Name
Student-Centered Approach to Learning in the Music Group Classes for Young Students
Date & Time
Thursday, July 30, 2026, 10:50 AM - 11:20 AM
Description
This presentation will explore a topic of student-centered approach to teaching young students in the piano group classes setting. It is a continuation from an ongoing work of teaching the piano group classes for fourteen years and research that was presented at the CFMTA Connecting Canada Professional Development Conference in July of 2024. The aim is to discuss a notion that using different methodologies or approaches yield more beneficial results for all students involved and that no single educational and pedagogical approach produces the best outcome for each and every student (Zhao, 2024; Burrows & Brown, 2020; Wanless, 2012). This multi-layered approach to teaching creates better results for all students. While the previous presentation included discussions of various approaches, such as Orff Schulwerk, Kodaly, Kelly Kirby Kindergarten Piano Method, Faber and Faber, Music for Little Mozarts, Alfred, and Edward Parker piano pedagogy, including an explanation of which one of these might be more beneficial to use in specific situations and for specific lessons, this presentation aims to discuss and report on a success of employing the student-centered approach to learning in the music group classes. Past research suggestions of learner-centered approach, creating different student profiles and method adaptation for each profile, considering aspects such as environment, talent, interest, disposition, and sensory modality to understand the learning style, and meeting psychological competence, autonomy, and relatedness in younger students (Du, 2022; Wanless, 2012; Madved, 1987) will be studied and employed in the group lessons. The aim is to study the above-mentioned suggestions in qualitative research methods by conducting observations and report the results on how the use of these suggestions support and benefit individual students and their learning. Through various examples, the aim is also to discuss learning through inquiry, collaborative learning, and flipped classrooms and explore learning driven by students’ questions and curiosity, deep discussions, various group activities and peer coaching, and interactive, hands-on applications, where students take ownership of their learning. The hope is that this research of student-centered learning in the music group lessons can create an educational environment that is inclusive for all types of students and their learning styles, especially in the group lessons where such goals are more challenging to achieve easily.
Location Name
512G
Full Address
Palais des Congres - Montréal Convention Centre
1001, Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle
Montreal QC H2Z 1H2
Canada
Session Type
Paper Presentation
Presenting Author(s)
Svjetlana Djordan