PPLE Reflection
Case study of Madeline Foster
Madeline Foster is an exemplary Year 10 student at a private girls college in Sydney. Despite being diagnosed with Glandular fever, and subsequently chronic fatigue in 2010, her classroom and assessment grades have remained above average.
Whilst Madeline is a formidable and proactive participant in the school’s music program, a gap in her academic transcript was discerned when a college application that she submitted in New York was rejected on the basis of, “subpar grades in Religious studies.” (Foster, 2011) As this standard of work was contained to the one subject, an investigation was carried out to identify if this was possibly the result of her frequent absences from school and consequently the limited interaction with her teachers, from tension in the classroom environment or perhaps stemming from potential intellectual toil regarding the course content.
In experiencing Madeline’s educational journey as her vocal tutor, and reflecting on her experience throughout this investigation, I was provoked to reflect upon my own philosophy as a pre-service teacher, the identity I hope to assume as a music teacher, and the classroom environment I aspire to create in order to promote positive, motivational and engaged learning. A classroom which confirms that, “communities of the mind are collections of individuals who are bonded together by natural will and to a set of shared ideal.” (Sergiovanni)
Legally, ethically, logically and philosophically, Madeline’s situation has impacted on my evolving thinking and understanding of the questions in the Nine provocations, but arouses some very demanding and problematic concepts with regards to four provocations in particular.
What will my students want and need from me?
In 1974 Malcolm Knowles suggested that in order to cater to students’ individual needs, we must adopt a three-fold approach that seeks to teach the students as if they were adults rather than children. Andragogy over Pedagogy. (Knowles, 1974) This includes “self-directed learning, problem-centred learning as opposed to content based learning, and finally co-operation rather than supervision”. (Knowles 1974) Not only do these techniques address personal learning styles exclusive of the subject matter, they also enforce independent learning of content material that the students need to know. In Madeline’s case, her days at school should not be approached by teaching, “declarative knowledge” but rather, “procedural knowledge,” (Goodyear 1991). By “Mapping out subject matter” and facilitating her problem-solving skills as she approaches it, Madeline is not only absorbing content material at her own pace, but also in a learning style that she herself has chosen.
What kind of teacher do I want to be?
(Lanier & Little, 1986) propose that a teachers background, philosophy of teaching and ideas about themselves as teachers are what construct their methods of teaching. Peter Goodyear terms the job of a teacher as, “multidimensional”, in which we face numerous demands and have to, “make decisions which are compromises among various costs and benefits.” (Goodyear 1991) Whilst my background as a student never entailed a situation similar to Madeline’s, it prompts me to question my own philosophy as a teacher. What elements of the profession do I consider valuable and valid, and how would I apply this philosophy in Madeline’s context.
My philosophy as a teacher has evolved and has been inspired and formulated based upon my school and university career. Particular to this course we tend to reminisce about that special teacher or two that struck a chord (pardon the pun) in our education, and as a result had a profound effect on our learning. I encapsulate two main philosophies as a music teacher that I feel have flourished as a result of the regimented lifestyle of the high school I attended, those teachers that impacted my learning profoundly, and my experience of teaching, which included Madeline as a student.
A teacher that demonstrates humane qualities; humility, humor and availability, are the most relatable in my opinion. A teacher should be approachable, not only about their subject matter, but about any issues a high-school student may be facing. In discussion with a dutch Art history teacher, (Van Den Berg, 2011) I came to the realization that in the time frame of a lesson, you do not have time to contemplate the syllabus or your subject matter, this should already be innate. “From the moment you step into that classroom, its all about behavior management.” A teacher that can control their classroom, no matter what demography of students, is one that can relate to them because they are not afraid to be personable. If Madeline’s time is already restricted, it becomes even more imperative that she can rely on her teachers for moral, as well as academic, guidance.
