MMCP – Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project

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MMCP refers to the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project(Program); a music education curricular plan that sought to improve music education through a child-centered approach.

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all learning domains, including the psychomotor domain, the cognitive domain, and, in particular and significant ways, the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity. Music training from preschool through post-secondary education is common in most nations because involvement with music is considered a fundamental component of human culture and behavior. Cultures from around the world have different approaches to music education, largely due to the varying histories and politics. Studies show that teaching music from other cultures can help students perceive unfamiliar sounds more comfortably, and they also show that musical preference is related to the language spoken by the listener and the other sounds they are exposed to within their own culture.

Contents

Rationale

MMCP is an alternative educational model to music education as a response to the declining interest in school music which is often noted in students as they grow older. The problems in music education the MMCP sought to address were the students’ rejection of music education upon reaching the stage of formal operations (logic & reasoning) observed by Jean Piaget, and the rejection of music in the educational environment as compared to the strong acceptance of music outside school.

Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist, biologist, logician, philosopher and academic

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic epistemology".

Fostering the continued relevance of music to a student in school and contemporary society is a key purpose for MMCP in the areas of:

MMCP believes presenting music as changing and evolving rather than “static” like western art music increases the interest in new creation. Thus, when students act as musicians and not spectators, they discover comprehensive meaning on many levels of understanding.

Learning Objectives

The MMCP learning objectives are to develop positive musical behaviors in students. MMCP does not focus on imparting factual music knowledge. Rather, learning and acquisition of musical information are the byproduct of the “doing” in performing and creating the music. The four behavioral objectives closely aligned with the MMCP process of learning are:

Students evaluate themselves on their own personal achievement of these objectives. Teacher serves to not evaluate the student but to evaluate how well the curriculum is working and modify accordingly to each student.

Focus

The four main areas of MMCP focus are:

Sequence

The MMCP uses a spiral curriculum that sequentially introduces new concepts in action-oriented cycles that are developmentally appropriate. The "spiral curriculum" concept was first proposed by Jerome Bruner in 1960, and has since been the model for many school curricula in the US. A typical MMCP sequence of events is as follows:

Jerome Bruner American psychologist and scholar

Jerome Seymour Bruner was an American psychologist who made significant contributions to human cognitive psychology and cognitive learning theory in educational psychology. Bruner was a senior research fellow at the New York University School of Law. He received a B.A. in 1937 from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1941. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Bruner as the 28th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.

1) Strategy - Teacher presents a framework for introducing a musical problem (often in the form of a question) that inspires creative thought. The problem must be well-defined, well-diversified, and able to be solved creatively by all students.

2) Composing & Rehearsing - Students solve the musical problem in group composition projects by developing a musical hypothesis and testing it using aural logic. Critical thought should be used in solving the problem, and all students are encouraged to experiment.

3) Performance - After groups rehearse their compositions, a performance typically takes place to share ideas. From the experimenting process in designing their composition, the students have developed necessary musical skills needed to perform.

4) Critical Evaluation - Students may have an oral discussion after the performance to discuss and evaluate themselves. They may also record the performance for critical analysis at a later time.

5) Listening - Students listen to music for pleasure or as a resource to discover new ideas.

The teacher's role in this sequence is the creator of the musical problem yet an unobtrusive observer. Students should view the teacher as a resource rather than an evaluator. A teacher does not impose judgement on students' creations, but rather acts as the "facilitator of discovery."

Related Research Articles

Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.

Learning theory (education) conceptual frameworks in which knowledge is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning

Learning Theory describe how students absorb, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.

Instructional design (ID), also known as instructional systems design (ISD), is the practice of systematically designing, developing and delivering instructional products and experiences, both digital and physical, in a consistent and reliable fashion towards an efficient, effective, appealing, engaging and inspiring acquisition of knowledge. The process consists broadly of determining the state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating some "intervention" to assist in the transition. The outcome of this instruction may be directly observable and scientifically measured or completely hidden and assumed. There are many instructional design models but many are based on the ADDIE model with the five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Blooms taxonomy classification system in pedagogy

Bloom's taxonomy is a set of three hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity. The three lists cover the learning objectives in cognitive, affective and sensory domains. The cognitive domain list has been the primary focus of most traditional education and is frequently used to structure curriculum learning objectives, assessments and activities.

