Curriculum and Instruction

Leading Voices: A Gift for the New Year

January 5, 2022 by Brian O Ackles Leave a Comment

For this month’s blog, I would like to offer you a gift for the New Year. It is the gift of observation, with a twist of non-judgment. Obtaining the ability to observe selected interactions without judgment will transform your teaching and your relationship with yourself and others. It can bring new insights and revitalize your instruction.

The only prerequisite to accepting this gift is that you have an open mind as you begin to train yourself to look at an experience with an “outside” perspective or a non-judgmental eye. And that’s the kicker; true observation is judgment-free. It is somewhat like meditating, where you learn to become aware of your thoughts and allow them to come and go without placing value or judging upon the experience.

A Few Definitions

Merriam-Webster definition of observation: (emphasis added)
A statement about something you have noticed: a comment or remark.
The act of careful watching and listening: the activity of paying close attention to someone or something in order to get information.

Dictionary.com (emphasis added)
An act or instance of noticing or perceiving.
An act or instance of regarding attentively or watching.
An act or instance of viewing or noting a fact or occurrence for some scientific or other special purpose.

Some definitions do hint towards a subjective interpretation, such as “An act or instance of noticing or perceiving.” (Dictionary.com, emphasis added). But for this discussion, I will use the scientific definition of Direct Observation, where you only watch interactions, processes, or behaviors as they occur – Not how or why they occurred.

Where to Start?

The sky is the limit on what area you might be interested in observing. The challenge is not in finding a relevant experience but staying engaged in the process and not giving up. It is easier to keep the standard New Year’s resolutions, such as joining a gym, cutting back on carbs, or partaking in Dry January, than to observe without judgment.

I think the main reason observation without judgment is so difficult for teachers is because of our training and educational enculturation. Whether it be our childhood experiences in school, undergrad studies, graduate work, or teacher in-services, classroom assessment and instructional evaluation are drilled and embedded into our teaching psyche.

Whatever event or experience you choose to observe, plan on repeating the observation for at least a week or so. Do not hastily judge the effectiveness or non-effectiveness held within the process of non-judgmental observation. It is a challenging experience that just takes time and spaciousness (more to come on spaciousness).

Three Obstacles You Will Need to Overcome

1. No Judgement – When you first start implementing direct observation, the biggest obstacle you will face is not getting pulled into self-judgment and placing value (positive or negative) on the experience. It will take about two to three weeks to become better at not judging and assessing habitually.

2. Forgetfulness and Forgiveness – Once you select an event or situation to observe, you will probably get caught up in your workday, forget all about what you were going to watch, and then remember hours later. Don’t give up. Forgive yourself and try again. I put sticky notes that read “Observe” on my computer monitor, classroom piano, and whiteboard to remind me and keep the idea fresh in my mind.

3. Start Small – The purpose of observation is watching an event or activity as an observer and not as the participant. Practice your observation skills on something small like how you walk down the hall and then expand to investigate your posture while teaching or playing the piano. Below are a few suggestions that may give you a few ideas.

Observation Possibilities for the Novice
Observe how your students enter the classroom or how you start each rehearsal.

Observation Possibilities for the Curious
Teach your students the 10 to 1 Countdown Warm-up Activity (see below) or
observe how you react to that challenging colleague (good luck on that one).

Observation Possibilities for the Bold
Have your ensemble complete a Rehearsal Sequence Form (see below)

10 to 1 Countdown Warm-up Activity

1. Teach the choir the countdown sequence: 10 1 9 2 8 3 7 4 6 5 5 6 4 7 3 8 2 9 1 10
2. Select a conducting pattern and ask the choir to place a number on each ictus.
3. Have the ensemble chant the countdown sequence as they watch and respond to your conducting gestures.
* Become aware of how the choir responds to your conducting gestures regarding dynamics, articulations, accelerando/ritardando, etc. Remember – “Just the facts ma’am” – no judgment.

Rehearsal Sequence Form Instructions:
1. Distribute the Rehearsal Sequence Form to your ensemble.
2. For questions 1–4, ask the choir to reflect on past rehearsals and write down what steps were taken to learn the music.
3. For questions 5-8, ask the students for their ideas on what should come next (example responses can be found at the end of this post under Postlude).
* This activity will give you an excellent non-judgmental view of your students’ observations.

Observation and Self-Generation

An exceptional book that has influenced my personal life and transformed my teaching is Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders through Mind, Body, and Heart. Self-Generalization is a tool we can use to discover our habits while teaching and working with others. The four-step process of Self-Observation, Realization, Reorganization, and Stabilization allows us in a non-judgmental way to discover, label, choose and initiate new responses while teaching. The section on Self-Generation in chapter two gave me the skills I needed to uncover my habits and become more present and aware in the classroom.

1. Self-Observation (p.51) – First, observe yourself in action with no judgment.
“I’m talking a lot.”
“I’m rote teaching now.”
“I’m modeling correct vowel placement now.”

2. Realization (p.52) – Next, become aware and name what you observed.
“I talk a lot during rehearsals.”
“When rehearsing a new song, I do a lot of rote teaching.”
“I model correct vowel placement a lot.”

