tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post1019745059714584473..comments2024-01-12T00:48:55.192-08:00Comments on Music and Brain Blog at University of Toronto: Brain Compatible Music Teaching by Susan KenneyLee Bartelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06727468225852676801noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-54191576813692749822011-12-15T17:17:18.028-08:002011-12-15T17:17:18.028-08:00It is such a natural feeling, as a teacher, to wan...It is such a natural feeling, as a teacher, to want to jump in and rescue our students. We are always hoping that it is not too hard, and wanting success as quickly as we can--and sometimes this is at the cost of an effective teaching process. Today, we are becoming overwhelmed with instantaneous gratification as we are surrounded with technologies that allow us to connect, communicate and process (electronically) at the speed of a click. I find it difficult enough to work through a process sometimes, let alone a classroom of middle-school adolescents who have even less patience and are not always fond of having to experience moments of struggle. Yes, it is extremely important to teach individuals, both children and adults alike, to make their own connections and figure out the neural pathways on their own, but they need appropriate scaffolding to ensure they can reach success. If you are aware of an appropriate level of challenge for your students, you will be allowing them to struggle within a reasonable level and reach their goal without collapsing or giving up from frustration. And, in the process, we must ensure that we are not expecting students to make musical connections while learning new materials that are beyond their level or that they do not have adequate skills to process. It's a fine line, but when students are matched with the appropriate degree of challenge and they do make those associative brain links, it is marvellous and the energy is such that students will want to learn more.andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15122789922460431123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-26103596122502011392011-12-09T05:46:20.694-08:002011-12-09T05:46:20.694-08:00I agree with Katie that it is extremely important ...I agree with Katie that it is extremely important for teachers to recognize the value of the learning process through which children achieve certain results. Exploring different approaches to music-making makes children not only more aware of their potential and more confident in their abilities, but also improves their brain’s ability to generate a variety of neuronal pathways otherwise unknown. <br />I find particularly interesting the point made in the article that learning through entire melodies more than through sections of the same generates a game/puzzle effect in the child’s mind. It seems to me that children who learn through this methodology will be able to approach long-range musical thinking more easily, and, therefore, will better understand and manage harmonic syntax and phrase structure. <br />Moreover, challenging the brain through active participation in a classroom environment, together with the opportunity for the children to correct their own mistakes and find the “right” solution, helps to improve not only their basic musical abilities, but also their abilities to communicate the challenges that they have to face, and their own solutions to the problems; this will make them aware not only of their musical gifts but also of their communicative potential.Federicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08889063486107690765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-32811006204760599452011-12-07T04:20:09.397-08:002011-12-07T04:20:09.397-08:00Often times, we get into the mode of breaking thin...Often times, we get into the mode of breaking things down for children to help them gain meaning, but it's easy to forget about providing the opportunity for them to see the big picture. In fact, it is important for anyone to have the sense of this big picture. The whole-part-whole process is key. And through the process, as Katie said, letting the students "explore different pathways," though confusion may set in at times, students' brains are stimulated as they need to actively seek meaning.<br />Too often the emphasis on product, however, takes over the importance of process.<br /><br />Just as the article emphasizes the importance of allowing the time for each child to process the information, so that meaningful connections can potentially be made, I am also reminded of the importance of wait-time in the classroom. There is a growing emphasis on providing an environment where the students feel that they can respond to teachers' questions without feeling rushed or anxious that someone else will simply respond for them. It would be interesting to see comparison in student brain activity between the two situations: wait-time and whole part process of teaching.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07278409143362973589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7181744309080861233.post-17573610682167623712011-12-05T20:00:37.908-08:002011-12-05T20:00:37.908-08:00When I first read this article, I thought it would...When I first read this article, I thought it would be wise to try the method described by Kenney prior to commenting. <br /><br />After several weeks of teaching my beginning piano students songs by rote, without breaking the song phrase by phrase, I have noticed a significant learning curve take place in almost all of the students. As you described, the first response from the students can be discouraging; they look confused and as a teacher, you want to jump in and break the problem down for them. However, I persisted and made sure to encourage and praise my students' efforts. Now that we have graduated from simple folk melodies to melodies that are more complicated or from different cultures, the amount of time spent learning a song by rote has greatly decreased. I am interested in knowing which brain structures are engaged when learning songs in full rather than phrase by phrase. <br /><br />Also, would a similar approach work with adult students? I find adult students will give up much sooner, regardless of the amount of encouragement from the teacher. How can similar learning be experienced by the adult brain?Renée Barabashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11924732815186281824noreply@blogger.com