Commonplace Book

A Commonplace BookCommonplace books have their origin in the Renaissance as one means of coping with the information overload of that era. They helped students select, organize, classify, and remember key moral precepts.

Commonplace books sanction the selection of passages made significant by personal experience and conscience. Many commonplace passages urge contentment and console the reader on the imminence of death, while also containing traces that indicate the particular character of the possessor. One book dated ca. 1670, for example, lists under "Precepts of liveing" thirty-seven short, numbered verses in couplets, seldom exceedingsix lines, that turn the commandments into memorizable verse. -- Barbara M. Benedict Making the Modern Reader Cultural Mediation in Early Modern Literary Anthologies (1996) http://pup.princeton.edu/books/benedict/chapter_1.html

As Max W. Thomas puts it, "commonplace books are about memory, which takes both material and immaterial form; the commonplace book is like a record of what that memory might look like". The commonplace book exists to serve the commonplace storehouse of the mind, to assist the learner to master knowledge and wisdom, even, as Erasmus thought, all knowledge. -- Paul Dyck "Reading and Writing the Commonplace: Literary Culture Then and Now" (Re)Soundings (Winter 1997) http://www.millersv.edu/~resound/*vol1iss1/topframe.html

Perhaps no other aspect of the reading culture of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries defines that reading culture as pervasively as the concept of the commonplace. -- Paul Dyck "Reading and Writing the Commonplace: Literary Culture Then and Now" (Re)Soundings (Winter 1997) http://www.millersv.edu/~resound/*vol1iss1/topframe.html

Called locus communis in Latin and topos koinos in Greek, commonplaces are, according to Aristotle, the seats of arguments or pigeonholes of the mind where one could find material for an oration (Lechner 1-2). In this sense, the commonplace resembles what we might today call a heading. Used for the sake of

argument, these headings allowed an orator to divide a topic intoits many parts, and would typically include definition, cause, effect, opposites, likenesses as well as others. In addition to these classifications, locus communis has refered to collections of sayings (in effect, formulas) on various topics--such as loyalty, decadence, friendship, or wha- tever--that could be worked into ones own speech-making or writing (Ong, 111). These two meanings of commonplace Ong refers to as analytic and cumulative. If the commonplace book is an example of the cumulative, it is informed by the analytic. -- Paul Dyck "Reading and Writing the Commonplace: Literary Culture Then and Now" (Re)Soundings (Winter 1997) http://www.millersv.edu/~resound/*vol1iss1/topframe.html

Although the primacy of philosophy long remained unshaken in the universities, humanists gradually established the primacy of rhetoric in secondary education. They did so by means of a curriculum, the studia humanitatis, which chiefly comprised grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy. This curriculum was inculcated by means of commonplace notebooks,the direct descendants of medieval florilegia. Students compiled these notebooks in the course of their readings in order to create a stock of ideas for their own speeches and compositions. -- Michael E. Hobart and Zachary S. Schiffman. Information Ages: Literacy, Numeracy, and the Computer Revolution (1998) p.99

When it came time to put away childish things, the role of the copy book was assumed by its close cousin, the "commonplace book." The process of maturation required the production of more-personal collections of writings, meant to provide inspiration, direction, and moral fortitude. Reading the commonplace books of historical figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or any number of antebellum Southern ladies gives us an interior view of each person's self-image and the words that motivated himor her. -- Rachel Toor "Commonplaces: From Quote Books to 'Sig' Files" The Chronicle of Higher Education May 25, 2001

Driving Question:

One of my favourite Musical Works:

For the sake of this exercise, choose one piece of music which isa favorite to you. Now, think about the following questions: Whatis it about this particular piece that appeals to you? Consider the elements and structure, compositional rules, the social context and meaning of the music. Where were you when you first heard it? Consider also the emotional state it puts you in, the state you are in when you want to play/listen to this music, where you prefer to listen to it, where the music takes you. Think about how your training, education (musical and otherwise) and perhaps your experiences that affect your perception of this music. And finally, in your opinion, what is the relationship between emotion and perception? • Record your thoughts about your Favorite Piece in your Commonplace Book.

The nature of musical learning

What are your philosophical thoughts about the nature of musical learning? Record these in your Commonplace Book.

The relationship between the nature of musical learning and models used in teaching:

Think about music classes/programs you have taken. These could beprivate, community or school music programs. What were your most and least favorite classes? What qualities did they have? What was the learning like? What stands out in your memory of each of them? What happened in the classroom that formed this Impression?What was the teacher like? Any unusual idiosyncrasies? What was the teacher’s role? Think about the relationship between the nature of musical learning and the models used in teaching.

Creativity:

Think about any biases, or negative experiences which restrict creative music making in your practice. What are the challenges

you deal with, in the creative component of your program. What are your strengths? What are the most satisfying aspects? What are you most proud of?• Record these thoughts in your Commonplace Book.

Consider all the applications of creativity that you, as a teacher can incorporate in your interactions with your students, or in your method of teaching. What creative ways can you model correct sound production? How can students creatively practice to develop skills, so that practice is less routine and mundane? Think of all the ways students can interact with the sound of their instrument creatively. Think of creative extensions your students can make between this learning and some other area of their life? How can you design your room or the learning environment creatively? Who are the creative giants of Jazz that your students should listen to? How can you model creative thinking to your students? The list of ideas goes on and on. And we haven’t even touched on improvisation and composition. Creativity is a term applied to the whole of teaching and learning music. It applies to the diversity of thinking, abilities and interests of teachers and their students. Not just improvisation and composition.Read Tim Sullivan’s chapter, “Creativity in Action” and/or GeraldKing’s chapter, “Unleashing the Ganas…” in the course text, Creativity and Music Education. Your choice of articles will depend on your interest and your teaching assignment.What creative ideas, or extensions, from this article could you apply in your program?

Scan the course text Creativity and Music Education. Choose two chaptersthat capture your interest and have relevance to your teaching assignment and read them. Think of the wider notion of creativity, and more specific musical applications such as improvisation and composition.

What new ideas are generated from these readings? What modifications and activities would you like to teach to apply these ideas

Go back to your notes in your Commonplace Book from page 1 of thetopic Creativity. Look at the questions you raised. Do you have

any new ideas regarding these? Add further thoughts to your notes.

Critical thinking:

Think about Wiggins suggestions for problem solving. Which call on critical thinking which is expressed verbally and is more generic (as defined on page one) in nature? Which suggestions call for critical thinking which is expressed musically?

Culture

The term “culture” has diverse meanings. Reflect on various musical “cultures” in your environment or school community. What range of musical cultures are there? What musical cultures are indigenous to your area? square-dancing culture? fiddlers? What cultures are constantly shaped by the media and television? Think about these questions: What is culture? What is Musical culture? Record your thoughts about the multiple meanings, or perhaps extended meanings of “culture” in your Commonplace Book

Changing contexts:

“Changing the nature of instruction requires rethinking curricular design and classroom strategies. The idea of teacher as sole purveyor of knowledge and skill is no longeradequate; instead, we need to look at teachers as facilitators who provide tools for students to create musical challenges for themselves.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Lori Custedero, (in Creativity and Music Education)

We live in changing times. We have discussed and explored some key issues in music education and addressed notions regarding thenature of music learning. In addition, many other issues continueto impact us, whether they have provincial, regional or local origins. Perhaps one such issue is embedded within your “driving question”.

“Changing the nature of instruction requires rethinking curricular design and classroom strategies. The idea of teacher as sole purveyor of knowledge and skill is no longeradequate; instead, we need to look at teachers as facilitators who provide tools for students to create musical challenges for themselves.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Lori Custedero, (in Creativity and Music Education)

We live in changing times. We have discussed and explored some key issues in music education and addressed notions regarding thenature of music learning. In addition, many other issues continueto impact us, whether they have provincial, regional or local origins. Perhaps one such issue is embedded within your “driving question”.

Some researchers, looking at what constitutes effective andmeaningful musical learning, have called for paradigm shifts in

the teaching of music. Should the teacher role be more of"facilitator" rather than "director"? Technology and social

change have furthered the need for change. With an increasinglydiverse population, urbanization and possibly new parameters

defining musicianship, teachers need to examine alternative waysto connect with students.

With a move toward alternative teaching and learning environments, in other subjects, we can see a variety of changingcontexts which surround music education. And in addition, the learning of music outside the classroom is evolving and growing.

Think about other issues particular to your practice which you are grappling with. Make a note of these in your Commonplace Book. As the course progresses, you might add further thoughts regarding these issues, or ask the instructor to open a chat roomfor an open forum on an issue.

Alternative programs/teaching strategies:

reading the two articles, and consider alternative programs and alternative teaching strategies. What ideas did you glean from the Central Tech article?What cooperative learning applications might you include in your program? Extend your investigation with a computer search of Dr. Kagan’s work, and note any other useful applications which

support student initiative and ownership in musical learning. Record your thoughts in your Commonplace Book.

What are the long term changes you would like to see in your school, department or program? Think about the following: What particular teaching styles/strategies do you use which “work” best? Why? What elements of program are in need of updating? What resources are outdated? (this could be a long list!) What long term changes, or challenges, do you for see, that you could start preparing for now? How “insulated” are you in your school setting from some of the issues or changes we have discussed in this module? Record your thoughts in the Commonplace Book.

Needing further reflection:

Ask further questions. Again, “Circle” sections of your Commonplace Book that deserve further examination or reflection. Examine articles or web sites that address issues of concern to you. Go back through the Discussion folders to see what has been added to the class “knowledge building”. Revisit your driving question, (and those of others). Perhaps, with new knowledge, youare looking at it from a new perspective.

Professional development:

Think about the most positive Professional Development session you have experienced. Have you thought about repeating the experience? Was it a one day occurrence, or a program over time, such as a summer course? What was it that you needed in terms of your own growth? How have your needs developed from the growth that occurred because of that session. What are your needs now?Make a section in your Commonplace book called “Professional Development” and record your thoughts related to these, or related questions

Collaboration:

It is incumbent upon the Music teacher to extend collaborative leadership efforts to colleagues and the community. To generate

such, what might you begin doing? What leadership is needed to get a music support group in action in your area?You may want to write your ideas spontaneously, in your Commonplace Book.

Reflections:

ReflectingDid your thinking on this topic change during the process? What new or “hidden” ideas emerged, either from engaging in the four ACES or through collaboration with others in the problem solving model? What references and resources did you find that are helpful? Be sure to reflect on what you have accomplished, what did not work, and where you see yourself going with this professional development in the future. If you were working on your "Driving Question" did your thinking on this become clearer?Make notes on these questions in your Commonplace Book.

Student learning:

As we prepare to begin this module, take a moment to sit back andreflect on the first thing you think of when others talk or writeabout “learning”. Record your response in your Commonplace Book. Is this what learning means to you? Are you satisfied that this understanding of learning fully represents the concept? How wouldyou amplify or qualify “learning” if you were given the opportunity to do so? Jot down your reflections in your Commonplace Book and refer to them as you proceed through this module.

Learning Models In current educational theory (if not practice), three views of learning predominate. The first and most traditional perspective is that of behaviourism, which takes learning as the strengthening of responses (e.g., Skinner, 1938; Kaplan, 1991). However, two other perspectives claim that the most significant learning occurs when the learner is able to make sense of or to understandsomething. Hence, the second perspective of information processing, orcognitive constructivism, emphasizes the essentially cognitive and individual nature of coming to know and understand (e.g., Neisser, 1967). The third perspective, cultural constructivism (also called social constructivism by those who emphasize learning in a group

over the cultural influences on what is being learned), emphasizes the sociocultural nature of knowledge construction that includes other people together with attending cultural toolsand artifacts (e.g., Bruner, 1990, 1996). A fourth view of learning also exists, that of learning through imitation. This most traditional approach to learning is little used in schools today, mainly because of the devaluing of hand over head in formal education and the attending focus on abstract material that, it is claimed, may be generalized to multiple situations. As music teachers, however, we can claim with justification, thatthis form of learning has merit in providing for ways of musical thinking that do not apply in other subject areas. Authentic Learning and Prior KnowledgeOf course, learning has many other sides as well. For example, some scholars emphasize issues such as the importance of authentic tasks in learning, the complexity of what is learned, and the role of prior knowledge. Learning is seen to occur through one or more of observation, imitation, problem solving, exploration, discussion, and practice. Further, learning is seen to be expressed through different talents, intelligences (Gardner, 1983, 1999) or signways (Smith, 2001) that reflect different ways of understanding phenomena. As a result, some researchers have developed theories specific to major domains of knowledge such as solving physics problems, writing novels, fixing carburetors, and learning how to dance. In these and otherendeavours, and depending on one’s perspective, learning may be viewed as changes in behaviour, as the enhanced ability to read signs or to process information, as becoming enculturated, or as development. The view supported here is that learning is a meaning-making process in which repeated acquaintance with given cultural signs or symbols both broadens and deepens the meanings,and hence the learnings, that occur.In formal education, a tension exists between the standard goal of the private transfer of information (i.e., “learn these general principles in school so that you will be able to apply them in any number of other situations outside school”) and the situationally-specific demands of many cultural tasks and activities (e.g., Barab & Plucker, 2002) that typically involve other people and tools (e.g., “tell Mike to watch out for the buoy just off the wharf and to let me know when the ship is two-thirds of the way past it”). Further, an expert in a domain is not a generalist but a highly-tuned specialist. Hence, a top-performing fighter pilot is not flying a plane but rather is the

plane as it is maneuvered through a series of difficult routines.However, this same pilot may struggle while bringing a sailboat into the local harbour. Teaching for transfer and teaching for expertise, then, typically involve different educational objectives and instructional strategies.

Multiple intellegences:

large number of teachers are familiar with the theory of multipleintelligences proposed by Howard Gardner (1983, 1999). Gardner initially offered his theory to combat the rather unitary view ofintelligence that was (and still is) propounded by psychometricians, most psychologists, and many educators. According to Gardner, we possess at least eight main clusters of interconnected abilities, although only two of them (language andlogic) are ever given serious consideration in school. Accordingly, to maximize learners’ contributions to school and society and to recognize their many abilities (as opposed to a few possible dis-abilities), he calls for formal recognition of the other six. Gardner began with seven intelligences in 1983 andadded an eighth, the naturalistic, around 1997. His current arrayof multiple intelligences follows:

1. Linguistic. Characterized by a high dependence on abstract symbols used in reading, writing, understanding speech, and producing speech; exemplars are poets and writers.

2. Musical. The ability to use the pitch, rhythm, and timbre ofmusic; exemplars are composers and performers.

3. Logical-Mathematical. The ability to think logically and to theorize about patterns of all kinds; exemplars are mathematicians.

4. Spatial. The ability to locate oneself in, and to use, spacein its various forms; exemplars are artists, architects, andmany engineers.

5. Bodily-Kinesthetic. The ability to use, and a high sensitivity to, elements of the body; exemplars are dancers,athletes, and many craftspeople.

6. Intrapersonal. The ability to display a "sense of self", including knowledge of one's own abilities and motivations; an exemplar is anyone with a keen sense of personal awareness.

7. Interpersonal. Characterized by great sensitivity to the needs and motivations of others; exemplars are those with a high sense of collective morality and some politicians.

8. Naturalistic. The ability to recognize, classify, and discriminate among the many forms, both natural and cultural, that exist in one’s environment; exemplars are naturalists and wine tasters.

International Journal of Education & the Arts

Volume 2 Number 4 September 17, 2001

The Role of Musical Intelligence in a Multiple Intelligences Focused Elementary School

Susan W. MillsFrostburg State University

Abstract The role of musical intelligence was investigated at aCentral Florida elementary school. Four participating

teachers implemented the Theory of Multiple Intelligences(MI) by Howard Gardner in their classroom curricula. Extent

and quality of musical experiences, correspondingassessments, and comparison with representative schoolsfrom MI literature were examined through case study data

collection methods. Only one assessment for musical growthand one assessment for musical ability were found in the MIliterature. No such assessments were present in the schoolsetting. Influences on the role of musical intelligence

included perceptions about: MI, music integration, musicalgrowth, assessment of musical growth and assessment in

general. Political climate at the school and district werealso cited as highly influential in determining the role of

musical intelligence in the school's MI curriculum.Recommendations to correlate MI learning strategies andmusic activities with Sunshine State Standards benchmarkslearning, and to allow time and resources for such

training, were suggested by participating teachers. Otherrecommendations include greater contributions to MIliterature from the arts education community, music

specialist involvement in curriculum planning, and supportfrom school and district administration.

Introduction

The educational reform movement of recent years has spawned the search for innovative approaches to teaching. One theory that has impacted the design of many schools and curricula is the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) posited by Howard Gardner (1983). This theory suggests that there are several human intelligences that are relatively independent of one another and can be fashioned and combined in a multiplicity ofadaptive ways by individuals and cultures. Schools have been reformed and, in some cases, created to include teaching methods and learning activities and assessments suggested in literature about MI theory.

Although Gardner did not posit this theory with the intent that schools would embrace it as a basis for comprehensive school reform, many have done so. At this point, little attention has been paid to questions of whether teachers are thoughtfully addressing the development of musical intelligence. Also unknown is whether by parents or children involved in MI programs even recognize or desire development of musical intelligence.