3. Reorganization (p.54) – Now observe this habit when it occurs and be aware of another possible choice.
“I could talk less and have the students sing more.”
“I could have the students focus more on music reading techniques.”
“I can ask a student or section to model correct vowel placement.”

4. Stabilization (p.55) – Finally, integrate this new awareness and possibly modify your teaching.
“I will talk less and have the students sing more during rehearsals.”
“I will initiate new strategies to help the students become better readers.”
“I will ask a student or section to model correct vowel placement.

Give Yourself a Break

Doug Silsbee (2008, p.43) calls our habitual responses and reactions to events and interactions Interpretive Structure. Our unique and particular Interpretive Structure can become limiting and challenging as we learn to work with others. Unfortunately, due to our habits and conditioned responses, we tend not to comprehend or see the possible opinions of others and exclude many factors that could help our understanding.

To help reorient ourselves and create stronger relationships, Silsbee offers five interactive approaches that can improve our connections with our students, colleagues, and family. These qualities can help bring awareness and understanding as we relate and work with others.

Interpretive Structure

Spaciousness – This is the absence of our learned and conditioned responses and habits. Use this if you start having an emotional reaction to what you observe. Silence is ok.

Compassion – This is the awareness and recognition of our shared humanity. As you observe, give yourself and others a break – breathe.

Unconditional Positive Regard – This is our acceptance and support of others. It also strengthens our ability to differentiate between the person and their actions.

Resonance – This focuses on active listening that improves mutual understanding – but, it may not lead to an agreement.

Neutrality – We strive for no attachment, investment, or desire for a particular result – we try not to have an agenda. With neutrality, we intentionally acknowledge that we are both connected to and distinct from the other person.

This past year, I incorporated the Self-Generation and the Interpretive Structure paradigm into my teaching and social interactions with great success. Incorporating spaciousness, compassion, unconditional positive regard, resonance, and neutrality into your non-judgment observations will help you get a clearer view of your habits and idiosyncrasies.

TL;DR – The Gift of Non-Judgmental Observation

Since I have incorporated the gift of non-judgmental observation into my instruction, I have made several discoveries about myself, along with a few remedies.

#1 – I used to walk down the halls a bit slow, with rounded shoulders. I now walk a tad faster with a lifted sternum.

#2 – I tend to talk too fast during rehearsals. Now when I become aware of a rushed teaching pace, I breathe, reset, and slow down.

#3 – During rehearsals, I tend to look at the music much more than I look at my students. I now put my music down more, step away from the piano, and have the students help me during rehearsals by referring to their scores for where we are beginning and their starting pitches.

I encourage you to give yourself the gift of non-judgmental observation and see what happens. It’s weird; you might not think that greeting your students by name at the door and showing that you are available to them would make a difference. But it does.

You won’t know unless you watch what happens when you try.

Postlude

Here are a few examples of a few Rehearsal Sequence Forms completed by my 9/10 Treble Choir for I See the Light, Arr. By Mac Huff.

Resources

Schön, Donald A. Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint, 2016.

Silsbee, Douglas K., and Richard Strozzi-Heckler. Presence-Based Coaching: Cultivating Self-Generative Leaders through Mind, Body, and Heart. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

Leading Voices: Developing Audiation in the Choral Classroom

December 1, 2021 by Brian O Ackles 1 Comment

I almost stopped conducting. It was the first song for our first concert of the 2021 school year. My 9-12 Select Choir was singing Set Me As a Seal by René Clausen, and they struggled to lock in D major for the first few measures – it was a bit wonky. By the second phrase, the choir found the groove, locked in D major, and had a great concert. But my disappointment remained – what did I miss?

After the concert, I came up with several reasons why the choir stumbled. Maybe it was because (1) It was their first concert of the year, (2) they are a young choir, (3) they are relatively inexperienced (they did not sing much last year), or maybe (4) they did not hear the starting pitch given by one of our choir members who has perfect pitch.

As I look back on what happened that night, I have come up with a few more possibilities. Maybe they do not audiate the beginning of each song like I do. And if they didn’t, perhaps they were reacting to their singing after phonation and not before. Maybe they audiate very little, or even worst, not at all.

The Music Learning Theory (MLT)

Edwin Gordon defines audiation as “the ability to hear and give meaning to music when sound is not physically present or may never have been physically present” (Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation, p.10). To teach that skill is a tall order. Imagine if our choir members could obtain the ability to “hear and give meaning” to all their music-making both at school and at home. If so, we would always have incredible concerts, but most importantly, we would develop incredible young student musicians.

Music Learning Theory Links and Resources

Gordon, E. (2003), Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns: A Music Learning Theory.

Gordon, E. (2011), Roots of Music Learning Theory and Audiation, Chicago: GIA Publications.

AUDEA – A Journal for Research and Applications of Music Learning Theory

Ledbetter, J. (2016), Audiation in The Secondary Choral Ensemble: A Look at Music Learning Theory

Bluestine, E. (2000). The Ways Children Learn Music: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Music Learning Theory. Chicago, IL: GIA Publications.

Developing Audiation in the Choral Classroom

To help all my students grow musically and learn how to apply audiation to their music-making, I identified the following three tiers of audiation acquisition for the rehearsal setting. Each tier contains explicit audiation skills that must be purposefully experienced, developed, and internalized in order to move forward.

