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Purposeful Teaching Through Agile-Centered Instruction

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I remember memorizing the phrase “whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half” many years ago when I began taking piano lessons in third grade.  My piano teacher Mrs. Peterson was incredibly pleased that I had the phrase memorized and could recite it at a moment’s notice.  She would smile and congratulate me on my new skill.  The problem was, even though I knew how to play whole and half steps on the piano, I did not understand why this phrase was so important to memorize.

My piano teacher provided the subject knowledge but not the conceptual understanding. 

My experience with my piano teacher and the public educational system in the 1960s and 1970s is what many of our students continue to experience to this day.  Most, if not all of us, were taught from kindergarten through post-secondary education, primarily through teacher-centered direct instruction.

Banking Education

Paulo Freire called the instructional paradigm of filling and depositing knowledge into students’ heads “Banking Education” (Freire, 1993, chapter 2). Make a deposit, check the balance, and hope for good returns. I must confess that from time to time, I fall into the choral music banking education paradigm. I teach the choir their parts, check for understanding (right notes and my interpretations), and then move on. And if I’m not careful, my curriculum may become primarily product-driven and not process-centered.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Freire proposes a curriculum structured around student and teacher collaboration through which students learn to develop self-regulation and autonomy in the classroom.  A Freirian teacher takes the role of initiator of dialogue and consciously tries to blur the boundaries between the knower and known and between the learner and teacher.  We are all lifelong learners – students and teachers alike.  

Rather than depositing and dispersing information to students, the core of a Freirian music curriculum is centered on inquiry and questioning.  This problem-posing approach is student-centered, with the teacher taking the role of facilitator, and student/teacher dialogue and reflection are valued and encouraged. 

Here is our dilemma.  We cannot always be student-centered in the classroom.  There is an Opportunity Cost of only teaching in or favoring one pedagogical methodology – whether this is due to our post-secondary education, training, or personal preference.  Sometimes, our music instruction is Teacher-Centered.  Sometimes it is Product-Centered.  I agree with and incorporate the Freirian music curriculum into my teaching, but there are situations when I must direct teach, and there are times when I am product-centered. 

My classroom is not exclusively student-centered, subject-centered, teacher-centered, performance-centered, concept-centered, or product-centered.   It is a diverse interaction between and within all of the above.  It is flexible, responsive, and dynamic – it is Agile.

Agile-Centered Instruction

Agile-Centered Instruction (ACI) is a pedagogical philosophy that provides flexibility and autonomy for teachers and students alike.  It is dynamic and responsive to the present and real-time instructional learning environment.  The focus of ACI is not about achieving specific skills, outcomes, or behaviors but rather the mental process that gives rise to conceptual understanding and skilled performances. 

An agile educator strives to be mindful of, responsive to, and willing to shift their instructional and pedagogical paradigms.  This instructional awareness facilitates and empowers students to learn from challenging and rewarding situations and helps them discover interdisciplinary threshold concepts and cross-curricular crosscutting concepts, connections, and understandings. 

Critical Pedagogy for Music Education (CPME)

Frank Abrahams (2005), in his article The Application of Critical Pedagogy to Music Teaching and Learning, offers music educators one way to structure and frame their teaching and instruction.  Critical Pedagogy for Music Education (CPME) is a praxis-oriented philosophy based on Freire’s dialogical “problem-posing” approach.  CPME provides structure, support, and flexibility, for both the teacher and the student and creates an encouraging and supportive learning environment.  

CPME Lessons Sequence Model 
1. Honoring Their Word – Activate and engage students in real-life problem-solving   
2. Sharing the Experience – Students and teachers explore, process, and reflect together 
3. Connecting Their World to the Concept – Linking both in and out of school conceptual experiences   
4. Dialoguing Together – Students and teachers ask questions, gather evidence, and examine ideas    
5. Practicing the Concept – Teacher and students practice together and model mastery 
6. Connecting Word to World – Students are encouraged to connect and find new alternatives and solutions 
7. Assessing Transformation – Dialogic assessment and conceptual viability become realized 
8. Acknowledging Transformation – Initiate and activate the new skill towards current and future learning 

Three Activities to Engage Students in
Agile-Centered Instruction

The activities below are examples of how to implement Agile-Centered Instruction into the rehearsal setting and incorporates aspects of the CPME model.  To help our choirs acquire and attain musical skills and understandings, members must actively practice integrating and combining a variety of conceptual components throughout the rehearsal.
 

Warmup Color ID (purpose-centered)

Range – Blue

Vocal Placement – Orange

Vowels – Lime Green

Breath Support – Purple

Pitch Accuracy – Red

Diction/Consonants- Green

Singing Energizer – Light Blue

Warm-up Color ID asks the students to perform, uncover, and identify the purpose of a specific warm-up exercise used in the music classroom and rehearsal setting.  I use this warm-up activity during voice lessons and ask the students to analyze a variety of vocal exercises and color code their purpose.  Then, during choir rehearsals, we can quickly review the warm-ups’ objective(s) and concentrate on the specific purpose of the exercise (this conceptual review takes only about 10 seconds of the rehearsal to reinforce). 

Right Now (performance-centered)

ADIF adaptation from Collective Efficacy Belief, Within-Group Agreement and Performance Quality Among Instrumental Chamber Ensembles

I have found that inevitably during the year, a song that the choir is preparing and refining can lose forward momentum and musically stall.  This musical plateau may happen because a majority of choir members feel that the song is “learned” and is ready to be performed.  This next activity asks the students to assess either their section, sprint group, or the full choir and estimate to what extent they are performing correct technical and expressive elements.  This activity also works very well as an exit ticket.

What’s Next?  (process-centered)

This final exercise is one of my favorites.  I introduce this activity by showing the choir my lesson plans and informing them that their responses on this form will become the lesson plans for our next rehearsal.  The first question asks the students to think back on past rehearsals and recall the sequence of events and teaching strategies they have experienced.  The second question engages the students in critical thinking and brings the ensemble into a dialogue about effective rehearsal strategies, processes, and procedures.

