ABSTRACT
Looking around a general music classroom with students at the helm of their learning may look like a playground and not the “order” that we have come to expect in traditional general music classrooms. The teacher is not at the front of the room; rather, they are engaged with a small group of students reading rhythms off of flash cards. Some students are composing recorder melodies using dice and an iPad in the corner of the room; other students are playing a game reinforcing musical terms and symbols, and another small group is creating an ostinato for “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on xylophones near the back of the room. Every student is engaged, every student is learning, and every student has a choice of how they learn. In my classroom, we learn together; I make it a point not to stand in front of my classroom and deliver information as if I were a jug of knowledge and the students are empty cups waiting to be filled.
This pedagogical approach to learning did not and cannot happen overnight but takes time and persistence. As creatures of habit, my students at first would become rowdy because of the nature of group work and the overall nature of a classroom full of teachers. Many general-classroom teachers do not (or will not) teach this way and it therefore becomes exclusive to the music room, so consistency is very important. Over time, through re-teaching expectations and students’ own discovery, creativity thrives and learning blossoms.
