Situated Learning/Cognitive Apprenticeship

As a cynical person who often asks the question, “Why is this important in the real world?”,the articles on Situated Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship really caught my attention.  Most of the methods of music instruction seem to involve Situated Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship.  Perhaps this is why I gravitated toward music at a young age.  I could find the purpose in what was being taught.  You learn to play music so that you can eventually perform the music. 

I see only one problem with both of these theories.  Our notes tell us that meaning is negotiated between teaching and learning.  The video in this week’s lecture uses the example of a reading program in Seattle, Washington where students in one group are supposed to run the discussion.  I don’t see young, inexperienced, or some learning disabled students  leading a discussion successfully.  There are also some students who view teachers as the authority and might have problems with this system because they aren’t constantly being told what to do. To overcome this problem, the teacher can use scaffolding or give cues.  The number of cues given would depend on the age or experience of the students.

I believe this system works perfectly with music education.  I think music teachers use Situated Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship without realizing that what they are doing has a name. I can really relate to the Teaching Strategies of Cognitive Apprenticeship described in the Darling article.  This is how I see these strategies being used in music instruction:

Modeling-The instructor can play for the student or have a recording of a professional group.   When I was student teaching, I rarely played for the students because I thought instruction was all about the student. My cooperating teacher suggested that I play for the students so they could get a concept of a good sound.   His theory worked.    I have since discovered that words just don’t adequately describe what you want the student to do, but if you play for them, they get the right idea. Sometimes I even play something the right way and the wrong way so the students can hear the difference.

Scaffolding-If I am going to teach a piece of music, I make sure the students understand all the rhythms and key signatures so they will be able to play them when they encounter them in a piece of music.  If we are playing a piece of music in a different key, I make sure we play that scale first.  I go through the parts of each instrument and look over any fingerings that might be difficult.  Sometimes I create exercises based on those fingering patterns.

Coaching-Most of music education is coaching and providing feedback on the students’ performance.  The students can even critique one another. I could even have guest artists come to help the students.  Since I am a clarinet player and was told never to play trumpet in public by my college brass teacher, I would invite a friend who is a trumpet expert to come in and coach.  In return, I would coach my trumpet-playing friend’s clarinet players, if needed.

Making Students’ Thinking Visible-I had a clarinet teacher in high school who was very good at this so I try to incorporate it into my teaching.  This teacher would explain how to play something correctly to me. Then, I would play it correctly and she would ask what I did to change my playing.  She really got me to think about what I was doing so that I could play the music correctly, even when she wasn’t supervising me.

The possibilities are endless as far as the utilization of technology in this system.   Skype and Elluminate are two programs that will help facilitate the learning process and communication necessary for Situated Learning and Cognitive Apprenticeship.  Even though music is a perfect fit for this type of learning, I don’t see a lot of music classes being taught online because of the performance aspects involved.  .  The music theory and ear training classes would be perfect for the online environment, but you can’t play in a musical ensemble online.   Private music lessons are technically possible, but I see a lot of technological problems with the online music lesson.  Perhaps in the next ten years, new advances will make online music lessons a possibility.  I feel that online lessons could help students in remote locations.