DavidMoul

MUS495
4/3/15

ReflectingonTeachingandLearning

Duringthethreedaysofthisunit,studentslearnedseveralthingsinrelationtocreating,
performing,assessing,andconnecting.Themainfocusoftheunitwasforstudentstoapply
whattheylearnedaboutAfricanmusicbycomposingasonginthetraditionalAfricanstyle,ina
smallgroup.Beforeattemptingthisasasmallgroup,however,studentscreatedasongalong
withmyhelp,asalargegroup,sotheycouldbetterunderstandtheprocessbywhichthey
wouldcreatetheirown.Studentsalsoperformedtheseoriginalsongsfortheirclassmatesas
wellaslearnedatraditionalZambiansong,BonseAba,andperformeditforanobserveronthe
lastdayofclass.Aftertheexperiencesofcreatingandperforming,studentswereabletoassess
boththeirownexperiencesduringtheunitaswellasassesstheperformancesoftheirpeers
songs.Byselfassessingtheirownexperiences,studentsdemonstratedanaptitudetoconnect
theworldviewexpressedinthemusictowhichtheynormallylistentotheidealsand
characteristicsfoundinAfricanmusic.
Ifoundthisprojecttobebothconfirmingofmymusicianshipaswellasfrustratingatthe
sametime.Forthefirsttime,Iwastheauthorityonthesubjectathandmywordwastobe
takenastruthandsoitwasnecessaryformetoknowexactlywhatIwastalkingaboutandbe
abletocommunicatethattomystudentseffectively.Forsomeofmystudents,thismayhave
beentheironlyexperiencewithAfricanmusicforperhapstherestoftheirlife.Becauseofthis,I
wantedtotakepainsinpreparingsothateverythingIdidwasforthebenefitofthestudents.A
coupleofwaysthatthisisevidentintheexamplesprovidedarewhenItaughtthestudents
BonseAba,andalsowhenwespenttimewatchingYouTubevideosandanalyzingthemforthe
elementsofAfricanmusic.DuringBonseAbaIwasabletodemonstrateahealthyvocal
techniquewhilealsoteachingbothcorrectpronunciationofthetextandaccuratenotesand
rhythms.Also,duringthediscussionoftheYouTubevideos,thestudentsaskedmanyquestions
abouttheinstruments,vocalstyle,andelementsthatIhadnowaytopreparetoanswer.Inmy
opinion,Iwasabletoanswerthesequestionsaccuratelyandinanaccessiblemanner.IfIhad
topickafewplacesthatIcouldgrow,musically,Iwouldhavespentmoretimegettingmyself
physicallyinvolvedinthemusic.Idemonstratedsomemovementwhilelearningthesong,butI
thinkthatthestudentswouldhavebenefittedmuchmoreifIhadincorporatedadanceelement
intothesong,seeingasitwouldhavebeenperformedthatway,traditionally.
AsIconsideredhowtomakethisseriesoflessoneffective,Ithoughtabouthowthe
classroomisnormallysetupandwhatchallengesthatcreatesinourdailylearning.OnethingI
wantedtodowastogetthestudentsoutofchoirmode,andofftherisers.Iaccomplishedthis
bycreatingasemicircleoutofthechairssothateachstudentcouldseeeveryotherstudentin
theroom.IalsopushedthepianooutofthecenteroftheroomsothatIcouldseeallofthe
studentswhilesittingattheprojectorworkstation.Aniceaspecttohavingtheroomsetupthis
waywasthattherewasalarge,emptyspaceinthecenterforustouseinbothlearningBonse

Aba,aswellascreatingthesmallgroupsongs.WhenweinitiallylearnedBonseAba,Ihadmy
sectionleadersformtheirvoicepartsintocircles,sothattheycouldmoreeasilyheartheirpart
beingsung.Thesongwastaughtbyrote,soitwasessentialforeachpersontoheartheir
sectionleader.Thiswasalsohelpfulwhenthestudentsdividedintotheircompositiongroups,
asitallowedthemspacebetweenothergroupswhomightotherwisebeadistraction.Whenwe
spenttimeassessingboththeYouTubevideosandpeerperformances,thesemicircleensured
thatnostudentcouldhidebehindanotherstudenteachstudentcouldbeseeneitherworkingor
notworkingontheirassessment.Italsoallowedmetoseeallofthestudentsfacestoseeif
theywerevisiblyengagedintheprojectortocallonthemforresponses.Lastly,thesemicircle
allowedforeachstudenttohaveaclearviewofwhatwashappeningatalltimes.Thiswas
particularlyhelpfulfortheperformanceaspectoftheproject,asstudentswereabletohavea
betterpictureofalltheelementsofAfricanmusicincorporatedintotheirpeerssongs.
Asstatedabove,IbelievetherearemanythingsIwasabletoincorporateintothis
projectthatallowedmystudentstolearneffectively.Ialsorecognizethatteachingisa
professionofconstantselfreflectionandimprovementforthesakeofthestudent.IfIwereto
repurposethislessonforasimilargroupofstudents,Iwouldaltertwothings:First,Iwould
makemyworksheetsabitmoresimple.IthinkthatifIhadawholeweekoralongerunittofully
fleshoutthisproject,thequestionsIprovidedmightbeeffectiveinthewayIwashoping.
However,Ifoundthatthestudentswereeithergiventoomuchtoanswerallatonceandso,in
response,wroterelativelylittle(probablyfrombeingoverwhelmedbythecomplexityofthe
questions),ortheyweregiventoolittletimetoanswerthequestionseffectively.Iwasvery
ambitiouswiththisgroupandperhapsaskedforabitmorethantheywereabletogiveback.