Curriculum Development Project

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Dorothy Mitchell
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1 1 Kamen Nikolov EDCT 585 Dr. Perry Marker Fall 2003 Curriculum Development Project For my Curriculum Development Project, I am going to devise a curriculum which will be based on change and globalization of the Music curriculum for Visual and Performing Arts for fifth grade distributed to the California public schools by the state of California. In my opinion, the present K-12 framework for our public schools is heavily rooted in Essentialism. Therefore I am going to expand in the same direction adding some adjustments with consideration to the contemporary world we live in. Why do I choose to work in an Essentialist framework? For one, our public schools currently practice it and it seems to be working quite well in the sense that it does far more good than harm. Second, it is our current reality where one of the basic rules of Capitalism comes into play money talks. As long as the state/government funds our public school system, the state/government will always have a say about what the curriculum is going to be and who s knowledge will be considered valuable. The report A Nation At Risk sets the priorities straight longer school day, more core requirements and more challenging textbooks. Third, I personally believe that the use of evaluation and assessment as an integral part of the learning process results in positive outcomes and overall increased student learning. I believe that the outcomes of any process need to be

2 2 measured and judged based on their merits and practicality. Therefore the use of student testing to achieve such goals, in my opinion, seems quite logical and appropriate. Currently the method of achievement/performance testing has a central role in our educational praxis, in the Essentialist philosophy in general, and in our every day life. Our consumer mentality is set in such a way that in every aspect of our lives, we function upon the driving force of seeing our return on investment. As a result testing and evaluation play a vital role in evaluating our return. Another possible answer is that since I am a product of such Essentialist instruction myself, I just don t know any better. What does a Music Curriculum (for fifth graders) look like now, year 2003 under the Essentialist educational framework? I mentioned earlier that I am going to expand in the direction of Essentialism with some adjustments. In my previous Music curriculum analysis, I was astonished to find out that the goals set by the State of California for fifth graders are beyond just hard. They reminded me of a music plan set for students on a music track who are heading to go study straight at a Conservatory. Many of the goals, such as: Students improvise melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic variations to given rhythmic and melodic phrases Students improvise harmonic accompaniment Students sing music written in two and three parts on both treble and bass clefs

3 3 Students compose short pieces within specific guidelines demonstrating how the elements of music are used to achieve unity and variety, tension and release, and balance. Students use a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources and electronic media in composing and arranging moderately complex melodies reminded me of my high school years back in Bulgaria. I come from a music high school where we studied nothing but Music. I don t see how all these goals can be successfully accomplished in a public school setting (fifth grade) where the attention falls upon the core courses such as English, math, natural science, foreign language, and history. Music is a course of second (if even that) priority. There is a reason for that. Going back to the President s Commission on Excellence in Education report titled A Nation at Risk published in 1983, the schooling should go back to basics or to what is essential. The launch of Sputnik did not pose any threat to the Music curriculum. Rather it was a serious challenge for all aspects of the modern science. Logically tremendous emphasis was placed on the central importance of science and more specifically on Math, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. Even now, so many years after it became clear that USSR/Russia is not a threat, the accent in curriculum design still remains upon the core courses but along with them, the Music curriculum has also changed. I think it has become too complicated for a student who is not planning to become a musician.

4 4 In curriculum that I am proposing here, I will argue that what we have now is too much. In my opinion, we need to cut back on sophistication and complexity and use that same curriculum space to promote diversity, social understanding and multiculturalism. I believe it is more important for a California student to know the music and traditions of the peoples who were once natives here and who s land we walk on, rather that to be able to count three against two or arrange moderately complex melodies. There are schools that offer such knowledge for those who choose to know more about it. This situation would be similar to if we were to try to sale microscopes or power drills in Barnes & Noble if one needs them, he or she knows where to get them. Here I am going to discuss the content, purpose and audience of my curriculum. The audience is the same fifth grade students in California public schools. The purpose is to give students basic skills to read and play music but what is more important is to give students multicultural perspective and understanding about variety of cultures around the world. I was quite surprised to discover that the current state curriculum does not have a single word mentioned about the music and culture of the Native American Indians. Not a word. If I did not know that they were once here, there is nothing to suggest that they ever even existed. The following is a chart with the changes in content that I think will be more appropriate for our elementary school curriculum.