And here is the fun part.  At the beginning of the next rehearsal, I bring out the slips, shuffle them, turn them face down, and ask one choir member to select a form.  I then fold part of the paper over (so I cannot read the name) and use “What should be next?” numbers 5 – 8 as a rehearsal sequence for part of the class.  My students enjoy this activity, and their responses and ideas are informative and very enjoyable.

tl;dr: Purposeful Teaching Through Agile-Centered Instruction

Agile-Centered Instruction (ACI) is a pedagogical philosophy that provides flexibility and autonomy for teachers and students alike.  It is dynamic and responsive to the present and real-time instructional learning environment.  By becoming more instructionally agile in the classroom, we can empower students to discover interdisciplinary and cross-curricular connections and understandings, learn through challenging and rewarding situations, and provide space for creativity and flexibility.

Current research reminds educators that though we possess strong musical metacognitive skills, we should not assume that our students will naturally and inevitably develop musical understanding and become musically autonomous.  Metacognitive skills and successful learning habits must be taught and reinforced through thoughtful and purposeful instruction.

“It is not the strongest that survive environmental changes.
It is the most flexible – the most intelligently agile”. 

Attributed to Charles Darwin (Megginson, 1963)

Postlude – The Kolb Educator Role Profile  

One way for us to become more agile in the classroom and reimagine our instruction is to take the Kolb Educator Role Profile (KERP).  This instructional assessment survey is specifically designed to help teachers identify their teaching tendencies and shift between the roles of the Facilitator, Expert, Evaluator, and Coach. 

References

Abrahams, F. (2005). The application of critical pedagogy to music teaching and learning. Visions of Research in Music Education, 6. Retrieved from http://www.rider.edu/~vrme

Freire, Paulo, 1921-1997. 2000. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.

Ackles, B., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.

10 Concepts About PAULO FREIRE’s Pedagogy | All You Need to Know

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) Conceptual Tools, Philosophy of Education, Criticism


Read more: Paulo Freire (1921–1997) – Conceptual Tools, Philosophy of Education, Criticism – Students, Social, World, and Process – StateUniversity.com https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1998/Freire-Paulo-1921-1997.html#ixzz6vDNeppBv

Another excellent CPME resource:  Critical Pedagogy for Music Education – Thorne Palmer

Initiate a Discipline with Lesson Prompts

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“Do you call yourself a vocal music teacher or a choir director?” At first, this question seemed relatively simple and straightforward.  I was wrong.

I was asked this question along with a few of our colleagues during an interview for a research study earlier this year.  As each of us took turns responding to the question, I listened intensely to my colleagues and began examining and rethinking my view and beliefs about teaching music.  Through the experience of contemplating this question, I came to realize that I see myself more as a music teacher than a choir director.

Herein lies the importance and value of a well-placed and presented question; its function is to stimulate investigation, seek clarification, and at times may be unsettling.  Though I do not use essential questions in the classroom, I use standards-based concept-centered lesson prompts to guide and focus my lesson planning and instructional preparations.

In the same way that the following essential question drives and shapes Leading Voices: How do we actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation?  Each Leading Voices headline functions as a prompt that guides and shapes the blog’s content and theme.

Who is Your Vygotsky? 
Adapting Specs Grading for the Virtual and Hybrid Choral Classroom
Positive Reappraisal: Adapting Instruction and Managing Stress 
Oh, Now I Get it! – Understanding Threshold Concepts 

This is also the function of the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) lesson prompts.  They serve as a guide for planning instruction and point to a lesson’s conceptual theme and content inherent within a rehearsal.

Lesson Prompts

At the start of each rehearsal, I always begin with a short two-minute “Call to Class” warm-up or focus exercise for the ensemble (for my church choir, we open with prayer).  A Call to Class signals to the chorus that the rehearsal has begun and is immediately followed by the lesson prompt and a quick rehearsal overview. 

A lesson prompt is a short two-to-five-word statement or phrase that is written on the whiteboard along with a brief outline of the rehearsal plan.  This visual and verbal introduction is essential as it helps the students focus and become aware of the skills and concepts they will experience during that specific lesson.  The lesson prompt and rehearsal overview takes less than a minute to introduce, and like exit tickets, they are well worth your time. 

Lesson Prompt Examples

Initiate a Discipline 
Reflection in Action 
Revisit & Reloop  
Rewrite Your Script  
Musical Chess Master  
Performance Mindset  
Troublesome Knowledge  
Musical Syntax
2% Rule
Plunge Into Learning

Concept-Based Teaching and Learning

For many years, I used the Madeline Hunter lesson planning model as I created and presented objective-based subject-centered music instruction to my students.  While I have experienced great success using this framework, I now strengthen and build upon this traditional model by integrating concept-centered lesson prompts into my instruction.  Incorporating concept-based music instruction within the traditional model provides me with the vehicle and structure I need to stimulate both individual and ensemble musical autonomy. 

Erickson (2012), in her International Baccalaureate position paper Concept-Based Teaching and Learning presents a three-dimensional concept-based curriculum and instruction model. This paradigm focuses on principles, concepts, and practices that use the tools of factual knowledge and skills to facilitate a deeper understanding of subject content. 

“When information today is a click away on a computer keyboard, the use of classroom time must shift focus from covering and memorizing information to thinking with and applying knowledge at both the factual and conceptual levels. Thinking deeply with factual knowledge and concepts to communicate ideas and solve problems, transferring knowledge across distinct global contexts and situations, and seeing patterns and connections between concepts, ideas and situations are at the heart of concept-based teaching and learning” (Erickson, 2012, p. 3).

The Chess Metaphor

Pixabay.com

I will borrow from our science colleagues and use The Chess Metaphor to clarify the importance and necessity of implementing concept-based instruction and lesson prompts into the music classroom.  In the study Expert vs. novice differences in the detection of relevant information during a chess game: evidence from eye movements, researchers discovered that while novices focused on each specific chess piece and their corresponding moves, chess masters group chess pieces together in relation to their strategic moves.  The novice tends to focus on surface features, while the experts develop a conceptual framework to organize, prioritize, and initiate new ideas and understandings. 

This is precisely what my successful student musicians do: somehow and somewhere in their studies, they have developed their own musical conceptual framework which allows them to organize, prioritize, and initiate new musical ideas and conceptual understandings.  But how?

