Distance Learning in Music Education
How Music Teachers Have Made It Work
By Gregg Ritchie, National Curriculum Specialist at McGraw Hill
I recently interviewed ten music teachers around the country to learn a bit about their experiences this school year, and the challenges they’ve faced due to the world health pandemic. Much of what I learned confirmed my predictions: some surprises, but also amazing stories of resilience and creativity.
While there has been no shortage of debate and discussion about whether schools should and can reopen, I believe it’s often best to hear from those directly doing the work. While we all have our own experiences, perceptions, beliefs, and desires, it’s important to remember just that… they’re our own. And someone else’s is his or her own.
Those interviewed span the range of K-12 educators and one district coordinator and are currently working in states that include California, Oregon, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, New Jersey, and Florida. Many music teachers travel to several schools daily or weekly. Some I talked to teach in new facilities where physical-distancing and cleanliness are easier to come by than others in older buildings. All this being true, there are still many things common among all of us, ideas and truths we can all agree on. Below are four of the questions I posed, and some of the answers received, in the teachers’ own words.
1. Other than not being able to have the personal connection with students, what has been the greatest challenge in teaching music remotely?
“Balancing a home life with my own children while trying to teach and keep up with students. I have 220 students in my choir program, all with different family values and involvement during this school year. It’s been hard recreating the wheel of teaching choir while attending to my own family.”
“With elementary students and learning music, it is the back-and-forth responses, whether rhythmic or singing, that is so hard to duplicate when remote. Students are now little faces on the screen, and they don’t feel the excitement of a live performance. They can’t experience everyone singing or making rhythms together. If their dog walks by, they focus on that. If they don’t have a designated space that is their “school learning spot,” it is difficult to keep them focused.”
“Initially, the greatest challenge was planning — how do we play singing games that we’ve been playing forever, now without being in-person? How do we assess singing when everyone is muted? How do we keep their attention through a screen? However, after teaching virtually, the biggest challenge (and disappointment) is that students often don’t show up or do the work assigned. There is less accountability, so some students choose not to participate at all.”
“Time management — I often spend Sundays filming lessons or lesson planning, as I try to keep weekday afternoons available to teach/help my own children (also in a distance learning environment) and my aging parents.”
“Not being able to sing all together because of lags in Zoom, not authentically playing classroom instruments like Orff xylophones or ukuleles.”
“Scheduling, student participation/attendance, not being allowed to see student work (we are not allowed to require cameras on.)”
2. Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
“Provide more choice for students with assignments. Learning technology better at the beginning of the school year would have been a big help, rather than figuring it out as we went.”
“I just attended our state’s virtual music professional conference and got so many cool ideas. I love how we can share and use each other’s great ideas and resources. The community of musicians and sharing has been incredible. If anything, I would have given myself some grace and not stressed out as much.”
“Less is more, in every regard. Our children are on the computer all day long. I do not think it’s healthy for them. They should be playing more and building social skills in-person — this should be our most urgent push right now. Kids are resilient — they’ll be fine!”
“I wouldn’t have made hundreds of copies of those musical Leprechauns last spring!”
“Nothing. I felt very well trained by our district, both in the spring, and before school started in August, in regard to various online platforms that we might be using. The teaching community has been very strong and supportive, as have our administrators. I am very thankful for our district.”
3. Could you share one or two creative things you’ve done to shift your teaching to meet the needs of safety, but still maximize achievement and student involvement?
“My school has done several virtual performances this year, and they have been super fun! Doing a virtual program has its challenges, but also allows for some new and special things. We incorporated a sound story with our 1st and 2nd graders that allowed for every student to have a moment on the screen, doing a “job,” something that normally would not be able to happen in a live performance. The resulting “music videos” (as we call them) have been a fun, shareable project that my students have felt ownership of and can look back on in the future.”
“Typically, I have multiple all-grade musicals and performances but because that is not possible in this time, I have focused more on the building blocks of music and how to create music.”
“We have a music teacher in the school parking lot for 90 minutes each Friday afternoon, helping masked families with personalized advice, instrument tuning or repairs, or just an enthusiastic pep talk!”
“I have enjoyed using Interactive Listening Maps and Virtual Instruments from the McGraw Hill Spotlight on Music. Students can always see what is happening in the music.”
“There are several games that I’ve found an alternative to that students love. For example, rather than singing canons as a group, they can perform “motion canons” with themselves.”
“Wearing costumes and having fun myself, along with the kids! I’ve dressed as Joe Gardner (the music teacher from Pixar’s “Soul”) to teach jazz, worn suspenders and a bowler hat to teach about ragtime music, and worn a colonial wig to teach fifth-graders Social Studies songs. I am currently awaiting a shipment of an argyle sweater-vest to create a body percussion video with Harry Styles in ‘Happiness.’”
4. Are there any positives that have come from this past year of teaching that wouldn’t have happened if there had been no health pandemic?
“I have learned to rely more on others to get inspiration and ideas. I learned that even after 32 years of teaching, there is still more to learn. I learned that I could adapt when I needed to. I can still make music even if I can’t use instruments.”
“I’ve noticed that I’ve integrated more Social Emotional Learning this year! I’ve taken a step back and looked at everything in the big picture and focused on teaching the whole child. My school uses the Zones of Regulation, which is a way for students to evaluate their own feelings and communicate how they’re feeling in a given moment. I use a Zones Check-in at the beginning of every class to help me know where my kids are at that day. I’ll definitely be taking that with me beyond the pandemic!”
“I’m blown away by the computer and technology skills that these kids have picked up. They always rise to the occasion.”
“I am so happy this experience has trained all of our students on the computer to use various learning platforms. In the past, there were some students that would have taken too much time for me to train. Because the second half of the year is not filled with concert rehearsals, I can hone their skills in other areas that I begin to teach in the autumn, and then have to stop when concert season begins.”
“Teaching remotely has encouraged my students to “unmute” (virtually or in-person!) and sing by themselves more often. It’s also encouraged me to keep track of students’ progress individually since almost all of our work is done digitally.”
This year, each subject our students study has been presented with its own unique set of challenges. I am grateful to these teachers for showing us a snapshot into how music education has changed for them, but also for us to see the diversity, creativity, and power that music education offers our children and that they must never be without.
Gregg Ritchie is a National Humanities Curriculum Specialist with McGraw Hill. Gregg works in schools and school districts partnering to develop teacher capacity and student engagement. Click here to read more of Gregg’s writing.
Brighten up your remote music classroom with free virtual stickers!
Music and smiles go hand in hand! Use these bright, colorful virtual stickers while remote teaching to encourage your students, brighten their day, or acknowledge them for solid effort and great work.
