International Journal of Education & the Arts | |
Volume 13 Number 7 |
December 8, 2012 |
Learning Posts: A Pedagogical Experiment with Undergraduate Music Education MajorsJune CountrymanUniversity of Prince Edward Island, Canada Citation: Countryman, J. (2012). Learning posts: A pedagogical experiment with undergraduate music education majors. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 13(7). Retrieved [date] from http://www.ijea.org/v13n7/.Abstract This article describes the effects of a year-long reflective writing assignment - weekly Learning Posts - designed for students in an undergraduate music education course. I created this assignment to cause students to regularly interrogate the teaching and learning they experience in their own daily lives. This study's research question emerged from critical reflection at the intersection of practice and theory. Does a weekly requirement to describe and interpret a personal learning experience encourage, over time, instances of significant learning (Fink, 2003). My data sources consist of regular entries in my teaching journal monitoring the assignment and post-course interviews conducted with four students. I identify the positive potential of Learning Posts, improvements to enhance their effectiveness and broader issues concerning the reflective writing we assign music education students. The concept of self-authorship confirms the importance of reflective writing for young adults and the notion of threshold concepts contributes a potential framing device.
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