“A Musical Chess Master”

For the past few weeks, I used the above lesson prompt during voice lessons.  I have been intrigued by several of my students on their continual progress and musical growth during virtual and hybrid instruction this year.  What conceptual framework are they using?

The answer came from one of my juniors while we were working on the following exercise on musictheory.net.  We were reviewing the base-concepts of (1) basic staff notation, (2) note names, (3) key signatures, and (4) altered pitches, and then applying this combined procedure-concept to the recognition and identification of solfege syllables.


https://www.musictheory.net/exercises/note

As Jim was flying through all the examples with total confidence and accuracy, I asked him,” What process are you using to find the answer?” He said, “I think math – like a mathematical process.”  He then went on to explain the mathematical musical process he uses to read and perform music successfully and efficiently.

Here was the answer to my question; Jim applied one of his conceptual frameworks from another subject, math, and created a new musical conceptual framework for music reading.  He uses Crosscutting Concepts and transfers conceptual understandings and processes from one subject area to another by discovering their functional commonalities and usefulness across all disciplines.

Crosscutting Concepts

This epiphany is not an educational breakthrough.  Science educators label conceptual frameworks and understandings that can be applied to a variety of other science disciplines Crosscutting Concepts.  The Council of Chief State School Offices (CCSSO) in their publication Using Crosscutting Concepts to Promote Student Responses, places the responsibility of helping our students build conceptual bridges from one subject area to another directly on teachers. 

Next Generation Science Standards for States, By States (2013)
A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

tl;dr – Lesson Prompts and Concept-Based Teaching

Through using lesson prompts and promoting concept-based instruction, we as educators can foster individual and ensemble autonomy and help our students build conceptual bridges and skills from one discipline to another.  By presenting students with learning environments and musical experiences that draw connections between different subject concepts and practices, our ensemble members will excel in music and become successful in all of their studies.

Postlude: One Last Question

Do you see your students as choir members or individual musicians?

Resources

Erickson, H. Lynn (2012) Concept-Based Teaching and Learning

Sfard, A. (1998) On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing Just One. Educational Researcher 27, no. 2: 4-13. Accessed March 14, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1176193.

Sheridan, Heather, and Eyal M. Reingold. “Expert vs. Novice Differences in the Detection of Relevant Information during a Chess Game: Evidence from Eye Movements.” Frontiers in Psychology 5 (2014). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00941.

Oh, Now I Get it! – Understanding Threshold Concepts

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Have you ever wondered how some of our students seem to naturally catch on and succeed in their studies?  They may or may not have an extraordinary aptitude in any particular content area, yet they can grasp and apply the fundamental concepts in a variety of subjects and excel. 

Some would say it is because they are gifted or talented in a specific discipline, while others may say it is because they are intelligent or smart.  Though this may be true for some, economists Land and Meyer (2003) would say that gaining valuable insights and transforming conceptual understanding in any subject is dependent upon attaining the unique and specific Threshold Concepts that are inherent within each discipline.

© John Krzesinski, 2012

“A threshold concept can be considered as akin to a portal, opening up a new and previously inaccessible way of thinking about something. It represents a transformed way of understanding, or interpreting, or viewing something without which the learner cannot progress.” (Land and Meyer, 2003, p. 3, emphasis mine)

To become an interior designer, you must be able to understand and apply color theory 
To study basic economics, you must grasp the concept of opportunity cost 
To become a music teacher, you must learn to audiate and internalize scale degree relationships

The word threshold in the context of a threshold concept does not represent a boundary or an end of something, such as the threshold of hearing or the threshold of pain.  But rather, it implies a “place or point of entering or beginning.” (Merriam-Webster)

Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments (ETL) Project

Through their research in economics and working with their colleagues at the University of Edinburgh, Land and Meyer sought to identify prominent factors that led to high-quality learning environments in undergraduate classes within five interdisciplinary contexts.  The Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments (ETL) Project focused on learning outcomes and sought to differentiate between (1) core learning outcomes and (2) threshold concepts through which students learn to see and experience their field of study in a new and transformative way.  Through their research, the following characteristics were conceptualized and can help us identify the attributes we all experience when a threshold concept is realized. 

Threshold Concepts Characteristics

Transformation – There is a conceptual shift in perception and practice as the internal mental framework becomes modified and reworked.  Once grasped, the new learning experience leads to a deeper view and awareness of the subject and oneself as a learner. 
Integration– Current experiences, commonalities, patterns, and interconnectedness are recognized, explored, and applied to the existing mental structures of a discipline. 
Bounded and Irreversible – As a student’s conceptual knowledge expands and multiplies, the recently acquired understandings and skills define new boundaries and create new concept thresholds. This new thinking or skill is generally irreversible and is unlikely to be forgotten or unlearned, much like swimming. 
Troublesome – Conceptual adjustments require a reconstructive change that involves a shift of thinking, practice, and identity.  This unfamiliar learning transformation may feel counter-intuitive and takes time.

Conceptual Transformation and Troublesome Knowledge

Attaining and grasping a threshold concept in any subject is both rewarding and demanding.  It can be exhilarating and relieving as the new conceptual understanding opens previously inaccessible and advanced ways of thinking and performing.  It is the aha or eureka moment we experience with our students as they gain insight into a challenging skill or concept as they cross a threshold from their past beliefs to a transformed deeper understanding.  Through this realization, students become aware of the limitations of isolated perspectives and learn to acknowledge, accommodate, and value multiple perspectives and new practices. 

Threshold concepts are also challenging and demanding because to achieve new conceptual understanding, students must actively experience, wrestle with, and move through what Perkins (1999) calls Troublesome Knowledge.  Hawkins and Edwards (2013) define this experience as Managing the Monsters of Doubt.   Recent research by Davies and Guest (2009) titled Towards the Bigger Picture discusses student acquisition of knowledge through Threshold Concepts.

  • The transformation experience is both cognitive and affective. 
  • The change in a students’ conceptual structure is not based on the acquisition of knowledge. 
  • Students’ beliefs are highly resistant to change; this challenges their current way of thinking. 
  • A conceptual shift is complex and requires time to rework and revisit current understandings.
  • Students must break the cycle of using fixed views and unproductive beliefs and behaviors.
  • New understandings can be emotional and may involve shifts in the students’ sense of identity.
  • Student responses to reflection and self-assessment could be defensive and disheartening.

