Running head: apPLYING edps to music education 1

Applying Child Development Concepts/Theories to Music Education

William A. Pobocik
Ball State University

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Introduction
Once I graduate from Ball State University with my Bachelors in Music Education I
intend to teach band in a public school at the high school and possibly middle school level. I
would like to direct my schools marching band at the high school level, direct one or two jazz
bands at the high school level, conduct one or two concert bands at the high school level, assist
with ensembles at my school districts middle school, and if possible teach a music
theory/history/appreciation course as well. In addition to working at my school, I would also like
to teach private lessons to a studio of 5-10 students and play in a small jazz combo. Over the
course of this paper I will discuss multiple concepts and theories covered during EDPS 250 such
as brain development and its effect on learning and behavior during adolescence, the egocentric
result of cognitive advancements in adolescence, Eriksons psychological conflict of adolescence
Identity vs. Role Confusion, and lastly, the effects of peer relations on children and
adolescents development.

Concept/Theory 1: PhysicalBrain Development in Adolescence

In this section I will be focusing on two specific aspects of adolescents brain
developmentphysical advances related specifically to music making and advances related to
adolescent behavior.
In addition to the large changes happening to an adolescents body, there are also many
large changes going on within their brains. During adolescence white matter increases
significantly. As white matter increases, so too does the growth and myelination of neural
fibers, (Berk, 2012) and these neural fibers are how messages are passed along within the brain
and to other areas of the body. Because of the growth of these neural fibers, connections between

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various regions of the brain strengthen allowing faster connections between the two cerebral
hemispheres through the corpus callosum, and between the prefrontal cortex and other areas in
the cerebral cortex and the inner brain (including the amygdala) (Berk, 2012). Consequently,
neuroplastic changes within these areas are also linked with musical training (Bugos, 2015),
meaning that in addition to natural advancements in neuroplasticity, musical training can further
brain development, However, it is important to understand that the highest degree of
neuroplasticity occurs in the first 6 months of new skill acquisition. (Bugos, 2015).
In addition to these changes, improvements in processing speed, inhibition, attention,
memory, and planning can all be attributed to gains in white matter (Berk, 2012). Although these
skills can be applied directly to musical training, they can also be attributed to changes in
adolescent behavior. At this time, adolescents are making vast advances in their thinking and
processing, but they still tend to recruit the prefrontal cortexs network of connections [. . .] less
effectively than adults do (Berk, 2012), meaning that they still suffer when it comes to
inhibition and planning ahead.
As a band director who works with students from early to late adolescence, it is
imperative that I understand the physical changes going on within the adolescent brain (AGS
1.1). The strategies I employ, and concepts I teach to seniors in high school will have to be vastly
different from those I employ in a 6th grade classroom. Knowing that young adolescents do not
have the neuroplasticity and neural processing speed of older adolescents means that I will have
to plan my instruction at a slower pace, and likely will have to devote a larger portion of my
yearly curriculum to concepts which are new to students. Also, knowing that most neuroplastic
advancement occurs within 6 months of new skill acquisition, I will plan my curriculum
accordingly. I will do this by attempting to work heavily (yet at an appropriate pace for each age

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group) at new skills for approximately 6 months at a time. For example, I may spend the first
semester working heavily on rudimentary jazz theory, form, and analysis with my beginning jazz
band, and spend the second semester building off of those skills by working heavily on
improvisation.
In addition to knowledge of the brain specifically related to music making, it is important
that I understand adolescent brain development as it relates to their behavior. Understanding this
will affect how I interact with students, how I act in front of students, and how I plan my
instruction (AGS 1.3). Since adolescents still have trouble with attention I will have to plan my
lessons so that I dont spend too much time working on one piece or exerciseIll have to have
various things to work on during a lesson to keep their attention. Also, since it is proven that
adolescents are not good at planning ahead, I will likely employ the guided practice approach.
In a perfect world, all of my students will take home their instruments and work out all of their
problem spots on their own so as not to waste class time. Although I intend to emphasize to them
that this is the best approach for the ensemble, I also realize that this will not happen in all cases.
Therefore I will include in my lesson plans small times or sectionals for students to practice their
individual parts as a group in class. As I mentioned earlier, adolescents also struggle with
inhibiting impulses that they see as immediately gratifying. I have already seen some of this in
my limited teaching experiences: Hey lets climb on top of the vending machines! Im going
to smoke a cigarette in the bathroom! Lets go to rehearsal high! just to name a few. To
combat these impulses, I intend to have a firm code of conduct which I will hold my students to
and keep a watchful eye on them at all times. This is especially important when teaching band
because at any time I may have 200 students at an event hundreds of miles away from the school
and be responsible for them.

