Nicole Walker Head of Year
Confidence built in a concurrent context
The ability to be confident in one’s abilities, to be resilient and to accept challenges enables us to function effectively as active members of society. Building confidence takes courage and this process is benefited by supportive contexts such as those involving mentoring and collaboration. The 2021 concurrent Years 11/12 St Margaret’s music class is one such context. Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) documentation describes concurrent delivery as a pedagogical approach; it is a way to learn and it involves differentiation. As QCAA does not require schools to notify them of concurrent classes, there is no statistical data that identifies how many concurrent classes are running in Queensland. However, it is widely known that many concurrent classes are enabling a wide range of subjects to be offered in secondary schools today. Although combined or composite music classes are not a new concept, the concurrent delivery mode exists as part of the Music 2019 v1.2 Syllabus (QCAA) and occurs as Year 11 students study Units 1 and 2 while Year 12 students study Units 3 and 4. This change has required a different approach to planning, differentiation and articulation of learning intentions than that applied to composite-class delivery. The alignment of learning experiences has occurred; however, it is common for two different tasks to be occurring simultaneously. Likewise, the assessment tasks are similar, but the topics, content and depth to which these are covered differs. Nayler’s belief that 'classrooms with students in more than one "official" year level have added complexities' (2011, p. 9) certainly rings true. The planning for this new mode requires regular feedback to occur between teachers and students and constant teacher reflection. The necessity for students to consolidate concepts or access resources to extend themselves encourages independence and self-regulation. Accountability is high. Online teaching and learning approaches, including the use of OneNote, ‘due work’ on the POD and live recording programs such as Soundtrap continue to support meaningful learning as syllabus objectives are met. The authentic sharing of ideas through making music has forged new connections in an environment reminiscent of an image of parallel train tracks – two groups journeying independently, side by side in the same direction.
SUNATA 54
The concurrent music classroom provides ongoing opportunities for students to develop their critical and creative thinking capabilities, one of the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. These capabilities are important throughout the school years as students are being prepared for life in the 21st century. Critical and creative processes are central to the music course as the creation of new ideas and the need to innovate while performing, composing and analysing music
are ever present. Students develop confidence as they learn and reflect on their progress. Interestingly, the concurrent mode has provided ‘space’ for the girls to grow their own confidence levels, particularly in their composition and musicology tasks. The sharing of ideas has often been spontaneous as students perform their songs to the class, many of which have been of an improvisatory manner and created on the spot. Not only has this brought the two cohorts together, it has developed individual confidence to compose music. This is a wonderful by-product in a class whose members have significant strength in the performing dimension. The exchange of composing ideas – melodic and rhythmic motifs, and chord progressions – sparks the development of short, sometimes hesitant sounds into songs and instrumental pieces that often mirror the complexity and structure of published works. The girls’ works now demonstrate a deeper understanding of harmony and chord progressions – the most challenging music element to grasp. Such understanding is transferred into the extended responses required for musicology tasks. It is clear that this concurrent, cooperative context supports Johnson and Johnson’s research findings that 'students who work together cooperatively learn more, remember it longer, and also gain more effective social skills and psychological strengths than do students who work alone or competitively' (as cited in Panadero & Alonso-Tapia 2016, p. 69). It is reciprocal inspiration. The development of confidence and self-regulation evident in the Years 11/12 music students will have long-term benefits. Self-regulated learning comprises a cyclical approach in which work completed on a task informs subsequent learning. Panadero and Alonso-Tapia believe that teachers are tasked with assisting students to learn 'intentionally, autonomously and effectively, which is achieved using self-regulation' (2014, p. 450). Indeed, they define self-regulation as 'the control that students have over their cognition, behaviour, emotions and motivation through the use of personal strategies to achieve the goals they have established' (2014, pp. 450-451). The awareness of one’s emotions and motivations contribute to the interest in a task and engagement in learning. Zimmerman’s model outlines the cyclical approach: forethought phase (task analysis, self-motivation beliefs); performance phase (self-control, self-observation); and self-reflection phase (selfjudgement, self-reaction). It is interesting that Panadero and Alonso-Tapia affirm that 'beliefs, values, interests and goals are the personal variables that generate and maintain motivation to perform a task' (2014, p. 453). These factors, existing in the forethought phase, can impede or ignite progress and this is certainly present in new or challenging music activities.