Music educators and other stakeholders have cause for concern because music has often been marginalized in the public schoolcurriculum of America. Teachers in MI schools may be enhancingthe growth of musical intelligence in a conscious and effective way; however it is also possible that their practices do little to enhance such growth. Should the latter be true, then it should be imperative that schools based on the theory of Multiple Intelligences supplement the musical training of children by work with specialists so that adequategrowth is accomplished.

Music activities may be helpful, harmful or ineffective for musical growth in MI schools. The purpose of this study was toexamine the question of the extent and quality of musical activities designed to stimulate the use of musical intelligence by children in grades Kindergarten through three in one MI school in Central Florida.

In the time since Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences was published in 1983, educators, administrators and parents have questioned traditional

assessments of intelligence in America's schools. Standardizedtests in the public schools have historically been concerned with only two categories of aptitude; verbal and mathematical.

Instead of defining intelligence as a combination of verbal and mathematical aptitudes, the theory of Multiple Intelligences (Hatch and Gardner, 1996, p. 11) includes the following:

Linguistic Intelligence – sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and meanings of words; sensitivity to the different functions of language.

Musical Intelligence – abilities to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timbre; appreciation of theforms of musical expressiveness.

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence – sensitivity to patterns, orderliness, and systematicity; ability to handle long chains of reasoning.

Spatial Intelligence – capacities to perceive the spatialworld accurately, to perform transformations on ones' initial perceptions, and to re-create aspects of one's visual experience.

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence – abilities to control one's body movements and to handle objects skillfully.

Interpersonal Intelligence – capacities to discern and respond appropriately to the moods, temperaments, motivations, and desires of other people.

Intrapersonal Intelligence – access to one's own feelings; the ability to discriminate among them and drawupon them to guide behavior.

Naturalistic Intelligence - the capacity to draw on materials and features of the natural environment to solve problems or fashion products (Hatch, 1997).

Elementary students enrolled in MI schools or classrooms oftenengage in music learning activities for two reasons. First, the music activities may be designed for musical growth, and second, music activities may be designed as entry points to enhance learning academic content (Gardner, 1991). In either

case, individual teachers must determine how well students aregrowing musically and what other value the activities hold fortheir students.

Teachers make many choices about the types of activities students will experience in MI schools. Teachers base these choices on their perceptions of the nature of musical intelligence as a construct, the appearance of evidence of musical growth, the criteria for assessing musical growth, andtheir particular interpretations of Gardner's theory (Campbell, 1997).

The Problem

Since all participants in MI school development consider musican intelligence, it seems that musical growth should be assessed in some fashion in any model of curriculum design. If, as Gardner has argued, musical intelligence (and the otherintelligences) can be identified and developed, the MI teachercould be assumed to be concerned with students' musical abilities, musical growth and assessment of both ability and progress.

While there is some evidence in MI literature that musical intelligence may be tested as a capacity or ability, there is little evidence that MI educators are bridging music activities to musical growth, rather than academic content. Without assessment of musical intelligence, or some aspect of musical growth, there is no way of knowing whether music activities are helpful, harmful or ineffective for musical growth in MI schools.

What is Musical Intelligence?

Two important facets of MI theory appear to have significant bearing on the nature of musical intelligence. First is the premise that the intelligences can be educated or developed through schooling and learning (Gardner, 1993 p.334). For example, if someone learns to play an instrument, the knowledge to be acquired is musical. The material mastered falls squarely in the domain of musical intelligence. Secondlyis the premise that the intelligences may each be exploited asa means of transmission, often referred to as an entry point or catalyst for learning all manner of content (Gardner, 1993,1995a, 1996).

For many educators, musical intelligence is often regarded as a talent derived from natural ability, or a gift that only certain people possess (Gardner, 1993, Hinckley, 1998, Reimer,1998). Intelligence associated with musical understanding doesnot always relate to superior levels of achievement in other academic areas. Yet MI theory holds that the nurturing and development that takes place in musical learning is autonomousand on par with the processes that take place in studying languages, mathematics and the sciences (Potter, 1997, p.3). Thus, musical intelligence (like all intelligences) can serve

as both form or means of learning, and message or content learned (Gardner, 1993, p. 334).

Musical intelligence in the context of MI theory has been examined and reported thoroughly by only a few scholars (Eisner, 1994; Elliot, 1995; Fowler, 1990; Potter, 1997; Reimer, 1998). In all the cases cited above, music as the message or content learned was discussed thoroughly. This is in stark contrast to the emphasis on music as form or means (entry point) in most MI literature (Armstrong, 1994; Campbell, Campbell and Dickinson, 1999; Emig, 1997; Failoni, 1993; Fogarty and Stoehr, 1995; Lazear, 1991, 1994, 1995; Liess and Ritchie, 1995: Rauscher and Shaw, 1998; Smagorinsky,1996; Tucker, 1995).

The audience of readers for the former group of scholars is most often comprised of music educators or affiliated colleagues, evidenced by presentation of these articles or chapters in journals and books about music or arts education. The larger group of scholars and reporters, those who fall in the latter category of music as an entry point to academic learning, write for general education and media publications. Those types of publications include curriculum and leadership journals and books about the application of MI in the classroom that are more accessible to the classroom teacher. This contrast in emphasis about the form versus the content ofmusic in education may affect the implementation of MI in elementary classroom curricula by classroom teachers.

Criticism of MI Theory

Implementation of MI into elementary curricula means many different things to many people (Campbell, 1997). Because the theory was not designed as an educational reform vehicle, it is possible that teachers do not fully understand the theory. Of those who do understand, many focus only on a theme or ideafrom MI that serves pre-determined purposes (Gardner, 1995a). Criticism of MI needs to be examined in two ways. First the theory itself must be analyzed for possible problems, and secondly, the implementation of any learning theory must be carefully considered in the context of schooling.

Some criticism of MI implementation in elementary education isbased on concerns about integration. There are also some concerns evidenced by commentaries on the theory itself, especially the notion of artistic intelligences.

Learning Styles

Since Gardner's definition of intelligences indicates not onlycapabilities, but often preferences for learning, some criticshave charged that MI is simply another name for learning styles or cognitive styles (Morgan, 1992). Morgan's literaturereview shows numerous compatabilities between what he called "styles of cognition" and the MI intelligences. His example of"field dependent" learning in comparison with logical-mathematical intelligence is present in other commentaries on MI referenced by Morgan in his research report, which criticizes the definitions of seven of the eight intelligences.

According to Morgan (1992), Gardner's descriptions of the various intelligences, include the terms sensitivities, abilities, capabilities and capacities; resulting in inconsistent definitions of each intelligence. The musical intelligence is an example of an intelligence which Gardner defined as an ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch and timbre or appreciation of the forms of musical expressiveness. Morgan pointed out that there is a noticeable absence of the ability to produce and appreciate paintings, sculptures and other arts from Gardner's MI theory.

Artistic Intelligence

Like Morgan, Elliot Eisner (1994) expressed concern about language, especially with regard to artistic intelligence. While Morgan's criticism centers around using another name foralready similarly recognized theories of intelligence, Eisner's criticism points to disagreement with Gardner's version of artistic intelligence, whether manifested in bodily-kinesthetic, musical or any other intelligence requiredto produce works of art. Gardner is unclear about musical intelligence, in both his definition and his lack of explanation about developing musically. The artistic aspect ofintelligence is not sufficiently well addressed according to Eisner.

Citing MI theory to support his argument, Gabriel Salomon (1997) claimed that mental processing depends on the structureof the symbol system along with the maturation of neurophysiological functions. Different symbol systems may offer different meaning, require different mental capacities, be differently perceived, and leave differential cognitive residue or impressions on a mind. In making his argument that media is part of information itself, Salomon created a case for the artistic context of learning musical and other artistic intelligences within MI theory.

The Context of Musical Intelligence

Both Eisner and Sternberg (1994) argue that the context of learning and the tasks assigned are important in how each person's configuration of abilities is manifested. Reimer expanded on the concept of intelligence offered by Gardner, emphasizing the importance of roles in understanding the intelligences. Reimer's view of musical intelligence is less general, in order to "illuminate the diverse roles operative within and essential to the domain of music" (Reimer, 1998, p.2). Musical intelligences are described as many, instead of one intelligence because of the many roles and contexts in which the musical intelligences operate. The importance of that context was the point of Gardner's own Project Spectrum research, which remains inconclusive (Hatch and Gardner, 1996). Regardless of terminology, musical meanings are arrivedat through a culture which is a context of learning and growing.

Gardner is opposed to the exclusive emphasis on logical-

mathematical and linguistic symbol systems in most schools. Hestated that "separate psychological processes appear to be involved" in dealing with the various intelligences (Gardner and Hatch, 1995, p. 149). The conditions for music learning would require a musical context, using musical symbols. The symbol systems used in most MI schools and the creative conditions established in most MI settings are not truly thosetypically used by creative, artistic children.

Creativity requires conditions and skills that enable studentsto produce creative works (Webster, 1987). The skills are the basis for musical intelligence, according to Webster's theory,and the conditions include environmental and motivational in addition to conditions within a person such as subconscious imagery and personality. Gardner's concern for the lack of such external conditions might serve as a response to the concern voiced by Barbara Osberg who termed MI students a new category of losers. Osberg (1995) was skeptical about the application of MI in situations where children might not be creative and therefore might fall into another category of losers. Osberg noted that some will always fare better on assessments than others and that because of assessment, there are always winners and losers in education.

Gardner's Responses to Criticism

As founder of the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner has responded many times in writing and in public debate to all of the issues brought to light by the aforementioned critics and commentators (Gardner, 1995a. 1996b). The domain in which one may be considered intelligent is quite different from the learning style such as "field dependent" or personality style such as a Myers-Briggs type indicator. WhileGardner recognized that there are various learning styles and preferences, MI holds that styles cannot be equated with intelligences and that a learning preference in one content area does not necessarily dictate the same learning preferencein another content area.

This distinction, though important, is confusing. Since the theory supports the use of several intelligences at once, the learning preferences and cognitive styles might be in conflictwith one another. Gardner (1995a) argued that intelligence is a new kind of construct and should not be confused with a

domain or discipline, although his theory includes intelligence as both form and content. The confusion may lie in some of his own description, since he referred to content area in his above explanation about learning style in the samearticle.

In defense of the inconsistencies among the definitions of each intelligence, Gardner refused to constrict his view of intelligence so that scholars would be more comfortable with the theory. Since the intelligences are manifestations of quite different abilities, this refusal to streamline the definitions may make sense in support of a theory of the multiplicity of intelligences, rather than the sameness of allgreat intellect.

The trouble with the artistic treatment of a symbol system as required by Eisner appears to be part of a continuing debate. While Gardner allows the intelligences to remain inconsistent in definition, there is no evidence that artistic treatment ofany kind of content will ever be required as far as he is concerned. Perhaps the lack of a specific artistic intelligence explains the stand taken by Gardner. Unlike Morgan, Eisner and Reimer, Gardner's comments only require appreciation for and understanding of the elements in music inorder to have musical intelligence.

Research Design

The guiding question in this research was "What, if any, musical growth takes place as a result of an MI curriculum?" Data sources included information provided by participants in a Central Florida MI school compared with fifty-five books, articles and essays (Wilson, 1999) written about the theory ofMultiple Intelligences since it's inception in 1983 (MI literature) until the study was completed in 1999.

Central Florida elementary MI schools were identified and placed into four categories of curricular design models classified by Campbell, Campbell and Dickinson (1999). Tables 1 and 2 illustrate the four categories and their characteristics, including how each may assess growth. With the exception of Celebration School, Central Florida MI schools are code named for confidentiality.

Table 1 Curricular Design Models of MI Schools

ModelMI Emphasis Instructional Strategies Music Activities Multimodal

Multiple intelligences asentry points into disciplinary content

Single and multi- grade classrooms

Varies from school to school and teacher to teacher. Integrated andtaught separately

Developmentally-based

Multipleintelligences astools of instruction toward in-depth knowledge and development

Themes, student choice, cooperative learning, group processing, life skills development, less information, more application

Unknown

Arts-based

Multiple intelligences asstrong rationalefor learning in and through the arts.

Arts as disciplines intheir own

Both integrated and separately taught arts courses

Important as discipline as vehicle for developing all intelligences

right Intelligence-based

Teaching for intelligence rather than through intelligences

Programs significantly reorganized to accommodate students' individual interests. Flow rooms, non-directive, non-cooperative

Varies according to students' choices. Often music as optionalactivity in Flow room

Table 2 Assessment and Location Information of MI Schools

Model Assessments Central Florida Schools

U.S. Schools

Multimodal

Portfolios, skills checklists, Hypercard stacks, letter grades, S-U in music, A-F in other academic subjects

Evergreen ElementaryTrailblazer R-6

Hart-Ransom K-12 Modesto, California

Developmentally-based

Correspond with teaching strategiesto determine degree of success in decision-making and problem-solving

Celebration K-12

Lincoln HighSchool, Stockton, California

New City School Elementary* St. Louis, Missouri

Arts-based

Both graded and non-graded music lessons, progress charts with checklists of areas of achievement and areas of more work needed

True School K-8

New City School Elementary*

St. Louis, Missouri

Intelligence-based

Unknown Phoenix Elementary

The Key School Indianapolis, Indiana

*In part **Data for Tables 1 and 2 provided in part by Campbell,Campbell and Dickinson (1999). Teaching and learning through the

multiple intelligences . Needham Heights, Massachusetts: Allyn and

Bacon

Trailblazer School is a Multimodal MI school in which the researcher taught and consulted with elementary teachers to infuse music activities into the existing curriculum. Since Multimodal design is common in new or newly adapted MI schools, this teaching and consulting experience provided the researcher with insight into the process of curriculum adaptation to include music activities.

Finally, data were collected at the selected site, Evergreen (Multimodal) School, to examine the role of musical intelligence in four participating classrooms. Information provided by the three groups of participants was compared withthe information about music learning and assessment from MI literature. These two sets of information are the sources of data on which this report is based.

In order to find evidence of musical growth, three related research questions were formulated. These questions were askedin the context of MI schools, defined as a school that has a curriculum inclusive of teaching methods and learning activities based on the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner, or based on subsequent work grounded in Gardner's theory.

Case study methodology using interviews, observations, artifact review and a questionnaire for parents and teachers were employed at Evergreen. Analysis of data included coding of interviews, observations and follow-up discussions using a contact summary sheet and a document summary sheet for artifacts. Field notes, a researcher journal, and all documents were examined for patterns of perception, behavior and teacher theorizing. The questionnaire was analyzed for frequency and percentage of item response and individual itemswere reviewed by participating teachers for explanation of patterns and trends. Triangulation of all data completed the analysis in the form of a naturalistic (Smith, 1990), descriptive report.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined here to clarify author's intent in discussing this research.

Entry Point--This term refers to utilizing a student's strength, one of the eight Multiple Intelligences, to learn and understand academic content (Gardner, 1983).

Academic Content--The information contained in textbooks,including historical, scientific, linguistic and mathematical facts. The term also implies non-artistic content and would not include aesthetic and expressive understanding.

MI School--A school that has a curriculum inclusive of teaching methods and learning activities based on the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner, or based on subsequent work grounded in Gardner's theory.

Assessment--The measurement of ability or growth of an individual student.

Musical growth--The progress of a student's ability to read music, perform music, create music and analyze music.

Music activities--Learning activities undertaken by students in MI classes either as entry points to learningor as stimulus to musical growth.

Equity, inclusion and diversity:

As we begin this topic, take a moment to consider your own experience(s) with exceptional leaders and/ or learners from diverse backgrounds. What were some of the instructional challenges that you encountered in delivering the music curriculum? What curriculum adaptations, changes in instructionalpractices and strategic interventions did you use to support these students? Are there questions, concerns, issues that remainunresolved or that you continue to find problematic? Think about your "driving question". Does it connect with issues of equity, inclusion or diversity?

An exploration of student learning however would not be complete without also examining the needs of the exceptional learner. For

the purposes of this module, you are asked to assume a broad-based approach when defining the exceptional learner, and the term exceptional student may include students with disabilities, students who are gifted, and, increasingly, students who are at risk due to poverty, abuse, homelessness, or other causes. These students may or may not be formally identified through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process.

International Journal of Education & the Arts

Volume 2 Number 5 November 1, 2001

The Genesis of Musical Behaviour:Implications for Adolescent Music Education

Colin DurrantUniversity of Surrey Roehampton

Abstract This article addresses some of the concerns regarding musiceducation for the secondary school / adolescent age range.

Many tensions are highlighted - the apparent lack ofsuccess and engagement by students, yet at the same time,their almost universal need to identify with music withinparticular sub-cultures. Reference is made specifically tothe curriculum in schools for England and Wales and the

reports which suggest that all is not well. Inasmuch as itis a complex issue, some illustrations and solutions areoutlined, though only as suggestions for exploring a way

forward.

