Music Education in TDSB

WARD 12 MEETING

MAY 16, 2013

6:00 p.m.

“A child sings before it speaks, dances almost before it walks, music

is with us from the beginning.”

Pamela Brown, writer

MUSIC IN TDSB

Music Education programs in the TDSB are rich and

diverse. They are focused on active learning in the

classroom and based on the Ontario Curriculum. All

curriculum must be delivered by teachers who are

qualified by the Ontario College of Teachers.

• http://youtu.be/PYnHmlwjSns

Introduction 3

The Ontario Curriculum – Music Strand

The three overall expectations are:

Creating and Presenting/Performing

Reflecting, Responding and Analyzing

Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts

Fundamental music concepts are identified in each grade:

duration, pitch, dynamics, timbre, texture/harmony, form

The Ontario Curriculum 4

The Ontario Curriculum: Big Ideas in Music Education

• Four key concepts in the Ontario Curriculum:

Developing Creativity

Communicating

Understanding Culture

Making Connections

• These concepts are the foundation of the scope and

sequence of skill development in music.

The Ontario Curriculum 6

The Creative Process in Music Education

Using the creative process, students:

• create their own music or re-create pieces of music, for example learning a choral piece of music from a score.

• develop new musical skills, apply their understanding of music and share their learning through the creative process cycle.

Performances in music are not ends in themselves but are part of, or the culmination of, the learning that occurs through the creative process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKWwVgv07hQ

Creativity in Music Development 7

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Taken from The Ontario Curriculum – Arts

The Ontario Curriculum 9

The Critical Thinking Process in Music Education

Using the critical thinking process, students:

• describe, analyze and express their point of view about

pieces of music that they listen to, perform, and create.

• develop their musical skills, understand musical works,

and develop clear goals for their own musical learning.

Critical Thinking in Music Development 10

SUPPORTING MUSIC TEACHING &

LEARNING

Music Programs in schools are supported by three interrelated components.

TDSB Teaching & Learning - Music

13

Support, Sustain, Extend

Music teachers must be supported to meet the needs of an ever changing and diverse population of students to ensure that music programs are dynamic and engaging. The following are a range of professional opportunities provided by the Music Department for TDSB music teachers:

• Exploration Classrooms

• Modules of Learning (3 or more sessions of job-embedded learning)

• Blended Learning

• Apprenticeships

• Mentorships

• Professional Learning Communities

• Itinerant Music Instruction: Recorder, Orff & Vocal

Component 1: Building Capacity 14

Building Blocks of Professional Learning

Professional learning for teachers includes one or more of

the following:

• Are job-embedded learning and make applications to

practice

• Provide performance opportunities as an ongoing part of,

or culmination of, students’ and teachers’ learning

• Make connections to partnership opportunities

15 Component 1: Building Capacity

TEACHING & LEARNING CYCLE OF

PROFESSIONAL GROWTH Global music is a specific module of learning.

Teachers in this module come together to:

• question how they can use a range of

diverse music in the classroom to meet the

needs of students and curriculum expectation;

• learn from master musicians in a particular

genre of music;

• develop lessons and resources for their students

that are developmentally appropriate;

• involve students in active music-making which may

result in participating in school or system performances;

• observe colleagues as they work with students; and,

• reflect on the learning that has occurred and opportunities to improve their programs further.

Please refer to Questions and Answers handout for more details Q.8

16 Component 1: Developing Mastery

Why is “Performing” a Key Concept in the Curriculum?

Students learn music by engaging in experiential learning:

• Small “p” performances are part of the learning process as well as opportunities for students to share their learning informally, and they occur regularly in the music classroom or school.

• Big “P” performances are formal opportunities to enhance the engagement of students through sharing their musical learning with the wider TDSB community.

Component 2: Performances as Experiential Learning 17

Performances are Learning by Doing

Performance plays an important role in music education programs.

• Engages students and teachers

in experiential learning

• Performances serve to demonstrate levels of

development while becoming the stepping

stones to deeper critical and creative thinking

and also developing musical craftsmanship.

• Performances help teachers and

students to reflect on new

areas to explore and learn.

Component 2: Performances as Experiential Learning 18

PARTNERSHIPS

The TDSB has many partnerships with arts organizations that support music learning in schools. For example: •Musicounts •We are One Jazz •Toronto Symphony Orchestra •Toronto Mendelssohn Choir •Toronto Children’s Chorus •Knowledge Network of Applied Education Research in Music •Sistema Toronto Partnerships may include: •Opportunities for developing mastery in teaching music; •Unique musical opportunities for students; or, •Financial resources to support music programs or purchase instruments.

Component 3: Partnerships 24

Investing in Music Resources

The TDSB music department maintains and develops a

number of resources to support school music programs.

• Orff instrument kits which are loaned to schools

• Global Music instruments

Ghanaian Drums

Cuban-Brazilian Drums

Indonesian Gamelan

• Music library with choral, band, string

and orchestral music and music teaching resources.

TDSB Investment in Music Resources 25

TDSB MUSIC INVENTORY

TDSB Musical Instrument Inventory

catalogues:

• types of musical instruments

• value of musical instruments

• state of repair of these instruments.

The Music Inventory Committee uses

this data to support investment and repair of musical

instruments for the system through the music inventory

budget. Please refer to Questions and Answers handout for more details Q. 7

26 TDSB Investment in Music Resources

Conclusion

• Music in the TDSB is intended to help students develop an understanding and appreciation of music, as well as the ability to create and perform it, so that they will be able to find in music a lifelong source of enjoyment and personal satisfaction.

“Where words fail, music speaks.”

Hans Christian Andersen, author