Contemporary pedagogies: Informal Learning - Lucy Green

Benefits of this approach for music education

· Students love and identify with the music that they choose themselves

· Students work with friends

· Accessible for all students, no matter their background or level of musical ability

· Develop skills in playing by ear and improvising

· Skills of listening, composing, performing and improvising are integrated

· Students learn to discern less dominant parts within the musical texture

· Student has autonomy to make own choices and direct own learning

· High levels of motivation, enthusiasm and commitment

· Authentic way to approach the teaching of popular music in the classroom, and provides strategies and resources for teachers to do this successfully (particularly helpful for classically trained teachers who may have little experience in playing by ear or improvising)

· Develop ensemble skills and leadership skills

· Learn how to cooperate, communicate, work together and resolve problems – teamwork skills

· Experience in peer learning

· Build confidence and self esteem

· Encourages life-long music making

· Fun, enjoyable

Drawbacks / challenges

· Limited range of music cultures represented

· Does not teach notation – some students want to learn this

· Students can get distracted (off task) when working with friends

· Disagreements or arguments within groups, clashes over group leadership

· Varying skill levels of students - students with greater expertise may be held back if working with less advanced students

· Not much may be accomplished if everyone is inexperienced

· Hard to make progress if group members are absent or apathetic

· Some students prefer more teacher guidance, structure and feedback

· Teacher has to divide time between groups and may not always be available to help when needed