Dialogistic Process of Teaching and Learning Activities in Workshop-Style Music Outreach Classes

Abstract

  The recent increase in music outreach classes in the field of education has resulted in confusion among teachers and musicians about the educational significance of music outreach.  The present study analyzed the interactions in workshop-style music outreach classes for 4^th-graders, led by a woman pianist.  The purpose was to capture the musician’s active and improvisational teaching actions in the process of the dialogue between the musician and the children.  The analysis of these data categorized the musician’s teaching actions into 4 forms: 2 forms with scaffolding (simplification of the problem and organization of the dialogue as a focusing process) and 2 forms without scaffolding (organization of the dialogue as a divergent process and restating in other words).  These results were used to draw conclusions about how the program scheduled by the musician may limit the manner of the dialogue and teaching.  The discussion proposes designing a program that allows both the musician and the children to improvise.