articles and materials. Equality, without force, restrictions and/or political narratives, just plain simple arts ensuring all learners can develop and learn equally. Bridging the gaps of society so eloquently wonderful!

Almost all the advantages of arts integration and the ways of integrating with other subjects are somewhat familiar and expected, but the levelling the playing field was unexpected and made me feel empowered and motivated by just knowing it.

The Van Vreden theoretical framework was insightful and somewhat abstract. I had to reread some sections to form an understanding thereof. Maybe because I was so taken by the Champions of Change study the Van Vreden theoretical framework had a tough time competing with all the emotions. None the less it is clearly a very helpful guiding tool for the incorporation of the arts and worth taking the time to form a better understanding thereof.

If you are still not convinced of the place of arts integration I must frankly state that you ought to reread this entire study unit.

I hope you all take as much away from this unit as I did and that you have a wonderful week.

Good bye!

Blog: Study Unit 3

The activity was fun and interactive if looking at it in a much generalized way without taking a more in depth evaluation of it. I think doing activities that are unique to African cultures or any other culture for that matter may cause learners to feel uncomfortable and in conflict with their own convictions. Also, activities that leads to learners being put on the spot and performing by themselves in front of their peers can be terrifying for some. Whilst reading the case study my initial thoughts was exactly that. I would have felt so uncomfortable and somewhat anxious for being the learner who has lost and have to perform in front of the other learners.

I believe there is value in exposing learners to different cultures, promoting diversity but it has to be done in a manner that is fully understood by the learners prior to engaging in such activities. There ought to be a platform for discussion and an environment that allows for learners to voice their concerns, whatever they may be, without fear of judgment. Then only we can grow and foster diversity with understanding and respect. We as educators should also at all times be cognizant of the personality differences that exist within a classroom, as apart from cultural differences  personality differences do greatly impact how learners experience, part take and internalize activities in the class.

If the teacher had been well aware of the individuals within her class, she would have known how dreadful an activity can be that singles out learners and also expects of them to perform in front of their peers. On the contrary I do agree that the learner who is not shy and loves performing in front of others also has needs that are to be met. I think the value of effective classroom activities lies within planning and making a deliberate effort in getting to know the learner profiles within the classroom and accordingly creating activities that accommodate all.

Teachers need to ensure that their own personalities or lack of understanding does not become a barrier within the classroom. The teacher needs to create and meet the needs of the learners and not only work within that which is according to her own strong suits. We are not all extroverts and have different backgrounds and need environments wherein we can teach and allow learners to be teachable without unnecessary stress and concerns. Music class should be fun for learners and they need to feel comfortable to fully express themselves and engage at the level at which they feel comfortable and not pressured.

We easily forget that in the classroom, as well as in life, our differences and lack of knowledge is too often a barrier that is not crossed or removed due to ignorance and a lack of knowledge. By fostering the opposite from a young age we can build better interpersonal relationships and tolerance amongst all differences in life.

Blog Post: Study Unit 2

What a week this has been. Together with a heavy workload, approaching due dates and experiencing so many technical difficulties with Efundi, I think it is fair to say that this week has been tough.

Study unit two has been packed with so much information and new knowledge, it took me some time to take in everything. The content has been mostly interesting and my musical knowledge is growing immensely. Going through the work made me realize how little I actually do know about music and musical education. I am definitely learning as I’m going and finding myself truly interested in trying not only to grasp the content but truly make it my own to become comfortable and confident in my own musical knowledge and skills.

Musical education is filled with fun and joy. The possibilities are endless and need not much to make every lesson a great one. The videos included in the study material serve as such a great reference and really aids in understanding the content. The musical elements and different instruments and their groupings were very interesting and enjoyable to learn about.

Prior to this module I knew that music offer the opportunity for holistic development in young children and that it can incorporate many other skills through movement activities and even subjects such as mathematics and languages can be promoted through music. This made me realize how important it is to properly plan for music lessons and the module gave me practical as well as theoretical guidance on how to do effective lesson planning. There were two topics that stood out for me and which was quite significant.

The first topic was music education approaches placing emphasis on music and movement. The approach of Carl Orff was the one approach which felt more familiar and I could see myself following and implementing it in my future classroom. The four developmental stages fits within my idea of how to go about teaching music and movement as it seems to be a natural progression and I would also feel comfortable in executing it. The musical instruments noted in the creative Orff processes are also more readily available in classrooms, and where not available can be provided through improvisation with other everyday items or self-made instruments.

Lesson understandably need to be adapted to the learners’ ability and can gradually expand in difficulty by adding more complex movements, body percussion patterns or accompaniment.

The second topic that was significant to me was the value of body percussion activities. I was aware of the generally known benefits of movement activities, such as body percussions, to improve coordination and concentration skills but I was surprised at how limited my understanding of the benefits was. Body percussion allows children to use their whole body and to be creative. They can improvise to create their own or follow percussion patterns and can write them down using iconic notation. This allows the development of critical thinking skills and problem-solving which are beneficial for mathematics and higher order cognitive development. They become more self-aware and self-regulated by being able to be comfortable and confident within their own bodies and by practicing accepted social behaviour through peer engagements learning to control their emotions in an acceptable manner.

Body percussion also allows for physical development within the safe environment of the classroom. Learners develop gross-motor skills, balance and visual-spatial awareness all while having fun.

I enjoyed the learning material and I appreciated the inclusiveness of the learning content. My knowledge on African musical instruments and songs are very lacking, almost to the extent that I am ashamed that as an African myself, I know so little about all the instruments, indigenous songs and rhymes, etc. To ensure I am able to provide an inclusive classroom environment I must make an effort in equipping myself with the knowledge of different music and not only those familiar to me, as I believe that in the Foundation Phase classroom everyone and all types of music ought to be represented.

I know media providing authentic indigenous music, songs and rhymes are limited and less documented, which makes it difficult to obtain and utilise in the study material of this subject. I think the Faculty could and should tap on the resources such as the knowledge of their students to create such media that is authentic and representative of all languages and cultures. This could build a proper database of resources for future teachers.