The Dilemma

'I gave up music at school when I was thirteen; there didn't seem any point to it. It just didn't bear any relation to the music I was interested in. I played and listened to music outside school. The teacher didn't care about my music. I was there with my mates drumming and mixing but it was totally unrelated to the music at school.So I gave it up at thirteen.' [Andrew]

While this could be representative of the cry of many an adolescent, this was a story revealed in a lecture to a class of music education masters degree students. This was the storyof someone who now holds an prominent position in the world ofperforming arts administration. This is someone who has, sincehis school days, been involved in making professional recordings of music, someone who has held a lecturing post in performing arts in higher education and someone who is currently involved in instigating and supporting musical enterprises and links around the globe. The conjecture here isindeed a somewhat gloomy one. Does Andrew's perception of his school music experience ring true with others? Is such a scenario similar to the experience of music in schools in other countries in the world? Does this connect with the situation in the other arts?

The question as to whether this is a consequence of poor teaching, a reflection of the status of the arts, and music inparticular, in schools, or a simply the nature of adolescence in relation to musical behaviour is key. The dilemma pertains to the argument of whether indeed it is the role of the music teacher to enter the musical world of the adolescent within the school context.

While it should be acknowledged that there are many instances of music teaching that motivates and inspires adolescents, a number of criticisms have been lain at the door of school music for the Key Stage 31 age range in England and Wales in recent years. In the most recent Ofsted2 report on the secondary school curriculum 1997/98 (Ofsted, 1999) the findings indicated that:

'standards in music at Key Stage 3 have improved, but

remain lower than those in most other subjects..'

and that class music teaching at Key Stage 3: 'continues to lag behind most other subjects.' [Ofsted, 1999]

Evidence of problems with secondary school music stem from even further back with Ofsted reports 1993 and 1995 revealing that

'pupils who enter a secondary school at the age of 11 years are often taught by a music teacher who expects less of them than their primary teachers.' [Mills, 1996: p. 5]

'standards remain poor in too many schools at Key Stage 3' [Ofsted, 1997]

The suggestion here is that the delivery and quality of music teaching is at fault - indeed, an official government inspection could hardly be expected to comment adversely on the national curriculum itself! It is nevertheless the belief put forward here that the issue is a little more complex.

A comprehensive report on the effects and effectiveness of arts education in schools in England and Wales (Harland et al, 2000) confirmed the low esteem in which music in particular isheld by pupils in the secondary age range. This appears to be connected with lack of perceived development of key skills in the classroom and lack of perceived relevance to pupils' current and future needs. Also, it was noted that levels of enjoyment in music decline significantly during the key stage 3 years (Harland et al, 2000: 297). This in turn impacted on thelow numbers opting for music at key stage 4, which made music 'vulnerable'.

There is much evidence that, in a significant number of secondary schools, the approach to music teaching and learningdiffers in style and content from that found in some primary schools. From observations of teachers and trainee-teachers inthe University of Surrey Roehampton's partnerships schools it can be seen that in some cases, the music curriculum in Year 73

has not catered for progression from musical activity and learning in the primary school. Significantly, neither has the

music curriculum addressed the musical behaviour and development interface with the socio-cultural contexts in which adolescents live. Informal discussions with secondary school music teachers often are concerned with the apparent paucity of musical experience and knowledge of their new pupils from primary schools (also highlighted in Mills, 1996).Yet,

'In primary schools and particularly in Key Stage 2 ofprimary schools, the percentage of class lessons for which the quality of teaching is satisfactory or better is higher in music than any other subject of the National Curriculum. In Key Stage 3 of secondary school the percentage of class lessons for which the quality of teaching is satisfactory or better is lowerthan that for any other subject of the National Curriculum. The relative success of music in primary schools results from the teaching of class teachers aswell as music specialists.' [Mills, 1996: p. 6]

In the light of the fact that secondary schools will generallyhave at least one specialist music teacher and that they are more likely to have specialist accommodation and better resources than their primary counterparts, it begs the question--what is wrong with secondary school music?-- a question posed by Ross (1995) in his radical argument that thearts cannot be 'taught' and that school music teachers have failed to acknowledge the 'fundamental intuition' that the arts cannot be taught. He reports on research findings over three decades which indicate that music has stayed bottom of the popularity stakes in secondary schools alongside Foreign Languages.

'And yet--and here's the most painful point--as everyone knows, most kids are crazy about music. Countless numbers of teenagers have their own bands; many more live for the music charts, local gigs, discos and parties. No problem with music in their lives outside school, as the world of commercial musicknows very well.' [Ross, 1995: 186]

Ross is not only critical of the general nature and style of

music teaching in secondary schools, but also of recent curriculum developments which have sought to address the problem. While some attempts have been made to broaden the curriculum content in terms of musical styles and genres, he asserts that the pupils are still not able to be sufficiently stimulated to musically achieve. He sees the problem as essentially a tension between the schools' musical expectations of pupils, usually defined in terms of a series of discrete learning outcomes, and the socio-cultural musical behaviours and interests of the pupils collectively and individually which more naturally occur outside the school.

The relationship between primary (elementary) and secondary school approaches to the music curriculum around the world is variable, but some similarities both with regard to access to the music curriculum and attitudes towards music and the arts as curriculum subjects can be found in Leong (1997). Research carried out in secondary schools in Portugal, for example, reveal an even more depressing scenario, with negative attitudes towards music perpetuated by teachers of other curriculum subjects (Almeida, 2000; Pinto, 2000).

The Secondary Music Curriculum

If we examine the contents of the revised National Curriculum for Music (1999) for England and the interpretation of it by music teachers we may be in a position to assess the efficacy of the generative interface for the manifestation of musical behaviours in adolescence. The introduction to the curriculum describes the 'distinctive contribution' of music to the school curriculum referring to its varying functions culturally, socially and individually. Music as a form of communication and expression and as affecting our 'emotional wellbeing' are indeed accurate descriptions of how music functions in the world. It also refers to the 'transferable' skills that music offers to other areas of experience and learning. In what might be regarded as a contribution to the economic wellbeing of the nation it states:

'In addition, it stimulates the acquisition of the those skills, attitudes and attributes needed for employment and life such as listening skills, concentration, aural memory, presentation and teamwork. It also develops creativity and risk taking,intuition, aesthetic sensitivity, perseverance and a sense of satisfaction.'

The National Curriculum for Music (1999) for England is on thewhole an innocuous document in which the programmes of study for key stage 3 indicate that musical learning is concerned with the development of skills, knowledge and understanding that are experienced through (i) controlling sounds, (ii) creating and developing musical ideas, (iii) responding and reviewing own and others' work and (iv) listening and applyingknowledge and understanding. Inherent in the curriculum content is access to a wide variety of musics across styles and genres.

The Curriculum and Adolescent Musical Behaviour

In essence these are the mechanisms used by Andrew in his quest for musical status among his identified group, playing and experimenting, reviewing and listening attentively to the sounds his group was creating in the shed, bedroom or studio -but it took place outside the school environment. They were playing 'their' music. The tension between the music in school

and outside school may therefore be determined not by any curriculum content, but rather in the manner and context in which it is delivered and presented to adolescents. The school'sub-culture' may therefore conflict with the 'youth sub-culture' (Epstein, 1994; Zillmann & Gan, 1997). Music happens 'outside' school through musical experiences, whereas the interpretation by teachers of a musical curriculum tends towards the implementation and assessment of a prescribed series of outcomes. Planning and assessment are the key words in contemporary educational ideology in England and Wales, andOfsted inspections are geared towards ensuring that musical outcomes are planned and assessable. Again, conflict between the arrangement of musical activities and learning in the school and outside it. Music is used as a 'badge' of social identity for adolescents:

'Despite its capitalistic orientation, popular music is the defining element of youth sub-cultures' [Epstein, 1994]

'all adolescents have the same problems, all adolescents pass through peer groups, all adolescents use music as a badge and a background, a means of identifying and articulating emotion.' [Frith, 1981: p. 217]

'The whole adolescent milieu is penetrated at many levels by an active interest in music... adolescent discourse is centered around the language and terminology of rock and that music provides the core values...' [Roe, 1987, p. 215]

The thesis that the core of adolescents' personal identities is their musical tastes is argued by many (Moffatt, 1989; Prinsky & Rosenbaum, 1987), and that they have become avid consumers of music (Larson & Kubey, 1983; Frith, 1987; Andreasen, 1994). Zillmann and Gan suggest that adolescent maturation is concerned with seeking and joining a 'taste culture' as part of the journey towards self-determination andindependence. Russell (1997) puts forward the argument that:

'The role of music in reinforcing the generation gap between young people and people of their parents'

generation suggests possible limitations on the influences of family and school on the musical tastes of children.' [Russell, 1997, p. 150]

The tension then between the sub-culture of school music and the music forming the adolescent sub-culture is heightened. The social context in which music operates, is consumed and practised outside the school context will be related to the maturational, emotional and situational associations of adolescence (Gibson et al, 1995; Wells & Hakanen, 1991). How far the school context or sub-culture attends to such associations is debatable. Modes of operating in the school context, expectations and management of behaviour, time constraints and organisation of lessons interrupt the flow of creative musical experience or 'collective effervescence' (Durkheim, 1897; also Csikszentmihalyi, 1992) experienced in being involved either as an attending listener or music maker.Yet, identities are developed through music beyond the adolescent sub-culture into other sub-cultures. People have a need to continue to belong to sub-cultures, be they a choral society or folk band and use music to construct their identities (Durrant & Himonides, 1998; Roberts, 1993) and seek'pathways' (Finnegan, 1989) to 'induct, foster, perpetuate (and transform) musical traditions across successive generations'. Here the tension re-emerges between such musicalpathways and the more developmental routes expected in the school context and within the traditional musical pedagogies. The tension is even further accentuated when examining the development of human physiology as shown, for example, in adolescent vocal development (Cooksey, 1992; Cooksey & Welch, 1998), and musical expectations in the school curriculum and its practice. Let us further explore the singing phenomenon and the tension between musical (singing) development, school curricula and adolescent culture.

Singing Activity and the Adolescent

Singing is referred to in the National Curriculum in England:

'pupils should be taught how to sing songs developing vocal timbre and range' [Key Stage 3 programme of study]

which has developed from:

'pupils should be taught how to sing songs, in unison and two parts, with diction, control of pitch and a sense of phrase' [Key Stage 2]

which in turn has developed from:

'pupils should be taught how to use their voices, singing songs, chants and rhymes with an awareness of pitch' [Key Stage 1].

These statements infer that to develop vocal timbre and range is suitable only for pupils between the ages of 11 and 14. What vocal timbre is appropriate is not clear. The suggestionshere are heavily culture specific and do not necessarily take into account the adolescent changing voice (a physiological development) or the fact that, for example, diction is a not vital vocal entity across all cultures. The reality of the singing phenomenon in secondary schools presents a challengingscenario.

A number of research studies into singing in schools have beencarried out by colleagues and graduate students at the University of Surrey Roehampton. One boys' secondary school music teacher in inner London reported in an interview that there was

'evidence of a communal reluctance to sing, it being avery personal and exposing experience for most kids. Ihave to think about material carefully and tend to go down the pop route'. [interview with Head of Music of a London secondary school]

His attempts at forming a choir within the school have

resulted in only five or six pupils regularly attending in an extra-curricular capacity; there was not, he stated, a good 'club culture' within the school. In the classroom context he stated that singing activity exaggerated the problems of the music class and considered it a 'risky enterprise' and that maintained that 'whole class activities were getting harder'. However, the music teacher reported that when asked to performChristmas carols in a local church, there was a positive response. The music had been transferred outside the school sub-culture into the wider community, where there was a recognition among the boys that choral music more naturally occurred and was accepted in this context. The expectation became a social reality. The adolescent social phenomenon in respect of their vocal maturation was also recognised:

'... boys have a tougher time. They have an identity crisis... much more a problem. They become self-conscious. For those whose voices have not yet changedit becomes problematic. Those with early changes just won't sing. There is a degree of anxiety therefore within boys' groups; boys lose their anonymity whereasgirls don't. Girls can feel part of a group... choral singing is a group activity.' [Interview with Choral Animateur working in same London secondary school, (Durrant et al., 2000)]

There is, nevertheless, an expectation, fostered by some musicteachers, that singing in schools is waning and some like to give reasons for it, blaming the rise of instrumental teachingand instrumental work in the classroom, the development of technology or the requirements of the National Curriculum. A survey carried out by the Church of England in 1992 stated that:

'Many teenagers feel embarrassed when asked to sing.... Other than at football matches and on school journeys, people sing less spontaneously than in previous generations.' [Report of the Archbishop's Commission on Church Music, 1992, p. 133]

Other speculations for the apparent demise in singing in secondary schools are given:

'Many young people see choral singing as less glamorous and challenging than playing in an ensemble.' [Everett, 1997, p. 45]

'Girls too can lose interest in singing in their teenage years when they become self-conscious about their bodies and reluctant to make the physical effortrequired to sing well. It can be difficult for them toresist the peer pressure which identifies choral singing as a 'sad' occupation.' [Stevens, 1998, p. 5]

'It is relatively easy to identify reasons or make excuses - physiological changes during puberty, uninspiring or inappropriate repertoire available, toomany leisure activities on offer... not to mention thedecidedly 'uncool' image that singing in choirs can conjure in the mind of the average teenager.' [Lansdale, 1998, p. 3]

A graduate student's research study into girls' attitudes to singing in an independent girls's school revealed that there was a distinct drop in choir attendance in Year 7 and 8 from Year 6:

'this appears to show that the drop occurs earlier in adolescence than previously thought, when vocal inconsistencies are only just beginning to be experienced...' [Research assignment: Sarah Aylen, 1998, University ofSurrey Roehampton]

While initially attributing the decline to physiological maturational considerations, she does recognise that social factors often determine adolescent participation in school musical activities.

The evidence and reportage of this 'dilemma' rarely ventures into the realms of the social psychology of adolescence. The commonly stated reasons by teachers for the reluctance of adolescents to take part in, for example, singing activity, appear to be concerned with repertoire, voice development and change or curriculum pressures (Fuller, 1999). To be anecdotal

for a moment: my own children's state secondary school has a wealth of musical pupils; although a mixed school, the choir consists almost exclusively of girls. On asking my children (girls) about singing in the choir, they responded that I (being a choral trainer and former secondary school music teacher) 'would never be able to get the boys to sing in the choir'. Yet in a performance of the musical West Side Story a few years ago, boys were flocking to take part in the stage production, and sang and danced with great passion and commitment. Whether it was the music itself, the theatre or the fact that these were the extroverts who wanted the stage, it was nevertheless clear that this was a different cultural context in which they operated. The performance--the gestalt--was the goal, not the individual learning fragments that teachers now seem to have to be concerned with in their class teaching. The pupils were absorbed by the sub-culture represented by the musical. Also, the singers could 'hide' behind the musical's fictional characters and become someone else. This context alerts us to the distinctiveness of drama in enabling young people to develop creative and re-creative skills.

Some Solutions

The question remains whether the secondary school classroom isthe most appropriate and efficient way of delivering a musicaleducation to adolescents. Research into the evaluation of projects with musicians and schools at the South Bank Centre in London (Swanwick, 1999) reveals that attitudes towards music by pupils were enhanced when they were involved in musicand working with professional musicians outside the school. Results of the research indicated that, over a three-year period with 'project' and 'control' classes:

project and control classes all show a decline in attitude towards music in school, though the project classes significantly less so;

the project classes retained higher levels of group homogeneity in attitudes to music in school, to school, to peers and to music in general;

qualitative data support quantitative findings and indicate positive gains in social maturity, students'

valuing of music, regard for musicians from a range ofstyles and practical musical outcomes. [Swanwick, 1999, p. 97]

The results from this research further imply that school musicin isolation from other cultural contexts may not be the most effective way to musically educate adolescents. Contact with professional musicians and other schools to explore, listen toand make music from different styles, genres and contexts may be the way to engage pupils and reverse the decline in attitudes to school music. A more radical approach to musical education is needed, so that the classroom is not seen as a sub-culture unrelated to any other, causing distress to teachers and pupils alike. This would also more likely addressthe interface between the developmental aspect of the individual adolescent the social-cultural context to which s/he belongs.

A further illustration is provided. In July and August 2000 a group of young musicians (Haringey Young Musicians) from NorthLondon, forming an orchestra, big band and drummers toured South Africa. The tour was the first stage of the three year project--Empowering Partnership through Music Making--which intended to foster links with communities South Africa. As well as formal concerts, music-making through shared workshops with a variety of young musicians in schools and communities took place and was universally considered by those who took part asthe most memorable and musically significant parts of the tour. Particularly noticeable was the informal and unplanned music-making that took place (see video extract) in two black townships--Umlazi near Durban and Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg. These were among the most breathtaking moments of the tour when young people interacted and made music without the intervention of adults. In the Soweto workshop, after the formal playing together, the young musicians taught each other songs and improvisations--and music just happened. As these activities took place outside, the music attracted onlookers from the neighbourhood. Soon a host of people were involved, dancing and joining in the singing. The video footage and photographs that were taken can only give a token portrayal of the atmosphere of relaxed enjoyment and real cultural interaction that was promoted that Sunday afternoon in Soweto. What can be learnt from this?

Recognising that the young people involved in these activitiesin the townships were already 'engaged' in music, it is nevertheless salutary to accept that music-making should be 'allowed' to happen. Teachers cannot and should not seek to control everything. Trusting in our students' own willingness and expertise to get music going is, for some, a conceptual leap of faith. Chloe, an 18 year old English student, shared her thoughts in her journal:

... in the townships everyone joined in singing and dancing and all that seemed to matter was the music--ahuge contrast to the musical experiences we had in places like Pretoria where it was a struggle to enthuse the audience...