Through the internalization of each tier skills, students can cross conceptual thresholds in which their new understandings become implicit and their audiation conceptual complexity increases. “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)

The Three Tiers of Audiation Instruction

Tier 1, Rote and Mechanical Audiation

In Tier 1, students study foundational music literacy and the Music Learning Theory (MLT) audiation skills and vocabulary through rote teaching and discovery. For Tier 1, think K – 6 general music teaching standards.
Tier 1 Tonal Skill – Sing the resting tone/tonic of a short melody or phrase in various tonalities.

Tier 2, Structural and Collaborative Audiation

For Tier 2, students apply and expand their MLT audiation skills through purposeful instruction that focuses on collaboration and conceptual discovery and recognition. Tier 2 is where students show the most growth as they learn to transform explicit audiation to implicit understanding. This is also the tier where we spend the majority of our time teaching.
Tier 2 Tonal Skill – Audiate the resting tone/tonic for a melody or phrase in various tonalities.

Tier 3, Abstract Individual Audiation

In Tier 3, students continue to practice and internalize foundational, structural, and abstract MLT audiation through explicit and implicit learning. Tier 3 is extremely challenging. If we are not careful, we may pull or carry our students through audiation threshold concepts and deny them the opportunity to develop their audiation skills. In order to audiate, our students must learn that it is through trial and error that we learn and succeed. (That is how we made it through our undergrad and grad studies)
Tier 3 Tonal Skill – The audiation of a resting tone/tonic becomes implicit in all tonalities.

Audiation Instruction and Student Awareness

The strength of Three Tier Audiation Instruction lies in the fact that students become aware that they are constantly working towards a Tier Three understanding of music learning and audiation during rehearsals. When my ensembles stumble on a challenging song or concept, I tell them that we will shift to Tier 1intervention strategies for a bit and work our way back towards our goal of Tier 3.

I find that the choirs don’t mind reviewing basic music literacy skills. It is an excellent way of engaging and challenging all students. My students also know not to give their power away by waiting for the choir or me before they can individually practice a skill in a higher tier. So if we are working on a tier 2 skill and they can apply their own Tier 3 skill to the activity or exercise, they are encouraged to move ahead on their own. They are expected to take the initiative.

Teaching Strategies to Promote Audiation

The following are just a few effective teaching strategies that directors can use to help their ensembles discover, develop, and refine their audiation skills.

Every Other – (A label my students created using Mitchell (2007, p 48) strategies for audition)
1. Only sing the first and last note of each phrase – audiate the other notes in silence.
2. Alternate beats singing and audiating silently.
3. Sing for one measure, and then audiate for one measure.

Four-Step Process to Experience Audiation
1. Listen to the exercise/phrase, show the melodic contour, and “audiate with your hand.”
2. Sing the resting tone/tonic/” Do” on the first beat of each measure.
3. Sing only the first pitch of each measure. 4. Babble the phrase, and then solfege or sing the text.

Teaching a New Exercise (Mitchell, 2007, p 42-43)
1. Director demonstrates
2. Ask students to audiate the exercise in silence
3. Identify essential and non-essential pitches (think Schenkerian Analysis)
4. Students perform the full exercise

The Gordan Scale – My students gave this label to Gordon’s strategy on establishing tonal context. Major – so la so fa mi re ti di minor – mi fa mi re do ti so(si) la
Tier 1 – Babble the Gordon Scale
Tier 2 – Solfege Gordon Scale
Tier 3 – The Gordon Scale becomes implicit

Chaining – Break down tonal or rhythmic pattern by measures or into short 2-4 beat “links.” Then chain together the segments creating the complete phrase. Example: Sing link 1, audiate link 2, sing link 3, etc.

Stop-n-Lock
1. Sing each pitch void of any pulse.
2. Audiate each pitch showing melodic contour void of any pulse (with and without piano)
3. Initiate “every other” audition.

Shaw Chord or Whole-Tone Cluster (D, E, F#, and G#). My students prefer 4ths – C, F, B flat, and E flat. For SATB ensembles, sing the rhythm of their phrase on one specific pitch. Add audiation teaching strategies.

Pivot System (Vacca, 2013, p. 28). – The ability to sing and audiate a specific pitch and its function (1, 3, or 5) as it relates to the other pitches within a root position triad or seventh chord. For this Tier 3 Skill, Audiate C as the root in C major triad, Audiate C as the third in A flat major triad, and Audiate C as the fifth in F major triad.

TL:DR – Teaching Audiation in the Choral Classroom

Learning and attaining skills in audiation is both rewarding and demanding. It can be exhilarating and relieving as a 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 previous skills to new and transformed understanding.

The strength of Three Tier Audiation Instruction lies in the fact that students learn to become aware of and responsive to their own audiation and musical skills. Teachers cannot give students the ability to audiate – audiation must be earned. Through purposeful trial and error, students can extend their understanding and ability to think for themselves and think musically. We must provide

Postlude

Our track and field coach recently discovered the SHEMA97 Functional Active Mask by HelmetFitting.com. A few of my choir members use them during rehearsals and love them. They are light, you do not suck in the mask every time you breathe, and best of all, they have excellent sound transmission. I now teach and sing with one every day. They are a must try!

