Exploring an Inquiry-Based Stance for Planning and Instruction in General Music Education

Through the experiences of Joan, we see how music teachers might re-envision instruction with attention to an inquiry-based approach for education. Within this context, students actively construct musical meanings themselves, rather than acquiring those meanings by taking part in musical activities constructed by teachers. An example of this approach is provided in the unit “Sound Escapes,” wherein teacher and students explore their musical environment from the stance of inquiry. Although the academic terminology around inquiry-based learning may be new, music teachers already incorporate the educational principles underlying these strategies by engaging students in their learning through questioning and problem solving. Through this unit, we see how teachers might encourage students' inquiries in music around a schoolwide inquiry project. These ideas are also appropriate for an inquiry stance to planning and instruction within a music program where connections are not related to schoolwide events as they are in the example depicted.