Learning through Immersive Study

The Process

Contextualized music units are shaped and limited by the imagination and resourcefulness of the teacher. However, their design should be approached methodically. Drawing on the experience of creating an original program in a recently established public elementary school, I describe a design process that unfolds in four stages: selecting instructional content, researching and planning, providing instruction, and evaluating curricular success. First, it behooves the teacher to meet with classroom teachers to gain familiarity with each grade’s scope and sequence of instruction and with teachers’ curricular needs and students’ interests. By so doing, the teacher will be better informed when creating a unit for each grade. This first step provides inspiration while promoting collegial collaboration through the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

Next, planning and researching content begins with “backward design”—a tenet of Understanding by Design, a well-respected tool used by teachers in planning instruction. ⁴ A three-step process, backward design requires establishing learning outcomes first and then working backward. It is guided by the following questions:

During the third stage, units encompass the following instructional activities, designed to exercise as many intelligences as possible: ⁵ class read-alouds of books; the use of original, interactive slideshow presentations; the use of technology for playing videos, recordings, and songs; writing projects (e.g., short stories, essays, letters); directed listening activities; song analyses; classroom discussions and partner/group work that promote accountable talk; choreography of songs; and singing and playing instruments. This stage requires tweaking every lesson as it is taught to each class. What did not work? Were the learning objectives achieved? Was the pacing appropriate?

The final stage involves much reflection after all culminating performances and summative assessments have occurred. Were content and assessments differentiated successfully? Can specific lessons and assessments be improved to increase understanding and participation? Educators should note any modifications to each unit immediately after its conclusion so that a revised curriculum is ready for the next cohort.

The Philosophy

Contextualized music instruction holds numerous benefits. To begin, the immersive study of Western and world music enables educators to weave a vibrant tapestry for students by acknowledging and celebrating the United States’ ethnically and linguistically diverse communities. These units teach students how to communicate through a culturally appropriate lens. They also help them develop meaningful relationships and foster an international point of view so that they are prepared to live in a global environment. Moreover, music programs that are representative of the world, and not just Euro-American culture, establish a valuable home-to-school connection. Contextualized music enables students to demonstrate and share unique cultural practices via discussions, classroom performances, and visits from parents who are willing to instruct or perform. As music education and women’s studies professor Julia Koza aptly points out, we need to create culturally relevant content and pedagogy that will “help forge closer cultural connections between school music and the musical worlds students experience outside of the classroom.” ⁶ When students are able to explore and share their musical and cultural traditions, a sense of pride in identity accompanies their ownership of learning and assertion of voice.

A multicultural approach to music also develops musicians who are technically adept, aurally skilled, and flexible. This level of musicianship is what multicultural music educators William Anderson and Patricia Campbell call “polymusicality.” ⁷ In increasing their ability to perform, listen intelligently, and appreciate many types of music, students will be less prone to judge a new music without first trying to understand it. ⁸ Practicing polymusicality will therefore not only improve students’ musicianship skills but will also help strengthen cognitive keys and expand their worldview.

Furthermore, these studies encourage interdisciplinary learning, which fosters a deeper, multidimensional understanding of topics. As Barrett and her colleagues put it, “a balance among elements is achieved when teachers attend to the ways subjects complement each other and the ways essential content and processes of various disciplines are emphasized.” ⁹ These units achieve this balance due to the connections that emerge between music and other subjects, the examination of content through multiple perspectives, and the myriad commonalities that can be revealed among music and the other arts. In inviting children to make these connections in multimodal ways (Core Music Standard common anchors Cr1.1.3a–5a; Pr4.1.1a–5a; Pr4.2.3cv5c; Pr4.3.2v4a; Re7.1.3av5a; Re7.2.3av5a; and Cn10.0.1av5a), ¹⁰ deeper insights are gained, reciprocal learning opportunities between the music room and the classroom emerge, and the content is transcended as the curriculum becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Another benefit of contextualized music instruction is that it provides opportunities for the development of critical thinking skills. This is where the integration of critical pedagogy comes into play. Heavily influenced by the liberatory pedagogies of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, critical pedagogy is an educational and social movement developed by critical theorists including Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, Bell Hooks, and others. McLaren defines critical pedagogy as “[a] means of understanding the role that schools actually play within a race-, class-, and gender-divided society” that help question student experiences, texts, teacher ideologies, and aspects of school policy that perpetuate a white supremacist social order. ¹¹ Critical pedagogy is committed to forms of learning and action undertaken in solidarity with all marginalized groups, including African Americans, women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, the poor, and the disabled. ¹² In effect, students should be encouraged to ask thoughtful questions through a critical lens, exercise problem-solving skills, and consider ethical issues with alternate perspectives in order to challenge preconceived notions and discourage biases with the goal of self and social empowerment. These skills are cognitive complexities that students will draw on through adulthood in any situation they encounter. In fact, this ability to transfer skills to new or unfamiliar contexts is akin to the concept of isotropy in cognitive science—a fundamental characteristic of consciousness that translates into the idea that anything we learn will impact present and future concerns. ¹³ When students contribute sophisticated ideas to discussions, generate their own questions, and relate instructional content to experiences that are socially relevant to them (part of what Giroux calls “macro-objectives” ¹⁴ ), the aforementioned capacities are exercised, and students attain self-awareness and ownership of learning.

