SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE

(FORMERLY JESUS THE LOVING SHEPHERD CHRISTIAN COLLEGE)

Talojongon, Tigaon, Camarines Sur, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 884-9536
“Excellence in truth in the service of God and Country”

Module

in

Teaching Music in the Elementary Grades

Prelim’s Module

2nd Semester A/Y: 2023-2024

Prepared by:

JASON V. COMPETENTE
Instructor

COMPETENCY # 2: THEORIES IN TEACHING MUSIC TO CHILDREN

  Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
 Recognize and describe the different theories in learning and in teaching music.
 Apply these theories in addressing different types of learners inside the music classroom
 Defend the importance of these different theories in the teaching and learning process.

MOTIVATION

Brainstorm about the importance of theories of learning in elementary music education.

INTRODUCTION

Numerous theories ground research and practice in the broad domain of music. Theories of
psychoacoustics guide the construction of a concert hall, theories of information and expectancy suggest to
composers a listener's capacity for music appreciation, theories of musical preference affect a concert
programmer's decisión making, and theories of measurement influence the construction of a musical aptitude
test.
In music education, theories of learning have contributed to an understanding of how the learner
processes information and, through corresponding instructional theories, have caused change in instructional
practice. Theories of motivation and recent theories of intelligence (Dweck, 1997) assist teachers in eliciting
student productivity. Theories of child development govern the construction of age-appropriate subject
matter.

CONTENT

Learning theories specifically derived from behavioral and cognitive psychology have appeared as roots
of music education research since the 1960s. Developed outside the field of music, the theories seek to
describe, explain, and possibly predict musical behavior. This "outside-in" approach continúes to influence
music education research and practice today, as many of the constructs used to describe nonmusic behavior
also are widely accepted as valid descriptors of music behavior. Music educators have embraced the theories
with the argument that musical behavior, as a part of human behavior in general, is subject to the same laws
that govern all of learning.

Cognitive model describe learning behaviors from a more internal, developmental perspective, in that
age, maturation, and perceptual experiences in combination make a learner take in new information in a
stepwise process of exposure, reaction to the exposure, examination of the experience, and adjustment of
previous experiences to new ones. Such theories stress the description and examination of appropriate
internal stimuli on the readiness for new ones. Furthermore, the models seek to explain how an individual
negotiates old and new information in relationship to each other. Such an approach requires study of learners
as they respond individually to specific tasks. Constructivist models of learning focus on describing in detail the
many relationships that connect the learner to his or her internal as well as external environments. The
environments include experiences and contacts with both the physical and the mental world by the learner
both as an individual and as a member in a particular group.
 Ruttenberg (1994) defined music learning as an extended musical activity that is comprised of a
progression of musical mental functions that go from sensation to perception, to cognition, to creativity. This
progression has valué in explaining musical processing as well as learning and thinking.

Edwin Gordon's initial research, beginning with the observation of individual students involved in the
process of learning music, sought to develop a theory of music learning and not necessarily a measure of
musical aptitude. After determining that individual students seemed to begin the music learning process at
different stages, Cordón was "sidetracked [as he was] forced to embark on the study of the nature,
development, and measurement of musical aptitudes" (Cordón, 1971, p. 8) rather thanm focusing solely on
the development of a music learning theory.

Gordon's research into a theory of music learning, begun in the 1960s, derives from a search for a basic
"key word" vocabulary of music. Unlike other educational thinkers, he focused his attention on aural rather
than theoretical aspects of music. Thus, rather than follow educators who extracted from written music the
conceptual elements of pitch, rhythm, dynamics, form, and timbre as basic components or "key words" of
music, Cordón identified aural pitch and rhythmic patterns as the basic vocabulary of music. He arranged
tríese key musical "words" in his learning sequences by identifying the most basic patterns, teaching them
first, and then following them with increasingly more complex patterns as learning continued. Cordón believed
that learning music resulted from building a musical vocabulary (aural pitch and rhythmic patterns) through
repetition, rote learning, and drill.

Theories in Music Instruction

Knowing on how children learn and how teachers can help and guide them in this process is an essential part
to teaching.