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As previously stated, the brains emotional and social network, along with a surge in
hormones, means that students are extremely emotionally reactive. They may get carried away
with something they are very excited about, but may also react poorly to stressful or negative
events and stimuli. I can help students with this by utilizing thoughtful planning to avoid
stressful situations. For example, students may react poorly if I decide to change a crucial part of
their production the day before a competition. By applying this knowledge, I can make sure that
only small changes happen with the week or so before a competition to help the students. I can
also help the students by always being attentive to them, making my comments or critiques
towards them constructive, but not harmful, and always maintaining a positive attitude.

Concept/Theory 2: CognitiveEgocentrism and Self Focusing

According to psychologist Jean Piagets development theory, during adolescence young
people enter the formal operational stage, where they begin to have increasingly complex
metacognitive thoughts. Piaget said that because of this inward, egocentric view many
adolescents take, some may have difficulty distinguishing their own and others perspectives
(Berk, 2012). Piaget identified two specific aspects of this egocentrism; imaginary audience or
adolescents belief that they are the focus of everyone elses attention and concern, and the
personal fable, teenagers inflated sense of self-importance to cope with the idea of the imaginary
audience (Berk, 2012). Because of these, adolescents become extremely self-conscious, often
going to great lengths to avoid embarrassment (Berk, 2012). This egocentrism can be both
beneficial and dangerous for adolescents. It can be beneficially in the way that concern or
perspective with regards to others viewpoints is a sign of social sensitivity and maturity (Ryan,
1994), as others evaluations have real consequencesfor self-esteem, peer acceptance, and

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social support (Berk, 2012). A negative consequence of the imaginary audience is that the
audience is primarily experienced as a potential threat insofar as the adolescent may be exposed
in some negative sense, which in turn can interfere with [adolescents] expression of
individuality (Ryan, 1994). Conversely, an over-inflated sense of personal uniqueness or selfimportancethe personal fableis modestly associated with depression and may interfere with
forming relationships (Berk, 2012).
Knowledge of these egocentric concepts is extremely valuable for teachers, and will be
especially valuable as a music teacher. Music is an extremely expressive subject and requires a
certain level of emotion and risk taking. This can be an issue for some studentsparticularly
younger onesas they can be extremely self-conscious and afraid of embarrassment. This is
particularly evident in jazz music, which requires a certain amount of creativity for improvisation
and for putting personal inflection in the music. Many beginning jazz students feel extreme
anxiety and nervousness that they will embarrass themselves in front of their peers. One way I
intend to combat this is by starting out with easy guidelines, building up students confidence,
and requiring everybody to play in front of their ensemble. In the beginning, any comments or
critiques Ill make about students improvisations will be addressed to the whole group and
require student feedback, What type of things did you notice that a lot of the class did in their
solos that we can improve upon? and very minor and constructive, The class as a whole played
a lot of quarter notes, this time why dont we try adding a couple more eighth notes to our
solos? This way students can develop a sense of trust with each other, and notice that they are
all learning together and that no one is judging their creativity. This Miles Davis There is no
such thing as a wrong note approach will help them feel more comfortable in front of others
(AGS 5.5).

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Another place where knowledge of these concepts will drastically improve my teaching is
on the marching band field. Marching band is an activity which puts together adolescents of
different ages and levels of development, and forces them to try things which they may not be
comfortable with at first. Many times freshman students starting marching band are extremely
scared of trying new things such as dance choreography, playing individually, and scared that
older more popular kids wont like them. I intend to help younger students feel more
comfortable by making sure that my older student leaders are accepting, engaging, and positive
role models for their younger counterparts. I can do this by bringing in speakers to teach them
about leadership. When students spend as much time together as band students dothe bands
that Ive worked with average about 275 hours of practice a seasonthey form close bonds
which they can rely on for social support and acceptance. In addition, the fact that unlike most
sports, marching band uses every single individual means that there is a strong group mentality
and that students have to help each other in order for the whole ensemble to succeed. Constantly
emphasizing this and the fact that no student is better than any other will help students overcome
the fear of their imaginary audience and disregard their personal fable (AGS 2.3).

