Coding + Composition + Chiptune Music, Shawna Longo

Coding + Composition + Chiptune Music

Shawna longo Hopatcong Middle School shawnalongo@gmail.com

The latest hot-button topic that many school districts are focusing on is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Whenever a “new” initiative or topic is introduced to me, I always try to find a way that connects that initiative to my content area – music. By making natural connections to music, I am showing my support of district/school initiatives or goals, advocating for the arts, and making deeper learning connections for my students. This is definitely the higher road to take, rather than throwing your hands in the air and waving it off. There’s always going to be a “new” initiative coming down the pike and supporting these initiatives can go a long way with your administration.

What is SEL?

In case you have been wondering what this latest trend is all about – CASEL defines Social-Emotional Learning as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” Within schools, SEL is used as an educational process through which skills for life effectiveness are intentionally taught and modeled in a safe, supportive, and culturally responsive environment.

Casel’s Core Competencies

Almost every SEL initiative is grounded in CASEL’s five core competencies: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making. These five core competencies have many authentic connections to the skills we teach and standards we cover in music classes. www.casel.org/core-competencies/

Self-Awareness is defined by CASEL as occurring when students/teachers: • Identify emotions. • Are aware of their self-perception/identity. • Recognize their strengths. • Have a sense of self-confidence. • Have self-efficacy.

In music class, the self-awareness SEL competency can be found when: • Students are taught music skills and how to apply them to their lives. • Teachers promote growth through the creative process where students are developing and refining their work/performance. • Teachers assist students in identifying and processing emotions.

• Students are required to accurately assess their strengths and limitations with a sense of confidence, optimism, and a growth mindset.

Self-Management is defined by CASEL as occurring when students/teachers exhibit: • Impulse control. • Stress management. • Self-discipline. • Self-motivation. • Perseverance. • Goal-setting. • Organizational Skills.

In music class, the self-management SEL competency can be found when: • Students listen to music to regulate their emotions or identify their emotional response. • Students exhibit self-discipline in their practice to increase their performance precision. • Students find motivation in themselves and set personal goals. • Students are organized (time management) and utilize stress management (regulation of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors) through the performance of music. • Students are invested in the outcome when they perform music together (reflected in the student’s work, efforts, and strengths).

Social-Awareness is defined by CASEL as occurring when students/teachers: • Practice perspective taking. • Practice empathy. • Appreciate diversity. • Show a respect for others.

In music class, the social-awareness SEL competency can be found when: • Students interact with others through group performance. • Students work through the artist process, which is innately individualistic and also naturally collaborative. • Students see new perspectives that support and challenge their own by determining commonalities and appreciating differences when performing and interacting with others. • Students are put in the places of other people in other times and cultures to increase their understanding of the composer’s intent.

Relationship Skills are defined by CASEL as occurring when students/teachers: • Communicate. • Engage socially. • Build relationships. • Work collaboratively. • Resolve conflicts. • Help others and/or seek help when needed.

In music class, the relationship skills SEL competency can be found when: • Students build relationships while creating, performing, and/or enjoying music together. • Students are touched personally by music and are connected with others in the same moment. • Students are exposed to new ideas and given time to explore. • Students practice relationship skills in an authentic way. • Students work with others, communicate, engage, and work as a team to create or perform a piece of music.

Responsible Decision-Making is defined by CASEL as occurring when students/teachers: • Identify problems. • Analyze situations. • Solve problems. • Evaluate. • Reflect. • Show an ethical responsibility.

In music class, the responsible decision-making SEL competency can be found when: • Students are creating, presenting, performing, responding to, and connecting with music, as they are constantly making decisions. • Students work in a safe environment for themselves and with others while working on making responsible decisions. • Students self-regulate and take on the perspective of others to promote responsible decision-making.

