A Reflective Lens: Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice | Page 115

A Reflective Lens:
Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice

Introduction

Music lessons for our first-year secondary school students
at Jurongville Secondary School (JVSS) revolved around
the teaching of World Music where they were taught
instrumental techniques, specifically on the Guzheng and
the Angklung. Lessons were teacher-centric with students
imitating what the teacher demonstrated. This meant that
students became reliant on instructions and directions
given by the teacher. Based on observations of previous
batches of Normal Technical students1, students tended
to be disengaged in such a teacher-centric learning
environment. Students were often found to be restless and
distracted during lessons, and in the end, did not learn to
play the instruments well.
Yet, once outside their classroom music lessons, it was
observed that students seemed to be interested in playing
and listening to popular tunes. Students were seen trying their
hand at an old piano in the school canteen. This enthusiasm
was unmatched in the music classroom, especially that of
the Secondary One Normal Technical (NT) class.
Looking at how the students were interested in popular music
and seemed motivated to listen to and learn their favourite
songs, I decided to explore ways in which technology and
popular music could be harnessed to improve students’
self-directed learning in the music classroom.
Another thing that stood out was how the students played
the piano without any help from any teacher. They played
in pairs and used resources accessible on their mobile
phones as a guide. Resulting from these, they were able to
play popular pieces of music rather proficiently.

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The students were observed from 2012 to 2013.