Planning a successful music class learning experience can be a lot like planning a musical performance. Teachers are at a great advantage when all the activities within a class period flow together like a concert or recital, preventing gaps of time in which students may lose their focus. The ideas of child developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980) are useful in this planning process. The period of childhood development discussed here is Piaget’s “pre-operational thought” (ages two to seven) stage. The objectives of the music class example presented here are two-fold: (1) to teach musical concepts and skills and (2) to create an environment where students discover their passions, individual ideas and particular unique ways of engaging with the class activities. I urge the view that forming a class plan that resembles a musical performance is one good route toward achieving these aims.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) continues to be one of the most important figures in the theory of intellectual development. Born in Switzerland, he did most of his important work at the Rousseau Institute in Geneva where he found that younger children before the age of seven think in a different way than older children. He identified four general periods of development: sensori-motor (birth to two), preoperational thought (two to seven), concrete operations (seven to eleven) and formal operations (eleven to adult). The discussion here involves students in Piaget's period two, "preoperational thought," ages two to seven in which the child's mind is rapidly advancing to a new plane leading to the understanding of symbols (including images and words) and requiring a reorganization of thought from the previous sensori-motor period. This cannot be done all at once, and for some time during this period the child's thinking is unsystematic and illogical. [1] The symbolic activity involving nonlinguistic symbols in children's play (representation)[2] and the increasing ability of language to widen the child's horizons are important here.
At a very practical level, the idea of planning a music class as a performance serves to address some of the specific developmental needs of students in Piaget’s “preoperational thought” period. Children in the pre-kindergarten often engage in “parallel play” activities in which they create and imagine with their toys in an individual way rather than share in the act of playing as they begin to in kindergarten. In other words, they do their playing together, but separately. It is only later that they begin to interact with each other directly and understanding this is important from the standpoint of a music educator. The following music class plan demonstrates these theoretical ideas put into practice:
(1) First, the introductory meeting of students and teacher: this most often occurs with students filing into the music classroom or, in some instances, the music teacher entering the general classroom. It is very important that an introductory activity be immediate, musical and “attention-getting.” Immediate, for the sake of good classroom management in which students are kept busy right away and therefore out of trouble; musical, to set up preparatory work for the main lesson included for the day; “attention-getting” to enliven the students and create a community of enjoyment. When a learning experience is planned that achieves three aims, classroom time is being used optimally. In a performance, the artist begins to make music directly following the initial applause as he or she enters the stage. Likewise in a music class, it is important to start and activity right away. I often sing a greeting to my students and invite them to sing immediately in reply. This starts the class right away, but also sets a tone that they have left their other classes behind and now will be engaged in music making for the next period. As a song or exercise is being implemented, it is essential the teacher have the activity to follow clearly in mind. For example, I often have my pre-kindergarteners sit in a circle and sing an opening exercise. The whole class sings “yoo-hoo” on the notes “me- sol” inserting the name of each student as we go around the circle. The focus here is on gathering, group intonation and vocal warm-up. As this activity draws to a close, I have in mind immediately what we will do next. As in a piano recital, say, as soon as the audience applauds the first selection on the program, the performer immediately sits down and plays the second. So also in the music classroom, there can be no gaps of dead time in which the attention of the students and subsequent flow of the class might be lost.
This initial exercise is connected to the work of the day. If that work predominantly involves singing, as in our classroom example at hand, the opening exercise will be vocal. Specifically, if there is a choral piece or folk song that will be taught, the nature of the introductory vocal exercise should relate to that. For example, if we will be spending a lot of time on a slow canon with sustained whole note such as “Brother Martin,” the opening exercise would include the concepts of legato and adagio. Though it would not be expected that most pre-kindergarteners would understand these terms, they can still learn to execute them vocally. A further demonstration of these concepts can be emphasized by the performance of a short excerpt from a piece such as Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata.
(2) Once the introduction is nearing completion, it is important the teacher be thinking what piece of music will follow. If even half a minute of dead time takes place between the opening exercise and the first piece or activity, the risk of losing the class is great. This next segment begins the “middle” of the class in which a predominant amount of singing occurs, though also interspersed with musical games, and perhaps solfege exercises as well. It can be useful to save some of the most fun activities for the end of classes such as games and other activities involving movement. If certain musical games involve the selection of a leader, this privilege can be reserved as a reward for the individual who demonstrated the best behavior throughout the class.
(3) As the class moves from the singing of the canon to the music appreciation time, I inform my students that the best listener will attain the privilege of being chosen to be the gatekeepers in the “Old Mr. Rabbit” game we will play at the end of class. This system of rewards teaches young students’ good manners when listening to a performance and creates an environment where they are able to focus their attention on a music appreciation example without distractions from their classmates. Rocky Mountain follows. The focus here is on vocal production and a more complex “sol-fa” pattern of “do-me-sol-la.” This is harder for pre-kindergartners than the previous Brother Martin, so I vary the singing with fast and slow to make it fun and keep their attention. Old Mr. Rabbit ends the class. This is a game in which everyone stands and forms a circle and two people face each other to form a gate. As the class sings and passes through the gate, on the last word of the song, the gates comes down and captures a “rabbit.”
Even in the best of circumstances, there will be times when students are not paying attention or may be bored. It is essential the teacher recognize small fires that may go out by themselves as distinct from larger fires that threaten the forest. If two students are talking during a music activity, it may not be worth it to bring the class to a grinding halt to reprimand them. They may stop on their own, or as the music making activity of the class begins to pick up, they may gain interest. On the other hand, if too many are starting to lose attention, it may be time for a word from the teacher, or it may be time to evaluate the activity, ditch it, and go into plan B. It is very important for music educators to realize the illogical and unsystematic thinking of students in this new preoperational thought period arises from a reorganization of thought from the previous sensori-motor period. Language and symbols are relatively new to students in the early childhood years. Though developmental psychologists disagree on many points, one point of agreement seems to be that all students develop at different rates. Translated into classroom application, this might mean speaking instructions once clearly, but rather than repeat them if they didn’t seem to be understood, model them with singing or actions. This practice may also address students who have auditory processing disorders.
The conceptualization of a music class as a performance addresses many behavioral and developmental issues students may have. It also makes the learning environment more congenial for the students and allows the teacher to optimize the use of classroom instruction time.
Notes
[1] Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. p. 120
[2] Spencer Pulaski, Mary Ann. An Introduction to Children's Cognitive Development. New York: Harper and Row, 1980.
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