Resources

Gordon, E, E. (2021). Learning Sequences in Music: A Contemporary Music Learning Theory, Chicago, Il. GIA Publications, Inc.

Hicks, Charles E. “Sound before Sight Strategies for Teaching Music Reading.” Music Educators Journal 66, no. 8 (1980): 53–67. https://doi.org/10.2307/3395858.

Liperote, K. A. (2006). Audiation for Beginning Instrumentalists: Listen, Speak, Read, Write. Music Educators Journal 93(1) DOI: 10.2307/3693430

Mitchell, C. A. 2007, Audiation and the Study of Singing. FSU Digital Library

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)

Saunders, T. C. (1991). The Stages of Music Audiation: A survey of research. The Quarterly, 2(1C2), pp. 131C137.(Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(2), Autumn, 2010). Retrieved from http://wwwCusr.rider.edu/~vrme

Trusheim, W. H. (1991) Audiation and Mental Imagery: Implications for Artistic Performance. The Quarterly, 2 (1-2), 138-147

Vacca, S. (2013), Developing Audiation Through Internalisation: using the pivots system as an example.https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/94

Leading Voices: Re-envisioning and Rediscovering Singing

November 3, 2021 by Brian O Ackles Leave a Comment

Suddenly, the bass section broke out in full, boisterous song. After they finished, I said, “That was great! what were you singing?” They all heartily replied, “The Wellerman,” with a few Arrr’s thrown in for effect.

It was the beginning of the school year, and each section of the choir was working on their Skills Quests. The bass section was looking through the Musical Skills Quest Item List and deciding what items they were going to learn and perform for the choir. The bass section chose item #1 – Sing a Sea Shanty.

What really caught my attention was their enthusiasm and how strongly and boldly they sang. Masks and all! With great eagerness, they proceeded to show me The Wellerman TikTok mashup and other sea shanties they discovered online.

And thus, the theme of rediscovering strong, healthy, full singing was born.

Re-envisioning Masks

The first step to helping our choir members rediscover their voice is to teach them how to sing and communicate safely through a mask. At first, the masks were seen (and felt) as a huge obstacle and a total interference to choral music. And they most definitely still are. But now, my students are so happy to be back together singing that the masks have almost become a non-issue. They have learned how to adapt to the pandemic singing regulations and move forward healthily and safely.

In September 2020, my sister-in-law Susan Butterfoss, an ASHA Certified Clinical Speech-Language Pathologist, and I co-authored a Leading Voices post titled Teaching and Singing While Wearing a Mask: Why it is a Challenge and How to Make it Better. Through our research, we uncovered four areas in which PPE masks negatively affect spoken and sung communication.

1. Reduced Decibel Levels
2. Attenuated Frequencies
3. Diminished Word Boundaries
4. Blocked Facial Cues

Each specific area of concern may not seem too discouraging on its own. Still, when they come together, they can create a loss of quality and enjoyment of sung and spoken communication. Our collaboration produced several recommendations to compensate for the mask. These include slowing speech rate, attending to articulatory markers that identify word boundaries, and augmenting our spoken instruction with visual aids. Susan also created the following handouts for you and your students.

Vocal-Health-for-Teachers Download

A-Vocalist-Guide-to-Singing-with-a-Mask Download

Re-envisioning Voice Lessons

https://www.voicescienceworks.org/
https://www.facebook.com/voicescienceworks

Just before the pandemic hit, I discovered an excellent website called Voice Science Works. I have this website bookmarked and refer to it daily during my voice lessons. On the Voice Science Works home page, you will find many great resources ranging from Warm-up Exercises and Handouts to their Vocology Toolbox. Currently, I am using the following Vocology Toolbox links and focusing on the basic singing skills of posture and breathing, vocal production, and back pressure (SOVT Exercises).

Voice Science Works is an excellent resource and a must for all vocal instructors. It is helping me build momentum back into voice lessons by motivating and inspiring my students to produce good, quality singing and appreciate their voices. Also, take a few minutes and check out the Pink Trombone. It’s a lot of fun, and the students love it.

A Few Voice Science Works Publications:
Seven Essential Voice Science Tools for Choral Singing, Choral Journal:2019
The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook, Contributing authors 2018
The Unfiltered Source, Publishers, 2016

Re-envisioning Rep

My biggest curricular shock of the year was re-envisioning and selecting the appropriate repertoire. I never fully understood the educational and performance momentum we create with our ensembles as we move through our curriculum and a year of concerts and music festivals. I have found that building and sustaining a new energy and drive this year to be a very challenging experience.

My 9/10 Treble Choir took the biggest hit in membership, vocal ability, and musical understanding over the past two years. This ensemble traditionally has about 25 students and performs level 3-4 SSA rep. This year, we are down to 11 soft-spoken students at a 7/8 grade ability level and are working on unison, 2-part, and some basic 3-part music. I also lost about twenty percent of the 9-12 SATB Concert Choir, but luckily, the auditioned 9-12 Select Choir roster remains at twenty-four.

