Music in the new Primary Curriculum. Why are we here? New curriculum came into force in September 2014 Perceived ‘void’ in guidance.

Music in the new Primary Curriculum

Why are we here?

• New curriculum came into force in September 2014

• Perceived ‘void’ in guidance

A right to Music Education in school

• Built upon Paynter’s (1982: introduction) guiding principles, which include:

• ‘Classroom music is the core activity and extra-curricular music should develop from here.’

• ‘Making Music is more important than musical information’.

What is the focus of Music in the new National Curriculum?

Seizing the opportunity…• …to make Music more relevant to children’s

lives and education

• …to make Musical learning more musical

• …to make assessment in Music more musical

• …to make our Music curriculum more locally appropriate

• …to join up learning across Music education

Misconceptions about the new Curriculum #1

“There’s a real focus in the new curriculum on Notation”

Swiftly followed by…“But I can’t read Music”

Misconceptions about the new Curriculum #2

“The new National Curriculum is all about the History of Music”.

Foundations of the new curriculum

Support materials for the new curriculum

https://sites.google.com/site/primarymusicitt

So…what are the key points?• Integration of composing, performing, listening, critically

engaging with music and developing aural memory• Playing instruments specifically mentioned, rehearsing and

performing • Cumulative skill development• Regular singing in all schools and ensembles out of school• Tuned and non-tuned percussion and other instruments in

primary• Use technology appropriately• Learning about music through doing it ( including

developing an understanding of history and relevant notation)

• Listen to and engage with a wide range of music• Compose, improvise, perform, rehearse

Where are we now?

“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”.

Prensky (2001:1)

“We are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist...in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet”.

Shift Happens – Did You Know? May 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9WDtQ4Ujn8&feature=fvst

Why should we embrace technology?

• Study from Daubney & Mackrill (2012) Data• 150 Questionnaires completed by children

from 7 Primary schools in 3 different areas in England (69 boys, 81 girls)

• 56 children involved in group interviews • 10 Diamond 9 activities completed by the

interview groups

Percentage of children who report using music IN school (

Percentage of children who report using music OUT of school

Children’s music experiences in school

Overall ranking across all groups

Children’s music experiences out of school

Overall ranking across all groups

Children’s music experiences out of school

Children’s music experiences in school

The importance of mobile technology for engaging with music informally

I listen to any music, like, like from pop, I listen to pop like from Black-Eyed Peas say and then to class – to like, I don’t know what, like to Adele which isn’t really that pop-py, it’s more…so I just listen to any music that I like really.Sometimes when I listen to a song and I think ‘Oh I like that’, I might think that I’d want to learn it so I would go onto a website that gives you the lyrics, guitar, guitar like, tabs. I go on this one called Ultimate Guitar and it gives you the tabs for a song, so listening to it, really…really that’s it.

Assessing music

• Ofsted (2012) urge the use of audio and video recordings throughout the year (process as well as product) in order to show progress and levels of attainment.

• As with all subjects, there are no set ‘attainment targets’ in the new NC.

• The NAHT assessment group reported on this in February 2014. The ISM assessment guidance (Daubney & Fautley, 2014) is in line with this.

Composing / improvising

• Planning time• Model a range of possibilities• Make time expectations clear• Encourage risk taking• Give guidance but be flexible!

Curriculum design should start from the premise that…

• “...a music teacher never meets musically ignorant, untutored or uneducated pupils.”

(Folkestad, 2006:136)

But on the other hand…

• Music teachers have the potential to be influential mentors who recognise and affirm the developing interests of their students, nourishing a sense of musical identity and providing opportunities for the acquisition of skills and the growth of confidence. They are remembered fondly where their own passion for music was evident, spreading enthusiasm and offering a role model for aspiring musicians. At their best, they are inspiring, nurturing and apparently tireless .’

What do we value in music education?

• Are we assessing what we value or valuing what we assess?

• What do you value in a Music education?

Stage NOT age !

• The Music in your school might look very different to the other schools near you…

• Remember that this curriculum offers opportunities for the learning to be relevant to the learners in YOUR school and is locally appropriate, not age dependent.

In music, though music or both?

• ‘The arts are increasingly seen as a way of joining up the curriculum and making it meaningful to young people. Through the arts children express their feelings, thoughts and responses. The arts have the potential to stimulate open-ended activity which encourages discovery, exploration, experimentation and invention.’Duffy (2006: xvi)

Making meaning• ‘When students believe the text possesses a single

correct meaning, it is not difficult to understand why they would regard their task as discovering the correct one…being smart means being right, and being right means knowing the answer to questions posed. Such an attitude toward understanding does little to promote intellectual values that celebrate multiple perspectives, judgements, risk taking, speculation and interpretation. Visual images, music, dance, and other non-literal forms can invite modes of thinking that reflect the foregoing values. When everything is specified, the need to interpret is diminished.’Eisner (1994, 71)

ReferencesDaubney, A. & Fautley, M. (2014) The National Curriculum for Music – an assessment and progression framework. Published by ISM at

www.ism.org/nationalcurriculum

Daubney, A. & Mackrill, D. (2013) Music technologies in education – playing the home advantage. Music Education UK and Music Education Asia magazines

Daubney, A. & Fautley, M. (2014) The National Curriculum for Music – an Assessment and Progression framework. Available online at www.ism.org/nationalcurriculum

Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum.

Duffy, B. (2006) Supporting Creativity and Imagination in the Early Years: Second Edition, Open University Press.

Eisner, E. (1994) Cognition and curriculum reconsidered, 2nd Edition. Teacher’s College Press, Columbia University, New York & London.

Folkestad, G. (2006) Formal and informal learning situations or practices vs. informal ways of learning. British Journal of Music Education. 23 (2), 135 – 145.

Lehmann, A., Sloboda, J. & Woody, R. (2007). Psychology for musicians: Understanding and acquiring the skills. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

NAHT (2014) Report of the NAHT Commission on Assessment. Online at http://www.naht.org.uk/welcome/news-and-media/key-topics/assessment/profession-takes-lead-on-assessment-after-the-end-of-levels/

Ofsted (2012) Wider, Still and Wider. Online at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/music-schools-wider-still-and-wider

Ofsted (2013) Music in Schools: What Hubs Must Do. Online at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/music-schools-what-hubs-must-do

Pitts, S. (2009) Chances and Choices: Exploring the Impact of Music Education. Oxford University Press, Oxford