This article is based on a qualitative case study of teachers' conceptions of improvisation in teaching. Empirical data are master student teachers' texts (transcripts, reflections) based on observations and interviews of practising teachers. The texts were analysed in an abductive process. We can identify four specific characteristics of how improvisation in teaching is conceived; improvisation of design, improvisation in communication, and improvisation dependent on repertoire and context. However, teachers experience severe challenges in their improvisational practices, e.g. with regard to their knowledge base, the accountability agenda and teacher autonomy. Therefore, we argue that improvisation should be part of teacher education.
The author invites us to re-examine the case for ‘music appreciation’ teaching. In a two-year project, ‘Music in Use,’ conducted in Norwegian primary schools, Magne Espeland and his colleagues developed new principles and methods for encouraging children to listen to music of many different styles – including modern instrumental and orchestral music, pop and jazz. Working from the belief that response on the part of the listener is crucial in musical understanding, the project group involved the children with a variety of activities which, while primarily related to the music itself, engaged also with experiences in verbal, visual and kinetic expression.
This article, which focuses on learners' composing original music in classroom contexts because, in the past 50 years, classroom composing has become an important part of music curricula, considers sociocultural and musical contexts that potentially foster and support music learners' creative work in school settings. It begins by sharing some perspectives on the nature of music and the nature of learning, and how they inform music teaching, and then considers what researchers say about learners' collaborative creative work in music classroom settings. Finally, the article looks at some instances of music learning in the context of collaborative composing in elementary and primary classroom settings.
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