To help my students work through the difficult process of troublesome knowledge, I incorporated the work of Carol S. Dweck and her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success into my classroom and rehearsal environment. 

The sign hangs just above the threshold as you enter and leave my classroom.  It serves as a reminder that learning and growing take hard work.

Teaching Music Through Threshold, Procedural and Base Concepts

Keeping the above challenges in mind, how then can we apply and incorporate threshold concepts into the music curriculum and the choral classroom?   Davies and Mangan (2007) incorporated threshold concepts into teaching economics and present a new model of instruction.  Their work offers the following three conceptual categories: Basic Concepts (I will refer to as Base Concepts), Procedural Concepts, and Threshold Concepts. 

Below is an example of how this model used in teaching economics can be applied to music instruction.
Threshold Concept – Melodic and harmonic correlations
Procedural Concepts – Key Signatures identification and relationships within the circle of 5th  Base Concepts – Pitch recognition, alterations, and the corresponding notation

Agile Development Instructional Framework

The Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) provides a structure that allows flexibility in content and delivery as students learn to move through a variety of threshold concepts by reworking and revisiting base and procedural concepts. 

By using the ADIF model, teachers can freely and effectively move holonomicly through their instruction and foster metacognition and autonomy.  ADIF allows directors to teach through the repertoire and not teach to the repertoire. 

The Liminal State and Mimicry

One of the biggest challenges in teaching music through threshold concepts occurs when an individual or ensemble gets stuck in a Liminal State.  This is the space where they have not totally left their old understanding behind, yet they are not fully cognizant of their pending new knowledge or skill. 

What once had been familiar and known is now distressing, disorienting, and unknown.  Students tend to want to return to their old learning states and patterns where it was comfortable and safe.  If we are not careful, our students and ensembles will unknowingly settle in a liminal state and, as a coping strategy, replace authentic learning with mimicry (Cousins, 2006) and rote learning. 

When this happens, the remedy is to temporarily usher the ensemble or individual back out of the liminal space and revisit and rework underlying procedural and base concepts needed for that threshold concept.  We must teach them that to grow musically and not rely on old patterns or the usual way of learning and performing.

A Word of Caution

If we are not careful in our desire to help our students succeed, WE tend to pull and carry our students through threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge by using successful rehearsal techniques, teaching strategies, and at times sheer talent.  We tend to default to our teacher training and conditioned responses, and WE end up carrying our students through liminal spaces and troublesome knowledge.  I know I am guilty of this at times.

This teacher-directed-conceptual-understanding methodology is successful and can produce outstanding concerts, but it will not and cannot create self-sufficient, self-discovering, or self-actualized young musicians. 

“Being willing to explore liminal spaces means that a music teacher must be a risk-taker, someone who is not afraid to go against the grain, who is willing to let go of preconceived ideas about power, status, and the taken-for-granted. . . . . .  letting go of the barriers that traditional education has put into place, and admitting there are things not known, not accessible.” (Emmanuel, D 2011, p. 63)

tl;dr: Threshold Concepts and The Three Umpires Story

“The story goes that three umpires disagreed about the task of calling balls and strikes.
 
The first one said, ‘I calls them as they is.’   (Base Concept) 

The second one said, ‘I calls them as I sees them.’   (Procedural Concept)
 
The third and cleverest umpire said, ‘They ain’t nothin’ till I calls them.'”   (Threshold Concept)

(Simons 1976: 29 as cited in Weick in The Social Psychology of Organizing 1979: 1)

Threshold Resources:

Threshold Concepts in Practice   
Threshold Concepts: A Short Introduction and a Bibliography from 2003 to 2018 
Threshold concepts: Impacts on teaching and learning at tertiary level 
Threshold Concepts & Undergraduate Mathematics Teaching 
Learning Portals: Analyzing Threshold Concept Theory for LIS Education 
Threshold Concepts and the Integration of Understanding in Economics 
Threshold Concepts and Modalities for Teaching Leadership Practice

References

Ackles, B., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Cousin, G. (2006) An Introduction to Threshold Concepts, Planet, 17:1, 4-5, DOI: 10.11120/plan.2006.00170004

Davies, P.  Guest, R., (2009)  Towards the Bigger Picture.  International Review of Economics Education, Volume 8, Issue 1, Pages 6-12,  ISSN 1477-3880, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1477-3880(15)30082-7. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477388015300827)

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House Publishing Group

Emmanuel, D (2011)  Liminality as thought and action. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 10(1): 47–68. http://act.maydaygroup.org/articles/Emmanuel10_1.pdf

Hawkins, B, and Edwards, G. (2013) Managing the Monsters of Doubt: Liminality, Threshold Concepts and Leadership Learning. Management Learning 46, no. 1 (2013): 24-43. doi:10.1177/1350507613501736.

Meyer, J., and Land, R., (2003) Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practicing. (available at www.etl.tla.ed.ac.uk/docs/ETLreport4.pdf)

Meyer, J., and Land, R., (2006) Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding. doi:10.4324/9780203966273.

Nesari, Ali Jamali. (2015) Dialogism Versus Monologism: A Bakhtinian Approach to Teaching. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 205: 642-47. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.09.101.

Perkins, D. (1999). The Many Faces of Constructivism, Educational

No, Really . . . They are Worth Your Time

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They can be used once a week, when a choir starts learning a new song, or just before an adjudicated choral music festival.  They are a quick and effective instructional and assessment tool appropriate for the upper Elementary Choir through the Collegiate Honor Ensemble.  They can be designed using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, aligned with the National Core Arts Standards, and enhance your professional practice and teaching philosophy.  They are invaluable but seen as superfluous.

To be honest, I did not use Exit Tickets (aka Ticket Out the Door, One Minute Essay, or Exit Slips) for over twenty-four years.  I saw no need.  Within a choir rehearsal or general music class, I continually and in real-time assess, adjust, and modify my instruction for the students.  Music instruction and performances inherently activate and encompass all formative assessment components, so why take up valuable rehearsal time with documentation?