All my ensembles are now about two years behind in their vocal skills, music reading abilities, and rehearsal/performance etiquette. The pandemic has shaken me out of my self-inflicted belief that each concert must be better and more musically impressive than the previous performances. This year we are focusing on quality repertoire that I hope will motivate and encourage strong, healthy, and full ensemble singing. Here is an example of some of the music we are currently studying.

Be Like a Bird Libana, from their album Fire Within.
A Girl’s Garden, Randal Thompson
Simply Gregorian, Arr. Donald Moore
Dormi, Dormi, O Bel Bambin, Arr. Robert DeCormier
All For Me Grog, Arr. Stephen Hatfield
City Called Heaven, Arr. Josephine Poelinitz
Stodola Pumpa, Arr. Mark Weston
Tshotsholoza, SATB Adaptation by Jeffery Ames
Smile, by Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, and Geoffrey Parsons, Arr. Ben Bram

Re-envisioning Instruction

The most beneficial resource I have found to help my students rediscover their singing voice and rebuild the vocal music program is the work and support of my colleagues. This fall, I have spent a lot of time going over my old notes from observing past music festival rehearsals, reviewing conference workshop materials and reading sessions, and professional reading.

Through my work, I have rediscovered many long-lost instructional gems and teaching resources that are now revitalizing my teaching. The experiences and effects of the pandemic on my students and the music program continue to be challenging and frustrating. Yet through this adversity, I have experienced several positive outcomes and a few paradigm-shifting experiences. The instructional and performance momentum that was paused can move forward once again as I re-envision my curriculum and rediscover my voice in the classroom.

Re-envisioning Resources
Pass the Baton: Empowering Students in the Music Room
The Improving Musician

Self-Regulated Learning
Self-Directed-Learning
Experiential Learning Theory
Understanding by Design
Cognitive Coaching
Universal Design for Learning

TL;DR Re-envisioning and Rediscovering Singing

I am repeatedly amazed at how my students continue to be adaptive and resilient in the music classroom and during rehearsals. They have an earnest desire, masks and all, to rediscover how to sing confidently together with conviction. What was at first the most devastating part of teaching vocal music through a pandemic – the loss of group singing and learning – has now given my students a new resolve.

I am an advocate of teaching and modeling student agency and self-directed music learning in the classroom. Helping our students rediscover their voice applies to their singing voice as well as their voice as a young person and musician. Promoting student agency in the music classroom and rehearsal setting is a must if we want our students to become and remain musically active and musically self-sufficient throughout their lives.

Agile Development Instructional Framework
Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) Sprints
Purposeful Teaching Through Agile-Centered Instruction
Agile Centered Instruction

Building A Community of Practice
By Teaching We Learn – Students Teaching Students
Promoting Student and Ensemble Autonomy: The Individual Ensemble Musicianship Project:
Oh, Now I Get it! – Understanding Threshold Concepts

Leading Voices: The Many Voices of the Polyphonic Classroom

October 6, 2021 by Brian O Ackles Leave a Comment

Do not accept the concept of failure. You are Antifragile.

The idea of antifragile is one of the concepts that I am asking my students to experience this year as they learn to sing, work, and learn together during rehearsals. I am asking them to trust me and take a vacation from some of their defeatist self-talk, unsuccessful habitual learning behaviors, and sometimes just basic laziness.

I discovered the term Antifragile (Taleb, 2016) while reading The Coddling of the American Mind, How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up A Generation for Failure (Lukianoff & Haidt, 2019). One aspect of the book discusses how complex systems such as our muscular system, economics, and I submit music learning require a certain state of strain or pressing tension to promote adaptation and activate growth.

The problem is, a number of my music students will side-step and back away from uncomfortable and challenging learning and default to their musically gifted peers and let them lead. Throughout my career, I have searched to find ways to help all my students lean into, wrestle with, and move through learning challenging concepts and skills.

Mikhail Bakhtin and The Polyphonic Novel

The inspiration and foundation for the Polyphonic Classroom lie in the work of the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin and his concept of the polyphonic novel. Bakhtin contends that Dostoevsky created a new novel genre as multiple independent and distinct characters in his novels were given equal voices, and each had valid individual perspectives. Polyphony in fiction allows the author great freedom as characters or voices can be interdependent and allows the freedom to interact, coexist, develop feely, and are not subordinate to each other. The Agile Classroom interprets Bakhtin’s concept of polyphony and provides the teacher and student the opportunity to present and experience many different voices and understandings in the music classroom.

In the same way, the polyphonic music classroom provides an environment in which all students’ voices -literally and figuratively – are treated equally and are valued. Music students’ perspectives, learning styles, and abilities are given the opportunity and freedom to interact, coexist, develop feely, and are not subordinate to each other.

The Voice of an Open Mindset

To help my students relate with the concept of antifragile and move towards being more self-regulated, I incorporate the work of Carol S. Dweck and her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success into my rehearsals. I use this poster to remind my students that learning and growing take hard work and discipline. When the students experience a challenging rehearsal and encounter uncertainty and frustration, I quickly review the open mindset characteristics, and we dig in.

