Cognitive Abilities and Learning in a Music Class - Term Paper Example

Topic: Cognitive Abilities and learning in a Music Class Name: Student ID: Institution: Tutor’s name: Date of Submission: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2 2. Discussion 4 2.2. Analysis of music activities for Grade 3 students with reference to relevant cognitive abilities 6 2.3. How the findings can be used by teachers to foster learning in the music units analyzed 7 2.4. Effectiveness of teacher communication in improving learning in the two music units 9 3. Conclusion 11 4. References 12 1. Introduction Learning and teaching requires that certain requirements appertaining to the activities are met in order to achieve learning and teaching goals of these activities. Teachers are required to take specific approaches in teaching students the units they need to know by use of approaches that ensures students get the concepts and improve their competence in the units they are taught (North & Hargreaves, 2008). The teaching approach should be focused on making the students improve their cognitive skills and apply them in understanding the units being taught. Cognitive skills are mental skills that are used during acquisition of knowledge such as perception, memory, motor and language. In order to read and write certain subjects, students rely on specific cognitive skills that include attention, memory, symbolic thinking and visual and spatial processing. They are brain-based skills that are important in carrying out any tasks irrespective of the complexity of the task (MacDonald, Kreutz & Mitchell, 2012). They do not only include mechanisms of how learning takes place, problems are solved and attention paid but also include breaking down a task into a number of cognitive skills needed to complete the task with success. Music units are examples of courses that require the right application of cognitive abilities of the learner on order to understand the contents of the subjects. Teachers are required to consider age during teaching of music units (Jones, Fay & Popper, 2010). For instance, they need to use different approaches when teaching foundation students and also when teaching third grade students. This ensures both teachers and students are motivated to foster learning in the units they teach or learn. In addition, it ensures the right communication techniques are used which ensures learning of the music units are improved. This paper presents an analysis of music activities for Foundation students with reference to three relevant cognitive abilities required for completion of the activities. The main cognitive abilities that are discussed include language, attention and perception. It also involves an analysis of music activities for Year 6 students with reference to three relevant cognitive abilities required to complete the activities. It also provides an explanation of the significance of the findings towards motivation of teachers to enhance learning in the two music units discussed above. Finally, it provides a discussion of the effectiveness of teacher communication towards improving student learning in the two music units analyzed. 2. Discussion 2.1. Analysis of music activities for Foundation students with reference to relevant cognitive abilities The main learning activities that students in the Foundation stage of music class are involved in include singing and moving to simple songs and speech rhymes and also respond to a variety of music by performing and organizing sound activities and identifying simple features of the music (Houlahan & Tacka, 2008). This is focused on equipping the students with the ability to explore sounds produced by various objects around them. Students will participate in performing simple speech, singing, playing and moving activities in order to demonstrate their awareness of music concepts. An example of learning activity that the students will be involved in includes listening to sounds in the environment and listening to the Bee’s Song Poem. This will require the students to apply their cognitive skills of perception by being able to recognize the sounds they hear and being able to explain the cause of that sound (Honing, 2011). The cognitive ability of perception should also be used to identify the loudness of the sounds produced by the source of sound. When listening to the poem- Bee’s song, the students should be able to recognize the sounds from the poem and explain the message being conveyed by the poem. They will also be able to differentiate the sounds produced by various objects and recognize objects based on the sounds they produce. Another learning activity that the students will be involved in includes listening and imitating sounds accurately. For instance, the students will be required to sing the Bee’s poem song after listening to it. In addition, they will be required to make the sounds produced by various objects in their surroundings (http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/files/arts/K6_creatart_uw_music.pdf) . This requires the application of cognitive skill of language. This cognitive skill is the skill that ensures the learner has the ability to communicate the message acquired from the source of sound in a music class (Deutsch & ebrary, 2013). They will be required to be able to talk and understand the meaning of the messages conveyed in the sounds in the poem and communicate the same message themselves through reciting the poem or producing the sounds of objects they hear. Students will be required to listen to orchestral music and respond by moving. They will also be required to demonstrate different levels of space by moving. Students will also move to areas where there are sources of sounds and experiment different methods they can respond to the sounds from these sources, respond to and experiment to different body percussion sounds for the zums, ‘hums’, ‘zzzzs’ and ‘mmms’. They will be required to distinguish the most effective sounds (Clarke, Dibben & Pitts, 2010). The main cognitive ability that can be implemented in this case is attention. This will ensure they concentrate on a particular object, action or thought. For instance, in order to apply the cognitive skill of attention and ensure students benefit from the skill, they will be required to move to a quiet place where there is no noise from other sources of sound such as students in other classes in the same school or away from roads where traffic movement can result into sounds that attract their attention (Bentley, 2010). Attention will ensure they focus their minds on distinguishing the effectiveness and distinction between various sounds produced by the bees. They will also ensure they do not listen to anything apart from the orchestral music. This will ensure they only focus their attention on listening to the sounds from the orchestral music and respond to the sounds. 