What follows are some brief reflections on ‘cognitive load theory’ and learning more generally. I am really interested in others’ viewpoints on how CLT ‘fits’ within music education. Hopefully, this generates some discussion… What is learning? As we explore our individual responses to this question there are sure to be common threads that emerge. For…
Author: Cade Bonar
Head of Music at an independent school in Queensland, Australia; interested in action research in and for music education.
Continuing the motif: Backward mapping concepts, processes and purpose to Year 7 Music
The implementation of the new QCE system[i] has seen significant change to Year 11 and 12 assessment and a reframing and reshaping of the curriculum in each subject. In the case of Music, the framing of the curriculum may have changed, but as I have argued before, it is still set upon the same musical…
Music analysis and evaluation: Beams, hooks and bags…
If you follow this site, then you might be aware of my thoughts on teaching music analysis and evaluation (mainly, in the context of the Musicology ‘strand’/component of Year 11 and 12 Queensland syllabus documents[i]). I’ve posted a few entries in the last year or so that attend to this, with the later of these…
Nurturing music learning
I recently took time to reflect over the busy week and weekend of music. From having just seen our Year 4 students start the journey of learning an instrument through the College’s Music Immersion Program, to working with advanced students from the Queensland Youth Orchestra (QYO), it was again confirmed that – despite being at…
Reframing cognitive processes in music ‘analysis’
Year 11 Music teachers in Queensland are now a few weeks into the new Music 2019 General Senior Syllabus. As those involved know, there is a significant shift in assessment practice in this syllabus, along with mandated subject matter, which together, will likely influence our considerations surrounding pedagogical approach. Though the syllabus brings with it…
Mr Tim Pani talks music analysis and evaluation…
In my last post I identified a ‘refined’ approach to thinking about analysing and evaluating music after a Year 12 lesson where things weren’t really working as planned. In the following lesson I implemented the new plan, and things seemingly went well. At the end of the lesson, I asked the students if they felt…
Musicology – starting where the music speaks to us…
I think about teaching the Musicology objective[i]a lot… and just when I think I’ve worked out the best way forward, I hit a stumbling block. You may have seen some evidence of this thinking (and the stumbling!) through previous posts (here, and here). I do not see them as failed attempts, but more so the…
Considering Research in Schools
The term ‘research’ is thrown about a lot in schools, but often what happens is far from any real definition of the word. “The research shows…” has become a favoured line, when the ‘research’ is an essentially an ‘untested hunch’, a thought gleaned from an oft-biased, non-peer reviewed, glossy opinion piece, or a ‘no-expense-spared’ video peppered…
The ‘art and science’ you will never master…
I am not talking about Marzano’s The Art and Science of Teaching… This is conveniently packaged ‘science’. This is not a criticism of his work – there are some well-tested, reliable strategies housed within his book (though I caution against the ‘effect sizes’ claims made from meta-analyses – but that’s another post!) – but it…
Working musically between making and responding
The Music 2019 General Senior Syllabus[i] will be implemented in the new year in Queensland, Australia, though many teachers have long begun preparation for the transition into this new document (and indeed system). There are some big systemic changes to the organisation of curriculum and assessment in every Year 11 and 12 subject, though we…
Dr Cade Bonar 