A theory of music instruction has three components:

 Instruction – a set of events from the teacher
 Learning processes of the child learner – attention, perception, memory, rehearsal, recognition and
recall
 Learning results from the child’s verbal information – intellectual skills, motor skills, cognitive
strategies and attitudes

Stage and Phase Theories

- theories that refer to stages, phases, or levels through which learners gain knowledge.

1. Jean Piaget - Cognitive Development Theory

- Believes that children are neither driven by undesirable instinct nor molded by environmental
influences
- Views children as constructivists that is, as curious active explorers who respond to the environment
according to their understanding of its essential features.
- children progress through 4 stages of thinking
`1. sensorimotor (ages 0-2)
 * Infants use sensory and motor capabilities to explore and gain a basic understanding of the
environment.
* At birth, they have only innate reflexes with which to engage the world. By the end of the
sensory motor period, they are capable of complex sensorimotor coordination
* Infants learn that object continue to exists even when they are out of sight called object
permanence and begin to internalize behavioral schemata to produce images or mental schemata.
* Most children in this age range are pre-verbal, but that doesn’t mean that their brains aren’t
intensely interested in language. Music can soothe babies and toddlers while presenting their brains
with a chance to work with the sounds that are essentially the raw materials of language.
* It helps them develop their speech. Just as babies babble as they try to learn words, they can
babble musically, essentially testing their ability to reproduce the music that is shared with them. This
babbling helps babies tone the muscles they need to speak—and to sing.
* It improves babies’ and toddlers’ motor skills. Music stimulates a baby’s sensory experience
and provides opportunities to practice their motor skills, by (for example) moving to the beat. By
supporting the natural connection between toddlers and music, parents can lay the groundwork for a
lifelong love of music—and a host of cognitive benefits.
* Music can enhance parent-child bonds. Another lovely effect of music on the brains of the
very young is one the parents share. When a parent sings or moves in time to the music with a baby,
both brains release oxytocin, a bonding hormone that offers a sense of peace and well-being.

2. preperational (ages 2-7)

* Children use symbolism (images and language) to represent and understand various aspects
of the environment.
* Children become imaginative in their play activities. They gradually begin to recognize that
other people may not always perceive the world as they do.
* Children between the ages of 2 and 7 still see themselves as the center of the universe, so it
can be hard for them to share toys or play cooperative games. This is another way in which music can
really boost development. Making music together—by singing the same song, for example, or using
percussion instruments to keep time—is a form of parallel play.
* Music can help children learn to cooperate. Children can cooperate without needing to share
or take turns, something they’re struggling to learn. On the older end of this stage of development,
parents and teachers can use call-and-response songs to encourage turn taking.
* Playing an instrument can enhance the ability of your child’s brain to grow. Preschoolers are
still amazed at the sounds they can produce, so they’re eager singers (or shouters) and composers of
music. This is a great time to expose children to a wide variety of musical styles and activities.

3. concrete operations (ages 7-11)

* Able to solve concrete(hands-on)problem in logical fashion.
* Becoming much more proficient at inferring motives by observing other’s behavior and the
circumstances in which it occurs.

4. formal operations (ages 11-adulthood)

 *uses a sound-before-symbol approach

SAQ #1: What is the implication of cognitive development theory by Jean Piaget in music learning? Explain
your answer. (5 points)

2. Jerome Bruner- learners progress through three ways of representing meaning or understanding,
related to, but not dependent on maturation: enactive, iconic, and symbolic.
1. enactive- learning through a set of actions. Thinking is based entirely on physical actions, and infants learn
by doing, rather than by internal representation (or thinking). It involves encoding physical action based
information and storing it in our memory.

2. iconic- learning through images and graphs. This may explain why, when we are learning a new subject, it is
often helpful to have diagrams or illustrations to accompany the verbal information.

3. symbolic- learning by going beyond what is immediately perceptible in the environment. In the symbolic
stage, knowledge is stored primarily as words, mathematical symbols, or in other symbol systems, such as
music. Symbols are flexible in that they can be manipulated, ordered, classified, etc. so the user isn’t
constrained by actions or images (which have a fixed relation to that which they represent).