Within a curriculum context, this is difficult to plan for in terms of measured outcomes and standardised assessment. In this respect, it could be said that music 'lags behind' the other arts. Music perhaps needs to reassert its creative function and divergent function. No amount of curriculum documentation or government edict can make that happen; it is not always predictable.

To offer some kind of solution in terms of planning a music curriculum: the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO)4

has recently designed and developed a new music curriculum examination for 16-19 year olds, intended both for those who wish to study music at conservatoire or university and for those for whom it is an interest. It is intended as a 'pluralistic' curriculum, seeking to reflect how music occurs in the varying cultural and social contexts throughout the world and seeking also to address how music develops in the individual. It is designed with a series of options to suit the stage of musical development of the individual student, recognising that there can be no prescribed 'route' that is applicable and suitable for everyone around the world. Each student, through the support of the teacher, will follow his/her own 'pathway' (Finnegan, 1989). The components of the curriculum and examination can be taken at 'higher' or 'standard' level and include Performance, Composition, Listening and a Portfolio. The performance also includes a 'Group Performance' option. Here candidates who take part in

musical ensembles where they do not necessarily maintain a discrete, individual part (as in a solo or duet) but are members, for example, of a choir, large band or gamelan, can be recognised for their contribution to that ensemble and awarded credit accordingly. This innovation in an examination context reflects not only how musical activity occurs around the world and how people take part in it, but also reflects the fact that, in some societies, people work collaboratively in an academic context (Mertz, 1998). The portfolio component of the curriculum also encourages students to investigate particular music both from a culture with which they are familiar and also from one with which they are unfamiliar.

As with the pupils who have taken part in the South Bank musicprojects (see above and Swanwick, 1999) and the Haringey YoungMusicians visiting the townships of South Africa, so International Baccalaureate students are seeking new musical experiences both inside and out of the school context. Harlandet al (2000) suggests from analysis of successful school music situations that 'the importance of contexts and backgrounds should not be overlooked in the understanding of effective music education (op cit: 492) and that a supportive and relaxed atmosphere should be constituent elements in a hands-on structured, practical environment. Let us reflect on how music operates in the world and not just seek to invent or maintain a school's sub-culture for its own sake, possibly causing tension in the interface between the musical development of the individual and the socio-cultural context of the adolescent. The way forward is to look outside.

Notes1 Compulsory schooling in England and Wales is organised in four key stages; key stage 3 is the secondary school stage for11-14 year olds; key stage 1 is for 5-6 year olds, key stage 2for 7-10 year olds, whole key stage 4 is for 15-16 year olds.2 Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) is the government’s school inspection organ.3 Year7 – the first year of secondary schooling at key stage 3 for 11 year olds.4 Further information on the International Baccalaureate

curriculum can be found on its web-site: www.ibo.org

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About the Author

Colin Durrant

Dr Colin Durrant is Principal Lecturer in Music and Music Education at the University of Surrey Roehampton, UK. He conducts the university choir and Barnet Choral Society--a large community choir in London. He has, following research into the area of effective choral conducting, designed and developed a graduate programme in Choral Education, the first and only one of its kind in the UK. He has also been Deputy Chief Examiner in Music for the International Baccalaureate for whom he has presented papers, workshops and seminars on curriculum development and teacher training in Europe, South Africa and North America. Colin has written a number of

journal articles on the subject of choral conducting and co-authored the book Making Sense of Music with Graham Welch. He has recently been guest conductor, clinician and teacher at universities in North America and South Korea as well as within the UK. Colin is on the council of the Association of British Choral Directors and is the European commissioner for the International Society for Music Education's 'Music in Schools and Teacher Education' commission. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing. For the 2001/2002 academic year he is Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Music at the University of Maryland, USA, where he conducts the university Chamber Singers.

Effective leadership:Think about a person whom you know who is in a formal position ofleadership: a department head, a vice-principal, a principal, etc. What are some of the positive attributes from your perspective that he or she has?Think about a person whom others refer to as a leader but who does not have the formal position/title within an organization. What does that person do so that a person is considered to be a leader by one's peers?

Who are the teacher-leaders? Despite massive research no single definition exists. Leadership Strategies for Teachers (2000) offers a Reach model for teacher leadership with the associated behaviours:

Risk-taking--Teachers who seek challenges Effectiveness--Teachers who model best practice,

professional growth Autonomy--Teachers who display initiative, independent

thought Collegiality--Teachers who promote community Honour--Teachers who demonstrate integrity, honesty,

professional ethics

"Leaders teach. Teaching and learning are distinguishable occupations, but every great leader is clearly teaching - and every great teacher is a leader."

Change:

Try to get hold of the popular book by Johnson entitled Who MovedMy Cheese? What is the theme in the book? If you can't get the book, then go to Johnson's website, and look at the summary.Johnson, S. Who Moved My Cheese?For a summary of the book, please see Johnson's website at:http://www.whomovedmycheese.com/products/WhoMovedMyCheese.htmlNext, brainstorm the changes you have undertaken as an educator in the last two years. What are the major forces behind change ineducation?

Decision-making:

Think about your role as a music teacher. When would you make a decision as a decision on your own? When would you consult others? Who would you consult?Participatory decision-making is including the people who have some sort of stake in the issue in some aspect of the decision-making. For example, do you give your students an assignment or is there some opportunity for them to have input into some aspectof the assignment, even with some sort of choice? Voice, choice, and cooperative learning activities are three important strategies for teachers striving for inclusive classrooms, and for leaders who want their followers to be empowered. It's interesting how the same theory is applicable throughout the education system.

David Sousa in The Leadership Brain: How to Lead Today's Schools More Effectively (2003) advances three approaches to resolving a right-versus-right dilemma.Ends-based thinking: utilitarian approach, commonly summarized asthe greatest good for the greatest number.Rule-based thinking: not consequences concerned. What matters is the fundamental precept that underlies the decision.Care-based thinking: the Golden Rule, the notion of reciprocity.Which decision-making approach is do you use in your music classroom? Is there a fourth one not mentioned? Is your approach situation based?

Teams:

Think of a team that you have been on when you have not been the leader. What was your role? Mentally apply the four above stages of team development to your situation. Do they all apply? Were there any other stages involved? Did your team eventually accomplish its mission?Trotman in his final link Team Acid Test refers to Katzenbach andSmith's test for assessing how well a team performs. Apply the six factors to the team that you used in the task above. How did your team do? Compare your results with two other members of the course. Note if the three teams shared the same or different strengths. leader of a team is often known as a coach or a facilitator. As the leader, if anything goes wrong, it is ultimately the leader'sresponsibility; but if things go well, it is the team's accomplishment. Furthermore, each member of the team should be treated as an important and necessary individual to the team's task; so if that person gives a stellar performance, she or he should be given the credit.

Communication:

Think about ways that you communicate with students or parents (or community members) whose first language is not English. This is particularly of concern to those in cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Montreal, where Statistics Canada says that immigrants and refugees are settling. Now, think about ways that you have in the past, and ways that you could in the future,communicate with those students and their parents.

Decision-making:

What is Decision Making?

Some DefinitionsA good place to start is with some standard definitions of decision making. 1. Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. Making a decision implies that there are alternative choices to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that best fits with our goals, desires, lifestyle, values, and so on. 2. Decision making is the process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them. This definition stresses the information gathering function of decision making. It should be noted here that uncertainty is reduced rather than eliminated. Very few decisions are made with absolute certainty because complete knowledge about all the alternatives is seldom possible.Thus, every decision involves a certain amount of risk. Kinds of DecisionsThere are several basic kinds of decisions. 1. Decisions whether. This is the yes/no, either/or decision thatmust be made before we proceed with the selection of an alternative. Should I buy a new TV? Should I travel this summer? Decisions whether are made by weighing reasons pro and con. The PMI technique discussed in the next chapter is ideal for this kind of decision. It is important to be aware of having made a decision whether, since too often we assume that decision making begins with the identification of alternatives, assuming that the decision to choose one has already been made. 2. Decisions which. These decisions involve a choice of one or more alternatives from among a set of possibilities, the choice being based on how well each alternative measures up to a set of predefined criteria. 3. Contingent decisions. These are decisions that have been made but put on hold until some condition is met. For example, I have decided to buy that car if I can get it for the right price; I have decided to write that article if I can work the necessary time for it into my schedule. Most people carry around a set of already made, contingent decisions, just waiting for the right conditions or opportunity

to arise. Time, energy, price, availability, opportunity, encouragement--all these factors can figure into the necessary conditions that need to be met before we can act on our decision.Decision Making is a Recursive ProcessA critical factor that decision theorists sometimes neglect to emphasize is that in spite of the way the process is presented onpaper, decision making is a nonlinear, recursive process. That is, most decisions are made by moving back and forth between the choice of criteria (the characteristics we want our choice to meet) and the identification of alternatives (the possibilities we can choose from among). The alternatives available influence the criteria we apply to them, and similarly the criteria we establish influence the alternatives we will consider. Let's lookat an example to clarify this. Suppose someone wants to decide, Should I get married? Notice that this is a decision whether. A linear approach to decision making would be to decide this question by weighing the reasons pro and con (what are the benefits and drawbacks of getting married) and then to move to the next part of the process, the identification of criteria (supportive, easy going, competent, affectionate, etc.). Next, we would identify alternatives likely to have these criteria (Kathy, Jennifer, Michelle, Julie, etc.). Finally we would evaluate each alternative according to the criteria and choose the one that best meets the criteria. We would thus have a scheme like this: decision whether ... select criteria ... identify alternatives ... make choice However, the fact is that our decision whether to get married may really be a contingent decision. "I'll get married if I can find the right person." It will thus be influenced by the identification of alternatives, which we usually think of as a later step in the process. Similarly, suppose we have arrived at the "identify alternatives" stage of the process when we discover that Jennifer (one of the girls identified as an alternative) has a wonderful personality characteristic that we had not even thought of before, but that wenow really want to have in a wife. We immediately add that characteristic to our criteria.Thus, the decision making process continues to move back and forth, around and around as it progresses in what will eventually be a linear direction but which in its actual workings is highly recursive. The Components of Decision Making

The Decision EnvironmentEvery decision is made within a decision environment, which is defined as the collection of information, alternatives, values, and preferences available at the time of the decision. An ideal decision environment would include all possible information, all of it accurate, and every possible alternative. However, both information and alternatives are constrained because time and

effort to gain information or identify alternatives are limited. The time constraint simply means that a decision must be made by a certain time. The effort constraint reflects the limits of manpower, money, and priorities. (You wouldn't want to spend three hours and half a tank of gas trying to find the very best parking place at the mall.) Since decisions must be made within this constrained environment, we can say that the major challenge of decision making is uncertainty, and a major goal of decision analysis is to reduce uncertainty. We can almost never have all information needed to make a decision with certainty, so most decisions involve an undeniable amount of risk. The fact that decisions must be made within a limiting decision environment suggests two things. First, it explains why hindsightis so much more accurate and better at making decisions that foresight. As time passes, the decision environment continues to grow and expand. New information and new alternatives appear--even after the decision must be made. Armed with new information after the fact, the hindsighters can many times look back and make a much better decision than the original maker, because the decision environment has continued to expand. The second thing suggested by the decision-within-an-environment idea follows from the above point. Since the decision environmentcontinues to expand as time passes, it is often advisable to put off making a decision until close to the deadline. Information and alternatives continue to grow as time passes, so to have access to the most information and to the best alternatives, do not make the decision too soon. Now, since we are dealing with real life, it is obvious that some alternatives might no longer be available if too much time passes; that is a tension we have to work with, a tension that helps to shape the cutoff date for the decision. Delaying a decision as long as reasonably possible, then, provides three benefits: 1. The decision environment will be larger, providing more information. There is also time for more thoughtful and extended analysis. 2. New alternatives might be recognized or created. 3. The decision maker's preferences might change. With further thought, wisdom, maturity, you may decide not to buy car X and instead to buy car Y.

The Effects of Quantity on Decision MakingMany decision makers have a tendency to seek more information than required to make a good decision. When too much information is sought and obtained, one or more of several problems can arise. (1) A delay in the decision occurs because of the time required to obtain and process the extra information. This delay could impair the effectiveness of the decision or solution. (2) Information overload will occur. In this state, so much information is available that decision-making ability actually declines because the information in its entirety can no longer bemanaged or assessed appropriately. A major problem caused by information overload is forgetfulness. When too much information is taken into memory, especially in a short period of time, some of the information (often that received early on) will be pushed out. The example is sometimes given of the man who spent the day at an information-heavy seminar. At the end of the day, he was not only unable to remember the first half of the seminar but he had also forgotten where he parked his car that morning. (3) Selective use of the information will occur. That is, the decision maker will choose from among all the information available only those facts which support a preconceived solution or position. (4) Mental fatigue occurs, which results in slower work or poor quality work. (5) Decision fatigue occurs, where thedecision maker tires of making decisions. Often the result is fast, careless decisions or even decision paralysis--no decisionsare made at all. The quantity of information that can be processed by the human mind is limited. Unless information is consciously selected, processing will be biased toward the first part of the information received. After that, the mind tires and begins to ignore subsequent information or forget earlier information. Decision StreamsA common misconception about decision making is that decisions are made in isolation from each other: you gather information, explore alternatives, and make a choice, without regard to anything that has gone before. The fact is, decisions are made ina context of other decisions. The typical metaphor used to explain this is that of a stream. There is a stream of decisions surrounding a given decision, many decisions made earlier have led up to this decision and made it both possible and limited. Many other decisions will follow from it.

Another way to describe this situation is to say that most decisions involve a choice from a group of preselected alternatives, made available to us from the universe of alternatives by the previous decisions we have made. Previous decisions have "activated" or "made operable" certain alternatives and "deactivated" or "made inoperable" others. For example, when you decide to go to the park, your decision has been enabled by many previous decisions. You had to decide to live near the park; you had to decide to buy a car or learn about bus routes, and so on. And your previous decisions have constrained your subsequent ones: you can't decide to go to a park this afternoon if it is three states away. By deciding to live where you do, you have both enabled and disableda whole series of other decisions. As another example, when you enter a store to buy a VCR or TV, you are faced with the preselected alternatives stocked by the store. There may be 200 models available in the universe of models, but you will be choosing from, say, only a dozen. In this case, your decision has been constrained by the decisions made by others about which models to carry. We might say, then, that every decision (1) follows from previousdecisions, (2) enables many future decisions, and (3) prevents other future decisions. People who have trouble making decisions are sometimes trapped by the constraining nature of decision making. Every decision you make precludes other decisions, and therefore might be said to cause a loss of freedom. If you decideto marry Terry, you no longer can decide to marry Shawn. However,just as making a decision causes a loss of freedom, it also creates new freedom, new choices and new possibilities. So makinga decision is liberating as well as constraining. And a decision left unmade will often result in a decision by default or a decision being made for you. It is important to realize that every decision you make affects the decision stream and the collections of alternatives availableto you both immediately and in the future. In other words, decisions have far reaching consequences. Concepts and Definitions1. Information. This is knowledge about the decision, the effectsof its alternatives, the probability of each alternative, and so forth. A major point to make here is that while substantial information is desirable, the statement that "the more information, the better" is not true. Too much information can actually reduce the quality of a decision. See the discussion on The Effects of Quantity on Decision Making above.

2. Alternatives. These are the possibilities one has to choose from. Alternatives can be identified (that is, searched for and located) or even developed (created where they did not previouslyexist). Merely searching for preexisting alternatives will resultin less effective decision making. 3. Criteria. These are the characteristics or requirements that each alternative must possess to a greater or lesser extent. Usually the alternatives are rated on how well they possess each criterion. For example, alternative Toyota ranks an 8 on the criterion of economy, while alternative Buick ranks a 6 on the same criterion. 4. Goals. What is it you want to accomplish? Strangely enough, many decision makers collect a bunch of alternatives (say cars tobuy or people to marry) and then ask, "Which should I choose?" without thinking first of what their goals are, what overall objective they want to achieve. Next time you find yourself asking, "What should I do? What should I choose?" ask yourself first, "What are my goals?" A component of goal identification should be included in every instance of decision analysis. 5. Value. Value refers to how desirable a particular outcome is, the value of the alternative, whether in dollars, satisfaction, or other benefit. 6. Preferences. These reflect the philosophy and moral hierarchy of the decision maker. We could say that they are the decision maker's "values," but that might be confusing with the other use of the word, above. If we could use that word here, we would say that personal values dictate preferences. Some people prefer excitement to calmness, certainty to risk, efficiency to esthetics, quality to quantity, and so on. Thus, when one person chooses to ride the wildest roller coaster in the park and another chooses a mild ride, both may be making good decisions, if based on their individual preferences. 7. Decision Quality. This is a rating of whether a decision is good or bad. A good decision is a logical one based on the available information and reflecting the preferences of the decision maker. The important concept to grasp here is that the quality of a decision is not related to its outcome: a good decision can have either a good or a bad outcome. Similarly, a bad decision (one not based on adequate information or not reflecting the decision maker's preferences) can still have a good outcome.

