A Reflective Lens: Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice | Page 124

Benefits of Informal Learning Pedagogy and Popular Music with Normal Technical Students:
Self-Directed Learning through the Use of Technology

Results

The purpose of this research was to examine the benefits
of Informal Learning pedagogy and popular music on our
NT students, studying how the use of technology impacts
their self-directed learning. The observations fall into two
categories: (i) general classroom behaviour, and (ii) detailed
tracking of two case studies.
General Classroom Behaviour
The following observations on students’ behaviour and
attitudes during music classes were made:
Phases

General Behaviour

Term 2

Students were very excited when they knew that they would be working with
their friends. They were even more excited when they knew they could learn
a piece of their own choice. Yet, soon after, the excitement died down and
they became unruly.
Attitudinal issues arose when they could not agree on the songs they wanted,
and some took the liberty to surf the net and ended up without any learning
outcome by the close of a particular lesson. Subsequently, they were not
constructive in their activities.
Thus, I had to provide instructional videos similar to those found on YouTube.
I wanted them to learn some basics of keyboard music through mastering a
familiar classical piece, Ode to Joy. I therefore included a score and a demo
video on how the piece could be played. With my input, they were then
visibly more focused in their learning. Another motivator was the rule that
they had to master playing the set piece first before they could continue with
their song choice. With these in place, they became more attentive. Some
students who were not able to complete Ode to Joy asked for help from
their friends. This meant the demo videos were not frequently accessed, with
students seeming to prefer direct help from peers.
After some time, most of them managed to get the piece performed to
requirement and they were more than relieved to continue with the original task.
continue ...

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