Adams (2019), in her article Developing Growth Mindset in the Ensemble Rehearsal, encourages educators to teach and reinforce the open mindset, develop and strengthen positive achievement strategies, and provide the students the opportunity to apply these new skills for their future music learning. Promoting and creating an open mindset in the classroom is the first step in helping students develop their awareness of and label their habitual responses to frustrating and challenging learning experiences.

The Voice of the Agile Classroom

I believe that each choir is enriched and enhanced by all its members’ unique gifts and talents. In my classroom, each choir member receives the title of Subject Matter Expert (SME). One soprano SME has the gift of observation and is keenly aware of a melodic line’s lack of precision and expression. In the alto section sits another SME with an aptitude for languages and helps the choir learn Spanish for Esto Les Digo. A bass SME has the gift of rhythmic accuracy and helps the bass section learn how to TaKaDiMi their part for Fair Phyllis.

I believe each student has something musical and non-musical to offer the ensemble.

PMEA-The-Agile-Classroom-1 Download

The concept of teaching individuals collectively integrates the philosophy of valuing both the individual within the group and valuing the group which contains the individual. The emphasis of the individual within the ensemble, and the ensemble as the sum of its members, establishes the foundation of the Agile Development Instructional Framework and dynamic teaching.

The Voice of Multiple Intelligences

To help my students become more aware of their musical and non-musical abilities, I spend a short amount of rehearsal time at the beginning of each year and introduce them to Gardners’ Multiple Intelligences. Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) in 1983. According to Gardner, human beings have nine different kinds of intelligence that reflect different ways of interacting with the world. Each person has a unique combination of all nine intelligences, and no two individuals have them in the same configuration – similar to our fingerprints.

Using this handout, my students learn that they and their classmates have unique musical and non-musical abilities and talents that all help the ensemble learn, grow and perform better. Choir members come to realize that they do not need to have the perfect voice, be the best sight-reader, or have extra-special musical insights and instincts. They begin to become more antifragile through learning about their strengths and weaknesses and come to realize that others have theirs. Now, if one of my ensembles struggles with a song’s movement, I can call upon choir members who identify with the Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, and they help lead and teach the choir.

The Voice of Crosscutting Concepts

The awareness of MI in the classroom is much like our science colleagues, who now use crosscutting concepts in their curriculum. Crosscutting concepts as defined by the National Research Council’s Framework for K-12 Science Education are “concepts that bridge disciplinary core boundaries, having explanatory value throughout much of science and engineering. These concepts help provide students with an organizational framework for connecting knowledge from the various disciplines into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world.” To move toward being antifragile, I consistently encourage my students to bring their expertise and corresponding skills from other disciplines into the choral setting.

The Seven Science Crosscutting Concepts

1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity
4. Systems and system models
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
6. Structure and function
7. Stability and change

If you go back and review the list above, you will notice that all seven crosscutting concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards can not only be applied to studying music but also most disciplines. All of our students are successful in some field of interest and study. The Polyphonic Classroom validates these skills and experiences and asks our music students to bring all their abilities and skills to the rehearsal room – musical and non-musical.

TLDR – The Voices of the Polyphonic Classroom

To achieve a new conceptual understanding in any subject, students must actively experience, wrestle with, and move through conceptual reconstructive changes. For our ensembles, this learning transformation may feel counter-intuitive, uncomfortable, and frustrating. The struggles and discomfort they feel when learning new skills are how knowledge and understanding enter the mind and body.

The Polyphonic Classroom style of instruction requires students and teachers to modify their thinking, music processing, and how they relate to learning in general. The awareness and development of 1) applying an open mindset, 2) cultivating each students’ contributions to the ensemble (SME), 3) becoming aware of the Multiple Intelligences, and 4) applying Crosscutting Concepts across disciplines empowers all our students and strengthens the ensemble.

The paradigm of teaching individuals collectively integrates the philosophy of valuing the individual within the group and the group which contains the individual. The emphasis on strengthening each individual within the ensemble establishes the foundation of the Agile Development Instructional Framework and the Polyphonic Classroom.

References

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

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.

Adams, Kari. “Developing Growth Mindset in the Ensemble Rehearsal.” Music Educators Journal 105, no. 4 (2019): 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0027432119849473.

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

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure. United Kingdom: Penguin Books, 2019.

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.

New York State Arts Standards: Music Standards At-a-Glance

Next Generation Science Standards For States, By States (2013)

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2020). Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide

Taleb, Nassim Nicholas. Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder. New York: Random House, 2016.

Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF)

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) and Skills Quests 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.

Leading Voices Musical Skills Quest

September 8, 2021 by Brian O Ackles Leave a Comment

Sing the song Happy Birthday in La based minor using solfège and hand signs.
Count sing America (My county ‘Tis of Thee) retrograde.
Create a piggyback rap to help the choir memorize key signatures.
Perform a four-part round using Kodaly hand signs for the ascending and descending chromatic scale.

Recently, a member of ACDA posted the following question on the American Choral Directors Association Facebook page: “HELP. I just had my first choir rehearsal. It’s 8 quiet kids, and 2 refused to sing. What do I do?!”

