I'm going to include a video... mostly because the video refers to Vygotsky as "the Mozart of Psychology" and we all know how I feel about Mozart!
Okay... now that you've brushed up on your Vygotsky (or if you're ADD like me, you ended up listening to Mozart for a half an hour before you ended up back here.) I'd like to tell you how I've seen this in the classroom.
In a rehearsal environment, it is easy to identify the teacher as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The teacher knows more about music than the students do in terms of phrasing, dynamics, performance standards, etc. Vygotsky theorized that learning came through social interactions. And, other than a team sport, I'm not sure of any other classroom that is more social than a choral classroom.
I think that group work can be highly effective in a choral setting if used for the right reasons. I have watched this with Mr. Choir many times. He will model a sound or an articulation that he wants from his students and they respond with their voices trying to improve their performance constantly.
The real trick about being effective with Vygotsky's theory is getting the students to the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development). This is the zone where the students are not bored because things are so easy yet not overwhelmed because they are too hard. This is where the choral teacher's skills really shine through. We must sift through thousands (yes, you read that right and it is not an exaggeration.) of titles to find repertoire that is age/grade appropriate and teaches the concepts we want in our curriculum i.e. a piece that has complex meter or a piece that explores French but isn't rhythmically so difficult that the students will hate it. Most of these programming choices were made before I stepped into the volunteer chair but I have seen the effects of carefully chosen pieces and how it can impact student learning.
Personally, I'm a fan of the Vygotsky theory. It's how I learned my first "career" as a piano technician. Mentor and apprentice. It makes a lot of sense and is a form of learning that I think is grossly underestimated and underutilized in our current education system.
Okay... now that you've brushed up on your Vygotsky (or if you're ADD like me, you ended up listening to Mozart for a half an hour before you ended up back here.) I'd like to tell you how I've seen this in the classroom.
In a rehearsal environment, it is easy to identify the teacher as the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). The teacher knows more about music than the students do in terms of phrasing, dynamics, performance standards, etc. Vygotsky theorized that learning came through social interactions. And, other than a team sport, I'm not sure of any other classroom that is more social than a choral classroom.
I think that group work can be highly effective in a choral setting if used for the right reasons. I have watched this with Mr. Choir many times. He will model a sound or an articulation that he wants from his students and they respond with their voices trying to improve their performance constantly.
The real trick about being effective with Vygotsky's theory is getting the students to the ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development). This is the zone where the students are not bored because things are so easy yet not overwhelmed because they are too hard. This is where the choral teacher's skills really shine through. We must sift through thousands (yes, you read that right and it is not an exaggeration.) of titles to find repertoire that is age/grade appropriate and teaches the concepts we want in our curriculum i.e. a piece that has complex meter or a piece that explores French but isn't rhythmically so difficult that the students will hate it. Most of these programming choices were made before I stepped into the volunteer chair but I have seen the effects of carefully chosen pieces and how it can impact student learning.
Personally, I'm a fan of the Vygotsky theory. It's how I learned my first "career" as a piano technician. Mentor and apprentice. It makes a lot of sense and is a form of learning that I think is grossly underestimated and underutilized in our current education system.
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