Reflection-in-Action

In Educating the Reflective Practitioner, Donald Schon calls the dynamic interplay through which “our thinking serves to reshape what we are doing while we are doing it” reflection-in-action (1987, p. 26).  Most times, reflection-in-action occurs so naturally in the music classroom (like riding a bike) that we forget about the interacting skills and techniques that merge and allow us to shape and respond to our musical experiences (like balance, steering, and peddling).  We use and understand this dynamic, but do our students?  To help our students become more independent and our ensembles more responsive, we must consciously label, reinforce, and support reflection-in-action in the classroom.

I use Exit Tickets in my classroom because it keeps my choirs cognitively on their toes and fosters rehearsal awareness.  It encourages choir members to become cognizant of the rehearsal experience and responsible for describing and assessing what they have learned.  Using Exit Tickets reminds students that they just participated in a learning experience and asks, what did you learn?  Or, “What strategies did we just use that helped us succeed today“?

Reflection-on-Action

Schon calls the second question, Reflection-on-Action. “We may reflect-on-action, thinking back on what we have done in order to discover how our knowing-in-action may have contributed to an unexpected outcome” (1987, p. 26).  The rewards of Reflection-in-Action and the necessity of Reflection-on-Action helps students become aware of and uncover the dynamic relationship between a musical performance and its corresponding preparation.  The product of music education becomes the learning process, and its application to making music becomes the focus.

What is Next? Exit Tickets
What is Next? Exit Tickets sorted by the choir
Exit Tickets for Erev Shel Shoshanim (Evening of Roses) – arr. Jack Klebanow Messiah College Concert Choir

Traditional Exit Tickets

The research and professional writings that support formative assessment and Exit Tickets are extensive and well documented.  Traditional Exit Tickets are not graded and can:

Encourage students to take stock in their learning 
Provide descriptive feedback and actionable data for teachers 
Help students identify problems, think critically, and contemplate solutions 
Encourage all students, shy and boisterous, to participate and reflect on their learning 

Exit Tickets’ Effect on Engagement and Concept Attainment in High School Science  
Exit tickets motivated students to pay closer attention and increased behavioral engagement among typically engaged and disengaged students (Discussion, p.98).   

The Classroom is Alive with the Sound of Thinking: The Power of the Exit Slip 
Written student reflections are a vehicle for content review, aides absorbing new material, encourages divergent thinking, provides a safe way for students to ask for clarification, promotes self-expression, and fosters the ownership of ideas (Conclusion, p. 195). 

Exit Tickets’ Effect on Engagement in College Classrooms  
Exit tickets help students to be actively engaged in the learning process, encourages students’ connections to content and self-reflection, provides evidence of mastered content and challenges, and improves student behavior and academic achievement (Conclusion, p. 5917). 

Exit Tickets are Teacher-Centered

As soon as I began using Traditional Exit Tickets periodically in class, I noticed a shift in my thinking and ensembles musical abilities.  My students became more engaged in the lesson, and our rehearsals grew to be more productive and enjoyable.  For me, I came to realize that even though I covered a concept or presented a skill, that did not mean my students could transfer their new knowledge and apply it to new experiences.  I found myself experiencing The Expert Blind Spot.  Exit Tickets made this perfectly clear.   

I soon discovered that using traditional Exit Tickets places the responsibility and ownership of learning and assessment away from the students and on to me, the teacher.  The teacher presents a prompt, the students provide feedback, and the teacher adapts their instruction. The teacher – not the students – initiates higher-order thinking skills and evaluates, assesses, and modifies the learning.  If we want high functioning, independent and interdependent student musicians, we must teach Ensemble –Centered Assessment.

Lesson Retrospectives and Ensemble-Centered Assessment

The purpose of a Lesson Retrospective is to provide the choir as a group the opportunity to initiate higher-order thinking skills through assessing, evaluating, and modifying their shared rehearsal and class experience.  It builds upon the Exit Ticket format and requires the ensemble to discover challenges, generate insights, and create actionable items needed to move forward.  By learning group formative assessment skills, students individually and collectively take ownership of their musical growth and the ensemble’s success.

A Lesson Retrospective is an educational modification of a Scrum team’s assessment, and planning meeting called a Sprint Retrospective.  The purpose of a Sprint Retrospective is to provide a Sprint Group time after their independent work on a group project to come together and plan ways to increase the quality and effectiveness of their project.  The Agile Development Instructional Framework incorporates the Scrum methodology and Agile Development principles and provides a clear outline of steps and skills in the rehearsal setting that facilitates active student and ensemble problem solving, collaboration, and accountability. 

Sprint Retrospective Resources

7 Great Agile Sprint Retrospective Ideas 
The Guide to Retrospectives – Remote or in Person 
11 Ideas to Spice up Your Retrospective 
6 Effective Sprint Retrospective Techniques 
Sprint Retrospective Ideas 
Fun Retrospectives: Activities and ideas for making agile retrospectives more engaging. 

Lesson Retrospectives Prompts

In his work Art and Science of Teaching, The Many Uses of Exit Slips, Robert Marzano presents four types of prompts that focus on specific and intended outcomes.   

1. Prompts that Provide Formative Assessment Data    
“On a scale of 1 – 5, how would you rate your current level of understanding _____________?” 

2. Prompts that Stimulates Student Self-Analysis, Self-Regulation 
“What could you have done today to help yourself learn the material better?” 

3. Prompts that Focus on Instructional Strategies   
“How did your sprint group work today help you understand the music better?”
 
4. Prompts that are Open Communications to the Teacher  
“What is something I could do to improve your understanding of ________________?”   

Lesson Retrospectives Design

Lesson Retrospectives can range from a simple 1-5 rating scale, to facilitating autonomy and metacognition by designing prompts using Bloom’s Taxonomy Hierarchical Framework.

Bloom’s Taxonomy by Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University

Remember – What interval/key signature/music term did we focus on today? 
Understand – How do dynamics enrich our musical performances? 
Apply – How did the major/minor scale relate to learning part of our song today? 
Analyze – What was the rehearsal sequence we followed this afternoon? 
Evaluate – Why did our rehearsal and learning this section of music go well (not go well) today?
Create – List three ways you/the choir can review, reinforce, or solidify what we accomplished today? 

