Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Scaffolding Creativity

Goal: To teach students to take a creative/generative approach to music (to "synthesize" and not just "regurgitate.")

Problems:

  1. When left in an unstructured environment, students go berserk or do not know how to respond
  2. Students do not have enough concrete musical experiences to draw upon when making musical choices (Can't just tell kids: "Go and create!" - Create WHAT? And how?)
  3. Creativity and problem solving is not part of the cultural context.

Now, how do I apply my own problem-solving skills to try and achieve the goal?

Solutions and words to remember (Contemplation):

  1. Give students more concrete musical experiences (sing more songs, play more musical games, etc.)
  2. Provide a strong structure to guide learning, produce flow, and provide predictability.
  3. Think of creativity in different forms, such as choices made in in musical games.
  4. Get instruments to use as tools/aids for creativity and play (have been ordered and are now on the way!!)
  5. Simplify activities and take small steps at a time.
  6. Remember that learning is a process. It takes TIME. In a couple of years, a school culture will develop.
And yes, that is the interesting thing about my situation; since the school is completely new, there are a lot of things that seem impossible to achieve at this point, but I have to keep reminding myself that after a structure and school-culture is in place, the only ones who really need to ease into it will be the newcomers, and they will have a much easier time as they will see the older children as examples. In the meantime, everyone's a newcomer. And that is ok; I just need to adjust my expectations!

1 comment:

  1. I'm really glad the instruments are finally coming in! (Yay!)

    Also, totally agree and encouraged by what you said in the last paragraph, "After a structure and school-culture is in place, the only ones who really need to ease into it will be the newcomers, and they will have a much easier time as they will see the older children as examples. In the meantime, everyone's a newcomer."

    I need to remember that wherever I go e.g. when I start a new job, enter a new community, and so forth!

    ReplyDelete