From Classroom to Stage:�Empowering Students through Learner-Centered Music
Anne Fennell, M.Ed.
The personal viewpoints expressed in this session are solely those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or views of Music Will.
- What signal would you like me to do to get the classroom’s attention?
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SELF-
DISCOVERY
CO-
CREATION
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION
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Attributes
VOICE
www.learningpersonalized.com
Personalized Learning
Learner-
Centered
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SELF-
DISCOVERY
CO-
CREATION
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION
4
Attributes
VOICE
www.learningpersonalized.com
How do we intentionally create learning experiences that support voice, co-creation, social construction, and self-discovery?
- In your 4-corner group - Partner-up
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Pop/Rock Classics�“Let It Be” – The Beatles�“With or Without You” – U2�“No Woman No Cry” – Bob Marley�“Don’t Stop Believin’” – Journey �(slight variation)��Modern Pop�“Someone Like You” – Adele�“Perfect” – Ed Sheeran�“Love Me Like You Do” – Ellie Goulding�“Girls Like You” – Maroon 5�
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What do these songs have in common?�
“Pop Punk / Alternative�“Complicated” – Avril Lavigne�“Demons” – Imagine Dragons�“Hey Soul Sister” – Train�“She Will Be Loved” – Maroon 5
(slight variation)��Pop�“I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz�“Riptide” – Vance Joy�“Count on Me” – Bruno Mars�“Let Her Go” – Passenger�
I–V–vi–IV
If they can do it, we can do it
You and your partner now leave your group and find another set of two from another ‘corner’.��Share your chord sequences. Keep the chords – though the order can change. �
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��Steps 1. Use any instrument (voice included!) that can� produce an absolute pitch and/or chord.�� 2. Learn/teach each others’ chords/notes. �� 3. Create a 4-measure pattern with the favorite 4 � chords and/or notes that everyone can play. � Resist changing or ‘correcting’ this into a common � progression & know why the group chose this � pattern. �� 4. Document the pattern on the paper – in some way� that everyone understands.�� 5. Determine how to start the pattern. �� 6. Repeat the pattern 4 x without stopping. �� 7. Practice/rehearse. �� 8. Small or large group sharing.
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15 MIN
�- After your sharing, what would you change or not?� Why? Adjust as you would like.��- What is the mood of the 4 chords pattern, why/what � creates this?��- Create lyrics over this progression��- Add a drum kit – find a drummer from any group�- Perform
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15 MIN
To intentionally shift�- from being the one in charge to being the guide who empowers students to take the lead, to facilitate��- the learning space where students own their musical journey, make creative choices, co-create a culture, and collaborate like real musicians. ��- to use strategies that boost engagement, spark student creativity, and make their classrooms feel like a real-world music experience.
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Reflection and Popcorn Shares:��- What made this learner-centered?��- What techniques were used throughout by the ‘teacher’/’facilitator’ ��- What made this academic? ��- What did you learn? ��- Connect to standards:�� - What musical standards are embedded in this process? �� - How would this shift look in different grade levels? �� - Share something that you learned?�
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Creating�Enduring Understanding: The creative ideas, concepts, and feelings that influence musicians’ work emerge from a variety of sources. �Essential Question: How do musicians generate creative ideas?
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Creating�Enduring Understanding: Musicians’ creative choices are influenced by their expertise, context, and expressive intent. Essential Question: How do musicians make creative decisions?
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Group talk and sharing�1. How do you shift from being the one in charge to being the guide who empowers students to take the lead?��2. How do we create a space where students own their musical journey, make creative choices, co-create a culture, and collaborate like real musicians. What systems, classroom culture, and processes are necessary for success?��3. What strategies boost engagement, spark creativity, and make this lesson like a real-world music experience?
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Why is learner-centered work important?
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Learner-centered classrooms create classrooms where students feel:
valued, capable, connected, and curious
creating conditions that are necessary for deep, lasting learning.
They also support equity by honoring diverse ways of thinking, learning, and expressing.