For example, if you do extensive analysis and carefully decide on a certain investment based on what you know about its risks and your preferences, then your decision is a good one, even though you may lose money on the investment. Similarly, if you throw a dart at a listing of stocks and buy the one the dart hits, your decision is a bad one, even though the stock may go up in value. Good decisions that result in bad outcomes should thus not be cause for guilt or recrimination. If you decide to take the scenic route based on what you know of the road (reasonably safe,not heavily traveled) and your preferences (minimal risk, prefer scenery over early arrival), then your decision is a good one, even though you might happen to get in an accident, or have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. It is not justified to say, "Well, this was a bad decision." In judging the quality of a decision, in addition to the concernsof logic, use of information and alternatives, three other considerations come into play: A. The decision must meet the stated objectives most thoroughly and completely. How well does the alternative chosen meet the goals identified? B. The decision must meet the stated objectives most efficiently, with concern over cost, energy, side effects. Are there negative consequences to the alternativethat make that choice less desirable? We sometimes overlook this consideration in our search for thrills. C. The decision must take into account valuable byproducts or indirect advantages. A new employee candidate may also have extra abilities not directlyrelated to the job but valuable to the company nonetheless. Theseshould be taken into account. 8. Acceptance. Those who must implement the decision or who will be affected by it must accept it both intellectually and emotionally. Acceptance is a critical factor because it occasionally conflictswith one of the quality criteria. In such cases, the best thing to do may be to choose a lesser quality solution that has greateracceptance. For example, when cake mixes first were put on the market, manufacturers put everything into the mix--the highest quality and most efficient solution. Only water had to be added. However, the mixes didn't sell well--they weren't accepted. After investigation, the makers discovered that women didn't like the mixes because using the mixes made them feel guilty: they weren't good wives because they were taking a shortcut to making a cake. The solution was to take the egg and sometimes the milk out of the mix so that the women would have something to do to "make" the cake other than just adding water. Now they had to add egg and perhaps milk, making them feel more useful. The need to feel useful and a contributor is one of the most basic of human

needs. Thus, while the new solution was less efficient in theoretical terms, it was much more acceptable. Cake mixes with the new formula became quite popular. Thus, the inferior method may produce greater results if the inferior one has greater support. One of the most important considerations in decision making, then, is the people factor. Always consider a decision in light of the people implementation.A decision that may be technologically brilliant but that is sociologically stupid will not work. Only decisions that are implemented, and implemented with thoroughness (and preferably enthusiasm) will work the way they are intended to. Approaches to Decision MakingThere are two major approaches to decision making in an organization, the authoritarian method in which an executive figure makes a decision for the group and the group method in which the group decides what to do. 1. Authoritarian. The manager makes the decision based on the knowledge he can gather. He then must explain the decision to thegroup and gain their acceptance of it. In some studies, the time breakdown for a typical operating decision is something like this: make decision, 5 min.; explain decision, 30 min.; gain acceptance, 30 min. 2. Group. The group shares ideas and analyses, and agrees upon a decision to implement. Studies show that the group often has values, feelings, and reactions quite different from those the manager supposes they have. No one knows the group and its tastesand preferences as well as the group itself. And, interestingly, the time breakdown is something like this: group makes decision, 30 min.; explain decision, 0 min.; gain acceptance, 0 min. Clearly, just from an efficiency standpoint, group decision making is better. More than this, it has been shown many times that people prefer to implement the ideas they themselves think of. They will work harder and more energetically to implement their own idea than they would to implement an idea imposed on them by others. We all have a love for our own ideas and solutions, and we will always work harder on a solution supported by our own vision and our own ego than we will on a solution we have little creative involvement with. There are two types of group decision making sessions. First is free discussion in which the problem is simply put on the table for the group to talk about. For example, Joe has been offered a

job change from shift supervisor to maintenance foreman. Should he take the job? The other kind of group decision making is developmental discussion or structured discussion. Here the problem is broken down into steps, smaller parts with specific goals. For example, instead of asking generally whether Joe should take the job, the group works on sub questions: What are Joe's skills? What skills does the new job require? How does Joe rate on each of the skillsrequired? Notice that these questions seek specific information rather than more general impressionistic opinions. Developmental discussion (1) insures systematic coverage of a topic and (2) insures that all members of the group are talking about the same aspect of the problem at the same time. Some Decision Making StrategiesAs you know, there are often many solutions to a given problem, and the decision maker's task is to choose one of them. The task of choosing can be as simple or as complex as the importance of the decision warrants, and the number and quality of alternativescan also be adjusted according to importance, time, resources andso on. There are several strategies used for choosing. Among themare the following: 1. Optimizing. This is the strategy of choosing the best possiblesolution to the problem, discovering as many alternatives as possible and choosing the very best. How thoroughly optimizing can be done is dependent on A. importance of the problem B. time available for solving it C. cost involved with alternative solutions D. availability of resources, knowledge E. personal psychology, values Note that the collection of complete information and the consideration of all alternatives is seldom possible for most major decisions, so that limitations must be placed on alternatives. 2. Satisficing. In this strategy, the first satisfactory alternative is chosen rather than the best alternative. If you are very hungry, you might choose to stop at the first decent looking restaurant in the next town rather than attempting to choose the best restaurant from among all (the optimizing strategy). The word satisficing was coined by combining satisfactory andsufficient. For many small decisions, such as where to park, what to

drink, which pen to use, which tie to wear, and so on, the satisficing strategy is perfect. 3. Maximax. This stands for "maximize the maximums." This strategy focuses on evaluating and then choosing the alternativesbased on their maximum possible payoff. This is sometimes described as the strategy of the optimist, because favorable outcomes and high potentials are the areas of concern. It is a good strategy for use when risk taking is most acceptable, when the go-for-broke philosophy is reigning freely. 4. Maximin. This stands for "maximize the minimums." In this strategy, that of the pessimist, the worst possible outcome of each decision is considered and the decision with the highest minimum is chosen. The Maximin orientation is good when the consequences of a failed decision are particularly harmful or undesirable. Maximin concentrates on the salvage value of a decision, or of the guaranteed return of the decision. It's the philosophy behind the saying, "A bird in the hand is worth two inthe bush." Quiz shows exploit the uncertainty many people feel when they arenot quite sure whether to go with a maximax strategy or a maximinone: "Okay, Mrs. Freen, you can now choose to take what you've already won and go home, or risk losing it all and find out what's behind door number three." Example: I could put my $10,000 in a genetic engineering company, and if it creates andpatents a new bacteria that helps plants resist frost, I could make $50,000. But I could also lose the whole $10,000. But if I invest in a soap company, I might make only $20,000, but if the company goes completely broke and gets liquidated, I'll still get back $7,000 of my investment, based on its book value. Example: It's fourth down and ten yards to go on your twenty yard line. Do you go for a long pass or punt? Maximax would be to pass; Maximin would be to punt. Decision Making ProcedureAs you read this procedure, remember our discussion earlier aboutthe recursive nature of decision making. In a typical decision making situation, as you move from step to step here, you will probably find yourself moving back and forth also. 1. Identify the decision to be made together with the goals it should achieve. Determine the scope and limitations of the decision. Is the new job to be permanent or temporary or is that not yet known (thus requiring another decision later)? Is the newpackage for the product to be put into all markets or just into atest market? How might the scope of the decision be changed--thatis, what are its possible parameters?

When thinking about the decision, be sure to include a clarification of goals: We must decide whom to hire for our new secretary, one who will be able to create an efficient and organized office. Or, Wemust decide where to go on vacation, where we can relax and get some rest from the fast pace of society. 2. Get the facts. But remember that you cannot get all the facts.Get as many facts as possible about a decision within the limits of time imposed on you and your ability to process them, but remember that virtuallyevery decision must be made in partial ignorance. Lack of complete information must not be allowed to paralyze your decision. A decision based on partial knowledge is usually betterthan not making the decision when a decision is really needed. The proverb that "any decision is better than no decision," whileperhaps extreme, shows the importance of choosing. When you are racing toward a bridge support, you must decide to turn away to the right or to the left. Which way you turn is less important than the fact that you do indeed turn. As part of your collection of facts, list your feelings, hunches,and intuitive urges. Many decisions must ultimately rely on or beinfluenced by intuition because of the remaining degree of uncertainty involved in the situation. Also as part of your collection of facts, consult those who will be affected by and who will have to implement your decision. Input from these people not only helps supply you with information and help in making the decision but it begins to produce the acceptance necessary in the implementers because theyfeel that they are part of the decision making process. As Russell Ackoff noted in The Art of Problem Solving, not consulting people involved in a decision is often perceived as an act of aggression. 3. Develop alternatives. Make a list of all the possible choices you have, including the choice of doing nothing. Not choosing oneof the candidates or one of the building sites is in itself a decision. Often a non decision is harmful as we mentioned above--not choosing to turn either right or left is to choose to drive into the bridge. But sometimes the decision to do nothing is useful or at least better than the alternatives, so it should always be consciously included in the decision making process. Also be sure to think about not just identifying available alternatives but creating alternatives that don't yet exist. For example, if you want to choose which major to pursue in college, think not only of the available ones in the catalog, but of designing your own course of study.

4. Rate each alternative. This is the evaluation of the value of each alternative. Consider the negative of each alternative (cost, consequences, problems created, time needed, etc.) and thepositive of each (money saved, time saved, added creativity or happiness to company or employees, etc.). Remember here that the alternative that you might like best or that would in the best ofall possible worlds be an obvious choice will, however, not be functional in the real world because of too much cost, time, or lack of acceptance by others. Also don't forget to include indirect factors in the rating. If you are deciding between machines X, Y, and Z and you already have an employee who knows how to operate machine Z, that fact should be considered. If you are choosing an investigative team to send to Japan to look at plant sites and you have very qualified candidates A, B, and C, the fact that B is a very fast typist, a superior photographer or has some other side benefit inaddition to being a qualified team member, should be considered. In fact, what you put on your hobbies and interests line on your resume can be quite important when you apply for a job just because employers are interested in getting people with a good collection of additional abilities. 5. Rate the risk of each alternative. In problem solving, you hunt around for a solution that best solves a particular problem,and by such a hunt you are pretty sure that the solution will work. In decision making, however, there is always some degree ofuncertainty in any choice. Will Bill really work out as the new supervisor? If we decide to expand into Canada, will our sales and profits really increase? If we let Jane date Fred at age fifteen, will the experience be good? If you decide to marry person X or buy car Y or go to school Z, will that be the best orat least a successful choice? Risks can be rated as percentages, ratios, rankings, grades or inany other form that allows them to be compared. See the section on risk evaluation for more details on risking. 6. Make the decision. If you are making an individual decision, apply your preferences (which may take into account the preferences of others). Choose the path to follow, whether it includes one of the alternatives, more than one of them (a multiple decision) or the decision to choose none. And of course, don't forget to implement the decision and then evaluate the implementation, just as you would in a problem solving experience.

One important item often overlooked in implementation is that when explaining the decision to those involved in carrying it outor those who will be affected by it, don't just list the projected benefits: frankly explain the risks and the drawbacks involved and tell why you believe the proposed benefits outweigh the negatives. Implementers are much more willing to support decisions when they (1) understand the risks and (2) believe thatthey are being treated with honesty and like adults. Remember also that very few decisions are irrevocable. Don't cancel a decision prematurely because many new plans require timeto work--it may take years for your new branch office in Paris toget profitable--but don't hesitate to change directions if a particular decision clearly is not working out or is being somehow harmful. You can always make another decision to do something else. RiskingBecause making decisions involves a degree of risk, it would be helpful to examine risk and risk analysis in this chapter in order to gain an understanding of what is involved. Risk and uncertainty create anxiety, yet they are necessary components of an active life. General Comments on Risk Taking1. Only the risk takers are truly free. All decisions of consequence involve risk. Without taking risks, you cannot grow or improve or even live. 2. There is really no such thing as permanent security in anything on earth. Not taking risks is really not more secure than taking them, for your present state can always be changed without action on your part. If you don't take the risk of dying by driving to the store, your house could collapse on you and kill you anyway. 3. You are supposed to be afraid when you risk. Admit your fears--of loss, of rejection, of failure. 4. Risking normally involves a degree of separation anxiety--the anxiety you feel whenever you are removed from something that makes you feel secure. Many children feel this when they first leave their parents for school. Some college students feel this when they go off to college. Travelers sometimes feel it when they get homesick. The way to overcome separation anxiety is to build a bridge between the familiar and secure and the new. Find out what the new place--school or country--is like and how its

elements compare to familiar and secure things at home. Take familiar things with you--books, teddy bear, popcorn popper, whatever. The same is true of all risks. Make the opportunity as familiar as possible and learn as much about it as you can before you release the security of the old. Find out about the new job, its location, the lifestyle of those who live there, and so on. The Orthodox Theory of Risk EvaluationThe traditional strategy for evaluating risks is to use an expected value calculation, based on the simple idea that the expected value of a risk is the value of the possible outcome discounted by the probability of its realization. The formula is EV=PR or expected value equals prize times risk (or chance). Thus, if you have one chance in a million of winning a million dollars, your expected value is one dollar (which is one millionth of a million dollars). Expected value calculations are often used when comparing an amount of money to be invested with the probable payoff. (Note: if the risk is, for example, one in twenty, you can divide the prize by twenty, which is the same as multiplying the prize by one twentieth.) Let's take a typical state lottery, for example. The investment for a ticket is a dollar. The usual prize is about $6,500,000 andthe chance of winning is about one in 14,800,000. By discounting the possible outcome by the chance of winning (dividing $6.5 million by 14.8 million), we discover that the expected value of the lottery ticket is about 43.9 cents. Since a ticket costs $1.00 (more than twice as much as its expected value), we would conclude that this is a poor risk. Only when the expected value meets or exceeds the required expense is the risk considered worth taking, according to this theory. ______________________________________________________________________ Try It YourselfExpected Value. Calculate the expected value of each of the following risks. Divide the prize by the chance, and compared theanswer with the cost of the ticket to decide whether the risk is worth taking. 1. Irish Sweepstakes. Ticket: $2.50 Prize: $100,000,000 Chance: 1in 60,000,000 2. State Lottery. Ticket: $1.00 Prize: $42,300,000 Chance: 1 in 14,800,000 (Note: Calculate the expected value for just a single winner and for the

number of winners you'd expect based on 80,000,000 entries.) 3. Reader's Digest Sweepstakes. Ticket: 32 cent stamp to return the entry Prize: $6,000,000 Chance: 1 in 256,000,000 4. Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Ticket: 32 cent stamp to return the entry Prize: $10,000,000 Chance: 1 in 140,000,000 5. Charity Raffle. Ticket: $5.00 Prize: $12,400 (new car) Chance:1 in 3,000 6. Vegas Roulette #1. Ticket: $20 bet Prize: $380 Chance: 1 in 35

7. Reno Roulette #2 Ticket: $25 bet Prize: $975 Chance: 1 in 35 8. Pearl in Oyster Ticket: $10 Prize: $50 Chance: 1 in 8 9. Extended Warranty Ticket (Price of Extended Warranty): $45 Prize (Cost of average covered warranty repair): $180 Chance: 1 in 12 10. In Your Dreams Ticket: $1.00 Prize: $500,000 Chance: 1 in 250

______________________________________________________________________ Many risks have multiple possible outcomes, each outcome with itsown probability of occurrence and its own value. The expected value of a given decision in such cases is the sum of all the values of each outcome, each diminished by its individual probability. The formula is EV = sumn (pn x rn) where p is the probability and r is the reward or value of the risk. Note in the following examples that the value of an outcomeis represented numerically, but it does not need to represent dollars, or even physical units. A 10 could be units of happiness, pleasure, pain, embarrassment, and so forth, as well as dollars. Example: Should I go scuba diving this weekend? If I do, there is a ninety percent probability that I will have a lot of fun. I quantify this great fun as 10 fun points. There isalso a ten percent probability that I will get hurt, which I quantify as minus 20 fun points. If I make the other decision, to stay home, there is a ninety-nine percent probability that I will be bored, represented by a minus 2 fun points, and a one percent probability that something exciting will happen, which I represent as five fun points (halfas exciting as going scuba diving). Our expected value worksheet looks like this: Probability Reward _____ .9 x +10 = +9 | |_____ .1 x -20 = -2 Y| _Scuba?_| Total = 7

N| |_____ .99 x -2 = -1.98 | |_____ .01 x +5 = + .05 Total = -1.93 Here we see that the expected value of going diving is 7, which is much higher than the expected value of staying home, which is a negative 1.93. As another example, suppose I'm trying to decide whether or not to attempt a repair on my computer or whether to have a dealer fix it. If I attempt the repair, there are three possible outcomes. One is that I'll succeed, which I value both financially, experientially, and egotistically, so I give that a +10. Second is that I will increase the cost of repairing the computer by damaging something. This I rate at -8. The third possibility is that I will ruin the computer and be totally humiliated. This I rate at -20. The probability I see for each of these possibilities is, in order, 50%, 30%, and 20%. Do note that for any given decision, the probabilities of all possible outcomes must add up to 100%. On the other hand, if I have a dealer repair the computer, there are two possibilities. One is that it will cost a modest amount of money, which I rate at a -2, since I will be out a few bucks and will have to haul the computer into the shop and back. The other possibility is that the repair will cost major money, which I rate at a -9. The probabilities for each of these I predict at 20% for a cheap repair and 80% for an expensive one. Our EV worksheet would then look like this: Probability Reward _____ .5 x +10 = +5 | |_____ .3 x -8 = -2.4 | |_____ .2 x -20 = -4 Y| Me Fix?_| Total -1.4 N| |_____ .8 x -9 = -7.2 | |_____ .2 x -2 = -0.4 Total -7.6 Here we see that both expected values are negative, meaning that this decision will probably result in discomfort either way. However, the expected value for doing the repair is "higher" (less negative) than that for having the dealer do it, so that is the way our calculations tell us to go. Note, of course, that if we decide our probabilities are different, or if we decide that our rewards are different, the expected values will change.______________________________________________________________________

Try It YourselfExpected Value. Work out each of these for expected value and determine which decision is best. 1. You want to decide whether or not to take the freeway home from an event you've attended. From experience, you calculate that if you take the freeway, you will either speed home, which you rate at a +8 on the happiness scale, or you will get into a traffic jam, which you rate at a -6 on the happiness scale. If you take the side streets, you will either get home okay, which is a +4 on the happiness scale (since it's only half as fast as the freeway) or you will hit another traffic jam, which you rate as a -7, slightly worse than a jam on the freeway. The probability of a freeway jam is 60% (you'll have to figure out the probability for speeding home). The probability for getting home okay on the side streets is 30%. 2. Your crop of cotton is infested with insects and you want to decide which pesticide to use. Some of the insects are probably resistant to the different available pesticides, so you sit down and figure out the following probabilities. If you use ToxiBug, there is a 22% probability that it will kill 95% of the bugs on your crops. There is a 49% probability that it will kill only 71%of the bugs, and a 29% probability that it will kill only 43% of the bugs. (Use the bug percentages as reward numbers, so that 95%is a reward of 95.) If you use Bug-O-Kill, there is a 71% probability that it will kill 90% of the bugs, a 24% probability that it will kill 11% of the bugs, and a 5% probability that it will kill 19% of the bugs.