This question really hit home for me because I’ve been there, and I am there once again due to COVID and a year of virtual and hybrid choral music. The responses from our colleagues to this question were intriguing. As you can imagine, there were suggestions about possible repertoire choices and adding movement. But the overwhelming responses focused on team building and building relationships. Here are a few of the responses:

“Start them out getting to know one another and feeling safe in the environment.”
“Build trust and relationships.”
“I started using Kagan class building and team building structures in my class this year.”
“Team building and music games! Remember, you are using music to teach children.”
“Accept them for where they are, build trust, give sincere praise.”
“Lots of ice breakers and relationship building first!”
“Relationship building. Laugh together.”
“If there is any possible way for you to bring singer peers to sing with and “show the ropes” of what singing is and can be.”
“Let them do things that are loud, crazy, fast, and fun.”

The question becomes how. How do you incorporate these suggestions in a way that is musically productive and educationally sound? The answer to my question came from my sister-in-law.

GISH, The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt

GISH stands for The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt. It is a weeklong virtual international competitive scavenger hunt that challenges and empowers players to push their creative boundaries, apply and modify conceptual constructs, and share their gifts and skills with others. Participants select challenges found on the official GISH Hunt List, complete the challenge to the best of their ability, and submit pictures and videos as evidence of their accomplishments. The Rules and Regulations and GISH Commandments help guide and encourage the participants as they compete individually in teams for the grand prize and bragging rights.

Here is an example of a GISH submission created by my sister-in-law this summer. She chose Item #56 for 84 points. This Hunt item description reads as follows: “2021 has been fun, but we are tired of being quarantined in this dimension and miss traveling the space-time continuum. Throw on your goggles and show us you, taking off in your state-of-the-art Victorian-era space-time machine. It’s eco-friendly, so it runs on steam, punk”.

As my sister-in-law excitingly explained GISH to me and shared past Hunts, my mind raced as I began thinking about how I might modify the GISH structure and philosophy for the music classroom. I realized that a musical scavenger hunt didn’t accurately describe what I had in mind, but rather a Skills Quest was more of an accurate description.

ADIF Skills Quest

I first started creating the Skills Quest by adapting several relevant instructional approaches to ensure the Skills Quest was educationally structured and musically sound. These mainly consisted of the collaborative-based philosophy of the Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF), Nilson’s (2010) Outcomes-Centered Course Design, Wiggins & McTighe’s (2008) Understanding by Design and Backward Design, and Fink’s (2013) Six Categories of Learning.

Through this research and modeling after the GISH structure, I created the Skills Quest Overview, Quest Commandments, A Quest Rubric, Skills Quest Terms, Quest Ground Rules, and the most essential Skills Quest Items list for this project. Below is the Skills Quest Overview and a few examples of the handouts I developed for my students.

Skills Quest Overview

What are we going to do?

We will form sectional (SATB) sprint teams and go on a Musical Skills Quest. Each Quest team will earn points by selecting, creating, and performing short musical activities.

Why are we doing Musical Skills Quests?

These quick (5-10 minute) in-class musical challenges will help us build relationships, develop teamwork, strengthen self-confidence, and assess the choir’s musical and collaborative abilities.

How to Sprint Musical Skills Quest

Each Quest team will compete against other teams by performing items from the Musical Skills Quest List (see attached).
Each item on the Quest Challenge list is assigned the following base points: Easy – 10 points, Medium – 25 points, and Difficult – 50 points.
Once a Quest Team completes a Musical Skills Item, they will perform for other Quest Teams.
Official Quest judges will confirm earned points for each submitted item.
A Quest Rubric will be completed after each challenge, but it will not be graded.
Team point ranking will be announced at the end of each 10-week marking period.
Quest judges may award additional points to teams whose performance possesses extra creative elements such as incorporating movement, harmony, props, or explaining a specific musical concept presented in the Quest.

Skills Quest Items List

Skills Quest Rubric

The Quest Rubric is a formative assessment tool for the students – It is not to be graded.

But Wait!

I know that many of you may be thinking that you cannot give up valuable rehearsal time for a “game.” A Skills Quest is flexible and can be modified to fit the time constraints we all experience throughout the year.

I can assure you; the Quest challenges contain a wide variety of difficulty levels and have both conceptual depth and musical complexity. The problem is that if we do not teach our music students how to actively sing, think, and learn independently, they will expect us to do it for them! Here is a quick Quest challenge item for you and your ensembles:

Using fixed Do, sing, and solfege with hand signs an E flat ascending and descending major scale.

How much time did it take for you and your students to accomplish this item?

What resources did you use or need?

What are the foundational and mediating conceptual skills needed to accomplish this challenge?

How does this tie into preparing for a Holiday Concert this semester?

TLDR – How to Build a Healthy Challenging Learning Environment

The prime directive for my first few weeks of school and my consistent theme throughout the school year is to provide my students with meaningful opportunities to sing, think, enjoy, and collaborate musically. The ADIF Skills Quest accomplishes this goal through (1) creating a healthy and challenging learning environment, (2) assessing the choirs and individual musical skills, and (3) evaluating the students’ ability to sing together and collaborate.

We must learn to empower our music students to actively and mindfully sing, think, and learn music on their own. If we fail, then the ownership of understanding and the successes of the ensemble will be ours – not theirs.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men [sic]to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea”.

