Students quickly get adapted to a cycle of completing temporary projects that become almost meaningless in time. They complete work for a semester only to never build on, or even see it again (Watters, 2015). I would take it even further as to say the process can start to cycle within a six or nine week grading period. Students begin to focus on checkpoints instead of learning, with the idea of a fresh start after a unit is complete. This process can be counterproductive to young learners because they soon learn to not take interest in their education. In order for one to fully utilize an E-Portfolio, they first must take pride in the work they’re doing. It’s hard to say you own something that was assigned to you, so learners should be making meaningful connections to their life and passions in order to take ownership of their E-Portfolio. While students and teachers are drilled yearly on what not to share digitally, E-Portfolios also provide a platform for teachers and students to document their proud work, another form of digital ownership besides social media (Rikard, 2015).
The fine arts host the opportunity for so much creative control. As a choir director, my goal is to allow the students to invest in themselves through their work. The DLL program has provided a good model for how to coexist assignments with ownership. At the elementary level, taking ownership of work (along with many other concepts in school) will be new to children, so I understand the level of guidance they will need. It’s my job to provide my students with assignments in which they can take control of and make purposeful connections with. I had the pleasure of interviewing several musicians/former band students when preparing my innovation plan for my choir. The clips had to be shortened to a two-minute video, but I actually conversed with them for hours. Something that remained consistent across the board was that at some point in time we all had to take control of our own learning. Self-directed practice is such a necessary protocol for developing musicians. This is something that is taught early and remains a necessary skill for professionals.
There is a common theme in the music world: Practice is what you do at home. Rehearsal is what the group practices together (Tam, 2015). Practice consists of working on scales and individual technique, but also practicing your individual part of the songs that your ensemble will be performing. The technique behind this theme is that during rehearsal time, the director should be spending time blending everyone together and adding finishing touches. There isn’t any time for the director to be teaching things that students have the capability to practice at home. In the life of a music student, taking ownership of your learning is simply necessary.
Sources
Rikard, A. (2015, August 10). Do I Own My Domain If You Grade It? - EdSurge News. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-08-10-do-i-own-my-domain-if-you-grade-it
Tam, S. (2015, February 16). Bands Shouldn't Practice. They Should Rehearse. Retrieved from https://laststopbooking.com/2015/02/16/bands-shouldnt-practice-they-should-rehearse/
Watters, A. (2015). The web we need to give students [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://brightthemag.com/the-web-we-need-to-give-students-311d97713713
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