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SEL in Music

When I first read CASEL’s definitions of the SEL five core competencies, I immediately recognized that these are embedded and easily evidenced in every music classroom – general music, choir, band, orchestra, jazz band, etc. The creative process IS a learning process. Through the creative process, one has an idea, works through the idea, perseveres through mistakes and difficult patches, creates something in the end, and reflects and revises throughout the cyclical process. SEL is naturally embedded throughout the creative process, as you can’t create or perform without making responsible decisions. As music teachers, we just need to highlight the SEL competencies that we are teaching simultaneously during our “normal” music instruction – align the music standards with the SEL competencies. I promise you the small effort will more than likely go far with your administration and colleagues.

The role of the music teacher in SEL

For numerous reasons, music teachers tend to connect with their students on a different level than the other teachers within a school. Music teachers: • Determine their students’ needs on an individual basis (differentiated instruction). • Encourage students in order to meet their needs that may not be met at home. • Care for students enough to make that change in their own mind. • Connect with students in ways that only the arts can do. • Provide opportunities for students to work cooperatively and collaboratively with others. • Provide methods to express and understand emotion. • Provide opportunities to practice social situations and how to act and react to others. • Make natural connections to empathy. • Provide a safe and supportive learning environment where students are allowed to explore themselves and the world around them (diversity) through music. • Allow for a creative outlet for students, so that they can discover what makes them happy and encourage them to do more of that! • Connect with their students to teach them socialemotional learning and/or soft skills.

Start with the Teacher

In order for teachers to authentically make connections to social-emotional learning in their classroom, adults first need to recognize, understand, label, express, and regulate their own emotions. This is essential in order to: • Demonstrate patience and empathy. • Encourage healthy communication. • Create a safe learning environment.

With record numbers of teachers leaving the profession, a shift to focus more on our own social-emotional well being through mindfulness and SEL is essential. Brackett, Mojsa, Palomera, Reyes, and Salovey report in 2008 that, “teachers skilled at regulating their emotions report less burnout and more positive affect while teaching.” The more resilient the teacher, the less likely they are to suffer from burnout and the more affective they will be in their classroom. For more information on this topic, the Cult of Pedagogy has a useful article titled, “12 Habits that Build Resilience,” that can be found at https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/resilience/.

Connecting SEL with the Arts

Elizabeth Peterson of The Inspired Classroom has spent years educating teachers about SEAL – Social-Emotional Artistic Learning. Through her work with SEAL, she has made natural connections between and among arts forms (visual art, music, dance, theatre) and CASEL’s social-emotional learning competencies. When you connect arts integration with SEL, you are essentially working within the SEAL model. SEAL can naturally occur within your music classroom and also be evidenced when you integrate the arts with other content areas through an arts integration approach.

Promoting SEL in Your Music Classroom

As a music teacher who promotes social-emotional learning in their classroom, you will want to: • Establish a community of musicians that encourages a growth mindset through the creation of a safe space where students can make mistakes, put weaknesses on display as an opportunity to learn, grow, and continually work to become a better musician and person.

• Guide your students as they reflect on areas for improvement and develop personal and group goals (student-centered learning). • Provide opportunities for students to celebrate their individual success as well as group success. • Build a calm, collaborative learning environment!

Resources:

Education Closet – www.educationcloset.com The Inspired Classroom – www.teachSEAL.com CASEL – www.casel.org/core-competencies/

Shawna E. Longo is the General Music (Music Technology) teacher and Arts Integration Specialist at Durban Avenue School, Hopatcong, NJ. She also serves as the Arts Integration & STEAM Specialist for TMI Education; Coach for Education Closet; and Ambassador for MusicFirst. She is a clinician and consultant for music education, arts integration, and STEAM. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Ti:ME Teacher of the Year Award, 2019 NJ Governor’s Award for Arts Education, 2018 NJMEA Master Music Teacher Award and 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year for Hopatcong Middle School.

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Bachelor of Arts in Music Bachelor of Arts in Music (combined with a second major) Bachelor of Music Education Bachelor of Music in Performance

For Open House and Audition dates, go to: www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman

www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman