Module 5 Samples
Module 5 – Discussion Forum
Prompt:
In the reading, Allsup said "Technology has opened up spaces that are potentially more cooperative and more socially just than the Master-apprentice model. To that end, and with a spirit of adventure, I gesture in this chapter toward a concept that I call laboratory learning, a space within the strictures and structures of formal music education that embraces the principles of the open text."
What does this mean to you? Where have you seen the master-apprentice model to which Allsup is drawing our attention? What are principles of the open text, and how might we apply them in our classroom? Consider and then answer any or all of these questions.
Moving away from the master-apprentice model and embracing laboratory learning means implementing the essence of constructivism, universal design for learning, and student-centered learning. I immediately related to Dr. Allsup's remarks about the need for control over every second in a classroom. It is a shocking statement that "a classroom divisible by seconds is a classroom of overwhelming control", but it is true (Allsup, 2016, p. 2). This reminded me of when I was preparing for my first teaching job interviews after completing my student teaching 5 years ago, and asked in a mock-interview what my rehearsal schedule would look like from bell to bell. While it was evident that learning and collaboration were at the core of the rehearsal and I planned to leave one minute for unpacking and packing up at the beginning and end of class, my mentor suggested to me that I change my answer to having students unpack and pack up during passing period because an administrator could read my answer as an opportunity for lost learning time. At the time, I was naive and didn't exactly know what the weight of that statement meant, but in my past 4 years and being at TC so far has definitely forced me to reevaluate that.
I do agree that there are barriers to implementing laboratory learning and student-centered learning because our musical disciplines "takes place on instruments that were developed in the eighteenth century and do not lend themselves easily to self-mastery or peer learning" (Allsup, 2016, p. 3). This past year, I have immersed myself into learning Carnatic and Mariachi music because these styles that reflected the heritage that made up my student body and community back in Texas. Although I had grown up in a high-achieving program nearby to the last school I taught at, I never learned any repertoire outside of the Western Canon. My early music journey revolved around performance, competition, and achievement. I studied with a violin professor at the University of North Texas in elementary school up until undergrad. My high school routinely won the TMEA Honor Orchestra. Then, I went on to IU to study violin performance and music education. Every step of my journey leading me to undergrad was the master-apprentice model. While I do believe that there were so many benefits to this (because I was young, impressionable, and needed remediation on my technique at a major music school), I do agree that there is room for improvement, and space to find balance, especially in pre-service teacher programs. However, a pivotal moment in my education came when I worked at Fairview Violin Project, a collaboration between IU and local Title I schools providing music education opportunities. Teaching at-risk youth broadened my definition of musical success, introducing me to culturally responsive pedagogy. Such programs providing music education access improve social-emotional learning, offering spaces where children could develop healthy identities despite home instability. Through Fairview, I began deconstructing the singular criteria of success I grew up with, committing myself to learning about broader perspectives across different musical models, including moving away from the master-apprentice model. This forced me to reexamine how my musical upbringing through the master-apprentice model, though rigorous, limited the possibilities of artistic freedom since it heavily defined musical success under a Eurocentric classical arts paradigm.
As a result, I believe practical applications to laboratory-style learning include inviting our students to pick our repertoire, verifying the authenticity of cultural pieces, giving our students opportunities to teach in different ways, and practicing alternative seating where students are not straight-ranked but rotate their seating and also sit in a circle when possible.