My second main belief as a music teacher, is that a profound and solid theoretical understanding of fundamental musical concepts and terminology must be instilled. This was the case of my music learning, and I feel it gave me an incalculable understanding and appreciation of music culture and musical styles. In order to understand the effect music has on individuals and on a grander scale, society, we must have this basic music knowledge ingrained. Lanier & Little’s ideal mentioned previously, is not achieved through didactic pedagogy or rote learning. Rather a student-centred learning approach to musical tasks encourages students to problem solve and develop “deep understanding” as well as “significance...deep knowledge” (QTE, 2003), and in doing so their learning is process-based rather than knowledge-based. For Madeline, it is rare that we can assess the process by which she is learning in her home environment, we can only formally assess her knowledge at school. Therefore it is crucial that we instill solid foundations in her, “learner-based learning.” (Anderson, 1983)
Am I teaching a student or a subject?
Throughout my limited on-the-job practical experience I have encountered a Year 8 music class that has demonstrated a variety of behavioral problems. The majority of the student body comes from a low socio-economic background and often have life stories that, “will just make you cry.” (Wentworth, 2011) I discussed with the teacher, her tactics when it came to controlling this class, to which she responded that there was no hope of carrying out structured lesson plans, “just to have the kids stay within the walls of the classroom is a major breakthrough.” (Wentworth, 2011) This is a prime example where teaching a subject isn’t even an option. Characteristics of a music class such as keyboards, manuscript and videoclips serve as mere distractions to the students. In this scenario what a ‘music teacher’ is ultimately teaching her students is discipline and respect. Music is simply the medium through which they do this. From this experience i realized, in this age group, I will rarely ever be teaching a subject. Especially amidst the digital revolution that is enveloping the education system, specific course content and subject matter is obselete. Information and knowledge is something we now have an abundance of thanks to Web 2.0. What students lack, is the ability to learn. Teaching a student to learn means harnessing and facilitating their unique learning style, that is, teaching the student. Kenneth Kiewra's paper ‘How teachers can teach their students to learn,’ (Kiewra, 2010) suggests that, 'Classroom teachers can help students learn.’ Whilst students may harbor the techniques to rote learn information, they lack the ‘deep understanding’ and ‘deep knowledge’ (QTE, 2003) of course material, rendering them, deficient learners. He names the duty of the teacher to be a, 'good strategy instructor' (pp 8) in order to produce an efficient learner. Considering that Madeline spends a significant portion of her education learning independently, “learning to learn” (pp 1) would be a valuable tool to teach the student in order to teach themselves the subject.
To what extent is this an intellectual pursuit?
Madeline has a distinctive learning style that is musically and linguistically orientated, and it would be foolish not to embrace this. Rather than perpetuating a content-focused approach, as her Religion teacher does, I would attempt a “learner-centered”(Anderson 1983) approach to her education. Her limited face-to-face time makes it all the more pronounced that she must be equipped with the knowledge that she needs for her assessments, but more importantly that she is equipped with the skills that enable her to be an efficient and independent learner. As suggested by M Harrington, “knowing where the students are and where they want to go,” (Harrington, 2007) is fundamental in establishing their own goals when studying independently. Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom, 1956) illustrates that the highest level of the learning hierarchy is to create. That is asking a student to go beyond evaluating, engaging with and analyzing a piece of information, and to create more. A rare opportunity presents itself in Madeline, in which her strongest attribute is her innate and natural ability to create. As her teacher I would embrace and encourage this aspect of her learning style in order to motivate her in her problematic subjects, and hopefully inspire her to engage with her course material even more so when studying independently.
Bibliography:
Anderson, J.R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, (pp 320 - 323) MA: Harvard University Press.
Bloom, BS. (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the classification of educational goals: Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain, New York: McKay
Foster M, (personal communication), April 15th 2011
Goodyear, P. (Ed.) (1991). Teaching knowledge and intelligent tutoring. (pp 260-275) Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Harrington MR, (2007) Managing student Diversity, (Retrieved April 17th 2011) http://www.englishaustralia.com.au/index.cgi?E=hcatfuncs&X=getdoc&exp=6&Lev1=pub_c08_07&Lev2=c07_harring
Jairam,D., Kiewra,K (2010) Helping Students Soar to Success on Computers: An investigation of the SOAR Study Method of Computer-Based Learning. Journal Of Educational Psychology Vol.102,(3), pp.601-614
Knowles MS, (1974) Human resource development in OD. Public Administration Review. (pp 115-123)
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