If you use MegaDeath Bug Viability Terminator, there is a 90% chance that 60% of the bugs will be killed, and a 10% chance that5% will be killed. 3. You have been retained by Amalgamated Pencil Sharpeners, Inc. to help determine whether the company should export its new sharpener model XT-S to Brazil. If APS does export, there are three foreseen possibilities. First, there is a 25% probability that the product will sell well, earning the company (after startup costs) $280,000. Second, there is a 40% probability that the sharpeners will have only modest performance, earning the company a net of only $15,000. Lastly, the product might be rejected, causing the company to lose its startup costs of $175,000. The probability for this is 35%. If the company decides not to export the sharpeners, it could

invest the startup money with a 90% probability of making a net of $18,000 and a 10% probability of losing a net of $27,000. What should the company do? 4. As a diving buff, you have been asked to help salvage a sunkentreasure ship off the coast of Florida. Your only problem is an abundance of riches: There are three ships to choose from. And, to make life interesting, there is a little uncertainty about whether each has already been salvaged. (If the ship has already been salvaged, there will be no treasure at all left, and the attempt will result in a net loss equal to the cost of mounting the expedition.) Judging by the records of each ship's inventory and the probability of previous salvaging, you have this information: If you salvage the Jacques D'Ambois, there is a 60% probability of finding the $20,000,000 in gold and silver bars on board. Cost ofsalvaging this wreck is $5,000,000. If you salvage the Acana, there is a 75% probability of finding $11,000,000 in doubloons and jewels. Cost of salvaging this wreckis $3,000,000. If you salvage the Princess Avanti, there is a 20% probability of finding $30,000,000 in gold and a 25% probability of finding only$15,000,000. Cost of salvaging this wreck is $4,000,000. Hint: Subtract the cost of salvaging from the hoped for return in each case. Subtract the probability of success from 100% to find the probability of failure. Failure results in the expense of salvaging (a net loss). Which ship should be salvaged? 5. Penelope has a serious illness for which doctors have recommended surgery. If she has the operation, there is a 60% chance she will recover and live another 50 years. There is a 20%chance she will live only 20 more years. And there is a 20% percent chance that she will die on the operating table or shortly thereafter. If she does not have the operation, there is a 60% chance that she will live only five years. There is a 15% percent chance that she will live 15 years. And there is a 25% chance that she will spontaneously recover and live 50 years. Foreach case, let the number of years to live equal the possible reward. For the possibility of dying on the operating table, makethat equal to a negative of the expected value of not having the operation at all (so calculate the not having the operation EV first). Should she have the operation? 6. You have $250,000 to invest for a year. If you put it in stocks, there is a 50 percent chance that you will net a return

of $40,000. There is, however a 20 percent chance that you'll lose $2,000 and a 30 percent chance that the market will really decline and you'll lose $50,000. If you put the money in the bank, there is a 95 percent chance that you'll earn $17,500 in interest. There is, however, just a small chance--5 percent--that the bank will go broke, and since the FDIC insurance covers only $100,000, you would lose $150,000.

Which investment has the highest expected value? 7. You are trying to decide between three used cars, all of whichare priced the same. If you buy used car number one, there is a 70 percent probability that you'll have to spend $400 to get the engine back in shape. However, there is a 30 percent probability that the engine will have to be replaced, which will cost you $2,000. If you choose car number 2, there is a 50 percent probability that you won't have to spend any money at all, a 30 percent probability that emission repairs will cost only $200, but there is a 20 percent chance that the car will require a California smog conversion (since it may be a European import that hasn't been built for California). This will cost you $5000. If you choose car number three, you will face a 60 percent probability of an $800 transmission repair, a 35 percent probability of a small transmission adjustment, and a 5 percent possibility that you'll need to spend $1600 to fix the engine andthe transmission. Which car should you buy? Consider the costs as negative values and choose the one with the lowest negative total. 8. Your true love comes up to you and says, "Darling, I can't decide whether we should go to the beach or to a movie, because while the beach would be twice as much fun if it doesn't rain, there is a 30 percent chance of rain today. And if it rains, the beach would be no fun at all." You smile knowingly and reply, "Well, sweetheart, I just happen to know how to calculate expected values. I'll solve the problem for us." If the fun you would have at the beach is a 10, what should you decision be? ______________________________________________________________________ Advice on Risking1. Decide whether the risk is necessary or desirable. Spend some careful thought before acting, so that you will not end up takingunnecessary risks.

2. Risk for the right reasons and when you are calm and thoughtful. Don't take a risk because you are angry, hurt, depressed, desperate, or frightened. Don't take risks just to getrevenge or to harm someone else. Don't risk when you are incapable of rational thought. 3. Have a goal. When you take a risk, have a clear purpose in mind so that you will know, after the fact, whether you succeededor not. What will taking the risk accomplish? 4. Determine the possible loss as well as the gain. That is, knowexactly what the consequences of failure will be. Unless you knowpretty accurately what both loss and gain will be, you do not understand the risk. There is a tendency either to underestimate or to overestimate the consequences of risk. Underestimation can result in surprising damage, cost, setbacks, pain, whatever. But overestimation is just as problematic, because it can keep us from taking the risks we should be taking. Many times, upon reflection, the worst case event of a failed risk is much less harmful or negative that we originally believed. It's a good idea in fact to list all the good expected effects ofa successful outcome and all the bad expected effects of an unsuccessful outcome. 5. Try to make an accurate estimate about the probability of eachcase. Is the probability of success one in two, one in ten, one in a hundred, one in a million? This can be sometimes difficult to do, but usually you can guess the probability within an order of magnitude. 6. When possible, take one risk at a time. Divide your actions orgoals wherever possible so that you are not combining risks unless absolutely necessary. Simultaneous risking increases anxiety, creates confusion, and makes failure analysis very difficult. 7. Use imaging or role playing to work through the various possibilities, successes and failures, so that you will be mentally prepared for any outcome. Think about what can go right and what can go wrong and how you will respond to or adjust to each possibility. 8. Use a plan. Set up a timetable with a list of steps to take. Use the plan as a guideline, but be flexible. 9. Act decisively. When you have evaluated the risk and decided that it's worth it, act. Go for it. Don't hesitate at the threshold or halfway through. Once you get going, be courageous. Grit your teeth and move forward. Don't procrastinate and don't act half heartedly.

10. Don't expect complete success. You may get it, of course, butchances are the result of your risk will not be exactly what you had imagined and there will be more a degree of success than absolute success or failure. Risk Management StrategiesIn order of precedence, the strategies are: 1. Dismiss extremely remote or unrealistic possibilities. For example, in the decision, Shall I go to the store? there are risks like dying on the freeway, being shot by robbers, buying poisoned food, and so forth, but these should not normally enter into the risk evaluation because they are highly if not extremelyimprobable. Remember that all life is accompanied by risk. Ten thousand television sets catch fire each year, a hundred thousandpeople walk through plate glass each year, 125,000 do-it-yourselfers injure themselves with power tools each year, 70,000 children are injured by toys each year, ten thousand people are poisoned by aspirin each year. But what are we willing to give up? Some of these are not really remote, but we are willing to take the risk. E.g. automobile deaths. 1 chance in 4000 each yearof dying. And of course whenever you trust someone, you risk betrayal; whenyou open yourself, you risk exploitation or ridicule; whenever you hand over a dollar, you risk being defrauded. 2. Insofar as possible, avoid catastrophes. If there is a small but significant chance for catastrophe, then the regular expectedvalue calculations may not apply. A major principle of risk management is to avoid any real risk ofcatastrophe at any reasonable cost. The difficulty of applying this principle comes from the uncertainty of what is a real risk and what is a reasonable cost. 3. Recognize the tradeoffs. Remember that every action of life has some risk to it. Even when we don't take the risk upon ourselves, risk is often put upon us by the nature of life and society. Eating you risk food poisoning or choking, but you have to eat or you'll die. Socializing you risk disease, driving or flying you risk crashing, but in some sense you have to socializeand travel. Lying in the sun you risk skin cancer; smoking you risk lung cancer; eating French fries you risk heart disease. Don't deny the risks involved in living and don't worry excessively about the consequences of modern life. 4. Maximize Expected Values. Normally, the expected value of eachalternative shows its relative preferability. That is, you are

opting for the greatest probability of the greatest good. Remember, though, that these calculations are guides, and are based on what may be very subjective probabilities and rewards. You are not "required by law" to choose any particular alternative. If you believe that the alternative with the highestEV is a poor choice, you should reconsider the probabilities and rewards you have assigned to all the alternatives. With these ideas in mind, you'll better understand why some people pursue dangerous sports like skiing, sky diving, race car driving and so forth. The risk/benefit ratio is acceptable to them. It may be useful to note here, too, that most people are not rational risk takers. They take some risks all out of proportion to any expected return and avoid other risks that havea large expected value compared to the risk.

Reflective journal on leadership:

What does leadership mean to me?A leader is one who has a vision, a purpose, and in sharing this vision, others come to realization that it also their goal and want to follow the leader on the common journey.Leadership Training vs. Leadership DevelopmentLeadership demands of the twenty-first century require that leaders know who they are, what they have to offer, and how to apply that knowledge to the environments in which they lead. We believe that traditional "packaged" leadership training is insufficient in meeting these demands. Unless programs are tailored to the real needs of individual leaders, true individualand organizational development will not occur. What is required for contemporary leaders is a leader developmentprogram based on the targeted assessment of individual, team, andorganizational leadership needs. Leaders and organizational members at all levels must take responsibility for their own development and create alliances with others if they are to succeed in meeting the demands of this new century.

The Leader's Lyceum: Our Unique ApproachThe goal of the Leader's Lyceum is to create a relevant and meaningful developmental experience. A customized assessment of the organization and its participants accurately determines leadership strengths and needs. The assessment determines the developmental emphasis of the program, which is then implemented

over time at three critical levels: large group, small group, andindividual. This systems approach fuels both personal and organizational development by creating three different and complementary learning experiences.

BenefitsResearch has demonstrated that targeted, customized development over time is more effective than short-term training in leadership techniques. The development of leaders and the way they understand their roles both inside and outside their organizations and communities is what ultimately determines theireffectiveness. By focusing on development of the whole person, participants acquire more than new leadership skills-they grow inways that lead to more effective use of those skills.

The Lyceum OverviewEach Leader's Lyceum is 10-12 days over approximately six months.This extended time frame allows for individual and organizationaldevelopment to occur in a challenging and supportive learning environment. Using assessments, customized instruction, applied projects, experiential learning, and one-on-one coaching, our goal is to increase the leadership capacity of individuals, theirorganizations, and their communities. Through research, we have identified leadership development needscommon to many organizations. Our assessment of your organizationwill uncover essential strengths and weaknesses and reveal developmental needs. Examples of common areas for development include:

Decision Making Innovative Thinking/ Problem Solving Managing Conflict Coaching/ Developing Others Listening/ Communicating Effectively Ethics and Integrity Balance Between Work & Personal Life

Structuring the Lyceum ExperienceParticipating in a Leader's Lyceum to grow leadership strength in your organization or community entails five fundamental steps: Step 1: Individual and Organizational AssessmentThrough the use of surveys, assessments and interviews, and by understanding strategic objectives, specific skills, behaviors, and traits necessary for effective leadership in a particular

organization/community are determined. This process establishes the "leadership gaps" that become the basis for focusing and customizing an organization's or community's development effort. Step 2: Large Group LearningBased on the leadership gap analysis, the areas most critical to success are addressed by creating an initial two-day retreat, followed by multiple one and one-half day learning experiences that have relevance to all participants. These events are often remembered as landmark or "mountaintop" experiences. They are fun, challenging, and relevant.Step 3: Small Group ParticipationProgram participants are divided into groups of four to seven. This allows for what we call "cross-mentoring." Cross-mentoring entails applying powerful real world learning across the participants of a small group, creating within-organization learning that leverages one member's experience to the other members of his or her small group.Step 4: Individual DevelopmentMany developmental situations require confidential one-on-one coaching to focus on leader effectiveness concerns that are too individualized to discuss at the group level. Our experienced psychologists, specializing in the area of leadership effectiveness, serve as "personal trainers" to help strengthen leadership in a safe environment.Step 5: Application of KnowledgeApplying new knowledge is a crucial step in the leadership development process. This step is customized to fit the needs of each organization/community through the creation of opportunitiesto apply what has been learned through individual or team projects, simulations, service to the community, goal-setting, "homework" assignments, etc.This five-step process creates a powerful, relevant, and productive learning experience. Participants will be challenged, but challenge accompanies growth.

MISSIONWe serve those who desire to develop leadership

within themselves and others.

PHILOSOPHY OF LEADER DEVELOPMENTEveryone has the potential to develop himself or herself more fully.

Effective leaders emerge and maximize their potentialwhen they take responsibility for their own development.Leadership development is a continuous effort that takes place over time when current understanding is challenged and contradicted. This challenge and contradiction helps one develop a more complete understanding of self, others, and the world. No one person or group possesses all of the necessary knowledge, skills, talents, and experience required of leadership today.Effective leaders know who they are, what is important, andhow they can contribute to their organizations and communities. To maximize leadership effectiveness, the Leader's Lyceumchallenges and supports the development of leaders who are ready totake action and make a difference in the lives of others.

Take a moment to review the work you have completed throughout this module. You have had a chance to explore the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required of effective leaders and have had the opportunity to develop an increased understanding ofsignificant leadership issues.As a way of synthesizing your learning, prepare a brief reflective journal in which you provide a personal definition of leadership, an overview of your current leadership roles and activities and gap analysis of both your leadership knowledge andpractical experience. Include in your journal what you need to know more about and specific ways (articles, conferences, etc.) that you intend to attain this knowledge/ experience.Email your reflective journal to your instructor for feedback

Curriculum documents:

Begin your examination of the Ontario music curriculum by quicklyreviewing Grade 9-12 Program Planning and Assessment.Next, examine the music curriculum documents beginning with the Grade 11-12 level and work down to the lower grade levels ending with Grade 1. You will be looking at the categories within the Specific Expectations sections of each grade level in order to identify general content areas for instruction and learning. Consider these questions as guides to your examination of the curriculum documents:

What general categories are used to order the expectations?

What kinds of content can be found in each of these categories?

How do the categories from one document align with those of the other documents, particularly when crossing between the elementary and secondary panels?

Are there any categories that appear in one document, or at one grade level, and not in the others?

How do the protocols for assessment in the document align with the expectations structure? How do they align with the Program Planning document?

What strengths do you identify in these curriculum documents?

What factors in the curriculum documents might presentparticular challenges for implementation?

Assessment and evaluation:

“The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning”.

Program Planning and Assessment Guide, Ontario Ministry of Education

Thus far, we have predominantly focused on the issue of what we expect our students to learn in the music classroom. In the development and delivery of curriculum however, it is importance determine not only what we want students to learn, but to establish how we will know if our students are learning and to begin to question what we will do if they are not. These questions of course, lead us to the topic of Assessment and Evaluation.When you assess your students what is foremost in your mind? Are you thinking about assigning a mark as a way of reflecting student achievement? In this case, your primary concern might be to create an assessment process that is objective, e.g., a process where you are able to measure achievement without any bias, or personal opinions "getting in the way". Traditionally, we tend to think about assessment practices as achievement oriented, with objectivity of the test being a critical factor. This is not surprising since the original meaning of "educationalevaluation" was to assess the extent to which key objectives had been achieved as part of an instructional program. Since the term

was first introduced in the 1930s, it has been recognized that teachers assess for many other reasons, using many different formats, often without even thinking of what they are doing as "assessment".