5 5 Goals Current Standards New Proposals 1. Students listen to and analyze music critically using the vocabulary and language of music. 2. Students read and notate music 3. Students sing or perform on instruments a varied repertoire of music. 4. Students improvise melodies, variations, and accompaniments, Students describe specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology. Students analyze the uses of elements of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, form, dynamics, timbre) in a given aural example Students read at sight simple melodies in both treble and bass clefs. Students identify and define standard notation, symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, articulation, and expression Alone or in small and large ensembles, students sing accurately and with good breath control throughout the singing ranges or perform on at least one instrument accurately and independently with good posture, playing position, and breath, bow, or stick control. Students sing music written in two and three parts or play simple melodies by ear on a melodic instrument and a simple accompaniment on a harmonic instrument. Students improvise simple melodic accompaniments. Students improvise melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic variations to given rhythmic and melodic phrases. Remains the same. If necessary, the students are given other details in order to clarify the purpose of the music piece. Students describe where the melody of the piece is, what instruments they can hear, what the purpose of the piece is. Students learn to read simple melodies. Students are shown music notations from diverse cultures. Students concentrate on improving their music reading skills. Students sing as accurately as possible or perform on an instrument of their choice. Students concentrate on more sophisticated vocal or performing techniques. Students are introduced to the music performances and traditions of Native American Indians. Students are introduced to the roots and Art of Jazz. Not included in the new curriculum. Not included in the new curriculum.

6 6 Goals Current Standards New Proposals 5. Students sing or perform on instruments a varied repertoire of music. 6. Students develop knowledge and skills necessary to understand and perform music from all parts of the world. 7. Students develop knowledge and understanding of the relationship of music to history and culture. 8. Students apply knowledge, skills, and understanding to make critical judgments about and determine the quality of music experiences and performances. Students compose short pieces within specified guidelines, demonstrating how the elements of music are used to achieve unity and variety, tension and release, and balance. Students use a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources and electronic media in composing and arranging moderately complex melodies. Students analyze the uses of the elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures. Students describe social functions of various musical forms. Students sing, dance, and perform music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed. Students perform music from different cultures demonstrating the uses and variations of the elements of music. Students develop criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of music performances and compositions and apply the criteria in their personal choices in listening and performing. Students evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and other s performances and compositions by applying specific criteria, appropriate for the style of the music, and offering constructive suggestions for improvement. Students are given an overview of World music. Customs and traditions from each continent are discussed. Students are given an overview of the music of the 20 th century with examples of cross-influences. Not included in the new curriculum. Remains the same. Students compare and contrast similar social functions across a variety of cultures. Remains the same. Remains the same. Students develop skills for critical analysis of the music content past and contemporary. Students develop criteria for evaluating the music quality. Students develop a personal taste and provide reasons and artifacts that support it. Remains the same.

7 7 As it can be seen from the chart above, much of the contents remain in the same general direction with consideration to the changing times we live in. In some areas, I have added more in depth information such as overview of the World music, the music of the 20 th century, introduction to the music performances and traditions of the Native American Indians, and the roots and Art of Jazz because I believe it is important for the coming generation to know where we are and where we came from in order to have a better understanding of the cultural differences and why we are the way we are. Other sections such as the section about improvisation and electronic composition, I find irrelevant to someone who is not planning to become a musician, because the nature of any improvisation is based on advanced techniques of music performance, ear training, texture & style, counterpoint, and other factors and therefore I decided to free the current curriculum from them. Instead, if the time and school allow it, a guest lecture and/or a performance by a local musician will mean much more and will be far more inspirational to the students, because it will come from a real person and not from a textbook or a video tape. The expected outcomes include: ability to read and perform a variety of music styles, ability to critically evaluate the quality of self performances and those by others, development of personal musical taste and providing evidence to support it, knowledge and understanding of the relationship between history and culture, development of personal skills with emphasis on the creative process as well as the product, development of informed citizens with a lifelong commitment to the arts, development of students appreciation and aesthetic valuing for the

