“Music is the fuel of the soul, and it has the power to transform lives.” – Kodaly
Explore how the primary music classroom environment can encourage inquiry and transdisciplinary learning, and how it develops highly fundamental 21st century skills, flagged in the Australian Curriculum as “critical for the evolving economy”.
The benefits of music education go far beyond musical proficiency. Authentic, high-quality music education programs should not only be engaging to the learner, but relevant, challenging, and significant. In the primary music classroom, students are supported to be agentic and self-regulated learners through the development of musical skills. Consider – How can the music teacher plan opportunities to develop not only musical skills, but spotlight critical 21st century skills?
Tools for learning (unlike subject specific skills) highlight ways of thinking, ways of working and ways of living which develop the whole child for the world beyond school and provide relevance to learning beyond the music classroom. The transfer effects of music learning sees that students are not only developing musical skills in authentic contexts but sees that they are equipped and empowered with invaluable tools for learning, to help them navigate life’s challenges and demonstrate agency.
Primary Lower
In today’s primary music classroom every class contains students with a wide range of diverse needs. This diversity will include physical disabilities and medical conditions, diagnosed/undiagnosed neurological and intellectual differences, experiences of trauma, poverty, racial and religious segregation, varying linguistic backgrounds, and many other issues which may impact learning. With hundreds of students, it can be overwhelming as a specialist teacher to support these varied considerations for individuals in our classes. Continuing to teach a sequential developmental music program while catering to so many diverse needs is a constant challenge. In this workshop some very simple techniques to practise inclusion and differentiation will be demonstrated and discussed.
Research: Popular Music in Kodaly-Inspired Teaching for Kindergarten and Year 1 Students
- This research / paper session will include two papers in the one session
Kodály’s beliefs that music for education should come from the ‘musical mother-tongue’ of the children being taught, and that teachers should use ‘music of the highest quality’ in the classroom have left the place of popular music in the Kodály classroom in question. While many Kodály teachers consider that popular music does not meet Kodály’s standard of ‘quality’, it inarguably is a large part of the musical mother tongue of today’s children. Furthermore, parallels between the sound-before-sight model of the Kodály philosophy and informal learning processes used by popular musicians mean that popular music pedagogy and Kodály pedagogy are in many ways mutually compatible. This paper presentation will discuss the preliminary results of an ethnographic dual case study investigating how children in Kindergarten and Year 1 respond to Kodály-inspired teaching when popular music is the primary source of musical material, when compared to a traditional Kodály approach using folk and children’s songs.
Movement within a music program serves many functions. It encourages mindfulness, kinesthetic understanding of musical concepts, focus, ability to work with others, sensitivity to music, listening skills and of course music appreciation. Creative Movement requires well-established parameters and classroom rules along with the development of a vocabulary/repertoire provided by the teacher. Establishing a sequential plan for the introduction and development of movement skills ensures success, enjoyment and above all sensitive, creative young musicians.
A manipulative is anything a student can put their hands on to assist them in developing and learning a new concept. This session explores songs, games and practice activities that include concrete objects to manipulate as well as why they are useful for creativity and inclusivity in the music classroom.
Students who are neurodiverse, have sensory needs, fine motor difficulties or language delays and disorders sometimes struggle to engage with a primarily vocal music program. Such students may not be able to access activities or demonstrate knowledge through chanting, singing and writing if expressive language and fine motors skills are already a challenge. Musical movement, being non-verbal and beginning with gross motor skills, is not only a powerful tool to engage students with special needs, but a valuable resource when teaching all abilities.
This session looks at the ways a Dalcroze-inspired understanding of embodied musical learning can value-add to a vocal-based program. The Dalcroze approach uses whole-body movement to explore concepts and assess understanding through games and musical play. We will look at ways to support the learning of rhythmic, melodic and expressive concepts through movement with the aim of making learning accessible for all. This interactive session draws on the presenter’s experience teaching children with special needs alongside students without special needs in a “one school” Inclusive model, in which she combines her Kodaly and Dalcroze Certificate knowledge in a singing and movement based primary school music program.
Join Kaboom Percussion founders Cat and Josh as we take you through our strategies for engaging students and developing musical skills through the use of found percussion.
We love showing students that music is for everyone, and we firmly believe that one of the best ways to do this is by making music with simple household items. Found percussion promotes inclusivity by removing barriers for individuals of all ages, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds.
In this hands-on workshop, we will share some of our favourite tried-and-tested activities which explore rhythm, coordination, teamwork, and the joy of performance. Come have some fun making music together with exercises you’ll be able to use in your classroom immediately!
This workshop promises an enriching and hands-on experience, where participants will gain a treasure trove of educational tools, music, interactive games, and valuable resources cultivated from my own classroom. The focus will be on empowering girls and gender-diverse individuals, equipping educators with practical assets for immediate integration into their teaching environment.
Participants can expect to leave with a toolbox of readily applicable resources, primed for instant classroom implementation. Beyond the materials, this workshop aims to ignite a reflective spark in participants, inviting them to critically assess and fine-tune their teaching. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every child, through music education, is granted equitable support and a level playing field, regardless of gender or identity.
Through engaging in this workshop, educators will emerge not only with tangible resources but also a deeper awareness of how they can foster an inclusive and empowering learning space for all. Join us in this transformative journey towards educational equality and empowerment.
Movement within a music program serves many functions. It encourages mindfulness, kinesthetic understanding of musical concepts, focus, ability to work with others, sensitivity to music, listening skills and of course music appreciation. Creative Movement requires well-established parameters and classroom rules along with the development of a vocabulary/repertoire provided by the teacher. Establishing a sequential plan for the introduction and development of movement skills ensures success, enjoyment and above all sensitive, creative young musicians.
South Australia is leading the way in creating new pathways for generalist teachers and preschool educators in improving their teaching practice in Music. The Department for Education is the first in Australia to fund and create a Music Education Strategy in order to give all children access to high quality music education. Gaby Freer and Alexandra Dalman, both experienced Kodály-inspired practitioners, work full time for the Music Education Strategy as network field officers, building capacity and confidence in teachers, especially in Early Years and Junior Primary. In this session, participants will expect to gain insight into the workings of the Strategy through an interactive workshop where we move, sing and play. We will be focusing on repertoire for Early Years we use, within multicultural diverse communities and schools, including some songs written in collaboration with teachers and Elders from Kaurna land. Our practice is research informed, modern in its approach and strongly connected to the communities and schools we support.