Concept/Theory 3: EmotionalIdentity vs. Role Confusion

Psychologist Erik Eriksons psychosocial theory of development states that the major
conflict of adolescence is Identity vs. Guilt. He believed that at this time adolescents should be
constructing an identity involving who they are, what they value, and the directions they would
like to go in their lives, or be faced with role confusion in which adolescents dont know where
they would like to go with their lives (Berk, 2012). This is a time where adolescents can explore
choices that have to do with vocation, interpersonal relationships, community involvements,

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ethnic-group membership, expression of sexual orientation, and moral, political, and religious
ideals (Berk, 2012). Because so many new aspects such these are added to teenagers lives, they
can become easily overwhelmed and confused about their personal identity. During adolescence,
teenager's self-descriptions of who they are and what they believe become increasingly
contradictory. As they become aware of these contradictions and inconsistencies, they
frequently agonize over which is the real me (Berk, 2012). This can affect their self-esteem,
as self-esteem is the aspect of the identity which evaluates introspectively. A higher sense of selfesteem means that the teenager feels comfortable with who they are at that time, which is
indicative of someone who is on their way to identity achievement. Because of this, it is
important to foster a healthy sense self-esteem in adolescents.
As a teacher, and specifically a music teacher, I can make a difference in my student's
lives and help them along their path in identity development. Many factors play a role in a
teenager's sense of self-esteem and identity development, one factor that affects self-esteem is
body image and physical appeal. At this point in their development, students are becoming more
interested in dating and finding intimate relationships, many students - particularly female
students - often agonize over their appearance. One small way in which I can help is by having a
zero tolerance policy in regards to bullying. Along with appearance, other factors that play into
self-esteem and identity development that can be a focus to bully someone over are ethnicity,
socioeconomic status (SES), and sexual orientation.
Ethnic minority students often feel stress because they may feel caught in between their
own culture and the majority culture. I can help students bridge this gap by respecting cultural
traditions, languages, and a right to education, as well as promoting students of both majority and
minority cultures to learn more about each other (AGS 3.8). One way I could do this, is by

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hosting an ethnic food fundraiser where students and parents cook traditional ethnic food and sell
them. This could help by engaging ethnic minority students and parents, and by exposing
majority students to new aspects of this culture. According to Hoffman (2012), many younger
instrumental students of a low SES have a poor sense of self-esteem or may feel that their
teachers [look] down on them because they may lack the financial means for the nicest
instrument or for private instruction. To make sure that students dont feel this way, I can
reassure students that although private instruction is beneficial, there are other ways to achieve
success in the music department that do not cost as much as private lessons. Similarly, having a
collection of school owned instruments for students to rent at low costs would allow students
who do not have financial means to purchase their own instrument the ability to be a part of the
music department if they so wish.
Hoffman (2012) notes that student performance is based on both overt and covert
messages from teachers about students worth, intelligence, and capability, I can use this
information to my advantage by never looking down on them, by allowing them to talk to me if
they have a problem, and by always make sure I push my students, but constantly remind them
that I only push them because I know they are capable (AGS 3.16). This approach will also help
with students belief in their abilities, as many things such as negative audition results may make
them think they were not good enough. By promoting an environment of acceptance, and
providing opportunities for student to explore facets of life they may not have considered before,
I can help students feel better about themselves and in turn, help them find what they would like
to do with their lives.

Concept/Theory 4: SocialPeer Relations

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Peer relationships are important for children and adolescents because they allow them to
develop important social skills such as perspective taking, which is necessary to produce a
heathy adult. Peer groups are defined as "collectives that generate unique values and standards
for behavior and a social structure of leaders and followers (Berk, 2012) and are organized
around a common factor and generally include a specialized dress, vocabulary, and hang out
location. These peer group customs help create a sense of group identity. Generally peer groups
acquire cooperation, leadership, followership, loyalty to collective goals, and allow children to
learn valuable lessons such as seeing from others perspectives. There are some negative sides to
peer groups, as they can lead to social exclusion, and a hierarchy of popularity within children.
As a band director I plan on working with extremely large groups of kids (some bands
have up to 300 members) so in depth knowledge of these peer dynamics will be incredibly
relevant and valuable to me in my career. Just as peer groups are organized based on proximity
and interest, so too are band ensembles. These ensembles serve the same purpose as a peer
group. Band ensembles are proven to teach valuable lessons and promote a strong group identity
(Hoffman, 2012), but unlike most peer groups, working towards a common goal means that no
one can afford to be excluded. The band gives kids a place, where they could fit in and be seen
as part of a social group (Hoffman, 2012).
Applying my knowledge of this concept to my teaching, I can make sure to reinforce
positive social skills in the beginning of the season (AGS 2.4). Many incoming students are
nervous about transitioning from middle to high school because it upsets the peer group(s) they
have known previously. However, by allowing students to bond and work together either as the
band as a whole, or in their individual instrument sections using games and activities, I can
promote an inclusive, and productive environment (AGS 5.2).

