Re: Shelby 3/23/11

Shelby asked, "How can teachers and parents encourage students to be curious?"
Curiosity is an interest, desire, and thirst for knowledge. Curiosity is an instinct that we are born with and it is shown in the form of questions, exploration, wonder, and imagination. If you never question or seek answers how will you learn anything? As soon as babies are able to form questions, they never stop. They are curious about the world and all parents can do is answer those questions. The disappearance or diminishment of curiosity is likely due to external factors.
There are somethings that teachers can do to install the drive of curiosity in their students. The first that comes to mind is a technique that Professor Johnson uses in his teaching style, have students to ask questions. At the end of every Q&A and every blog post we have to end in a question or two. Asking questions enables one to receive answers and further their knowledge and inquiries. Another technique to install curiosity is to explore or research topics that one is interested in. Teachers at times have their students pick from a list of topics for papers or projects, this is important for the activation of curiosity because no one is curious about what they do not care about (yet maybe they are curious to why they do not care). A third method could be making the topic taught interesting. Teachers at times just resort to classic methods of teaching instead of thinking outside of the box. There are many ways to teach geometry or how to read getting students involved in what they are learning will make them want to learn more. A fourth method is having teachers ask the students questions that way they must wonder and formulate an answer. Answering a question involves puzzle piecing and if a student must answer a question, they then understand what is missing in order for them to answer it. By being asked they figure out what they do not know. And the final thing to do, which is a common practice among teachers, is to tell their students that their is no such thing as a dumb question and always leave class time to go over any confusion or further questions.
Question: Have you ever been told that you ask too many questions or has a teacher ever discouraged you to ask questions in a class?

Motivation

In class on Wednesday we talked about the over justification effect -- when giving external rewards for a desired behavior decreases the internal reward. I wanted to make it clear that not all reward giving decreases desired behaviors, infact it is often used and extremly effective in behavioral psychology. When an agent performs a desired behavior and they recieve a reward, it is known as positive reinforcement and you would be suprized on it's success. Tom Byrne, the Chair of the psychology department and behavior anaylst once said, "Teachers scoff because they think that behaviors cannot be influenced by M&Ms and gummy bears because 'it's not that easy'. But it is that easy." So why can gummy bears make someone behave a certin way and eventually cause them to establish an intenal reward, yet in the case of the over justification effect an external reward lowers the internal award? Well, these are behavioral interventions, they work to positivly reinforce a behavior that was not there to begin with. When tangible positive reinforcement occurs for individuals who already have an established internal award, they turn their focus on getting the external reward rather than enjoying the activity. Non tangible, or verbal reinforcement like saying, "good job" is helpful for both children who do not have an already established internal reward or the lack of one.
There was a study conducted that tested the effects of the poistive reinforcement phrases, "you worked hard" and "you are smart". The first group was given a test and after they had finished they were told that they did a good job and that they were worked hard. The second group recieved the same test and after they finished they were told that they did a good job and that they were smart. They both recieved a more difficult test and the group that was told that they worked hard not only did well, but was asking for more! The second group did not do so well. The two groups were then given the same test as they had in the beginning and the "hard working" group did the same or better and the "smart" group did worse. This shows that encouraging students to work hard is more important than being smart.
Question: What can teachers do to motivate their students?

Re: Stephen 3/9/11

What is music's role in education?

Lowell Mason founded the Boston Academy of Music in the early to mid 1800's and then became the superintendent of music for Boston public schools. He persuaded the surrounding towns to add music into their curriculum, which earned him the accreditation for starting music in the American public school system. He published The Manuel of the Boston Academy of Music which stated seven principles of music education. I couldn't find what these seven principles were exactly, but I do know that they did not explain why music is important in our lives, its aesthetic value, or standards for music education.
Music's role in today's curriculum, as it has been for many years is to teach team work, the application of fundamentals, the concept that you have to "keep going", how to approach goals with the right mind set, to use rules and theory to create something of your own, and many others. Team work as I and others have mentioned in previous blogs, is an important aspect of music. Everyone has to listen to each other and follow the conductor. The application of fundamentals is another important aspect of music, people who have been playing for fifty years still practice their scales and long tones prior to playing songs. Just like basketball players still practice their free throws after years of playing.
The most important thing with music that I have learned is the concept of "keep going." In video games you can just press the restart button, but when you make a mistake in a performance you cannot start over again, you have to pretend that you did not do anything wrong and the audience will forget, if they noticed. This can be very difficult especially if you are relying on your muscle memory, one wrong move and your muscles will not know where to go next. This is different than when a mistake is made in a sport game because since you are playing against a team whose reactions are only estimated when designing plays, that aspect of reaction and adjusting is almost programed into a players thinking. Yet with music it has a strict plan, your moves as well as others are known so when they are offset due to a mistake adjusting and knowing how to react may be difficult.
Another role music has in education is knowing how to set goals. Many people set goals that are difficult and high aspirations, yet they do not plan the steps on how to get there. With music you do not just play through a piece and move on to the next (well I suppose you could, but not in an educational setting). A lot of the time they do a quick read through first to work on sight reading abilities, and then they break it down phrase by phrase, slowing down the tempo, making sure the notes are clear and the articulations are correct. When the notes are clear, the right rhythm is played, and the articulations are correct with a slow tempo, the speed is then increased and the process starts over until the right tempo is reached. After that is completed one moves on to the next phrase and starts that process there. Of course there are many ways to approach a piece but all of them involve patience and practice. Patience and practice are extremely important concepts when reaching difficult goals.
Lastly, one of the important roles of music is learning the rules of theory and composition. There are the concepts of voice leading, 4 bars phrases, predictability, and I, IV, V. Yet after one learns these rules and how notes work together they can very well make a good composition using unpredictable 3 bar phrases while only using vii, vi, ii, iii!