Leading Voices Blog Retrospect

Here is an example of using a Google Form as a digital Exit Ticket.  If you have two minutes to spare, I would appreciate your thoughts and ideas about using Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives in the Choral Classroom.  Thank you for your time. 

TL;DR – Fostering Individual and Ensemble Autonomy

In the music classroom and within the choral rehearsal, teachers know the value of a good lesson anticipatory set and the importance of effective vocal warmups.  We dedicate a few minutes at the beginning of each rehearsal to release tension in the body and engage the breath, activate phonation and reinforce correct vocal placement, and support and strengthen good choral singing skills.  But if we are not careful, we can miss supporting and warming up the most essential part of the singers’ voice, the musical mind.

Traditional Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives are essential in mentally attracting and engaging students into the lesson and cultivating mindful presence in the rehearsal room.  These ensemble-centered assessment strategies promote student and group reflection, provide authentic and actionable feedback, and foster individual and ensemble autonomy.  They are short and quick activities you can integrate into your instruction that will transform your students’ musicianship and foster ensemble autonomy.

Try not to let the trauma from a Professional Day gone wrong or the educational jargon prevent you from researching and giving Exit Tickets and Lesson Retrospectives a try.  I now agree with my principal, who sensed my skepticism (I mentally rolled my eyes) when he suggested I try Exit Tickets with my choirs and said:   

“No, really . . . .  they are well worth your time”.

Postlude

A lesson Study is a form of professional development where teachers collaboratively design research lessons and improve instruction using the evidence they have observed and gathered on learning and concept development.  Lesson Retrospectives also uses this framework and provides our students the opportunity to design, implement, and assess learning experiences with their peers.  Allowing students to participate in Reflection-on-Action offers educators the opportunity to step back, observe, and evaluate the students’ instructional modifications or adaptations.

Agile Development Instructional Framework Resources

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based. They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

References

ASCD. “Art and Science of Teaching, The Many Uses of Exit Slips.” The Many Uses of Exit Slips – Educational Leadership.

Fowler, K., Mark Windschitl, M., & and Richards, J. Understanding Students, Adapting Instruction, and Addressing Equity  

Keeping Learning on Track: A Case-study of Formative Assessment Practice and its Impact on Learning in Meridian School District

Little, G. Faith, Exit Tickets as Formative Assessments

Sondergeld, T., Bell, C., Leusner, D. 2010. Understanding How Teachers Engage in Formative Assessment Project: Keeping Learning on

Track, Wiliam, D.  2006. Keeping Learning on Track: Formative Assessment and the Regulation of Learning

By Teaching, We Learn – Students Teaching Students

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It wasn’t until I started teaching that I understood how to become a better student and a more effective teacher. The education I received as a child and adolescent was primarily subject-centered and focused on the acquisition and consumption of factual knowledge. As I moved from one grade to another, I formed the understanding that the main goal in school was to memorize information and provide my teachers with the correct answers. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire called the instructional paradigm of filling and depositing knowledge into students’ heads “Banking Education” (Freire 1993, chapter 2). Teachers would present the required information, check for understanding, and move on to the next lesson.

Paulo Freire

Likewise, most of my experiences in general music and school and church choirs reinforced this same paradigm.  We would learn music through identifying symbols and terms, memorizing songs, and preparing music for our next concert or worship service.  If you already knew how to read music and caught on quickly, you were talented.  If not, you were to learn the music by ear and follow the leader(s) in your section.  I was never taught how to read music. I was taught how to follow – I have a good ear.

Thankfully, music education has come a long way in the last few decades.  But many of our students still do not have the skills needed to become musically autonomous.  They wait for us to lead so they can follow.  Many choir members and teachers are stuck in the “tell me what to sing” and “show me what to do” syndrome.  Like I in my youth, they have a Learning Paradigm Paralysis.

Breaking through Paradigm Paralysis

Many years ago, I decided to modify my teaching paradigm and changed my perspective.  I started stepping away from direct instruction and began asking my students open-ended questions during rehearsals. 

“Who can review what we learned/rehearsed last rehearsal?” (present the information) 
“What is another way we can learn or teach this skill?” (check for understanding) 
“What part of this song do you think we should focus on next?  Why?” (move the lesson forward)

When I first started asking these questions, I got blank stares with mouths half-open.  I seriously think some of my students had never been asked these questions before.  Then back in 2015, I stumbled upon two great resources from the computer programing field: Agile Development and Scrum.  These two computer programing and software development models replace the Silo Effect paradigm and create an environment centered around team planning, collaboration, and individual responsibility.  

By adapting Scrum and Agile Development principles into the choral rehearsal, my students are now aware of the necessity and importance of becoming both independent and interdependent learners. Now during rehearsals, they take on more responsibility for their learning and for the success of the ensemble.

I find that my choir members become stronger musicians and better students when they: 

  • Look below the surface and beyond basic facts, skills, and formulas
  • Experience a variety of perspectives and instructional strategies
  • Embrace “Failing Forward” and modify their learning
  • Experience various learning modalities and learning theories
  • Focus on encouraging, strengthening, and empowering themselves and others

Leading Voices Essential Question

How do we actively engage students in lifelong music learning and participation?

Agile Development Instructional Framework

The Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) goal is to draw the students into an active teaching and learning environment where they learn to participate and think as autonomous musicians.  This is accomplished by presenting learning experiences that engage, challenge, and deepen our students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes, while also fostering independence and personal musical enjoyment.  There is no longer a need for strict Banking Education or to retain the Silo Effect for each content area or skill.  ADIF promotes and supports only one “Silo,” the Silo of metacognitive autonomy.

ADIF Collaboration Principles

The Agile Development Instructional Framework is not a preconceived formula or template for correct instruction. Rather, it presents guiding principles that value, strengthen, and support each music student and choir director alike.  
1. As students collaborate, their personal musical-views and beliefs get challenged as they experience the musical-views of others.  They learn to engage and expand their learning through an open dialogue. 
2. Students are encouraged to question and actively participate in the learning process but not compromise their beliefs or the integrity of others.
3. Students gain intrapersonal skills in which they discover that they do not have to agree with other’s ideas or points of view but learn to remain in dialogue and allow others to maintain their personal perspectives. 
4. As students collaborate, they gain an awareness and understanding that their classmates learn music and operate within a different framework.  Students begin to “wrestle with ideas and not each other.”