Finally, consider the statement, "the purpose of assessment is togather information (or evidence) to inform instructional decisions". It makes sense then that an effective assessment system is one that takes into account the need for diverse information, where each assessment is designed to fit a specific context. This is referred to as a balanced practice of assessment, where you as the teacher take on multiple roles as part of your practice of classroom assessment. How balanced is your practice of assessment? In what ways might you expand your current assessment practices to improve student learning?

As you continue to develop your skills and understanding of the assessment and evaluation of students in your classroom, considerthe following questions:

1. Have I formulated clear expectations?

2. Can I use the expectations to describe my student's process of learning and what it means to "get better"?

3. Have I chosen a variety of assessment tools that will provide a range of evidence that the learning expectations have been met?

4. Are the assessment tasks integrated as a continuum throughout the learning activities?

5. Have I employed both formative and summative assessment practices?

6. Will my assessment practice provide clear evidence in relation to the expectations?

7. How will my students know that they are progressing and what they need to do to improve?

8. Do my assessment practices motivate my students to learn?

9. Do my assessment practices promote student growth?

10. Do my assessment practices help to identify any changes that might be required to the unit design activities?

Performance standards:

The Purpose and Use of This Publication The content and achievement standards for music contained in National Standards for Arts Education have quickly become accepted as the basis for most state and local music standards and frameworks. They provide a common foundation for music curricula throughout the nation. These voluntary national standards for music give the music teacher considerable freedom of choice not only in selecting learning materials and teaching strategies but also in setting the performance standards by whichstudent achievement is assessed. How does one determine whether or not a student's response has met the standard? How good is good enough? This publication seeks to help answer those questions. The existence of content standards inevitably brings issues of assessment3 to the forefront. Ways must be found to determine whether or not the content standards have been met; otherwise, the standards are meaningless. Standards and assessment inescapably go hand-in-hand. That is true in every discipline. Because music is sometimes not seen as a basic discipline, music educators may have to do an even better job of assessment than their colleagues in math, science, and history in order to preserve and enhance music's foothold in the curriculum. Because there are no widely used standardized tests in music, as there are in most other basic disciplines, music educators lack asolid and uniform basis for making reliable, valid, and fair assessments of student achievement that are consistent from one setting to another and from one time to another. On the other hand, by beginning without the preconceptions imposed by tradition, music educators can develop assessment strategies thatavoid some of the widely criticized pitfalls of standardized testing and ensure that their assessments directly address their teaching objectives. The purpose of this publication is to assist teachers, schools, school districts, and states in assessing the extent to which themusic standards they have established for students are being met.The specific guidance this publication provides will help state

education agencies or their contractors working with state music educators' associations to develop state assessments in music that are consistent with the voluntary national content standardsand with state and local standards based on the national standards.4 In this publication, "performance standards" comprise model assessment strategies and descriptions of student responses. Theyalso help to interpret and illustrate the meaning of the content standards. One sample assessment strategy is provided for each ofthe achievement standards in music specified in National Standards for Arts Education.5 For each sample assessment strategy, descriptions ofstudent responses at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels are offered. These descriptions constitute benchmarks for judgingstudent achievement. While based on the voluntary national content and achievement standards, the performance standards presented here are easily adaptable for use with most state or local standards. In the past, music educators have tended to think of "performance" as referring exclusively to singing and playing instruments. Educators in other disciplines, however, use the term more broadly, including the various ways that students can demonstrate what they have learned. In this publication, therefore, "performance" refers not only to singing and playing but also to producing compositions, writing essays and other prose, completing objective examination papers, giving oral presentations, and any other evidence of students' skills and knowledge. Performance standards will never relieve teachers of having to make judgments, but they represent an important step toward establishing a context in which assessments can be carried out with greater consistency than has been possible previously. Untilperformance standards are established, the task of developing standards in music is unfinished. The Basic, Proficient, and Advanced Levels of Achievement Descriptions of basic, proficient, and advanced performance for each assessment strategy constitute the core of this publication.The proficient level represents the level of achievement expectedof every student, according to National Standards for Arts Education. Thislevel should be achievable by most students, given good teaching,adequate time, and the other necessary opportunity-to-learn conditions identified by MENC: the National Association for MusicEducation6. The goal of every school should be to provide a learning environment in which students achieve at least at the

proficient level. The basic level represents achievement that shows distinct progress but has not yet reached the proficient level called for in NationalStandards for Arts Education. The basic level may be thought of as a meaningful intermediate point or a significant way station en route to the proficient level. It serves to distinguish achievement that is provisional or marginal from a response that is clearly unacceptable. The advanced level is intended to represent achievement significantly above the proficient level recommended in National Standards for Arts Education. Especially at grades 8 and 12 achievement at the advanced level normally requires either unusual talent or time for learning beyond that available to the average student.

Beliefs and Assumptions The performance standards presented in this publication are basedon the following beliefs and assumptions: 1. Every student can learn music. Every student is capable of singing, playing instruments, and learning about music. Every student has the potential to meet the voluntary national standards for music instruction if given the opportunity. 2. Music instruction should begin in the preschool years. Students are seriously disadvantaged when school districts fail to begin a systematic program of music instruction before grade one. However, prekindergarten children should not be encumbered with the need to meet performance goals. The attainment of a predetermined performance level by each child at that level is neither essential nor appropriate. 3. Assessment in music is not only possible but necessary. Every school district should develop reliable, valid, and useful techniques for assessing student learning in music. Assessment should be based on explicit objectives that identify clearly the skills andknowledge expected of students. Many of the problems traditionally associated with assessment in music have arisen from objectives that are vague, ill-defined, or extravagant and, consequently, are sometimes incomprehensible to students, parents, and teachers. Assessment of learning, particularly in music, is sometimes difficult and time-consuming, but it can be done. If instruction is effective, then the student will in some way behave differently as a result. If that happens, a basis for assessment exists. Some music teachers reject the idea of assessment on the grounds

that much music learning is highly subjective. It is likely that no single measure can fully define a student's creative ability, perceptual skills, or love of music, but it is possible to assessmost of the behaviors that are associated with those traits. It is difficult or impossible to assess the most intangible and exalted qualities of musicianship, but it is possible to assess the practical, everyday skills and knowledge called for in the music standards. Those skills and knowledge are necessary-but-not-sufficient prerequisites for reaching the higher levels of music achievement. Music educators cannot refuse to do what is possible on the grounds that some things are not possible. As thebeginning of the twenty-first century approaches, effective assessment is essential for music to remain among the basics of the curriculum. 4. The purpose of assessment is to improve learning. It does this by: ·Informing students, parents, and teachers of individual and group progress toward meeting the standards of the school ·Demonstrating to students, parents, and the community the types of learning and levels of achievement sought by the school ·Furnishing teachers with information on the effectiveness of instruction and thereby providing a basis for improvement ·Making possible comparisons involving student achievement acrosstime and, when desired, among school districts or states ·Motivating student learning ·Providing information to policy-makers at all levels to aid in decision-making 5. Assessment of student learning is not synonymous with evaluation of teaching or evaluation of instructional programs. The quality of teaching naturally affects the quality of student learning. Similarly, the quality of the school's instructional programs affects student learning. Both of these variables can be evaluated, but for purposes of assessment, both may be thought of as separate from student learning.

Poor learning may be caused by poor teaching, by a poor instructional program, or by other factors. If learning has been satisfactory, there may be little need for further investigation.If learning has not been satisfactory, it is then important to identify why this is so and to improve the situation. Assessment of teaching or assessment of the school program may be useful at this point.

MENC has long emphasized the need for high-quality teaching7 and has recently begun discussions expected to lead to the development of standards for music teacher education.8 Also, MENChas published materials to assist in the evaluation of school music programs.9 Evaluation of a school's music program should bebased not only on the quality of the school's performing groups but also on the quality and comprehensiveness of its general music program. A valid assessment of a music program would consider not only the extent to which the school provides all students with the opportunity to learn music, but would also reflect the variety of music offerings available, the percentage of students involved, and their success in achieving the diverse types of music learning called for in National Standards for Arts Education.

Information concerning the necessary conditions for effective music learning with respect to (1) curriculum and scheduling, (2)staffing, (3) materials and equipment, and (4) facilities may be found in MENC's Opportunity-to-Learn Standards for Music Education: Grades PreK–12. 6. Assessment in music requires various techniques in various settings. Comprehensive assessment takes place in a wide variety of contexts and settings, and each assessment context requires different assessment techniques: ·When a student performs a passage in rehearsal or offers a comment in class, the teacher's response typically involves an explicit or implicit assessment. ·Teachers also assess their students' work in more structured ways over longer periods, ranging from a few days to several weeks, and they usually assign grades at regular intervals. ·Students assess their own work. ·Schools assess their instructional programs in order to report to the community on their effectiveness. ·External funding agencies seek to gauge the effectiveness of programs they have funded. ·States increasingly are creating programs of systematic assessment. Some assessment techniques are useful in more than one instructional setting, but any discussion of assessment techniques is meaningful only when linked to clearly defined purposes. There is no general-purpose formula for assessment thatis useful in every setting. Insofar as is practical, assessment information should be

gathered from various sources, using a variety of methods. Each source has its own biases, and each information-gathering technique has its own strengths and weaknesses. When information obtained by various means is combined or considered collectively,weaknesses in the various methodologies tend to cancel each otherout, and the assessor can have greater confidence in the results.

Technology can play an important role in assessment as well as ininstruction. This is especially true in music because of the large size of many ensembles in secondary schools and the high student-to-teacher ratios in many elementary music programs. Technology is also important because much of what musicians do ismultimedia in nature and therefore cannot be adequately represented on paper. Using technology, student performances can be recorded, evaluated, and revised. Elaborate and effective computer-based instructional programs have been developed for ear-training and other music skills. The teaching of composition can be greatly facilitated by giving students access to technology such as MIDI keyboards and sequencing software. Technology can be used in administering assessment exercises to individuals and groups, as well as in pacing assessment according to student readiness, in compiling results, and in charting student progress. 7. Reports to parents should be based on standards. One of the most common uses of assessment has traditionally been reporting to parents onstudent progress, or grading. Elementary music teachers and directors of large ensembles often have trouble assigning grades because they have so many students that it is difficult to becomefamiliar with the work of each individual. Nevertheless, assessment in large groups, as in smaller classes, should be based on content standards translated into objectives that are expressed in terms of specific skills and knowledge. Despite the time required, standards-based objectives provide the only justifiable basis for assigning grades.10

Some music teachers have placed undue emphasis on noncurricular factors, such as attendance, when assigning grades. This practiceis sharply at odds with the usual procedures in other disciplinesand may be seen by fellow educators as evidence that music lacks curricular substance. One result of this practice is that grades in music courses are often disregarded by college admissions officials.

The mere fact that grades tend to be high in music courses is notin itself evidence of a lack of serious evaluation. The students in bands and orchestras, for example, are often highly selected, most having studied their instruments for a number of years, and the general level of achievement is often very high. It would be unreasonable to expect a grade distribution similar to that in a typical math or English class.

Some teachers profess to grade heavily on effort as distinguishedfrom achievement. They ask why a student should be "penalized" because of a lack of innate talent, a lack of good previous instruction, or a lack of exposure to music at an early age. Anyone reading a student's transcript, however, has a right to assume that a good grade indicates knowledge and skill in the course content. It is misleading to use a good grade merely to indicate that a student has tried hard--or has managed to give the appearance of trying hard.

The school curriculum is diverse, and every student should expectto be more successful in some courses than in others. A student who does poorly in math cannot expect an "A" on the grounds that he or she tried hard but lacked talent.

Some teachers use grades to recognize progress rather than achievement, at least on occasion, and thereby distinguish between, for example, a student who began at a low level of achievement and made great progress and a student who began at a high level and made little progress. In fact, progress is inevitably reflected in achievement. Progress is a legitimate consideration, but an overemphasis on progress distorts the grading process.

A single letter grade, though sometimes necessary, cannot reflectall of the many aspects of a student's learning in music. A profile reporting achievement with respect to each standard, or with respect to separate skills within a standard, would provide a more helpful portrait of the individual's learning.

8. Caution is needed in interpreting assessment results. Assessment results are only approximations of the complete truth and should be interpreted with caution, especially when the stakes are high. Ifmore information were available, the result might be somewhat different. The larger the sample of evidence, the more confidence

the teacher can place in any conclusion reached. The degree of error that can be tolerated depends on the consequences of the inferences to be drawn. For example, if the stakes are high--as when a student's promotion or admission to a select group hangs in the balance--then highly reliable measures are required and a broad sampling of student learning must be considered. Care should be taken to draw from assessment data only those inferences that are justified. In order to generalize from assessment results, it is necessary to sample as widely and randomly as possible from the universe of relevant behaviors. Drawing unwarranted conclusions is a frequent mistake in assessment that typically results from using inappropriate assessment strategies or making erroneous assumptions. As more and more information purporting to reflect outcomes of education has become available, educators have expressed increasing concern about how this information is reported in the press and how it is interpreted by the public. It is a mistake, for example, to accept at face value an allegation that students'proficiency has declined when the decline is so small or the number of students assessed so limited that the difference is notstatistically significant. It is an overgeneralization to conclude that students understand the historical and cultural context of music merely because they can perform one or two narrowly defined tasks involving historical or cultural context. It is wrong to believe that a school's music program is good because one or two specific aspects of it are good. Assessment results may be useful tools in public relations, but it is important that educators do not become captives of their own data. Some information is less important or less trustworthy than other information. Assessment results are sometimes misused by the news media, and the ways in which decision-makers use information may be unduly influenced by the media. An overabundance of incomplete or trivial assessment results makes it easy for the rhetoric of education reform to triumph over the reality. Educators should seek to ensure that the primary use of educational information is to make intelligent decisions concerning education.

Guidelines for Assessment Any materials or techniques used to assess student learning in music should satisfy the guidelines suggested below. Traditional practices that are flawed sometimes escape notice because they are familiar. Teachers, administrators, school districts, and

state education agencies should review their music assessment practices to ensure that they are consistent with the following guidelines: 1. Assessment should be standards-based and should reflect the music skills and knowledge that are most important for students to learn. Assessment of studentachievement should not be based on the skills and knowledge that are easiest to assess nor on those for which ready-made assessment devices are available. Instead, it should be based on the extent to which each student has met the standards established, and it should reflect the priorities of the instructional program. Assessment should not be based primarily on where the student ranks relative to a particular class or group. It should be basedon whether or not the student has met specific criteria. In theseperformance standards separate criteria have been established forbasic, proficient, and advanced levels of achievement. 2. Assessment should support, enhance, and reinforce learning. Assessment should be viewed by both students and teachers as a continuing, integral part of instruction rather than as an intrusion into--orinterruption of--the process of learning. The assessment process should itself be a learning experience, and it should not be conducted or viewed as separate from the learning process. Students should regard assessment as a useful tool rather than asa source of fear or anxiety. They should use it as a means of further learning and as a means of measuring their own progress. When assessment tasks are designed to provide information concerning the extent to which students meet standards that have been established for them, teachers can adjust their instructional programs so as to be more effective. 3. Assessment should be reliable. Reliability refers to consistency. If an assessment is reliable, then another assessment of the same skills or knowledge will produce essentially the same results. For assessment to be reliable, every student must be assessed by identical procedures and the assessors must share the same levelsof expectation so that a student's score does not depend on who is doing the scoring. 4. Assessment should be valid. Validity means that the assessment technique actually measures what it claims to measure. The mentalprocesses represented by the scores correspond to the mental processes being assessed. No measurement instrument should be used to measure something that it was not designed to measure. Ifthere is a mismatch between assessment strategies and the

objectives of the curriculum, the assessment strategies are not valid for that curriculum. 5. Assessment should be authentic. Authentic assessment means that assessment tasks reflect the essential nature of the skill or knowledge being assessed. The student should actually demonstratea music behavior in an authentic or realistic situation rather than merely answer written questions about it. For example, the ability to play the recorder should be assessed by having the student play the recorder, not by having the student answer test questions concerning fingerings, hand position, phrasing, and note-reading. Assessment does not need to be based on multiple-choice tests or even on paper-and-pencil tests, though those techniques have their uses. Portfolios, performance-based assessment, and other techniques of authentic assessment have been used successfully bymusic educators for many years; however, these techniques cannot by themselves solve the assessment problems facing educators. A portfolio is simply a collection of samples of a student's work taken periodically for a specific purpose throughout the instructional process. Those samples must still be assessed, and the assessment requires not only careful thought about what should go into the portfolio but also great care in developing suitable assessment strategies and appropriate scoring procedures.11 Assessment should take a holistic view of music learning. It should not concentrate on isolated facts and minutiae but should deal with broad concepts, "whole" performances, and complete works of music. Authenticity, like reliability, is a prerequisiteto validity. 6. The process of assessment should be open to review by interested parties. Although assessment of music learning can best be carried out by qualified music teachers, it is important that students, parents,and the public be provided with sufficient information and help that they too can make judgments about the extent to which music learning is taking place in their schools. If their evaluations are faulty, it should be because of their lack of professional qualifications and not because of lack of information concerning the assessment process. It is especially important that students know what they are to be assessed on, how they are to be assessed, and what criteria will be used to judge their achievement. When appropriate, they should be allowed to participate in developing the criteria by which their work will be assessed.