8 8 music of many cultures and periods in world history, and development of a broad understanding of the wide range of values in arts. Here am going to show a specific lesson plan and teaching strategies covering the fist half of section 8. Students use knowledge, skills, and understanding in their critical evaluation of a given music piece. Students are asked to describe the purpose or function the music piece serves in the culture it was created. The teacher introduces a discussion. If there are students with background similar to the music work in question, they are offered to share with the class their opinion and experience. If there are lyrics (in a song for example), students analyze and interpret the meaning. A variety of styles are included in the discussion (for example a folk song form from 19 th century is compared to a folk song in the present). The teacher makes an outline of the timeline in history he or she is going to cover. For homework students listen to at least two songs per genre for at least one new genre per week. It is possible that students have inquiries about some contemporary pop or rap styles. The teacher openly discusses the negative impact of the use of profanity in modern society. Students conduct a simple research (for a term paper) and within a page they share what they have found about their favorite music style. If time allows, students share one minute recording of it on a cassette or CD with the class.

9 9 For a final paper, the students are asked to conduct a short interview with one of their parents and find what their favorite music style is. In a short essay (1-2 pages) they describe the major characteristics of the style as well as its most prominent performers. The purpose of this exercise is not only to help bridging the generation gap between parents and students, but also to tech understanding and appreciation for variety of styles as well as to promote the formation of respect towards a broad range of tastes. How is this curriculum going to be evaluated? I mentioned earlier that, since I am going to work in an Essentialist framework, I believe in achievement/performance student testing as a reasonably accurate way to measure the progress students have in their education. The performance aspect of the testing (40% of the grade) will be largely based on students commitment to practice outside the classroom and progress in their musical performance skills. The achievement aspect of the evaluation (40% of the grade) will be based on promptness and quality of the content of the homework assignments. Language, grammar, punctuation, ability to analyze critically (10% of the grade), as well as participation and class attendance (10% of the grade) will also affect the overall student score. Designing a model curriculum posed on me a great deal of thinking of what is important and should be transmitted to the next generation, and what is not. I was guided by my belief (based on my personal experience as a professional musician) that the current Music curriculum designed by the state of California

10 10 requires sophisticated procedures and skills that seem appropriate for students heading to study at a specialized music school or a conservatory. I do not think the general population has a need to possess such advanced skills in music. Moreover, it is obvious that the accent in elementary education falls merely on core courses such as English, math, natural science, foreign language, and history and not on Performing Arts or music in particular. Therefore it seems unreasonable to me to have a curriculum which tries to give students the same advanced techniques in music, that it gives in math and English, given that the last two subjects are taught on a daily basis where the music classes meet twice a week. From a pure practical point of view, the knowledge acquired from core courses is put in use every minute of every day, where music skills tend to fall more in the leisure & hobby categories. I do not mean to downscale the importance that music classes have. All I suggest is that we have fantastic music schools across the country and those who seek advanced musical training can go and acquire the knowledge they need.

11 11 References Visual and Performing Arts Framework. California Department of Education, Sacramento, Bagley, William C. The Case for Essentialism in Education. Today s Education, Journal of the National Education Assosiation 30. p Swanwick, Keith and Dorothy Taylor. Discovering Music: Developing the Music Curriculum in Secondary Schools. Billing & Son Ltd. Worcester The Music Curriculum in Secondary Schools. Department of the National Education Association of the United States. Washington, D.C Class Reader, Fall 2003, EDUC 585, SSU

Curriculum Standard One: The student will listen to and analyze music critically, using vocabulary and language of music.

Curriculum Standard One: The student will listen to and analyze music critically, using vocabulary and language of music. 1. The student will analyze the uses of elements of music. A. Can the student analyze