Docendo Discimus – By Teaching, We Learn

Students Teaching Students

The purpose of Students Teaching Students (STS) is to foster musical autonomy and metacognition by placing students in the peer mentor and teaching roles.  Peer instruction can range from students creating simple learning videos for others (not the traditional sing by rote), participating in Zoom or Google Meet coaching, and leading in-person sectionals or rehearsals.  All of which can culminate in presenting a combined concert or music festival when pandemic and performance protocols allow. 

Students Teaching Students implements the vertical grouping model and scaffolding paradigm.  Upper-level ensembles prepare and instruct lower-level ensembles, as the more advanced students teach and guide younger music students. Through the STS learning model, older students gain valuable experience peer teaching and strengthen their personal music skills.  Younger students benefit by learning music skills and strategies from student mentor teachers and experience age-appropriate cognitive and vocal models.  The scope and sequence of STS activities can vary from a simple student-led tracking and solfege video of The Star-Spangles Banner to suggested performance and style interpretations for O Love. 

Student Instructional Responsibilities 
(Audio/Video/In-Person)
Assess, plan, and produce learning materials 
Create and explain learning skills and strategies 
Provide directions and perform for audio/video recording or in-person instruction 

Students Teaching Students Benefits all Ensembles 
Responsive to the skill level and needs of each ensemble 
Provides opportunities to share repertoire between ensembles 
Supports flexibility in voicing and performance level  
Provides opportunities to experience a variety of musical interpretations  
Encourages age-appropriate score study and rehearsal preparation  
Develops confidence and cultivates motivation  
Suitable for virtual, hybrid, and in-person instruction 

Conclusion – By Teaching, We Learn

From the Post-Secondary Ensemble to the Elementary Choir, the success of the STS project lies in providing students with the skills, resources, and experiences necessary to create age-appropriate authentic learning lessons and materials.  The value and success of STS lie in an intuitive learning feedback loop that occurs when we teach and transfer our knowledge to others.  This reciprocal teaching experience benefits both the student mentor and mentee and fosters metacognition.  By centering on student musical autonomy, Students Teaching Students dismantles the Silo Effect and modifies Banking Education and labels both as tools rather than educational paradigms. 

As I plan and run my rehearsals, I participate in the dance between the inevitability of direct instruction and the necessity of indirect instruction – the dance between fostering interdependence within an ensemble and the independence responsibility of each choir member.  Like our experiences teaching, I believe it is essential that we allow students the opportunity during the learning process to question, get frustrated, feel a sense of accomplishment, fail miserably, and succeed with joy.

Postlude – PD Lesson Study Opportunity

Lesson Study is a form of professional development where teachers’ collaboratively design research lessons and improve instruction using the evidence they have observed and gathered on student learning and concept development.  STS transfers this same framework providing students with the opportunity to design, perform collaboratively, and assess learning experiences with their peers.  This Project also provides educators with opportunities to step back, observe their students, and evaluate any need for instructional modifications or adaptations.

References

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework are research-based. They contain elements of the following teaching models and instructional theories: Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Directed-Learning, Experiential Learning Theory, Understanding by Design, Cognitive Coaching, and the Universal Design for Learning.

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2.

Bennet Reimer, “Music Education in the Twenty-First Century.” Music Educators Journal 84, no. 3 (November 1997): 33-38.

Cohen, Peter A., James A. Kulik, and Chen-Lin C. Kulik. “Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-analysis of Findings.” American Educational Research Journal 19, no. 2 (1982): 237-48. doi:10.3102/00028312019002237.

Costa, Arthur L. Cognitive Coaching Developing Self-directed Leaders and Learners. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Hess, Juliet, A “Discomfortable” Approach to Music Education Re-envisioning the “Strange Encounter” March 2018 Philosophy of Music Education Review 26(1):24, DOI: 10.2979/philmusieducrevi.26.1.03

Aloysius Wei Lun Koh, Sze Chi Lee, and Stephen Wee Hun Lim. “The Learning Benefits of Teaching: A Retrieval Practice Hypothesis.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 32, no. 3 (2018): 401-10. doi:10.1002/acp.3410.

New York State Learning Standards for the Arts

The Protégé Effect: How You Can Learn by Teaching Others

Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy: The Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project

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Challenging, Frustrating, Depressing Encouraging, Disappointing, Intriguing.

These are the words I frequently use to describe what it is like teaching high school vocal music during the pandemic.  It has become quite evident in the last ten months that The Pre COVID traditional educational model is becoming outdated and may no longer be adequate for post-COVID instruction.

It became extremely clear last March that the reason many of my students struggled with their studies was because all their learning experiences are based upon the institutionalized aspects of public education.  Without the school building, bells, personnel, and the social-emotional support of their peers and teachers, most students lack the skills they need to learn independently.  This deficiency of teaching self-regulation in our classrooms reinforced my determination to search for ways to help my students become musically autonomous and achieve independence in their musical and general studies. 

Understanding by Design – UbD

Understanding by Design

One excellent resource I discovered this past year was Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) work and their book Understanding by Design (UbD).  It is an outstanding resource and a must-read for both novice and seasoned music educators alike.

In Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe present the Backward Design framework.  This framework encourages educators to construct their curriculum and instruction “Backwards” by Identifying student learning outcomes or enduring understandings first.  Once learning outcomes are identified, teachers then Determine the appropriate skills and assessment and lastly Plan the specific course content and essential learning objectives.

Not knowing what this year would bring, I was determined to research applicable instructional models and create musical experiences to promote and develop my student’s Self-Directed and Self-Regulated learning.  Looking back at my teaching last spring and reviewing relevant research, I implemented the backward design framework and created the Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) Project

The Individual Ensemble Musicianship (IEM) Project

Experience has taught me that the most successful choirs always contain outstanding musicians who bring and share their individual musical skills and talents with the ensemble.  The IEM Project aims to develop each students’ musical knowledge and skills, thereby promoting metacognition and individual autonomy, with the purpose and intent of transferring these skills to the ensemble, creating choral autonomy.