Question: What is the most valuable thing you have learned from music? Or, what is the most important thing you have learned from any subject throughout your educational career?

Beautiful Mystery

Before ear training, dictation lessons, and learning a brass instrument, when I listened music I heard it as a whole -- one harmonious work. After, those skills had been developed I not only heard it as a one harmonious work, but also simultaneously heard all of the individual parts by themselves, and was able to understand how they worked together. It’s almost like I can hear a piece of music subjectively and objectively at the same time, when before it was only an objective view that I obtained. It is irreversible now, I cannot listen to a piece of music without seeing it from this perspective. It is almost like a curse because I can no longer just absorb; I must intake, analyze, and define. The lack of mystery to me, even after our discussion in class, does not appear to maximize a work’s beauty. There is beauty in the unknown. Because of this perspective, I understand music, and what I understand feels less intimidating to approach because it seems less of a challenge. Like with a end goal, if you know how to get there, the journey is less anxious. In the article he stated that beautiful things are difficult. After students learn a piece of music they find it beautiful even if they fist did not. This is not because they understand it more and think that it is more beautiful. The beauty is in the hard work it took, not the music itself. The piece of music is therefore a symbol of their dedication. The more difficult the piece, the more work you have to put into it. I would not be quick to say that the more difficult the piece, the more understanding there is obtain. It is the journey of finding understanding not the understanding itself. From an existential point of view would life be as beautiful if we knew why we were here? It's not meaning itself, but finding a purpose in life that give it meaning. Therefore mystery is beautiful because it initiates this curiosity to find an answer.

Question: If a piece of music is more beautiful the second or third time it is heard, than is improvisation less beautiful?

Endless Possibility of Sound (re: Drew 3/4/11)

"Is there a point where music can no longer reinvent itself?"

This is a great question with a definite answer. One of the first things you learn in a music class is that because there are so many different combinations of possible rhythms, articulation, notes, timbres, meter, form, and tempo, that there is no limit to how much music can be created.

For rhythms there are your standard whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes. Then it gets a bit more complicated with thirty second notes, dotted quarter, dotted half, dotted eighth, dotted sixteenth, triplets, duplets, quintuplets (say the word "un-i-ver-sit-y" or my favorite, "seg-a-gen-es-is" with equal space in between each syllable), and there are more. There is also the concept of poly-rhythms that I will not get into.

Articulation is a component that is extended from rhythm. Slurs connect notes, and the absence of a slur indicates to re-articulate each note. In addition, staccatos cut the note short and legatos give the note its full value making it sound longer, these can be added to any note.

There are 12 different notes across several octaves, if there was only one melodic line in any given piece of music, then yes there would be limited variety. Yet, there is the concept of harmony with the addition of counter melodies which defines the melodic structure of a piece and gives an infinite amount of possibilities. Music of our day is basically all I, V, IV (first note of the scale, fifth note, and fourth note) yet every song sounds different because of different lyrics, harmonies, and keys.

Timbre is the distinct sound each instrument makes, a trumpet sounds different than a piano. There are woodwinds, brass, percussion, and string.

Meter (how many beats and notes are in each measure) also extends the endless possibility in music. a Waltz is in 3/4 time, faster pieces are in 2/2 or cut time, and basically every thing else is in 4/4 or common time.

Form is how the music is structured. In contemporary popular music for our culture the form is: verse, bridge, chorus X 3. Of course there are variations of this. Other forms in classical eras include fugues, rondos (ex: ABA), sonata form, and so on. This component gives music its outline.

Tempo is how fast or slow a piece of music is. You would be surprised how different a song sounds just by speeding in up or slowing it down.

As you can see, with the variables of rhythm, articulation, notes, timbres, meter, form, and tempo the possibility of music created is endless. Just like there are a limited amount of words in a language, but an endless amount of stories to be told.

Question: How does the idea of a right or wrong answer in any scholastic subject change its properties?

Responce to Jessica 3/3/11

"Is music the greatest form of art for everyone or does it depend on the person? If a person is more connected to a different activity can it provoke the same feeling?"