SAQ #2: How will you apply the three ways of representing meaning or understanding by Jerome Bruner in
teaching music to children? (5 points)

3. Lauren Sosniak- developed a theory with 3 phases of learning:

- Early: playful exploration of music, informal encounters with music in the environment, and musical
enculturation
- Middle: conscious attention to performance technique, commitment to practice, concentration for
competence
- Mature: Musical mastery, refinement and perfection, music as a personal expression and aesthetic
experience

4. Gregory Bateson and Catherine Ellis- defined learning in 3 stages

1. Learning I- occurs without effort, learner absorbs surrounding music
2. Learning II- thinking is combined with experience when the learner strives to become a competent
performer through lessons or classroom instruction, child becomes more seriously interested
3. Learning III- the performer goes past technical skills to play music as personal expression (attained
rarely according to Ellis)

5. Lawrence Kohlberg
Moral Development Stages
Based on Piaget’s stages, learners progress through six phases of moral development.
Development is revealed by the manner in which a learner responds to a moral dilemma. Each of the 3
phases has 2 sub-phases: Preconventional, Conventional, Post-Conventional.
 a. Preconventional morality is the first stage of moral development, and lasts until
approximately age 9. At the preconventional level children don’t have a personal code of morality, and
instead moral decisions are shaped by the standards of adults and the consequences of following or
breaking their rules. For example, if an action leads to punishment is must be bad, and if it leads to a
reward is must be good.

• Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. The child/individual is good in order to

avoid being punished. If a person is punished, they must have done wrong.

• Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange. At this stage, children recognize that there is not just
one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints.

b. Conventional morality is the second stage of moral development, and is characterized by an

acceptance of social rules concerning right and wrong. Authority is internalized but not questioned,
and reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs. A social system that
stresses the responsibilities of relationships as well as social order is seen as desirable and must,
therefore, influence our view of what is right and wrong.
• Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships. The child/individual is good in order to be seen as
being a good person by others. Therefore, answers relate to the approval of others.

• Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order. The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules of
society, so judgments concern obeying the rules in order to uphold the law and to avoid guilt.

c. Postconventional morality is the third stage of moral development, and is characterized by an

individuals’ understanding of universal ethical principles. These are abstract and ill-defined, but might
include: the preservation of life at all costs, and the importance of human dignity. Individual judgment
is based on self-chosen principles, and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice.
• Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights. The child/individual becomes aware that while
rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will work
against the interest of particular individuals. The issues are not always clear-cut. For example, in
Heinz’s dilemma, the protection of life is more important than breaking the law against stealing.

• Stage 6. Universal Principles. People at this stage have developed their own set of moral
guidelines which may or may not fit the law. The principles apply to everyone.
E.g., human rights, justice, and equality. The person will be prepared to act to defend these
principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay the
consequences of disapproval and or imprisonment. Kohlberg doubted few people reached this stage.

Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a new drug might save her.
The drug had been discovered by a local chemist, and the Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the
chemist was charging ten times the money it cost to make the drug, and this was much more than the
Heinz could afford.
Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and friends. He explained to
the chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he could have the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the
money later.
 The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was going to make money
from it. The husband was desperate to save his wife, so later that night he broke into the chemist’s and
stole the drug.

SAQ #: 3 How will you incorporate the moral development theory of Lawrence Kohlberg in teaching music
to children? (5 points)

Social Systems and Scapes

1. Uni Bronfenbrenner- four types of influences that describe the social network of children’s learning
-the microsystem of the family or individual classroom
-the exosystem of indirect, external influence
-the mesosystem of interactions between microsystems and exosystems
-the macrosystem of the larger sociocultural system of society as it interacts with
government policy and civic institutions
- increase in globalization -> steady stream of influences crossing communities and
shaping children's experiences

Musical Play and Socialization Theories

 play is a natural process and part of child development
 leading figures in this field include Zoltan Kodaly, Carl Orff, and Emile Jaques-Dalcroze

1. Lev Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory- children are socialized through adult intervention and
guidance-- the adult transmits the music as well as guides child through their discovery and
manipulation of the music. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory views human development as a socially
mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and problem-solving
strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society. Vygotsky's
theory is comprised of concepts such as culture-specific tools, private speech, and the Zone of Proximal
Development.

Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of
cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), as he believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process
of "making meaning."

2. Constructivist Theory
Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their own
knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al., 2000, p. 256).

Principles of Constructivism
 Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed
 Learning is an active process
 All knowledge is socially constructed
 All knowledge is personal
 Learning exists in the mind
 What are the three main types of constructivism?
Typically, this continuum is divided into three broad categories:
a. Cognitive constructivism based on the work of Jean Piaget - Cognitive constructivism states
knowledge is something that is actively constructed by learners based on their existing
cognitive structures. Therefore, learning is relative to their stage of cognitive development.
Cognitivist teaching methods aim to assist students in assimilating new information to existing
knowledge, and enabling them to make the appropriate modifications to their existing
intellectual framework to accommodate that information.

b. Social constructivism based on the work of Lev Vygotsky. According to social constructivism
learning is a collaborative process, and knowledge develops from individuals' interactions with
their culture and society. Social constructivism was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978, p. 57)
who suggested that,” Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on
the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological)
and then inside the child (intrapsychological).”

c. Radical constructivism. The notion of radical constructivism was developed by Ernst von
Glasersfeld (1974) and states that all knowledge is constructed rather than perceived through
senses. Learners construct new knowledge on the foundations of their existing knowledge.
However, radical constructivism states that the knowledge individuals create tells us nothing
about reality, and only helps us to function in your environment. Thus, knowledge is invented
not discovered.

 David Jonassen - theory shifts from the teacher being absolute and all-knowing to the child being the
active seeker of ideas from multiple sources
- knowledge is a result of the child creating meaning from their experiences
3. Social Learning
- explains the significance of environmental models for learning. Social learning theory, proposed by
Albert Bandura, emphasizes the importance of observing, modelling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes,
and emotional reactions of others. Social learning theory considers how both environmental and cognitive
factors interact to influence human learning and behavior.
In social learning theory, Albert Bandura (1977) agrees with the behaviorist learning theories
of classical conditioning and operant conditioning. However, he adds two important ideas:
 Mediating processes occur between stimuli & responses.
 Behavior is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning.

Albert Bandura- believed that children choose to watch, listen to, and later imitate their parent's and
teacher's behaviors
- a song is learned in 3 stages: song is introduced by the teacher, song improves after
many run-throughs or even weeks later, then refinement is achieved after that.

Reinforcement Theory
 - describes the manner in which people in the environment shape and increase learning behaviors

B. F. Skinner- discovered operant conditioning

- involves a stimulus that is presented to the learner, a response from the learner corresponding to the
stimulus, then the presentation of another stimulus that reinforces the response
- the stimuli, which includes verbal and nonverbal approval of a teacher, have an impact on children's
learning behaviors

Ivan Pavlov - Classical Conditioning

- Behaviors (responses) can become conditioned if paired with a related conditioned stimulus

Neuroscience and Music Learning

- children's involvement in music-making develops their skill-building, evolution of language
discrimination, mathematical ability, problem-solving skills, as well as the physical development of
their brains
- the left hemisphere of the brain responds better to verbal, sequential, and linear processing
- the right hemisphere of the brain responds better to nonverbal, spatial-visual, and simultaneous
processing

Learning Style Theories

1. Howard Gardner
- theory of multiple (8) intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, music, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalistic
- each intelligence is like a learning style that calls for specific instructional strategies

2. Walter Barbe and Raymond S. Swassing

- the theory of learning modalities
- a learner processes information most efficiently through one of three sensory channels: visual, auditory, or
tactile/kinesthetic

SAQ #4: How will you consider or address the different learning styles and multiple intelligences of your
students in teaching music? (5 points)

Theories of Instruction
1. David Ausubel - theory of meaningful reception-- a person's existing cognitive structure is the foremost
factor deciding whether new material is potentially meaningful as well as how readily it can be acquired and
retained. The role of the learner is to receive information while the teacher is the lecturer/explainer

2. Jerome Bruner- the "discovery method"-- involves problem solving, where the learner manipulates and
copes with the abnormalities from where the information is derived.
3. Robert Gagne - developed the nine "events of instruction". It includes a progression of sensory information
from perception to concept formation the teacher must engage children's interests so that they may truly
acquire knowledge.