2.2. Analysis of music activities for Grade 3 students with reference to relevant cognitive abilities In these learning activities, students will be equipped with the competence to explore tone color by applying a number of relevant cognitive skills by drawing on environmental sounds and recordings of traditional and contemporary recordings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music (Barden, Kowalchyk & Lancaster, 2000). They will be able to listen, organize and perform with the focus on rhyming activities. Students will be required to perform the music by singing, playing the instruments individually or in groups. They will be required to recognize a number of features. In order to achieve this learning activity, students will be required to use the cognitive ability of language. This will require them to sit in a quiet environment where there are no other sources of sound apart from the sounds from the instruments they intend to listen to. When the instruments are playing, they will be required to understand the tones of the sounds produced by the instruments and be able to reproduce similar sounds when given the opportunity to play the instruments (Anderson & Lawrence, 2007). The cognitive ability of perception will also enable the students give their individual identification of rhythms, tone colors and rhythmic patterns when listening to both the Aboriginal and contemporary Aboriginal music and Torres Strait Islander music. Students will also be organized in quiet place where they will sit and listen for 30 seconds and write down the sounds they hear from and ousted the classroom they will also be involved in listening and recording songs produced by various artists and discuss the cultural content of the songs (http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/files/arts/K6_creatart_uw_music.pdf). The cognitive ability suitable for accomplishment of the above task is attention. This will ensure they do not divide their attention when listening to the tones produced by different music instruments. It will also ensure students are focused on getting the message conveyed by the songs and do not write something different from what the songs talks about (North & Hargreaves, 2008). It will also ensure students are able to discuss cultural and sample the sounds produced by musical instruments used to produce the sounds. In addition, the students will be involved in organizing musical ideas to vary known repertoire, develop new work and create notation as a means of recording and communicating musical themes. This will require organizing sound, listening and performing as well as exploration of the relationship between musical symbols and sounds. The cognitive skill of perception will enable them distinguish various tones produced by musical instruments and distinguish between various musical symbols and sounds. The learning process will also ensure students listen and appreciate a number of repertoires that demonstrate their understanding of musical concepts. They will also be able to understand the information conveyed by the instruments (MacDonald, Kreutz & Mitchell, 2012). This will require the use of the cognitive skill of perception. By developing correct perception, it will be possible to distinguish various sounds produced by musical instruments and the tones resulting from them. For instance, they will apply theory of perception skills to play different tones using the same instruments during performance as individuals or as groups. 2.3. How the findings can be used by teachers to foster learning in the music units analyzed The findings from the analysis can be very useful for teachers in music classes to foster learning among both Foundation students and Grade 3 students in a number of ways. For instance, when teaching First Grade student, the teacher can apply a number of cognitive abilities of the students to achieve the goal of making the student understand the contents of the subject (Jones, Fay & Popper, 2010). The cognitive ability of language can be applied among Foundation grade students by making them sing the songs produced by various objects in their surroundings. Students who are unable to understand these sounds can be introduced to the objects such as bees and enabling them hear the sounds produced by the insect (Bee, 2000). This gives them the experience to recognize the sounds when they come across similar objects. It also provides them with the competence to produce similar sounds when asked to do so. Teachers can also apply the cognitive ability of perception in a number of ways to ensure first grade students are able to understand sounds produced by different objects (Houlahan & Tacka, 2008). For instance, students can be introduced to a number of musical instruments and the sounds produced by the instruments. This ensures when the student sees the instrument, he understands the sound produced by the instrument and able to recite the sound. The impact is that the student will be equipped with the competence to produce sounds from various instruments that are familiar to them. Learning among Grade 3 students will also be facilitated when teachers apply cognitive abilities suggested in teaching music. For instance, when teachers use the cognitive ability of perception students will be provided with the competence to recognize different tones produced by musical instruments and write the tones produced by musical instruments and songs (Honing, 2011). They will be able to achieve this by introducing students to various songs and enabling them write down the tones produced. When teachers use cognitive ability of language will also be useful in enabling students communicate the tones produced by various musical instruments and songs (Deutsch & ebrary, 2013). For instance, when teaching students, teachers can ask the students to explain their understanding of the tones produced by the sounds they hear. This ensures each student is able to give their interpretation of the tones of the songs. When teachers use cognitive ability of attention can be used by teachers to facilitate learning process in a number of ways. The attention of the students towards music activities can be enhanced by allocating a quiet environment where there are no obstructions from other sources of sounds such as noise from students in other classes or moving vehicles (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). This ensures students out their focus on sounds produced by musical instruments and they are bale to understand the tone and percussions of the song (Clarke, Dibben & Pitts, 2010). When students get a right understanding of these tones, they will be able to play the songs and produce similar tones and improve their competence in understanding music. In addition, their performance in the music subject will also improve while their competence will be enhanced. 