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Music, Informal Learning and the School: A New Classroom Pedagogy ​response

Lucy Green outlines the multiple purposes for the book. One of these purposes is to

“...raise questions about pupils' motivations towards music education, their autonomy as learners,

and their capacity to work cooperatively together without instructional guidance from teachers.”

This idea of how students can be motivated with or without instruction from the teacher was

quite compelling to me, and the results Green finds among the students in the study were

shocking to me. When asked what they enjoyed least, many could not find anything truly

negative about their experience. One student, Christian, said “My motivation has increased

tenfold, ‘cause I just want to get out there and make songs.” These students' responses were quite

surprising, but also encouraging to me. I am so used to the “normal curriculum” where the

teacher is heavily involved, I had not really considered a more hands off approach to education.

Another idea Green ponders is how student autonomy in instrument choice affects their feelings

and motivation toward music education. As Green mentions, students had plenty of opportunities

to play on instruments; however, what changed in this study is students were free to choose what

instruments they wanted to play and were able to experiment on these instruments. Working in

groups also helped students develop musically, and in their own leadership skills. Green explains

that working with friends is not only enjoyable, but is a prerequisite for the selection of the music

due young students’ identities in friend groups. In these groups, many students who had been

deemed “disaffected” turned out to be the most strong leaders and quickly had much more

motivation for the project. These are important ideas to continue to consider as a beginning

instrumental music teacher.

My experience as a beginning instrumentalist was very different from the students’

experience in Green’s study. I had what the students would consider a “normal” curriculum. I
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picked a typical band instrument, (clarinet, then oboe) worked out of a method book, played the

music in front of me and had little to no say in it. This is not to say this is bad or wrong in any

way because I truly loved this experience, however I just did not know there was any other way

of doing this. Some advantages to informal learning from a student perspective is the ability to

create with few constraints. I think of this similarly to writing for an English class in which I

liked to write papers where I was able to think creatively and not just answer prompts given by

the teacher. I got way more out of assignments where I was given some autonomy and these are

some of the most memorable parts of the class. I think had I had similar experience with music

where the teacher was not so heavily involved, I would be a much more creative musician than I

am today because I would have had the practice. A disadvantage that worries me from a student

perspective is learning in groups. My beginning band started in middle school, and this middle

school consisted of all the elementary schools in the area. This meant that coming in, many

students did not know each other at all, so I know as a student I would be extremely nervous

about finding a group to work in. Although Green stresses how important it is to work with a

group of friends, this is something that I would be concerned with as a student just beginning in a

new school.

The teachers’ experiences in Green’s study was also quite different from what I saw as a

beginner student as well. My teachers were extremely involved in our learning, and much of this

learning was centered around what they said and what they wanted us to achieve. As a teacher, I

think there are some great advantages to informal learning. When you are able to step back and

observe, you are able to see the types of music and instruments your students are interested in, as

well as being able to see the types of leaders and people they are. This is a great way to get to

know students on a better level, but can also help guide future lessons based on what they want
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to learn. One disadvantage that Green touched on has to do with standards indicating what the

students should learn from the curriculum. It depends on the state and the specific school system,

but oftentimes teachers can face professional repercussions if these standards are not met. I

would be concerned with trying to implement this in the curriculum, especially as a new teacher.

Green touches on similar anxieties that teachers had in the study, stating that “In view of all these

demands and complexities, it is no surprise that the project looked rather daunting from the

perspective of a teacher.” For me, I feel like stepping back as a teacher is not what makes me feel

uneasy, but rather potential backlash from administration and even parents concerns me more.

Thankfully, studies like this exist to back up the potential that students could gain from learning

in this environment.
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References

Green, L. (2008). ​Music, informal learning and the school: A new classroom pedagogy.

Ashgate publishing.