Critical thinking is thus an essential component of educating musically and ethically, for the integration of critical pedagogy into curricula supports music learning as/for social justice. Ethics is not just about adhering to established rules; rather, it entails the ability to set aside security and comfort, push boundaries, and challenge the status quo. ¹⁵ For when students develop critical consciousness, they are poised to identify and challenge biases and dominant power structures. The second part of this article includes examples of contextualized instruction that encourages students to question aspects of their learning—often shaped by outdated textbooks and biased media portrayals—to promote social justice.

One essential capacity that must be cultivated in order to foster socially just citizens is empathy, which is an increasingly difficult characteristic to inculcate because of the narcissism engendered by the technological age. While research has shown that active music-making may have a profound effect in fostering empathy in students, ¹⁶ contextualized music studies can also contribute to this development. These units help foster empathy because they expose children to circumstances and lifestyles that differ from their own in compelling ways. In so doing, they increase students’ desire to learn and to effect change.

For example, a unit on Ludwig van Beethoven was created in order to help fourth graders develop disability awareness and empathy. ¹⁷ First, students read biographical works as a class (see Figure 1 for a list of resources) and design a timeline of relevant information in small groups (informal formative assessment). Students also discuss their knowledge of various disabilities and how they would help people with each disability in question while also sharing knowledge of individuals (local and international figures, family members, people from their studies, etc.) who overcame physical obstacles and accomplished great things. In other lessons, they listen to select works and describe how various musical elements help reflect Beethoven’s struggles. Additionally, students learn about motivic development through the opening of his Symphony no. 5, then compose and perform their own four-note motif (formative assessment). Students learn to play on recorder and sing excerpts from other works, including “Ode to Joy” from Symphony no. 9 (summative assessment). For their summative writing project, students imagine that they have stumbled on Beethoven’s Heiligenstadt Testament and then write, draft, and edit a thoughtful letter to him in response after analyzing the text as a class. Each year, I am struck by the deeply empathetic tone that emanates from students’ letters, imploring Beethoven not to feel ashamed in revealing his disability to all, urging him to persevere in the face of adversity. Most intriguing is the lasting effect this unit has on students, both in their desire to learn more about Beethoven outside of music class and in their noticeable heightened sensitivity to students around them with disabilities. Bringing disability and creativity into a current cultural context, the unit concludes with lessons on singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder and the percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

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Figure 1

Resources for a Unit on Ludwig van Beethoven and Disability (Ages 9 and Older)

Philosophy in Practice: Sample Units of Study

The following sample units have proved successful over the years as they are developmentally appropriate and easily modifiable for all learners. Each unit aligns with a closely related social studies unit at grade level. The last five minutes of class are frequently devoted to self-assessments (using a scale of one to four stars) based on musicianship criteria established in class. Lessons also close with students determining which music standards were practiced that day.

Jazz in Grade 1

This unit begins with a musical narration of Jazz on a Saturday Night (see Figure 2), after which students are invited to define what “jazz” is based on what they heard, with responses documented as a web diagram. In subsequent lessons, students are introduced to the rhythm section and traditional melody instruments of a jazz band and to the concept of improvisation. Students practice improvising on Orff instruments using a blues scale, singing and moving to basic jazz tunes in call and response fashion, and scatting alone and with others (informal formative assessments). They learn about jazz giants such as John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong—on whom the unit eventually centers—through read-alouds. ¹⁸ When reading about Armstrong, the class creates lists of important facts about his life (informal formative assessment). Throughout the unit, students listen to various recordings and watch videos of jazz masters performing.

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Figure 2

Resources for a Jazz Unit (Ages 5 and Older)

One lesson features students creating their own “bluesy” sounds to riff, while another centers on students creating their own blues songs as a class. Critical pedagogy is integrated through discussions on the civil rights movement that jazz is historically and symbolically linked to. “Why did Dizzy say that jazz was ‘his ticket to better days’?” “How would you feel if you could not attend a concert just because of your skin color?” The unit culminates in a live jazz performance and a trip to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Armstrong’s final residence. It also ends with a brief summative assessment in child-friendly true/false form (“Circle the smiley face if the statement is true . . .”).

