A Reflective Lens: Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice | Page 89

A Reflective Lens:
Music Pedagogical Research to Transform Practice

do, seemed lost, and did not know what to make out of the
situation. However, with my encouragement and assurance
that there were no wrong answers, and that I accepted every
suggestion, this spurred more ideas. My pupils ended up
exceptionally keen to share their creative ideas.
I empowered my pupils to take charge of their own
learning, instead of having me “spoon-feed” them. I also
reduced instruction time. At times, they had to figure out
new clapping games by themselves. In one event where I
was teaching a new clapping game, I demonstrated it twice
and then left it to my pupils to explore and learn how to play
it. They were given the option to freely choose whomever
they wanted to play with. This created opportunities for
friendships to be built. This was supported in the pupils’
weekly reflections and Focus Group Discussion (FGD),
where they mentioned that they managed to make more
friends. Marsh (2008) found that playing group games
allows for inclusiveness and encourages cooperative
behaviours to emerge.
Clapping games were usually played in twos or fours. My
pupils had to figure out for themselves which was the best
way to play the clapping game. Wiggins (2001) suggested
that children might engage more productively in musical
activities in pairs or small groups.
It was observed in the video recordings that the less skilled
pupils would model and observe the more adept pupils;
just as Marsh (2008) also indicated. They were also aware
of each other’s learning progress and differences. Pupils
supported each other’s learning by adjusting their level of
performance through “scaffolding” such as slowing down
the game for a less skilled player. They also challenged
each other by playing it much faster as well.
Another interesting observation was made when pupils
started creating their own lyrics to a game they were familiar
with. They were able to communicate and negotiate with
their friends while coming up with their own renditions of

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