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Conclusion
Although I intend to develop excellent musicians during the course of my teaching, my
real goal is to develop excellent human beings, which I reflected in my paper. Rather than focus
mostly on aspects of development related to music making, I chose to focus on how to develop
skills which can be used in everyday life. I can use my knowledge of these specific concepts and
theories on development to guide how I plan my curriculum, how I interact with students, and
how I organize a large class to work together. Knowledge of how learners develop within each of
the different domains will help me design a safe and efficient classroom where everyone can
learn (InTASC 1, AGS 1, AGS 5). In addition to this I will use my knowledge of these specific
concepts/theories to plan lessons based of various standards (such as the Indiana All Grade
Standards, 2014 National Music Standards, and the Indiana Academic Music Standards) which
are appropriate for students at their respective age level (AGS 2, AGS 3). Utilizing these
standards will give me a rubric with which to evaluate my students progress, and my own
teaching skills. I feel that I understand the Indiana All Grade Standards and InTASC standards
well, but I still need to learn new and different techniques or exercises which incorporate them
into the classroom. The best way for me to improve in this area is by participating in and
assisting with multiple band ensembles. While participating in ensembles I can learn techniques
and exercises by observing my own director and asking him or her questions. While assisting
with band ensembles (student teaching, summer marching band jobs, teaching private lessons) I
can try techniques which I have learned while in school and learn how to adapt them to
individuals, and I can also observe the band directors I work with in order to become a better
educator.

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References
Berk, L. E. (2012). Infants, Children, and Adolescents. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Bugos, J. A. (2015). Greasing the Skids of the Musical Mind. General Music Today, 29(1), 5-11.
doi:10.1177/1048371314566236
Hoffman, A. R. (2012). Exclusion, engagement and identity construction in a socioeconomically
diverse middle school wind band classroom. Music Education Research, 14(2), 209-226.
doi:10.1080/14613808.2012.685452
Ryan, R. M., & Kuczkowski, R. (1994). The Imaginary Audience, Self-Consciousness, and
Public Individuation in Adolescence. Journal Of Personality, 62(2), 219-238.
doi:10.1111/1467-6494.ep9408121343

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ReferencesStandards
Indiana Department of Education. (2010). Indiana Developmental Standards for Educators.
Retrieved from http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/licensing/all-grade-standards.pdf
Council of Chief State School Offices. (2011). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support
Consortium (InTASC) Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue.
Washington, DC: Author
InTASC
Standard 1 (p. 11): Learner Development
The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning
and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional,
and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging
learning experiences.

AGS
Standard 1 (p. 11): Student Development and Diversity
Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of student development
and diversity and demonstrate the ability to provide instruction that is responsive to student
differences and that promotes development and learning for all students, Including
Substandard 1.1 (p. 3)
major concepts, theories, and processes related to the cognitive, linguistic, social,
emotional, physical, and moral development of students in grades P12, and factors in the
home, school, community, and broader environment that influence student development
Substandard 1.3 (p. 4)

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typical developmental challenges for students from early childhood through grade 12
(e.g., in relation to independence, self-esteem, peer interactions, physical development,
self-direction, decision making, goal setting, involvement in risky behaviors, and identity
formation) and the ability to help students address these challenges
Standard 2 (p. 11): Learning Processes
Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of learning processes
and demonstrate the ability to facilitate student achievement, including:
Substandard 2.3 (p. 7)
knowledge of the important roles of play, social interaction, and hands-on experiences in
young children's learning, and the ability to use these processes to help children construct
knowledge and develop problem-solving and other skills
Substandard 2.4 (p.10)
knowledge of the role of positive relationships and supportive interactions as a crucial
foundation for working with children, with a focus on children's individual
characteristics, needs, and interests
Standard 3 (p.11): Instructional Planning and Delivery
Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of instructional
planning and delivery and demonstrate the ability to plan and deliver standards-based, datadriven differentiated instruction that engages students, makes effective use of contemporary tools
and technologies, and helps all students achieve learning goals, including:
Substandard 3.8 (p. 9)

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the ability to plan and adapt learner-centered instruction that reflects cultural competency;
is responsive to the characteristics, strengths, experiences, and needs of each student; and
promotes all students' development and learning
Substandard 3.16 (p.9)
knowledge of factors and situations that tend to promote or diminish student engagement
in learning, and the ability to apply skills and strategies for promoting students' active
engagement and self-motivation
Standard 5 (p.11): Learning Environment
Teachers of grades P12 have a broad and comprehensive understanding of student learning
environments and demonstrate the ability to establish positive, productive, well-managed, and
safe learning environments for all students, including:
Substandard 5.2 (p.10)
the ability to apply skills and strategies for establishing a culture of learning that
emphasizes high expectations for all students, promotes self-motivation, and encourages
students' sense of responsibility for their own learning
Substandard 5.5 (p.7)
knowledge of developmentally appropriate classroom management approaches and
positive guidance techniques, including relationships between specific practices and
student learning, attitudes, and behaviors, and the ability to use this knowledge to create
an organized, positive, and productive learning environment that maximizes students'
time on task; facilitates learning; and encourages student self regulation, responsibility,
and accountability