Project-based learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem. It is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning. PBL contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that presents established facts or portrays a smooth path to knowledge by instead posing questions, problems or scenarios.

In the state of Victoria, Australia, the Victorian Essential Learning Standards(VELS) is the curriculum framework for Preparatory to Year 10 school levels, which replaced the Curriculum and Standards Framework II in 2006. Students starting Year 11 normally proceed to complete the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), but other education options are available. VELS was superseded by the Australian Curriculum AusVELS in 2013.

This glossary of education-related terms is based on how they commonly are used in Wikipedia articles. This page contains terms starting with G – L. Select a letter from the table of contents to find terms on other pages.

Formative assessment, including diagnostic testing, is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. It typically involves qualitative feedback for both student and teacher that focuses on the details of content and performance. It is commonly contrasted with summative assessment, which seeks to monitor educational outcomes, often for purposes of external accountability.

Authentic assessment is the measurement of "intellectual accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful," as contrasted to multiple choice standardized tests. Authentic assessment can be devised by the teacher, or in collaboration with the student by engaging student voice. When applying authentic assessment to student learning and achievement, a teacher applies criteria related to “construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and the value of achievement beyond the school.”

Arts integration is an approach to teaching that integrates the fine and performing arts as primary pathways to learning. Arts integration differs from traditional education by its inclusion of both the arts discipline and a traditional subject as part of learning The goal of arts integration is to increase knowledge of a general subject area while concurrently fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the fine and performing arts. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts defines arts integration as "an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject and meets evolving objectives."

Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and his or her knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based Learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem solving skills.

Thinking Maps are a set of techniques used in primary and secondary education ("K-12"). There are eight diagram types that are intended to correspond with eight different fundamental thinking processes. They are supposed to provide a common visual language to information structure, often employed when students take notes.

Piano pedagogy study of the teaching of piano playing

Piano pedagogy is the study of the teaching of piano playing. Whereas the professional field of music education pertains to the teaching of music in school classrooms or group settings, piano pedagogy focuses on the teaching of musical skills to individual piano students. This is often done via private or semiprivate instructions, commonly referred to as piano lessons. The practitioners of piano pedagogy are called piano pedagogues, or simply, piano teachers.

In 1965 the Seminar on Comprehensive Musicianship was held at Northwestern University. Its purpose was to develop and implement means of improving the education of music teachers. In 1967 a symposium was held at Airlie House in Warrenton, Virginia to discuss means of evaluating comprehensive musicianship. The resultant document, Procedures for Evaluation of Music in Contemporary Education, offers guidelines for the evaluation of techniques and attitudes acquired through comprehensive musicianship studies.

Dalcroze eurhythmics, also known as the Dalcroze method or simply eurhythmics, is one of several developmental approaches including the Kodály method, Orff Schulwerk and Suzuki Method used to teach music to students. Eurhythmics was developed in the early 20th century by Swiss musician and educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. Dalcroze eurhythmics teaches concepts of rhythm, structure, and musical expression using movement, and is the concept for which Dalcroze is best known. It focuses on allowing the student to gain physical awareness and experience of music through training that takes place through all of the senses, particularly kinesthetic.

The Framework for Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is an evaluative tool used by educators of all subjects at the elementary and secondary levels to assess the quality of classroom instruction, assignments, and student work. The framework was founded by Dr. Dana L. Carmichael, Dr. M. Bruce King, and Dr. Fred M. Newmann. The purpose of the framework is to promote student production of genuine and rigorous work that resembles the complex work of adults. Consequently, the framework identifies three main criteria for student learning, and provides standards accompanied by scaled rubrics for classroom instruction, assignments, and student work. The standards and rubrics are meant to support teachers in the promotion of genuine and rigorous work, as well as guide professional development and collaboration.

The field of music education contains a number of learning theories that specify how students learn music based on behavioral and cognitive psychology.

Gordon Music Learning Theory is a model for music education based on Edwin Gordon's research on musical aptitude and achievement in the greater field of music learning theory. The theory is an explanation of music learning, based on audiation and students' individual musical differences. The theory uses the concepts of discrimination and inference learning to explain tonal, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns.

References

    Thomas, Ronald B (1970). MMCP Synthesis; a structure for music education Bardonia, N.Y., Media Materials, inc.

    Walker, Robert. Innovation in the Music Classroom: II The Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project. Psychology of Music, Vol. 12, No. 1, 25-33 (1984)