4. John Dewey - Among the first to integrate education with experience, and emphasized the child over
subject matter, and the learning process is more important than the product.

5. Edwin Gordon - Music Learning Theory. Students progress through an eight-stage process that begins with
aural and oral experience with music and ends with theoretical understanding; goal is audiation.

Relating Theory to Practice

5 important components of guidelines that provide effective instruction:
3. the classroom environment- enough space for activities and visual appeal
4. the child-centered curriculum- relevant to the child's experiences and abilities, needs, and interests
5. the teacher as transmitter- know the subject matter and model the behaviors
6. instructional strategies- relevant to the children's age, stage, or phase of development
7. motivation and management

SUMMARY

 A theory of music instruction has three components: instruction – a set of events from the teacher,
learning processes of the child learner – attention, perception, memory, rehearsal, recognition and
recall, learning results from the child’s verbal information – intellectual skills, motor skills, cognitive
strategies and attitudes.
 Jerome Bruner- learners progress through three ways of representing meaning or understanding,
related to, but not dependent on maturation: enactive, iconic, and symbolic.
 David Ausubel - theory of meaningful reception-- a person's existing cognitive structure is the foremost
factor deciding whether new material is potentially meaningful as well as how readily it can be
acquired and retained. The role of the learner is to receive information while the teacher is the
lecturer/explainer
 Jerome Bruner- the "discovery method"-- involves problem solving, where the learner manipulates the
and copes with the abnormalities from where the information is derived.
 Robert Gagne - developed the nine "events of instruction". It includes a progression of sensory
information from perception to concept formation the teacher must engage children's interests so that
they may truly acquire knowledge.
 John Dewey - Among the first to integrate education with experience, and emphasized the child over
subject matter, and the learning process is more important than the product.
 Edwin Gordon - Music Learning Theory . Students progress through an eight-stage process that begins
with aural and oral experience with music and ends with theoretical understanding; goal is audiation.

REFERENCES:
  https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html
 https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html#:~:text=Vygotsky's%20approach%20to%20child
%20development,of%20knowledge%20through%20social%20negotiation.
 https://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

EVALUATION

Answer the questions based from what you have understood in this topic. Expound your answer and
defend your claim.
1. In what phase and stage of moral development theory do you think you are belong. Why? (5 points)
2. Among the Five Theories of Instruction, which one do you think will give you a great impact when used
in teaching music to children? Defend your answer. And how will you execute the lesson using that
theory to achieve a great effect among your clients? (5 points)

ASSIGNMENT

Make a reflection paper about what you have realized, learned and understood in this lesson. Submit
your output in our google classroom.
 SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE
(FORMERLY JESUS THE LOVING SHEPHERD CHRISTIAN COLLEGE)
Talojongon, Tigaon, Camarines Sur, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 884-9536
“Excellence in truth in the service of God and Country”

Name: ____________________________________________Course/Year/Sec: ________________ Date: ____________

Competency # 2 Answer Sheet

Theories in Teaching Music to Children

SAQ #1: What is the implication of cognitive development theory by Jean Piaget in music learning? Explain
your answer. (5 points)

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SAQ #2: How will you apply the three ways of representing meaning or understanding by Jerome Bruner in
teaching music to children? (5 points)
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SAQ #: 3 How will you incorporate the moral development theory of Lawrence Kohlberg in teaching music
to children? (5 points)
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SAQ #4: How will you consider or address the different learning styles and multiple intelligences of your
students in teaching music? (5 points)
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EVALUATION

Answer the questions based from what you have understood in this topic. Expound your answer and defend
your claim.

1. In what phase and stage of moral development theory do you think you are belong. Why? (5 points)
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2. Among the Five Theories of Instruction, which one do you think will give you a great impact when used in
teaching music to children? Defend your answer. And how will you execute the lesson using that theory to
achieve a great effect among your clients? (5 points)
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