It is vital that we create inclusive environments in our classrooms and educational pathways, to ensure the best outcomes for disadvantaged and vulnerable children and young people. Below are four teaching strategies you can employ to foster an engaged and inclusive classroom.
1) Incorporate Technology
One of the most significant drawbacks of traditional music teaching methods is that they underutilize technology. Today’s students are the most technologically literate generation to date – much more so than their teachers – and there is a vast amount of music teaching technology available that can be a powerful conduit to learning.
From creative music theory lessons on YouTube to guided learning through educational apps, music technology is proven to be more engaging in the classroom. Tools like GarageBand, Logic, Pro Tools, or Ableton Live are also possible, not to mention a wealth of free music composition apps available to students and teachers.
2) Create an Inclusive Classroom
Inclusivity in a music classroom means engaging students of all learning styles, backgrounds, and ability levels. As an educator, inclusivity and versatility go hand in hand. A contemporary music teacher should be able to pivot from leading a jazz ensemble in the morning to teaching a world music lesson in the afternoon, to directing an after-school rock band.
Inclusivity goes beyond the range of musical genres. If schools offer wider musical options, music education will be transformed to better meet the needs of the contemporary world. A genuinely inclusive classroom is one that is respectful of present diversity, adapts to the needs of all learners, and provides opportunities for collaboration between students.
3) Focus on Engagement
Music is a gift, but it’s one that has to be readily accepted by the giftee. You can’t force music on an unwilling student.
Four Simple Ways to Engage Music Students
Try to teach skills and concepts that will stoke the fire of self-discovery at home. For example:
Teach basic improvisational skills Show students how they can create simple loops to play over in GarageBand
Learn what your students are listening to Find out what your students are listening to and craft lessons around the music. Don’t write off a genre like Soundcloud Rap if over half of your class are fans of it.
Embrace individual interests Teach foundational skills or concepts in a way that allows students to use their individual preferred genres of music as the subject of study.
Incorporate technology Find ways to use technology interactively to teach less-engaging concepts.
4) Embrace the Artist-Teacher Within
As a music teacher, one of the biggest strengths you can draw on in the classroom is your personal experience as a musician. Think of anything you’ve had to learn on the fly as a musician – organizing a concert, working cooperatively with other musicians, dealing with the business side of music, or producing a home recording. Each experience you’ve learned from is an opportunity to pass the knowledge to your students and captivate their interest. For example, some of your students are probably interested in being a rap producer, but do they know what that entails on a day-to-day basis? Do you? If you don’t, be resourceful. You probably know a musician in your network who can offer insight. Maybe your students want to be in a rock band. Show them what it’s like by organizing a community event featuring student-created music and letting them assist in the preparation and production of the show.
Finally, your education doesn’t have to stop when you leave university. As you continue to grow as a musician and incorporate your experiences in the classroom your students will benefit as a result.
At the core of all of these contemporary music teaching strategies is an awareness that the role of the music educator has changed over the past decade. Music teachers need to ‘step off the podium’ and embrace their students’ expertise and interests to create engaging and relevant pedagogy. That means that more than anything the new music educator needs to begin to see him or herself as a perpetual learner – from new technologies, new musical content and students themselves. Creating a ‘community of musical inquirers’ is the ultimate goal and the path to life-long musical engagement for students and teachers alike.
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