Performing is like getting to fly an airplane, but I believe in students learning the history of the airplane and what keeps it aloft. By this I mean that students should also possess an adequate knowledge of music theory and history. After two years of utilizing the traditional teaching practice of lectures, worksheets, and such, I felt that I needed to go in a direction more suited to the type of learning on which Salisbury Academy students thrive. Within my music classes, I have found self-directed research using technology within a collaboratively-based learning environment to be a winning combination. The students really approach the topics with much enthusiasm, and I no longer feel like I am having to force-feed a captive audience. Instead, with proper guidance, the students have much educational freedom and creativity motivating them to feed themselves. And the confidence they build by presenting their findings to each other in class is the "icing on the cake."

 

In completing these projects, students may work solo or work with in partnership with other students. Students choose their topics from a list of topics derived from required learning in the Core Knowledge curriculum of their respective grade levels. Then, they select the format in which to do their topics, choosing from writing a research paper, constructing a Google slide presentation, or composing a newspaper article. I can proudly share that it's not only the students learning from this. They've managed to dig up some obscure facts about their topics that I've never encountered...and that was quite fun for me.