Attributed to Antoine de Saint

ADIF Sprint Quest Terms

All activities, rehearsal strategies, and projects developed through applying the Agile Development Instructional Framework and Skills Quests 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.

ADIF Sprints/Quest – A short student-directed rehearsal that can last from five minutes to a class period.

Sprint Group or Quest Teams – A student-run group whose membership can range from a small mixed SATB ensemble, SATB choir sections, or a full choir.

Quick Sprint/Mini Quest – A short three-to-five-minute student-directed small group rehearsal.

Quick Sprint – A quick thirty-second to one-minute self-rehearsal. Students must practice out loud.

Give-Way Groups – When a specific Quest Group is performing for the class, other Quest groups called Give-Way Groups must yield and give their total attention to the performance.

Production Blocking – These are unplanned events, situations, or group behavior that can stall or stop the progress of a Quest.

Subject Matter Expert (SME) – All choir members are given the title of SME. Each student is supported and encouraged to contribute their individual musical and non-musical skills and abilities to the Quest Group.

Scrum Master – This Quest Group member can be a volunteer, chosen by the director, or selected by the group. This student may act as a facilitator, lead the group, or help keep the group on task and focused.

Timebox – A specific agreed-upon time during which the Quest Group rehearses and works towards their goal.

Sprint Retrospective – After each Quest, group members answer the following three questions and completes the Quest Rubric:
1. What went well during the Quest?
2. What did not go well during the Quest?
3. What can we do better next time?

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.

Fink, L. Dee. Creating Significant Learning Experiences, Revised and Updated: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2013.

Simon, Herbert A. “The Architecture of Complexity.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 106.6 (1962): 467-482.

Nilson, Linda B. Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. Jossey-Bass, 2010.

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

Leading Voices: Summer Reading

August 4, 2021 by Brian O Ackles Leave a Comment

Whether you are recovering this summer from the past sixteen months of teaching vocal music during a pandemic or currently preparing for the next year, our challenge is that we have no way of knowing what the new school year will bring. The undeniable reality is that we will not and actually should not go back to the way things were before COVID. We must be bold and look ahead and discover new and innovative musical learning experiences for both our student’s future, and for our own sanity.

Each summer, I recharge personally and professionally by spending time with my family, working part-time as a boat captain for Midlakes Navigation, and reading current educational publications and music research. Currently, I am beginning to prepare for the new school year by reading Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman. My daughter participated in a few Professional Development days in July and recommended the book to me. Last year, I began using Specs Grading with my students during virtual and hybrid instruction, and I am curious to see how this book might help me refine and improve my current grading system.

Below are a variety of books and professional resources that have shaped and influenced my teaching and instructional philosophy. I hope you will find these resources interesting and thought-provoking as you prepare for the new school year

Best,

Brian

Summer Reading

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

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

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

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Nagoski, Emily, and Amelia Nagoski. Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. New York: Ballantine Books, 2020.

Nilson, Linda Burzotta, and Claudia J. Stanny. Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2015.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

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

Research and Instructional Resources

Agile Development Instructional Framework

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.

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.

Postlude

A dear friend of mine lent me his copy of Letters of Note: Music this summer. I really enjoyed the book – it would make a great gift.

Letters of Note: Music

Curriculum and Instruction

A Few Definitions

Where to Start?

Three Obstacles You Will Need to Overcome

10 to 1 Countdown Warm-up Activity

Observation and Self-Generation

Give Yourself a Break

Interpretive Structure

TL;DR – The Gift of Non-Judgmental Observation

Postlude

Resources

The Music Learning Theory (MLT)

Music Learning Theory Links and Resources

Developing Audiation in the Choral Classroom

The Three Tiers of Audiation Instruction

Tier 1, Rote and Mechanical Audiation

Tier 2, Structural and Collaborative Audiation

Tier 3, Abstract Individual Audiation

Audiation Instruction and Student Awareness

Teaching Strategies to Promote Audiation

TL:DR – Teaching Audiation in the Choral Classroom

Postlude

Resources

Re-envisioning Masks

Re-envisioning Voice Lessons

Re-envisioning Rep

Re-envisioning Instruction

TL;DR Re-envisioning and Rediscovering Singing

Do not accept the concept of failure. You are Antifragile.

Mikhail Bakhtin and The Polyphonic Novel

The Voice of an Open Mindset

The Voice of the Agile Classroom

The Voice of Multiple Intelligences

The Voice of Crosscutting Concepts

The Seven Science Crosscutting Concepts

TLDR – The Voices of the Polyphonic Classroom

References

GISH, The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt

ADIF Skills Quest

Skills Quest Overview

Skills Quest Items List

Skills Quest Rubric

But Wait!

Using fixed Do, sing, and solfege with hand signs an E flat ascending and descending major scale.

TLDR – How to Build a Healthy Challenging Learning Environment

ADIF Sprint Quest Terms

References

Summer Reading

Research and Instructional Resources

Agile Development Instructional Framework

Specifications Grading

Lev Vygotsky & Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development

Paulo Freire

Exit Tickets

Experiential Learning

Self-Regulated Learning

Threshold Concepts

Crosscutting Concepts

Miscellaneous

Postlude

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