Arts immersion for music teachers: How to widen the path without losing the plot
Abstract
Music educators, in private studio and school contexts, are often trained exclusively in that arts discipline. Two decades ago, concerns were expressed that integrated arts programs represented generic learning and a failure to acknowledge discipline-specific understandings and skills for each arts discipline. Some of these concerns linger today, despite the introduction of a national curriculum for the Arts which formalizes the knowledge, skills and processes inherent in each arts discipline, and the development of high quality integrated arts approaches. However, music, as one of the arts disciplines, is in danger of being ...
View more >Music educators, in private studio and school contexts, are often trained exclusively in that arts discipline. Two decades ago, concerns were expressed that integrated arts programs represented generic learning and a failure to acknowledge discipline-specific understandings and skills for each arts discipline. Some of these concerns linger today, despite the introduction of a national curriculum for the Arts which formalizes the knowledge, skills and processes inherent in each arts discipline, and the development of high quality integrated arts approaches. However, music, as one of the arts disciplines, is in danger of being marginalized in the curriculum due to the predominance of high-stakes testing programs which define legitimate knowledge in the curriculum, related funding cuts to arts education in school and tertiary sectors which reduce pre-service arts education for teachers, and consequent diminished teacher capacity in delivering high quality integrated arts programs. This paper presents the benefits to music education through collaborations with other arts disciplines, and other disciplines across the curriculum. The concept of Arts Immersion is discussed in terms of a strategy in which the Arts become the home language of the class room, through a team teaching approach involving a generalist teacher and a specialist arts teacher.
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View more >Music educators, in private studio and school contexts, are often trained exclusively in that arts discipline. Two decades ago, concerns were expressed that integrated arts programs represented generic learning and a failure to acknowledge discipline-specific understandings and skills for each arts discipline. Some of these concerns linger today, despite the introduction of a national curriculum for the Arts which formalizes the knowledge, skills and processes inherent in each arts discipline, and the development of high quality integrated arts approaches. However, music, as one of the arts disciplines, is in danger of being marginalized in the curriculum due to the predominance of high-stakes testing programs which define legitimate knowledge in the curriculum, related funding cuts to arts education in school and tertiary sectors which reduce pre-service arts education for teachers, and consequent diminished teacher capacity in delivering high quality integrated arts programs. This paper presents the benefits to music education through collaborations with other arts disciplines, and other disciplines across the curriculum. The concept of Arts Immersion is discussed in terms of a strategy in which the Arts become the home language of the class room, through a team teaching approach involving a generalist teacher and a specialist arts teacher.
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Journal Title
Australian Journal of Music Education
Volume
2015
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2015 ASME and the Author. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Curriculum and Pedagogy Theory and Development