What can happen when learners choose the musical materials and activities? What possibilities arise when learners are involved in planning? What do students learn from helping teachers plan what goes on in class? What do experiences/concerts look and feel like to learners, teachers, and parents when learner are involved in every step of the process? What roles exist for learners and teacher in these types of classrooms? In this session, we address these questions through presenting examples for actual classrooms and discussing pedagogy and pragmatics to foster student-centered and student-led classrooms.
In the session, Abbie VanKlompenberg will discuss what happened in her experiences in both a 6-8th grade choir as well as in K-5 general music classrooms and the challenges/rewards that she and her students experienced. Jesse Rathgeber discuss his work with elementary school students, in both general music and choral settings, to explore the pedagogy and pragmatics of fostering student-centered and student-led classrooms. Attendees and presenters will collaborate to consider multiple possibilities for helping learners create a place for themselves in the music classroom, and for making the music classroom a home for learners and teacher, alike.

Click here for the handout and supplemental materials

Two graduate students and two undergraduates discuss their experiences facilitating a middle school songwriting project. We address tradition and change in the realms of reflection and practice in teacher preparation.

​Bickmore, I., Rathgeber, J., Cano, T., & Sanchez, N. (2015, May). Reflecting in action: Preservice teacher and graduate student reflections on a middle school songwriting project. Paper presented at the Mountain Lake Colloquium from Teachers of General Music Method, Pembroke, VA.