American Folk Music in Grade 1

This unit begins with a discussion of the oral tradition and a student sharing of prior knowledge. Students then study the evolution of folk music by reading various books (see Figure 3) and creating lists of relevant information as a class (informal formative assessment), singing and choreographing numerous folk songs—including a cowboy song, a work song, a mountain song, a ballad, a social song, a lullaby, and protest songs—through repetition on multiple occasions (informal formative assessments), comparing and contrasting differing versions, and analyzing each song briefly. The unit spans songs from “Frog Went a-Courtin’” (a sixteenth-century Scottish song later popularized in America) to “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1962) by Bob Dylan. Critical pedagogy is integrated by encouraging students to draw connections between this unit and the jazz unit and by questioning how the purpose of music-making changed throughout the centuries (“How did singers in the twentieth century use songs to create social awareness?” “Why is music such a powerful tool?”). In the process, I am able to expand students’ knowledge of the civil rights movement while pointing out socioeconomic issues through the works of performers Woody Guthrie (“Why did the American people need someone to be their voice?”), Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan and even introduce feminist concerns (“Why do you think that women had fewer opportunities to create folk songs long ago”)—all in child-friendly language. The unit culminates in a spring concert (summative assessment).

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Figure 3

Resources for an American Folk Music Unit (Ages 6 and Older)

Native American Music in Grade 2

This unit centers on learning about and honoring the musical practices of various indigenous nations. Students are introduced to Native American rhythm instruments and pitched instruments, then social and sacred songs, and finally men and women’s dances through an original slideshow presentation that features photographs, audio samples, and videos. Since Native American rituals vary from region to region, students explore the similarities and differences between tribal practices within each region. ¹⁹ Students learn how to play gathering drums, frame drums, “rasps” (e.g., guiros), and “rattles” (e.g., maracas). They also learn how to sing songs from different tribes (see Figure 4) through multiple repetitions as well as dance a straight dance (informal formative assessments). Students even get to attend a Native American performance featured yearly at a college campus. Critical pedagogy is integrated through discussions of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas and how it negatively affected—and continues to affect—Native American life. ²⁰ In fact, each fall I challenge students to determine why Native Americans view Thanksgiving as a national day of mourning. ²¹ After all, history is not just written by the winners, and presenting all voices and perspectives is an objective of critical pedagogy. Students bid the unit good-bye by learning “Aloha ‘Oe” (traditional Hawaiian) and then completing a short-answer exam (summative assessment).

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Figure 4

Resources for a Native American Music Unit (Ages 6 and Older)

Multicultural Music in Grade 2

This unit begins with a survey of the ethnic origins of each student in the second grade. A list of the six to eight most common ethnicities is compiled, and one children’s song per country is then researched and selected for singing in each native language. The unit relies on YouTube videos, websites, and teacher performances that demonstrate the traditional instruments and musical practices of each country being explored prior to learning each song. Every lesson begins with open dialogue in which students share their knowledge of and experiences with the country in question. This exercise highlights experiences without privileging the voices of students from any one particular group throughout the unit. As Bell Hooks reminds us, “[j]ust the physical experience of hearing, of listening intently, to each particular voice strengthens our capacity to learn together. Even though a student may not speak again after this moment, that student’s presence has been acknowledged.” ²² One year, students performed songs in the following languages for their concert (summative assessment), in addition to a multilingual hello song: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian, and Spanish (see Figure 5). ²³ Finally, to represent as many ethnicities as possible, parents are occasionally invited to share their cultural traditions through performances and/or presentations.

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Figure 5

Resources for a Multicultural Music Unit (Ages 7 and Older)

Educating Musically, Ethically, and Sustainably

In an age when high-stakes testing limits “teachable moments” in education and demoralizes both teacher and students, contextualized music instruction promotes curricular autonomy and student interest while upholding deep learning in the classroom. Although the design process may seem daunting to a new teacher or a seasoned educator with time constraints, I hope that the concept will serve as a springboard for further development and research. Moreover, it should be noted that contextualized music instruction contributes to an often overlooked goal that merits greater emphasis amid ever-looming budget cuts: that of creating a culturally relevant program that is sustainable. As Koza aptly points out, we must strive to break the consumptive cycle of materialism that defines our nation by “conserving, recycling, and reusing.” ²⁴ These units utilize books and basic instruments that need to be acquired once. Best of all, contextualized music instruction can be designed to center on music-making with the one instrument that is free and readily available: the human voice.

At the end of the (school) day, teachers have a responsibility to educate and nurture the whole student. To that end, I have encouraged a high priority for the use of contextualized music instruction, which fosters capacities including interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking skills, and empathy. It also supports music education as/for social justice through the integration of critical pedagogy, encouraging students to effect change and become socially just citizens. Taken as a whole, these skills and capacities create meaningful educational experiences for students while providing them with essential, enduring, and empowering cognitive keys to life. In so doing, teachers are able to educate musically and therefore successfully “plan for a lifetime”—indeed, for thousands of lifetimes to come.

“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”