Situational pedagogy in community music: developing a pedagogical approach which accounts for and responds to the changing needs of music learners and music learning situations

Mather, B. and Camlin, D. A. (2017) Situational pedagogy in community music: developing a pedagogical approach which accounts for and responds to the changing needs of music learners and music learning situations. In: International Seminar of the ISME Commission on Community Music Activity, 19-23 July 2016, Edinburgh.

Abstract

The great diversity of Community Music (CM) practices requires a flexible and responsive approach to conceiving of pedagogy: one size does not fit all. In this paper, we set out an approach to training undergraduate students of CM at Sage Gateshead which prepares them for a professional life where they might find themselves adapting their approaches to teaching-learning situations in response to a range of situational factors including: participant (and practitioner) previous experience and skill level; situational purpose; performative factors; changes in collective - or individual - group identity and aspiration; aspects of leadership and followership; instrumental arrangements; musical genre. Building on the business leadership model of Situational Leadership developed by Ken Hersey (Hersey, 1997) and more recent dialogical approaches to pedagogy (Alexander, 2008; Price, n.d.; Wegerif, 2012), we outline a model of Situational Pedagogy for CM which recognises the changing nature of group music learning situations, and the need for an adaptable and flexible approach to pedagogy which accounts for the complexities of individual situations of music-making. In particular, this approach to teaching and learning supports student CM practitioners to: appreciate and adopt a wider range of teaching styles and approaches; emphasize learners’ needs, capabilities and aspirations in curriculum design and session planning; resist the common trap of teaching the way they themselves were taught. **** The full text of this paper is available as part of the conference proceedings document at the 'Official URL' given below. ****

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