Future Vision of Education:

1. Future Vision of Education: A Middle School Band Classroom in 2019 EDU505 Post University Sarah DiVenere

2. Educational Context: • Current State History • Urban district in central CT • 2 k-8 schools, established 2012-2013 • Both classified as Title 1 • New buildings, new school districts, new staff, new academic curricula, new middle school model • No prerequisite to join band • Middle school bands meet once every 4 days • By grade level • Mixed ability • 80-minute blocks • simultaneous chorus • General music was required in 6th grade • Performing groups pulled students to rehearse during a common, 30-minute, flexible study hall, once every 4 days. • Groups were differentiated by ability level • Band and chorus students alternated rehearsals • Small lesson groups pulled students from their regular academic schedule for 30 minutes of specialized instruction, once every 4 days.

3. Educational Context: • What Changed History • General music is eliminated • Band and chorus are official elective classes • Grade level groups are not differentiated • Band and chorus students split rehearsals • Due to requirement changes, 6th graders choose only 1 elective: art or music. • Unchanged  • General music was required in 6th grade • Performing groups pulled students to rehearse during a common, 30-minute, flexible study hall, once every 4 days. • Groups were differentiated by ability level • Band and chorus students alternated rehearsals • Small lesson groups pulled students from their regular academic schedule for 30 minutes of specialized instruction, once every 4 days.

4. Reflection on the Context Problems Goals, Mission, and Methods Goal: promote independence and love of making music for life. Mission: provide best experience to continue learning in high school band Current band students who choose art in 6th grade but want to continue in band are offered opportunities to participate in extracurricular band activities Gamification of method book work helps engage and invest students “…Game mechanics can be applied to all manner of productive activities” (Johnson, et al., 2013, p. 20). • Students who do not enroll in 6th grade band are less likely to return to the program as upperclassmen. • Grade-level groups put beginners at a disadvantage. • Technology is not universally available in all district schools. • Neither band program has interactive white boards or sound systems • Tablet technology could be a convenient solution • “…Users can seamlessly load … content of their choosing, making the tablet itself a portable personalized learning environment” (Johnson, Adams Becker, Cummins, Estrada, Freeman, & Ludgate, 2013, p. 15).

5. Literature Review Trends in Technology Trends in Economic and Budgetary Issues “Disparities in access to technology... can only exacerbate disparities in access to education" (Becta, 2008, p. 19). BYO-device programs are successful, but not every student has a device. Grant programs can provide a viable solution. • Investment in technology (Becta, 2008, p. 17) determines educators’ ability to use it • Traditional rehearsal spaces must be updated with appropriate technology • Educators need training to use new technology properly and fully • Students are becoming more “self-directed” (Karrer, 2009). • Potential for learning with every use of a connected device • Students want to engage in learning on their own terms (Blackboard, 2009, p 1). • Educators can use technology to encourage student independence.

6. Literature Review Trends in Public Policy Trends in Demographics Families recovering from the Great Recession are "penny-pinching" (Lawlor, 2013, p. 1). Kober, Jennings, Rentner, and Usher (2012) report "almost one-fifth of the nation's school-age children are… below the federal poverty threshold. More than two-fifths... are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches" (p. 18). English as a second language Koberet al. (2012) reports a 50% increase over the last decade (p. 19). • Common Core State Standards • CCSS have been adopted in 46 states, including CT (NAfME, 2014). • National Standards for Music Education have been revised • In CT, music educators are developing common assessments to align with the new system and collect valuable data. • Parental Involvement • “Dramatic reform… [in California] calls for involving parents in their children's schools" (Freedberg, Frey, & Thigpen, 2014, p. 1). • Parents and schools create a give-and-take community to cross traditional barriers to parent involvement. • Educators, students, and parents benefit.

7. Literature Review Metacognition The Whole Child Non-music factors that influence whether students enroll and reenroll in a school band program Academic achievement and family structure play a bigger role than socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, or mobility (Kinney, 2010, pp. 344-346). School band is also a social community Competitive chair seating auditions- common in secondary school band programs- causes students to question both their abilities and their identities as band students in general (Hoffman, 2012, p. 222). • A deep thought process “that includes self-awareness, self-evaluation, and self-regulation, leading to learners’ increased control of their own thought processes” (Benton, 2013, p. 53). • It can significantly improve the ability to identify and resolve performance issues, and increase practice time (Bauer, 2008, p. 58).

8. Futuring This project applied scanning through informal observations and an academic inquiry of the latest research related to middle school bands. • ...is considering and planning for different possible future scenarios. • It can “excite and inspire action" (Clardy, 2011, p. 37). • It can “distance us from the present, open up the future, and allow the creation of alternative futures" (Mietzner & Reger, 2005, p. 223) • Scanning is a method that “includes both observational and research-based data” (Sobrero, 2004, para. 7).

9. The Vision: 2019 The rehearsal space will include an interactive white board and a sound system for recording and playing music. Digital devices (ideally iPads) will support and supplement in-school rehearsals and home practice. Use of technology will promote musicianship, collaboration, and ownership of learning. Community outreach will be an important program focus.

