Incorporating popular music and dance: A student-centered approach to middle school chorus

Middle school chorus in the United States is, from an adolescent perspective, primarily a means of socializing and making friends. Using Green’s (2008) notion of critical musicality, I designed a constructionist learning environment. Using critical participatory action research, conducted with my students rather than on them, we explored alternative pedagogical approaches to choral teaching and learning. We learned that collaborative learning fostered musical and social development in a heterarchical classroom environment that contributed to intersubjective understandings. It became possible for students to apply prior knowledge from outside of school to holistic, contextual, self-generated learning goals in the choral classroom. Incorporating popular music, technology and dance into the curriculum made learning relevant for these students. Choral educators may be able to implement student-centred curricula in choral settings more easily than is on occasion assumed.Accepted manuscrip

Voices 21C: A collaborative choral enterprise

How can passion for choral music be turned into something that challenges the status quo? Over the course of four seasons, VOICES 21C has progressed from being a short-term, project choir to an established, high-level performing choral collaborative. Like many community music choral organizations, VOICES 21C is centered on social justice themes that are highly relevant in today‘s world. Unlike many choirs, VOICES 21C is concerned with the empowerment of singers; both individually and collectively. Social justice, in the context of VOICES 21C, is where the intersection of critical and historical thinking, sustained inquiry, concern for a more equitable social order and for ―the marginalized other‖ take on significance. The group‘s critical, contemporary approach to choral singing evokes for the listener a thoughtful and provocative politicized perspective regarding the fears, hopes, and desires that characterize humankind. This article will address the philosophical, artistic and organizational processes that have evolved as the members of VOICES 21C have purposefully moved toward creating a more inclusive and collaborative, social justice-oriented choral enterprise.Accepted manuscrip

Research to practice: bridging the gap

https://www.academia.edu/38297490/Debrot_and_Smith_2017.pdfPublished versio

Social constructionism in the middle school chorus: a collaborative approach

Middle school programs occupy a unique place in choral music education. This study builds upon and makes a unique contribution to the body of literature in choral music education by introducing critical participatory action research into the social ecology (Shotter, 1993) of the middle school choral classroom during the “regular” school day with a non-select choral ensemble. I employed critical participatory action research methodology—a collaborative approach to understanding specific problems in education—because it is a systematic research process conducted for the purpose of generating knowledge that is valid and vital for the well being of learners, communities of learners, and for promoting social change (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Herr & Anderson, 2005; Kemmis and McTaggart, 1987; Mills, 2010). The purpose of this critical participatory action research study was to create a collaborative model of practice in order to make sixth grade choral music education more relevant and meaningful for learners. In order to accomplish this, I created a constructionist learning environment, applying domains of relevance set forth by Gergen (2001), and examined how this model of practice impacted the pedagogical practices of 19 sixth grade chorus students and their chorus teacher over the period of one semester. All participants collected evidence in the form of video recordings, interviews, journals and portfolios. All evidence was considered in light of the changes that occurred—individually and collectively—in pedagogical and organizational practices and in regard to the original research questions. This report illuminates ways that constructionist principles might be used to create a collaborative model of middle school choral music education and the pedagogical and social practices that emerge when beginning sixth grade students and their chorus teacher share responsibility for teaching and learning

Research to Practice: Issues of Relevance for Massachusetts Music Educators

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Jammin' the blues: experiencing the "good life"

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics, attitudes, and perceptions of older musicians who participated regularly in a local blues jam. Six core dimensions of eudaimonic well-being and their conceptual foundations provided a framework for examining the way that music-making contributes to subjective well-being during the lifespan of an individual. The following research questions guided this investigation: (1) In what ways do biographical factors and engagement with music influence the lives of older adult blues/rock musicians who participate in a local blues jam? (2) What implications for subjective well-being with regard to music learning might be used to inform music education practices? Interviews and observations over a 2-month period provided data for understanding how lived experiences impacted personal well-being, and musical growth and development over time. Findings suggested that eudaimonic well-being is the result of active engagement in human activities that are goal-directed and purposeful, and a good life involves the self-realization of individual dispositions and talents over a lifetime. Implications for music education include individualized pedagogical approaches that encourage learners to discover a sense of well-being in and through music.Published versio

Well-being in the post-pandemic general music classroom

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A pedagogy of love

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Student teacher dsplacement during COVID-19

The COVID-19 virus hit during the All State Professional Development Conference in Boston. While at the conference, I heard that concerts were being canceled. However, at that moment, I didn’t feel like it would amount to anything serious. One week later I learned that no one would return, in a physical sense, to their schools. At the beginning of the Spring term, ten student teachers from Boston University had placements in the public schools. At mid-term, most students had their second placements canceled entirely. Kel Kim and Sab Scotti shared their experiences.Accepted manuscrip

A student-centered approach to middle school chorus

[Students who enroll in middle school chorus have a wide range of previous knowledge about music. Popular music reflects the students’ interests and passions, but it does not fit into traditional pedagogies or prescribed curricula. For music educators, teaching chorus may be about teaching vocal and ensemble skills, but from an adolescent perspective it is primarily a “means of meeting new people and making new friends” (Campbell et al. 2007, p. 221). Regardless of context, music as a medium through which adolescents construct, negotiate, and modify aspects of their personal and social lives. Most research studies on popular music learning in schools have taken place in in general music classrooms and place emphasis on music learning with instruments. I explored informal learning and popular music learning in the choral classroom. In this article, I will share research-based choral strategies that emerged from an action research study I conducted in a middle school.]Accepted manuscrip