Individual and choral autonomy is achieved when educators place the responsibility of learning and achieving on the students and the ensemble – not themselves.  The IEM Project provides music students with individual and group experiences in the following four areas: planning and goal identification, documenting and monitoring progress, assessing and reassessing skills, and adjusting and modifying best practices for future learning.

The IEM Model is the foundation of the Agile Centered Classroom

Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project Overview

Stage 1, Planning and Goal Identification – Supporting Research Self – Directed Learning – SEL
At the beginning of the project, students complete a Google Form and choose an area of interest.  Skill and subject topics vary and range from learning piano, a vocal solo, or guitar; to studying theory and composition.  Once students finalize their musical interest and can state their specific area of study, they are grouped into subject cohorts such as Guitar, Piano, and Sight-Reading.

IEM Project Timeline
IEM Self-Sprint Planning & Retrospective Form, Week 9

Stage 2, Documenting and Monitoring Progress – Supporting Research Experiential Learning Theory – ELT In stage two, students complete a weekly Google Doc (journal) and annotate their experiences and progress.  Many IEM assignments ask students to actively discover, use, and apply technology as a tool to help them learn and grow. 

IEM Learning Activities
List and copy two YouTube video links that can help you reach your IEM goal.
List and copy two Google Search links for PDF’s that could help you reach your IEM goal.
Find two Music Dictionary, Encyclopedia, or cohort-specific links that may help you.
List and link two Apps that may be helpful to you as you work on your IEM Sprints.
Ask two high school music students to be your IEM Vygotsky’s, and two for your choir Vygotsky’s. Discuss your IEM project with one of your IEM Vygotsky’s and list two of their suggestions. 
Record yourself playing/performing/explaining your IEM project and list two self-observations.

Stage 3, Assessing and Reassessing Skills – Supporting Research Self-Regulated Learning – SRL 
I have found step three to be the most challenging for students. I’m afraid they are so conditioned to rely on school staff for direction that they believe it is OUR job to regulate and control their learning.  Because of this mindset, I created several assessment activities where students must learn and support each other by providing periodical performances and updates through Flipgrid.  For one assignment, each choir member was asked to respond to four of their peer videos and offer suggestions for improvement.  I am incredibly pleased with this activity’s results, for it has fostered an encouraging and supportive learning environment for all my virtual ensembles. 

Flipgrid Student Responses (12/6/2020)

“It sounds great! I am working on incorporating both hands as well…it’s a challenge for sure. I am trying to take it slow, as this is my first time ever playing the piano- but I am enjoying it. Good luck!”

“Great Job Bryan! You sound great. While I am not learning Ukulele (I am playing piano), I can still relate to your modifications. I have noticed that if I slow things down (like YouTube videos or whatever we are using), it can help out a lot. Great Job!”

“Way to go Katie! Nice to see that you’re still working hard even when you’re virtual. Also like the journal idea, makes me think of a workout journal I would use for keeping track of running/exercise.”

“Nice job! I would suggest choosing a few chords you know well and that go together, then just pick a strumming pattern and play those chords over and over again with that pattern. It helped me a lot!”

“ZOE THIS IS SOOOO GOOD!!!! UR VOICE IS SO PRETTY”

Stage 4, Adjusting and Modifying Best Practices – Supporting Research Cognitive Coaching 
As I work through the IEM project with my students, I’ve come to really enjoy stage four and our weekly check-ins.  Many of my students just want to do the assignment, plug-in the answers, wait for the feedback/grade, and move on.   Not going to happen.

Sometimes I get blank stares when I ask a student, “How did what you did last week compare with what you planned?  Or “What did you do (or not do) that produced this result”?  The ability to become autonomous and adjust and modify one’s own best practices can be taught by focusing on the mental process of learning and reflection, not through remediation.  It takes some time, but soon students learn that uncertainties and frustrations are not a cause for panic or alarm, and they come to realize that they have the power and ability to adapt and modify their learning.

Student Responses  – What are you starting to learn about yourself?

“I am learning that if I stay motivated and keep persevering, I can learn new skills. I have stayed dedicated to playing the piano and I am noticing a lot of progress.”

“When I practice, I learn better in the evening, so I should start working more in the evening to make sure I’m doing my best.”

“I have realized that though I may not be the BEST guitar player, playing the guitar keeps me motivated and interested in music. I have realized that even when I listen to music, I have started picking up on the key changes and have become more musically aware”.

Conclusion: Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy

How do you teach individual and choral autonomy in the virtual high school classroom?  It is not easy.  For me, it is challenging, rewarding, frustrating, depressing, intriguing, disappointing, and at the same time encouraging.

Teaching musical autonomy, like playing an instrument or singing in a choir, needs to be practiced, understood, and ultimately owned by the students.  Understanding by Design and the Backward Design Framework challenges educators to look beyond instructional challenges and help our students succeed by teaching them the skills needed to foster individual and choral autonomy in the classroom.

“I am learning how to self teach myself things.”
Bill, MHS class of 2023

References:

Ackles, Brian O., 2018.  Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education. Choral Journal, September 2018. Vol. 59, No. 2. 

Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008. 

Grow, Gerald O. (1991/1996). “Teaching Learners to be Self-Directed.” Adult Education Quarterly, 41 (3), 125-149. Expanded version available online at: <http://www.longleaf.net>. 

Zelenak, Michael S. “Developing Self-Efficacy to Improve Music Achievement.” Music Educators Journal 107, no. 2 (2020): 42-50. doi:10.1177/0027432120950812. 

Zimmerman, B. J. (2013). From cognitive modeling to self-regulation: A social cognitive career path. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.794676

Postlude – IEM Assignment Prompting Questions:
Stage 1, Planning
What is your Ultimate Outcome or musical goal?
Is anything confusing?
What will you do first?

Stage 2, Monitoring
Why did I get this answer wrong?
Should I ask for extra help?
What went well?

Stage 3, Reassessing
Can you apply this learning in a different context?
What are you starting to learn about yourself?
What suggestion or advice do you give others in your IEM Cohort?

Stage 4, Adjusting
What did not go well?
How can you do better next time?
Can you explain what you learned?

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