10. Rationale Music educators team up with colleagues and involve students and parents. All factors changing education are related and require teamwork to face. Intervention "Our education system has mined our minds in the way we've strip-mined the earth, for a particular commodity. And for the future, it won't service... Our task is to educate the whole being so that they can face this future” (Sir Ken Robinson, 2007). Change is Necessary Using one’s musical talents to help others can have profoundly positive affects, and that can be part of education (Heuser, 2011, pp. 293-305). Change is an Opportunity

11. Implementation Challenges Opportunities To lead the way in 21st-century education in the district To explore new technologies To support and rethink traditional instruction To custom-design a new program To positively impact the community. • Budgeting • Writing a grant for digital devices • Working with district bureaucracy to improve the physical space • Advocating a student BYO digital device policy • Finding appropriate apps for classroom use • Learning to use them.

12. Implementation Consequences for Failure • Increasing attrition • Low morale and student motivation • Low value and support by the school and community. An elective program cannot thus survive. Mindful consideration of future trends and their implications for band is imperative for its continuity in school programs.

13. Call to Action! More information is needed in order to move forward with this scenario: • Step 1: • Conference with instrumental teachers currently using tablet technology • Apply that scenario to one’s own • Adapt into the curriculum plan. • Step 2: • Clearly specify budget allowances, grant opportunities, and general limitations.

14. References Bauer, W. I. (2008). Metacognition and middle school band students. Journal Of Band Research, 43(2), 50-63. Becta. (September 2008). Analysis of emerging trends affecting the use of technology in education. Retrieved from http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101102103654/research.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_rp_02&rid=16448 Benton, C. W. (2013). Promoting metacognition in music classes. Music Educators Journal, 100(2), 52-59. doi:10.1177/0027432113500077 Blackboard K-12 (2009). Learning in the 21st century: 2009 trends update. Washington, DC: Project Tomorrow. Clardy, A. (Summer, 2001). Six worlds of tomorrow: Representing the future to popular culture. World Future Review, 3(2), 37-48. Freedberg, L., Frey, S., & Thigpen, D. (February 2014). The power of parents: Research underscores the impact of parent involvement in schools. Retrieved from http://edsource.org/today/wp-content/uploads/Power-of-Parents-Feb-2014.pdf Goble, J. S., & McCarthy, M. (2005). The praxial philosophy in historical perspective. In D. J. Elliott (Ed.), Praxial music education: Reflections and dialogues (pp. 19-51). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Heuser, F. (2011). Ensemble-based instrumental music instruction: dead-end tradition or opportunity for socially enlightened teaching. Music Education Research 13(3), 293-305. doi: 10.1080/14613808.2011.603043 Hoffman, A. (2012). Exclusion, engagement and identity construction in a socioeconomically diverse middle school wind band classroom. Music Education Research, 14(2), 209-226. doi:10.1080/14613808.2012.685452 Houle, D. (2008, May 10). What is a Futurist? Retrieved from http://youtube.com/watch?v=jQyysb8nqMQ Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., & Ludgate, H. (2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Karrer, T. (2009, January 12). 12 eLearning predictions for 2009. Retrieved from http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2009/01/12-elearning-predictions-for-2009.html Kinney, D. W. (2010). Selected nonmusic predictors of urban students' decisions to enroll and persist in middle school band programs. Journal Of Research In Music Education, 57(4), 334-350. doi:10.1177/0022429409350086

15. References Kober, N., Jennings, J., Rentner, D. S., & Usher, A. (January 2012). A public education primer: Basic (and sometimes surprising) facts about the U.S. educational system (2012 revised ed.). Washington, DC: Center on Education Policy. Lawlor Group. (2013) Ten trends for 2013: How marketplace conditions will influence private higher education enrollment- and how colleges can respond. Retrieved from http://www.thelawlorgroup.com/trends-2013 Long, C. (2014). 5 Facts: Making common sense of the common core. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/56587.htm Mietzner, D. & Reger, G. (2005). Advantages and disadvantages of scenario approaches for strategic foresight. Int. J. Technology Intelligence and Planning, 1(2), 220-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJTIP.2005.006516 NAfME. (2013, June 25). Press release: Revised preK-8 music education standards open for public comment June 30. Retrieved from http://musiced.nafme.org/news/press-releases/press-release-revised-prek-8-music-education-standards-open-for-public-comment-june-30/ NAfME. (2014). Common core state standards. Retrieved from http://advocacy.nafme.org/common-core-state-standards/ Robinson, K. (2007, January 6). Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? [Video file]. Retrieved from http://new.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity Sobrero, P. M. (2004). The steps for futuring. Journal of Extension,42(3). Tapscott, D. (2009, July 17) Net Generation and the Media. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9Wpbc7Wp6c Yates, J. R. (Fall 2008). Demographic imperatives for educational reform for culturally and linguistically diverse students. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 11(1), 4-12.