In addition to the demonstration and performance by Atrium 2nd and 3rd graders, you will also hear reflections from violin teacher Helen Liu, program visionary Larry Scripp, Atrium parents and co-principals Susan Diller and Linda Echt.

Transforming Musical Objects

Before the video began, Michael and professor Larry Scripp asked a question of the class: “To what extent does studying music increase understanding of poetics, and vice versa, to what extend does studying music increase understanding of music?” Professor Scripp also reminded students to use Triple Entry Journals while they viewed the video. These three column journals are tools for learning and note-taking: the first column is reserved for objective information in the form of quotations, observations, etc. The second column is reserved for a subjective or personal response, and the third column is used to draw meaningful implications to Music-in-Education.

As the current documentation specialist for this class, I am most interested in researching how class participants are encouraged and inspired to use the key topics in class in their own learning and exploration of MIE. I feel that this presentation by Michael Glicksman was designed, at least partly to encourage students to inquire and to use the five learning processes (Listen, Question, Create, Perform, Reflect) of Music plus Music Integration. Inquiry, the question presented before the video, created a context for an educational activity. The use of triple entry journals provided structure for engagement in that inquiry.

An example of my own use of triple entry journals for Lyle Davidson’s Music, Brain Development, and Learning. I went through a process of finding a good way to organize my thoughts and research. The first column is objective information from a reading, the second contains connections to other readings and personal experience, and the third is my reflection on implications for a research paper and MIE in general.

It took me a while to look at triple entry notes critically. The idea was first presented to me a year ago, when I took Intro to MIE solely as a student. Since then, I’ve been involved in MIE in a number of ways, and triple entry journals have become vital to my learning. I find that, especially when I get overwhelmed with concepts, ideas, or just too much information, creating an inquiry question (setting context) and setting that MIE context in the third column of a triple entry journal focuses my attention completely on the task at hand. Suddenly, I’m able efficiently engage myself in a learning experience in which I’m always setting goals (converting objective experience in the other two columns) and getting feedback about my work.

I think Michael’s presentation, while a great opportunity for Michael to explore his own teaching and get feedback, became, at least for me, an opportunity to explore key MIE ideas about learning.

Please use the following links to view a clip of Michael’s inquiry question and part of a class discussion after Michael’s presentation:

Michael’s Inquiry

Class Discussion

One of the most exciting roles (I think) within a Music Learning Leadership team is the role of Documentation Specialist, which is someone charged with collecting, articulating, and making visible any evidence from the MLL team’s project. In other words, the DS will probably be collecting student work samples, interviewing other team members, gathering reflections (by students, teachers, or other team members), etc. and helping to compile it into a digital portfolio that really showcases his/her MLL team’s work. They also assist in the design of rubrics, student assessments, and classroom activities, with the purpose of skillful documentation in mind.

Last Friday was my first opportunity to collect documentation of our new M+MI violin project at the Atrium School. We asked students to reflect on the Music-Math Matrix ‘play & sing’ by drawing and/or writing. As each was completing his/her work, I asked each student to interpret his/her reflection for me. I then assembled some of their responses into the video below.

I’m looking forward to future documentation from this project!