2.4. Effectiveness of teacher communication in improving learning in the two music units There are many ways in which the teacher can communicate with the students in a music class. These range from verbal communication, use of objects and use of charts and written materials. The form of communication used is dependent on the goal of communication and availability of forms of communication in comparison to other forms of communication (Bentley, 2010). Efficient teacher communication is important in teaching music units since it ensures the right information required by learners are conveyed to them and their competence in the subject is improved. A music teacher has some personal qualities and competences that the students do not have. When these qualities and competences are communicated to learners, they are able to develop them and become equally competent as their teacher. In addition, music classes require precise directions to be taken by learners (Barden, Kowalchyk & Lancaster, 2000). This can only be achieved through communication of direction by the teacher. Furthermore, careful planning and preparation and efficient presentation of music lessons is also a form of communication for effective teaching of music lessons. The success of a music class is dependent on the teacher’s preparation for the lesson by the extent to which the teacher accounts for every individual’s needs based on their capabilities and needs (Athanasou, 1997). When the teacher communicates the learning goals and objectives of the music lesson to students, they are able to understand the scope of the lessons and focus their attention towards accomplishment of the needs of the lessons (Anderson & Lawrence, 2007). For instance, students will focus on understanding various sounds produced by objects in a First Grade class if the teacher communicates that is the goal of their lesson. In addition, students will focus their attention to what the teacher teaches in the music class if the teacher communicates the content of the lesson to the students. When the teacher communicates with students in a music class, students will be provided with the opportunity to ask questions, and this is important in ensuring effectiveness of teaching. Teacher can also ask students questions regarding activities in the music class so that students are provided with the forum to formulate answers to the lesson. Communication with students in a music class requires the use of a number of instructional modes such as written materials, objects and verbal communication. It also involves instructing students to perform certain tasks under the supervision of the teacher such as singing, dancing, reciting poems and listening to songs (Honing, 2011). Effective teaching involves the ability to ask questions that are stimulating and challenging to learners in order to achieve the goals of genuine learning. These forms of communication result into the relevance of the teaching process and competence of learners in the music class (Lambert, 2002). In addition, communication involves motivation of learners by use of different forms of motivation such as awarding points to students who perform exceptionally in music class, challenging other students to follow similar examples in order to perform well in the same subject and encouraging learners to focus on learning the subjects due to the beneficial impacts of the unit. 3. Conclusion This paper shows that cognitive learning skills are important in teaching and learning music courses in any institution. Teachers are required to use specific teaching approaches that make use of cognitive skills of learners in different ages of learning to ensure the goals of learning are achieved. This paper shows that cognitive abilities are significant in accomplishment of learning needs for students in music class. These abilities can be applied in the areas that require attention improvement, perception improvement and language. These cognitive abilities ensure learners are able to understand the information conveyed interpret the information and communicate the message conveyed by the information respectively. Communication processes are achievable through recognition of sounds, being able to explain the tones n the sounds produced and recite similar information. In addition, teacher communication has been observed to be a significant factor in improving learning process in a music class. This has been observed to be in terms of communication with learners, asking questions, planning for the lesson and challenging the students to perform exceptionally well in the music class. It also involves informing the students about the benefits of taking part in the music class such as improved competence in music units. 4. References Anderson, W. M., & Lawrence, J. E. (2007). Integrating music into the elementary classroom. Belmont, CA: Thomson Schirmer. Athanasou, J. (1997). Introduction to educational testing. Wentworth Falls, NSW: Social Sciences Press. Barden, C. H., Kowalchyk, G., & Lancaster, E. L. (2000). Music for little Mozarts: 4. Van Nuys, Calif: Alfred Pub. Co. Bee, H. (2000). Peers at School age and Peer relationships at adolescence. In The developing child (9th ed., pp. 336-339). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn Bacon. Bentley, K. (2010). The TKT course CLIL module. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clarke, E. F., Dibben, N., & Pitts, S. (2010). Music and mind in everyday life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Deutsch, D., & ebrary, Inc. (2013). The psychology of music. (ebrary.) London, UK: Academic Press. Honing, H. (2011). Musical cognition: A science of listening. Piscataway, N.J: Transaction Publishers. Houlahan, M., & Tacka, P. (2008). Kodály today: A cognitive approach to elementary music education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/files/arts/K6_creatart_uw_music.pdf Jones, M. R., Fay, R. R., & Popper, A. N. (2010). Music perception. New York: Springer. Lambert, B. (2002). Different approaches to setting limits and managing difficult behavior for K-6 classrooms.Unpublished paper. MacDonald, R. A. R., Kreutz, G., & Mitchell, L. (2012). Music, health, and wellbeing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. McDevitt, T.M., & Ormrod, J.E. (2004). Concrete operational versus formal operational thought. Child development: Educating and working with children and adolescents (2nd ed., p. 151). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education International. North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (2008). The social and applied psychology of music. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More