Art is defined as "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. " Art is typically thought of as visual arts such as paintings, auditory arts such as music, performing arts such as theatre, and linguistic arts such as poetry. Yet, art is not limited to these subjects. One could argue that many things besides these lie under the category of artistic. What is it that makes something artistic? Anything that emitts emotion through an aesthetic medium is considered art in my book. I've only been horseback riding once in my life, but I can see why one would think it to be artistic. You are one with another creature and I assume it makes you feel closer to nature. Yes, it does depend on the person, if something feels beautiful to you than it is art in a subjective sense. Do what inspires you.

Another definition of art is any specific skill and its application. Anything can be an art if someone is good enough at it. Someone who is funny could be considered a comidic artist. Artistry isn't always a positive thing, an example is a con artist.

Question: What makes something art or an art?

Why music in education is important

In class yesterday Kim asked why should music should be taught in school?

Here are some reasons why:

· Music teaches sequential learning which is important to reading comprehension.

· Middle school and high school students who play instrumental music score significantly higher than non-band peers in standardized tests. University studies conducted in Georgia and Texas found significant positive correlation between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science and language arts.

• Students who were exposed to the music-based lessons scored a full 100 percent higher on fractions tests than those who learned in the conventional manner. Second-grade and third-grade students were taught fractions in a nontraditional manner by teaching them basic music rhythm notation. The group was taught about the relationships between eighth, quarter, half and whole notes. Their peers received traditional fraction instruction.
• A ten-year study, tracking more than 25,000 students, shows that music-making improves test scores. Regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams. In 2001, SAT takers with coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 41 points higher on the math portion than students with no coursework/experience in the arts.
• Music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school. Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to med school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. For comparison, (44 percent) of biochemistry majors were admitted.
• A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math.
• A McGill University study found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period.
• self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for students given piano instruction.
• Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades.
• Research shows that piano students are better equipped to comprehend mathematical and scientific concepts. children who received piano/keyboard training performed 34 percent higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability than the others even. "Spatial-temporal" is basically proportional reasoning - ratios, fractions, proportions and thinking in space and time. This concept has long been considered a major obstacle in the teaching of elementary math and science.
• Young children with developed rhythm skills perform better academically in early school years. Findings of a recent study showed that there was a significant difference in the academic achievement levels of students classified according to rhythmic competency. Students who were achieving at academic expectation scored high on all rhythmic tasks, while many of those who scored lower on the rhythmic test achieved below academic expectation.
• College-age musicians are emotionally healthier than their non-musician counterparts. A study conducted at the University of Texas looked at 362 students who were in their first semester of college. They were given three tests, measuring performance anxiety, emotional concerns and alcohol related problems. In addition to having fewer battles with the bottle, researchers also noted that the college-aged music students seemed to have surer footing when facing tests.
• The world's top academic countries place a high value on music education. Hungary, Netherlands and Japan stand atop worldwide science achievement and have strong commitment to music education. All three countries have required music training at the elementary and middle school levels, both instrumental and vocal, for several decades. The centrality of music education to learning in the top-ranked countries seems to contradict the United States' focus on math, science, vocabulary, and technology.
• Music training helps under-achievers. In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public school first grade classes. Half of the classes became "test arts" groups, receiving ongoing music and visual arts training. In kindergarten, this group had lagged behind in scholastic performance. After seven months, the students were given a standardized test. The "test arts" group had caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22 percent. In the second year of the project, the arts students widened this margin even further. Students were also evaluated on attitude and behavior. Classroom teachers noted improvement in these areas also.
• "The nation's top business executives agree that arts education programs can help repair weaknesses in American education and better prepare workers for the 21st century."

Facts provided by: http://www.nammfoundation.org/research/research-briefs-did-you-know

These facts clearly support the idea that music should be taught in schools. Music makes you smarter, more motivated, and raises your self-esteem. I realize that music and sports both teach team work, but an ensemble is the biggest team you will ever be in. A basketball team has 10-15 players and 5 players on the court at one time; a football team has 11 on the field; a baseball team has 9; soccer has 11. Do you know how many people are in an instrumental ensemble? 20, 30, 40, even up to 200 players! What other thing in the world involves this many people working together simultaneously towards one common goal? What other thing in the world do this many people work together to make something beautiful? With sports teams you have to be good initially to be on the team from middle school and beyond because you have to try out. Because they only need a limited amount of players, they only pick the best ones. Music never turns anyone down, the only way to be discarded by any ensemble is for having a bad attitude. They accept everyone no matter what your musical background, or how good you are, if you are interested the instructors will teach you. This could be why music raises ones self-esteem. I understand that music isn't for everyone and that not everyone is good at it, but that does not mean it should not be taught in schools. Just like gym class is required for physical health, music should be required for mental and emotional health.

So I end with the question: why shouldn't music be taught in schools?