Music exalts the human spirit. It enhances the quality of life. It brings joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment to every human being. It is one of the most powerful, compelling, and glorious manifestations of human culture. It is the essence of civilization itself. Music learning would deserve to be included in the curriculum even if it could not be assessed. But music learning based on explicit standards can be assessed. Music should never be neglected in the school merely because its assessment may be difficult, time-consuming, or costly.

Curriculum design project:

Take a moment to think about the music curriculum you are responsible for delivering in your school. What are the particular challenges you experience as a music teacher in your unique educational setting? Are you the only music teacher withinyour school or do you work in a large, complex music department? Are there multiple sections for each of your courses or does yourschool offer many single section courses or combined courses? Do you struggle with issues of enrollment, which might be improved if you offered a new course, or are there courses you are currently offering that you would like to develop and improve? Does the music curriculum you provide include only those activities, which occur during school hours, or do they also include the many activities your students engage in outside of the music classroom? Review your responses to these questions in order to determine anarea of interest for your curriculum design project.

Now that you’ve had a chance to reflect on your current classroompractice determine if it would be most useful for you to focus onthe development of a single course or to develop a multi-grade plan for your music program? (The broader the scope of your project, the less detail you will be able to include).

Ontario Curriculum, The Arts, Grades 9 and 10 http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/secondary/arts/artsful.html

Ontario Curriculum, The Arts, Grades 11 and 12 http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/secondary/grade1112/arts/arts.html

Grades 9 to 12 ProgramPlanning and Assessment

Exemplars Grade 9http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/secondary/exemplars/grade9/arts/arts.html

Course Profiles - The Arts, Grade 9 - 10 Public http://www.curriculum.org/occ/profiles/public.htm

Course Profiles - The Arts, Grade 9 - 10 Catholic http://www.curriculum.org/occ/profiles/catholic.htm

Ontario Secondary School Course Profiles - Manual and Style Guide http://www.curriculum.org/occ/profiles/10/10writer.htm

The development of your curriculum design project should be unique to your own particular school and teaching situation.

As you begin thinking about the development of music curriculum, you might wish to consider the number of music teachers in your school, their experience and qualifications, the number of courses offered, the pattern of student enrollment in music courses, classroom and space allocation, budget allocations, status of equipment (including sheet music, textbooks, musical instruments, computer hardware and software, CDs and players, recording facilities), and professional development resources.

You may not consider all of these things and you may consider things that are not listed. These are suggestions to get you started thinking about planning for curriculum development.

You may also wish to consider issues outside of the department that can be resources and challenges. Consider resources within the school or district that are outside your music program. For example, you may have a symphony violinist teaching grade 4 in a district elementary school, or the math teacher in your school may direct a local church choir.

Agency, community, parent and student resources may also be available. For example, students may participate in community or church choirs, youth orchestras or drum and bugle corps. There may be professional musicians of all types from country to classical in your community.

There may be performing arts organizations. There may be private music schools and applied or studio music teachers. There may be music departments in a nearby university or community college. There may be a professional recording studio or a popular radio station or a dance music DJ.

Do any of these agency, community, parent and student resources present possibilities for legitimate learning partnerships with your music program? Why? How? You may want to write your ideas spontaneously, in your Commonplace Book.

Once you have identified the course or multi-grade plan you wouldlike to develop, please complete the two parts to this activity, listed in the table below.

Components of Assignment:

What to Do Assignment Details 1. Course Outline or Multi-Year Plan Develop a selected course or develop a multi-grade plan for your music program. You may choose to work with an existing course outline or multi-grade plan, or your may design your own.

Select areas of the existing course that are strong, and others that need change. Reflect on why you are making thesechanges, and what has prompted this from your learning.

If you are working with an existing outline for your course,annotate the course outline using the sample Course Outline Template.doc (Microsoft Word File).

Select critical components of all of the units and culminating activities of the entire course and note what you would change and why (you may also wish to create a course outline for a new course).

OR

Develop a template for a multi-grade plan that includes the critical components for each year of the program as well as units and culminating activities. Remember, because this is a multi-grade plan, reinforce the connections between each year of the program as opposed to the specific elements for each individual course. E-mail the template for the revised

course/ new course or multi-grade program plan to your instructor

2. PresentationCreate a presentation of your ideas about this course or your multi-grade plan, which would be suitable for an audience who would have a vested interest in the changes, such as a principal,parents, department staff, school council, etc.

Create a PowerPoint slideshow, or slideshow with another software, or create a website, or create a pamphlet with visuals and text. See your instructor for additional proposed formats.

Include targets for implementation that are accessible, manageable, realistic, and assessable: Include objectives for this presentation, timelines, resources, tasks and challenges and solutions to achieving your goals.

Design your presentation to excite and convince your audience about your approach to your course or music program.

Post your presentation to your instructor via e-mail.

Study Aids Cont582

 

Sample Course Outline TemplateGrade Level, Course name

Unit Title Original CourseOutline components

Changes You WouldMake

Reasons for Change

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

 

Construct and reflect: reshaping our practice

Marlene Scardamalia, in “Getting Real about 21st Century Education” suggests three educational goals (that she believes are overlooked in these times). These are

Depth of Understanding,

Knowledge Creation & Knowledge Stewardship, and

Lifelong learning.

What implications do these have in your own learning and your teaching? Read this article, and reflect on these ideas as you progress to the next section. ikit.org/full text/2001getting_real.pdf

Reflective practice:

Read through your Commonplace Book, making further notes about your insights, connections and interpretations. Strive to evaluate the learning that has happened. Highlight quotations that are meaningful to you. Note new questions that emerge from your reading.

4. Review the discussion board, and your module activities, and note any important ideas, new learning, changes in your philosophy, etc. that have emerged 5. Review the curriculum documents for music . Grades 1-8 at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/elemcurric.html and Grades 9-12 at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/curricul/seccurric.html 6. Decide what unanswered questions or side issues related to your “driving question” need further investigation. Raise these for open discussion on the Discussion board folder called “Reflections” and respond accordingly to others’ postings. This will take the form of an open dialogue on any issue, question, unclear concept. 7 . Make further notes and entries into your Commonplace Book resulting from these open discussions.

Self-Assessment: The Reflective PractitionerReflection is what allows us to learn from our experiences: it isan assessment of where we have been and where we want to go next.

~ Kenneth Wolf The reflection that accompanies the evidence a candidate presentsin the performance-based product is a critical part of the candidate?s development. Through reflection the candidate begins the ongoing process of blending the art and science of good teaching practice. Reflection requires thoughtful and careful reporting and analysis of teaching practice, philosophy, and experience. Understanding why an activity or practice was productive or nonproductive in the classroom is a key element in the progression from novice to master teacher.The reflection cycle and the guiding questions included in this packet are designed to assist licensure candidates in the reflection process. They will enable candidates to better understand the reflection process and address the question; "How does this piece of evidence demonstrate my knowledge and skill level in this activity?". The following reflection cycle offers aprescriptive structure while allowing the flexibility necessary for candidates to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, and abilityin the unique context of their area and environment.The reflections of the novice teacher are also vital to the assessors charged with the responsibility for judging whether the

teacher has met the required level of performance for each standard based activity. Through their responses to the guiding questions, candidates will better be able to put evidence into perspective for the review team members by explaining how the evidence or artifact addresses the standard through the activity.

The process provided a focus with my teaching; it made meconstantly question what I was challenging my students with and

why I was doing it.~ Novice Teacher

The Reflection Cycle

Writing a ReflectionSelect:What evidence/artifacts have you included?Describe:This step involves a description of the circumstances, situation or issues related to the evidence or artifact.

Four "W" questions are usually addressed: Who was involved? What were the circumstances, concerns, or issues? When did the event occur? Where did the event occur?

Analyze:This step involves "digging deeper." The "Why" of the evidence orartifact and the "How" of its relationship to your teaching practice should be addressed.Appraise:In the previous three steps, you have described and analyzed an experience, a piece of evidence, or an activity. The actual self-assessment occurs at this stage as you interpret the activity or evidence and evaluate its appropriateness and impact.Transform:This step holds the greatest opportunity for growth as you use the insights gained from reflection in improving and transformingyour practice.

The Reflection ProcessBecoming a reflective practitioner requires time, practice, and an environment supportive to the development and organization of the reflection process. This is a highly individualized process

and the licensure candidate should find the structure and method of reflection that best suits him or her.When

Immediately after the lesson/experience At the end of the school day During my planning period First thing in the morning Wednesday during my lunch period Tuesday while my students are in ________________

Where In my room In my office In the library At home In the shower In the car as I commute to and from work

How On the computer Reflective journaling Sticky notes on the lesson/artifact Reflection sheets attached to the evidence Verbal reflection on the video Audio tapes On a Dictaphone [my spouse can transcribe them tonight!]The reflections helped me to see that I actually was making a

difference, even though it didn?t always seem like it.~ Novice Teacher

LEVELS OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICEReflective practice is used at both the pre-service and in-service levels of teaching. Coaching and peer involvement are twoaspects of reflective practice seen most often at the pre-servicelevel. In a 1993 study of how student teachers develop the skillsnecessary for reflective teaching during their field experiences,Ojanen explores the role of the teacher educator as coach. Teacher educators can most effectively coach student teachers in reflective practice by using students' personal histories, dialogue journals, and small and large-group discussions about their experiences to help students reflect upon and improve theirpractices. Kettle and Sellars (1996) studied the development of third- year teaching students. They analyzed the students' reflective writings and interviewed them extensively about their reflective

practices. They found that the use of peer reflective groups encouraged student teachers to challenge existing theories and their own preconceived views of teaching while modeling for them a collaborative style of professional development that would be useful throughout their teaching careers. At the level of in-service teaching, studies have shown that critical reflection upon experience continues to be an effective technique for professional development. Licklider's review of adult learning theory (1997) found that self-directness -- including self-learning from experience in natural settings -- isan important component of adult learning. Therefore, effective teacher professional development should involve more than occasional large-group sessions; it should include activities such as study teams and peer coaching in which teachers continuously examine their assumptions and practices. Serving as a coach or mentor to peers is another form of reflective practice for in-service teachers. Uzat (1998) presentscoaching as a realistic and systematic approach to ongoing teacher improvement through focused reflection on teaching methods. Uzat also relates the concept of coaching to self-efficacy: Teachers' beliefs that they affect students' lives as well as the school motivate them intrinsically to grow. INCORPORATING REFLECTION INTO PRACTICEThere are many successful techniques for investing teaching practice with reflection. Some of these have been mentioned above, including action research. Action research conducted in teacher education programs can be designed to engage the reflective participation of both pre-service and in-service teachers. Rearick (1997) describes the benefits of this activity for both groups, as well as for the teacher educator, as used in a professional development project at the University of Hartford.In this project, experienced teachers identified knowledge, thinking, and problem-solving techniques and decision-making processes they used in designing instruction for language arts curricula. Based on these discussions, a pre-service course agenda for teaching reading and writing was developed. Students taking the course developed portfolios, conducting their own action research in the process. These students also formed a critical learning community, developed modes of inquiry, and shared their diverse ways of valuing, knowing, and experiencing. A review of current research indicates that portfolio developmenthas become a favorite tool used in pre-service teacher education

(Antonek, et al, 1997; Hurst et al, 1998). Portfolios encourage beginning teachers to gather in one place significant artifacts representing their professional development. They assemble materials that document their competencies. Portfolios include a reflective component, for when the teacher decides which materials to include, he or she must reflect on which teaching practices worked well and why (Hurst et al, 1998). The portfoliosare modified at points throughout a teacher's career, as the teacher continues to apply learning to practice. Furthermore, new performance-based assessments for teachers developed by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) include the use of portfolios. These are based on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) model that enables teachers to demonstrate how their teaching relates to student learning (Weiss & Weiss, 1998). Participation in some professional development institutes can also be a way to incorporate reflection into practice. Professional development programs need not always focus on specific teaching methods and strategies; they can also focus on teacher attitudes that affect practice. Wilhelm et al (1996) describe the curriculum of a professional development institute that offers teacher interns an opportunity to explore attitudes, develop management skills, and reflect on the ethical implications of practice in classrooms with cultural compositionsvastly different from their previous experiences. By its nature, this kind of professional development institute causes teachers to step back and critically reflect not only on how they teach, but also on why they teach in a particular way. BENEFITS OF REFLECTION IN PRACTICEThe primary benefit of reflective practice for teachers is a deeper understanding of their own teaching style and ultimately, greater effectiveness as a teacher. Other specific benefits notedin current literature include the validation of a teacher's ideals, beneficial challenges to tradition, the recognition of teaching as artistry, and respect for diversity in applying theory to classroom practice. Freidus (1997) describes a case study of one teacher/graduate student struggling to make sense ofher beliefs and practices about what constitutes good teaching. Her initial pedagogy for teaching was based on the traditions andpractices of direct teaching. Her traditional socialization into teaching made it difficult for her to understand that her views of good teaching were being challenged in her practice. But the

opportunity for exploration through reflective portfolio work enabled her to acknowledge and validate what she was learning. CONCLUSIONResearch on effective teaching over the past two decades has shown that effective practice is linked to inquiry, reflection, and continuous professional growth (Harris 1998). Reflective practice can be a beneficial form of professional development at both the pre-service and in-service levels of teaching. By gaining a better understanding of their own individual teaching styles through reflective practice, teachers can improve their effectiveness in the classroom.

Portfolio:

Content: Create a portfolio to illustrate your reflection and your learning. The “driving question” will be the thread that ties your portfolio together, but it will not necessarily limit the contents of your portfolio. It will look “beyond the obvious” andwill uncover circumstances and related factors that impact on your question.The reflections in the portfolio will demonstrate the influence of various aspects of this course on your understanding of music education and leadership. They are a culmination of relevant thoughts, new ideas and emerging thinking, or new questions relating to your topic. Think of the “knowledge building” approach as the various aspects of your question have been tossedaround, deliberated and refined.

Look closely through your Commonplace Book, any readings from the course, discussions with, and ideas from other candidates, as you reflect back upon the course. Include several annotations from these sources, drawing from all modules of study, relating to the theme of your Portfolio.• Note the impact this has had on your thinking, and maybe even on your practice, in specific ways.Engage in further research if needed.• Pay particular attention to patterns, insights, interpretations, and evaluations of material and your learning. Be critical in your thinking. Make sure you defineconcepts carefully.

Format: The Portfolio may take the form of an essay (roughly 1500 to 2000words) or may take another form which is appropriate to your skills and creative talents. Past portfolios have taken the form of a narrative story, a play, a powerpoint presentation, a web site, etc. It will be emailed to the instructor, so please check with the instructor ahead of time that your attachment will be readable.

Reshaping practice assignment:

Reshaping Practice Assignment Choose ONE of the following two activities for the second part ofthe culminating course activities. Both choices will take into consideration the thread (question) of your Portfolio, and integrate new and appropriate learnings into your practice. They will reflect awareness of a wider scope in your teaching: where your students have been , and where they are going in their music learning. Both choices should reflect the changes you wish to make as a teacher. The understandings that you presented in your portfolio reflections should be apparent in this activity. Which ever assignment you choose should be precluded by a brief rationale, in line with your portfolio and curriculum project. For both assignments consider the following:• Consider resources at your disposal, or a plan to attain them (Leadership Section) • Consider excellent teaching practices (Professional Knowledge section)• Varieties of learning styles and different groupings (Student Learning section)• Accommodation and inclusivity as appropriate (Student Learning section) • Higher order thinking skills, critical thinking (Professional Knowledge section) • Plan for a diverse group of students and/or changes evolving inthe 21st century may apply to your practice or District (Issues and Developments)

Consider any Professional Development uses of these materials.

Choices What to Do Assignment Details

Choice #1

Units of study

Develop two units of study. Both units should address content in your Portfolio and fit with your Curriculum Design Project(Program Outline or Multi-Year Plan). Include

title for each unit 4 to 6 lesson plans for each unit curricular expectations with criteria

for matching assessment (four assessment categories in Curriculum)

multiple forms of assessment and 2 example rubrics

demonstration of good teaching practice for rich musical knowledge

Choice #2

"Action Plan" Proposal to Administration

Develop an action plan which you would liketo use to re-direct your program in the long term. This will take the form of a formal proposal for your administration. This should address the problems, concerns,need for change that you have identified inyour current program. It should include a needs assessment, and the action plan should be broken down over a 2 to 5 year period.

Format to be developed by candidate. May take chart, table, or narrative form, incorporating graphs and other graphic descriptors.

Should be understood by non-Musicians,however should make reference to best practice in Music Education

Include References and Resources

Self-evaluation:

You are now better able to:• Appreciate emerging research in music education and its

pedagogical application• Implement and promote professional development in your Music program or District • Synthesize major views of student learning and apply to classroom practice• Exercise effective curriculum leadership• Design and implement innovative curriculum• Promote alternative assessment strategies• Engage in on-going and meaningful reflective practice