I often go back and forth as to is there inquiry happening in my classroom. Perhaps I wrestle with what the actual meaning of inquiry is. The term inquiry can be defined as: “a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge.”
In my quest this morning to find what inquiry is google directed me to this site:
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/inquiry/
The open the article with the quote: “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.” According to workshop author Joe Exline, it is this last part that is essential. “Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge.”
I have been working with several of my classes using instruments called boomwhackers, which is a chromatic set of plastic tubes that are each given different color assignments according to pitch. If you would like to “see” exactly what I am talking about you can watch this youtube video. (It is just a random video I have found of random people, but it gives you an idea none the less. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1W4Q4i9HBI
Lately I have noticed in my practice I have been struggling with “Am I using/demonstrating correct teaching methods in my classroom?” I know that teaching music at it’s most basic level consists of a lot of echoing activities. So, I have recently started using the boomwhackers with the primaries (grades K-2) and teaching simple accompaniment patters via echoing.
The older students I have taken the simple melodic patterns and echo sang them during warm up (warm-up consists of echo-clapping/speaking rhythms/sounds, echo-solfege and rhythm reading cards) I then put the patterns on the board either as solfege syllables or as written notation. I then split the students into 4 groups and gave each set of groups a set of boomwhackers. I would only use a few pitches (Do, Re, and Mi) and (Do, So and La) and asked the students to work on performing the pattern that I placed on the board.
I figured that this would be a simple task and then all the problems began. The boomwhackers have pitch labels on them, but I was using movable Do and this was confusing the kids to be told the dark green boomwhacker is Do, but yet it is labeled So and the Orange boomwhacker is La, but it is labeled Re. So you can imagine the confusion from this. So as I modified the lessons I found that I started reviewing the idea “The bigger the instrument the lower the pitch, the smaller the instrument the higher the pitch.” and then I ask the kids what color is the largest boomwhacher? What is our lowest pitch that we are using,” and of course I would ask the reverse of that question. However, I felt that by giving them this information was too direct and that I was not allowing them to figure it out for themselves. With the next group I conducted this lesson with, I gave them time in their groups with the boomwhackers and the original mission. (Play the pattern on the board.) I would only offer to each group the input as to whether they were correct or not. After about 10 minutes I asked them to stop. I had each group hold up their boomwhacker so we could see who was labeling them Do, Re and Mi. We then discussed the idea of size and pitch and then as a class played the pattern on the board.
I have found that so far the last way I have conducted this process is so far the best balance for young students. It gave them time to explore and trouble shoot as a team, but the recap at the end allowed me to see that everyone had a clear understanding of the concept.
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March 8, 2012 at 3:20 pm
Brian Nicholson
Amber, you have come a long way in this class. I have been able to see just how goal oriented you are. I understand how the concepts of inquiry can be confusing, yet also know that you are doing well with this process. You constantly quesiton yourself and think you are not doing things in a correct way. Let me ask. What is correct? If you are getting through to your students in new and exciting ways then you are learning just as much as they are. This has been an ultimate goal of our group anyway.
I know you need direct instruction for yourself. and if you see that then you understnad that some kids may need that as well. So it is not about this golden fleece that gives every student the best result. Keep doing what you are doing. That excitement that you have is showing in all you do with your students and with your othe teachers.
March 8, 2012 at 4:35 pm
3droth
music is the eternal artform…..my inquiry is….once you hear it .where does it go?
the solfege boom wackers look fun. thanks for sharing.
March 8, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Amber
Hey Brian,
I just wanted to jot down a brief thought about your post and maybe this can help me spark inspiration for other posts. I wanted to clarify “correct” and see if this changes perspective. I don’t view it as right and wrong, but there are several ideologies in music education. Some teachers will follow one particular school of thought and some will mix schools together, depending on their favorite idea and how they feel comfortable marring them together. So I guess when I am questioning “correct” I am actually asking am I finding the right balance (for me) in these methods and when is mixing them dangerous. I had a discussion with my department last month and we were talking about how when I teach rhythm I use word blocks (words separated into syllables to create rhythmic sounds) with the little ones and then changing it to rhythmic syllables with the older kids (e.g. ti-ti for eighth note pairs and ta for quarter notes.) One of my co-workers pointed out that is like an ESL teacher trying to teach English 3 different ways. That then became a concern of mine.
… and thanks for the words of encouragement! 🙂
March 8, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Amber
David,
Haha! That’s so thought provoking…. it truly is the eternal art form.I just had this conversation with Amanda. I think that’s what I both love and hate about it! I, personally have perfectionist issues so I become frustrated if the music doesn’t come out just the way I want, whereas visual arts I feel like if I don’t like it I can change it.
….glad you liked the boomwhackers… they can be used in a lot of cool ways! 🙂
March 9, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Brian Nicholson
It is funny that you say that, because i tell my kids that every day. If you feel it is wrong, you can always change it. I can see how listening to music can have a different realization, always wanting it to sound perfect. But even in that, the only reason you say its perfect is because it was done before and you have something to judge it against. If you took that out of the equation you would have a different feeling of freedom. Just like visual, dont look at what others might have done and become the inventor.
March 10, 2012 at 3:39 am
artbenimble
Amber,
Teaching a lesson can sometimes be redundant as an elementary itinerant as we may be teaching the same idea several times in the same week. I think it is a great opportunity that we have in our quest for searching for the balance of inquiry/direct instruction. It sounds to me that you are taking full advantage of that by working your way through each class and adapting to what works best. The boomwhackers seem like a great problem solving tool as well as a great collaboration tool.
p.s. – love the quote, it is very true.
March 14, 2012 at 6:30 pm
chelsief
I like that aspect too that we can revamp the lesson to fit the particular group of students that we have each day! Test runs are necessary sometimes!
March 14, 2012 at 6:28 pm
chelsief
Its amazing the dots we automatically connect that our students cannot without a bit of help. I love the boomwacker idea, and I appreciate the transparancy about the rocky lesson. It seems like after everyone got past the lables they seemed to grow through collaborative groups and enjoy the kinetic experience of making music.