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Teacher Driven • Teacher - Centered | Student or Learner - Centered |
• knowledge passed or ‘given’ from teacher to student. Students passively receive knowledge | • teacher activates learning in student. Students engaged in learning process |
• teaching & assessing are separate | • teaching & assessment are intertwined |
• primary evaluator | • teacher & student assess & work together |
• emphasis on right and wrong | • emphasis is on generating better questions & learning from errors with multiple answers. |
• Assessment monitors learning through objectively scored tests/assessments. Desired learning outcomes determined by teacher | • Assessment used to promote & identify learning. Desired learning outcomes co-created & assessed through reflections, relevan projects, performances, portfolios… |
• emphasizes on knowledge acquisition with or without context | • students construct knowledge with voice, co-creation, social construction, self-discovery |
• single discipline – taught in silos | • interdisciplinary connections |
• some students seen as learners | • teacher and all students are learners |
• fixed mindsets | • growth mindsets |
• culture defined by teacher | • culture co-created by teacher & students |
• students personal development left to individual | • personal development skills are vital integrated into all learning. |
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Teacher Driven • Teacher - Centered | Student or Learner - Centered |
• knowledge passed or ‘given’ from teacher to student. Students passively receive knowledge | • teacher activates learning in student. Students engaged in learning process |
• teaching & assessing are separate | • teaching & assessment are intertwined |
• primary evaluator | • teacher & student assess & work together |
• emphasis on right and wrong | • emphasis is on generating better questions & learning from errors with multiple answers. |
• Assessment monitors learning through objectively scored tests/assessments. Desired learning outcomes determined by teacher | • Assessment used to promote & identify learning. Desired learning outcomes co-created & assessed through reflections, relevant projects, performances, portfolios… |
• emphasizes on knowledge acquisition with or without context | • students construct knowledge with voice, co-creation, social construction, self-discovery |
• single discipline – taught in silos | • interdisciplinary connections |
• some students seen as learners | • teacher and all students are learners |
• fixed mindsets | • growth mindsets |
• culture defined by teacher | • culture co-created by teacher & students |
• students personal development left to individual | • personal development skills are vital integrated into all learning. |
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Teacher Driven • Teacher - Centered | Student or Learner - Centered |
• knowledge passed or ‘given’ from teacher to student. Students passively receive knowledge | • teacher activates learning in student. Students engaged in learning process |
• teaching & assessing are separate | • teaching & assessment are intertwined |
• primary evaluator | • teacher & student assess & work together |
• emphasis on right and wrong | • emphasis is on generating better questions & learning from errors with multiple answers. |
• Assessment monitors learning through objectively scored tests/assessments. Desired learning outcomes determined by teacher | • Assessment used to promote & identify learning. Desired learning outcomes co-created & assessed through reflections, relevant projects, performances, portfolios… |
• emphasizes on knowledge acquisition with or without context | • students construct knowledge with voice, co-creation, social construction, self-discovery |
• single discipline – taught in silos | • interdisciplinary connections |
• some students seen as learners | • teacher and all students are learners |
• fixed mindsets | • growth mindsets |
• culture defined by teacher | • culture co-created by teacher & students |
• students personal development left to individual | • personal development skills are vital integrated into all learning. |
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The top 10 employability skills in 2027
1. Analytical thinking & innovation
2. Active learning & learning strategies
3. Complex problem-solving
4. Critical thinking & analysis
5. Creativity, originality & initiative
6. Leadership & social influence
7. Technology use, monitoring and control
8. Technology design and programming
9. Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility
10. Reasoning, problem-solving & ideation
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SELF-
DISCOVERY
CO-
CREATION
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION
4
Attributes
VOICE
www.learningpersonalized.com
Personalized Learning
Learner-
Centered
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How do students take
learner-centered skills
with them to the stage?
Into life?
What 1 shift can teachers
do in their teaching?
�GOALS�Through interactive activities, live music-making, and real-time reflection, attendees will explore how to shift from director to facilitator—walking away with strategies to build student ownership, boost engagement, and creating a classroom culture that feels more like real-world music-making. ��
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“The past was about
delivered wisdom,
the future is about
USER-GENERATED
wisdom.”
Andreas Schleicher –
Education Director - OECD
Teacher as Facilitator
According to the National Training Laboratories' Learning Pyramid, learners retain:
- 75% of what they learn through practice by doing, and
- 90% when they teach others or apply learning immediately
(NTL Institute, Bethel, Maine).
Active, hands-on experiences are the most effective for long-term understanding and skill development for the majority of students. In music education—where sound, movement, experimentation, and creation are core—learning by doing isn’t just effective, it’s essential.
Active learning strategies have been shown in multiple meta-analyses to significantly improve student outcomes across disciplines.
Music Will will make all presentations available after the conference.
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The personal viewpoints expressed in this session are solely those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or views of Music Will.