What is Music about?
In conversation with
Jeni Little
Lee Harford
Liam Boyle
Transcript below:
I think ultimately these new Standards are going to allow for more inclusivity. The things that we know already happening in schools to be able to be assessed more authentically, or in a better way. I think it's not going to be big changes necessarily. But it'll allow for more students to be recognised for the things that they're doing. We've gone from the teacher-centred to the student-centred approach.
The inclusivity is just across the board. There's the rural, the urban, the neurodiverse and neurotypical kids. There's your kids, there's my kids. We're looking after all of them. The number of assessments is not the big driver anymore. It's the learning. It's the deep knowledge that we're after now. It's great for the kids that they're not going to be worried about assessments, over every subject now. That's wonderful, that part.
I think the mātauranga Māori. It's wonderful that we're intrinsically putting in the values and beliefs of our indigenous people through all of our learning, across the Curriculum. Music is a great way to incorporate the values and beliefs. It's fabulous that we're acknowledging those kids in all of our areas. We cater to one, we cater to all, by taking those values and beliefs. It's fabulous. It's about the realness of music. We're not stuck in that knowledge space.
Yeah. Stuck around one knowledge is valued more than all the other knowledges. What I'm most happy about is that we are reflecting the kids in our class. Where we are, the fact that we're in the heart of Polynesia. Honouring all the rich and diverse knowledge bases that we haven't really done before.
The Learning Matrix. Because it's intrinsic throughout all of our areas, you can't get away from it. It's a wonderful thing to be doing, a wonderful thing to include. Finally.
Despite the fact that we're designing assessment, having to really think about, okay, what are the things that we really value in music education? But we obviously don't want to, or can't assess every part of that. Where do we need to place these to get a good overview of what's happening in our classrooms? What do students deserve to know?
Nicely put, yeah.
Exactly, what do our kids deserve?
Yeah, that's it.
It's been hard work, but it's rewarding work. Because of the changes we're wanting to make we are having to come to agreement. There's such a range of people in the room. I'm really pleased with our SEG. I've stated again and again that we're a really good mix of people. But it is hard work, because we have to challenge each other. We're also aware that we're just this little microcosm of the sector.
Ultimately that's where the feedback to us, or to the things that then go out to the sector is really important. We can start to work with that as well.
Yeah, I'm finding it's an honour that we're in this position. An honour to make changes in students' lives. It's a humongous deal. It's moving what we do. Because what we're doing in our little space is making change in every single classroom in New Zealand.
I feel I've picked up some new tricks that I'm going to take into my school. New ways of doing things, in some of the task designs. Some considerations I hadn't thought of before. I'm going to apply them tomorrow when I'm back in the classrooms. I think the thing is to not freak out about it. Not to go, everything's got to change and I've got to re-learn to teach. We know that we know how to teach. We know what to teach. We need to remember to keep placing our students at the centre of that. These assessments are just that. They're a mode to take that snapshot of what they're doing. It doesn't need to drive total change to your everyday practice.
We'd want to reassure everyone that we all know how to teach music. We all know how to teach kids. It's not going to be as scary as some people are anticipating.
That's it.
The panel has teachers. We're speaking on your behalf. We've asked for the resources. We've said, staff are going to be concerned about this and that. We've covered those bases.
Exactly what Liam said. Don't be scared. These changes are awesomely awesome. Embrace it, take it, roll with it. It's going to be fantastic.
Music is a rich part of the diverse cultures of Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a vital part of life for many communities, as an art form that can be used to express histories, knowledge bases, local contexts, language, and aspirations.
Through music, ākonga can develop a deeper understanding of themselves, and explore different contexts and kaupapa. Music can be a waka for learners to connect with their whakapapa and engage with contexts, spirituality, emotions, and ideas of others. They can build confidence in their value as artists that bring their own experiences and culture to musical works, and explore how music relates to their sense of identity.
The experiences, knowledge bases, values, and worldviews of teachers and learners from Māori and Pacific cultural backgrounds are an integral part of developing understanding in this subject. In Music, it is anticipated that learners’ ways of being in the world are harnessed to shape teaching, learning, and assessment. This means that a wide range of music concepts, including whakapapa, aroha, wairua, will be drawn upon.
Learning about music enables ākonga to understand it as a sonic language born of context that communicates layered meaning. They can learn to express and interpret ideas within diverse creative, technological, and cultural frameworks. This can include exploring music concepts related to a music context. Ākonga may work both independently and collaboratively to construct meaning through music.
In this subject, ākonga can develop confidence in their ability to express themselves creatively and emotionally through making original music and performing to an audience. They can learn about music as a craft, with its own structures, elements, tikanga, and symbols.
Participating in music enhances personal wellbeing. An aspiration for music educators is to encourage ākonga to be active participants in music, rather than passive consumers of it. Ākonga can start to understand how learning music can contribute to future study and work pathways across a wide range of areas, including the arts and media, business, community services, education, social sciences, and technology.
Big Ideas and Significant Learning
This section outlines the meaning of, and connection between, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning, which together form the Learning Matrix. It then explains each Music Big Idea.
The Arts Learning Area curriculum, including its Whakataukī, informs this subject's Significant Learning – learning that is critical for students to know, understand, and do in a subject by the end of each Curriculum Level. This covers knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes. It also includes level-appropriate contexts students should encounter in their education. The Learning Area's Whakataukī is:
Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa
Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder
The subject's Big Ideas and Significant Learning are collated into a Learning Matrix for Curriculum Levels 6, 7, and 8. Teachers can use the Learning Matrix as a tool to construct learning programmes that cover all the ‘not to be missed’ learning in a subject. There is no prescribed order to the Learning Matrix within each level. A programme of learning might begin with a context that is relevant to the local area of the school or an idea that students are particularly interested in. This context or topic must relate to at least one Big Idea and may also link to other Big Ideas.
There are five Big Ideas in Music. The nature of this subject as a discipline means aspects of Significant Learning often cross over multiple Big Ideas, and vice versa.
Across all Curriculum levels, Music students will experience music as a waka, or vaka, to explore diverse worldviews. This exploration will help ākonga develop understanding of Pacific values, and the tikanga of Māori music, and value mātauranga Māori and indigenous Pacific knowledges.
This idea acknowledges the mauri of the learner and how music connects ākonga and people to their cultural identity. Learners can explore how music allows identity to be expressed and communicate their sense of self in music, whether this be through reflecting on the place of music in culture or how to negotiate their 'space and place' in a music group or music education environment.
This idea describes how music is a form of communication through sound that has its own concepts, such as symbols, structure and whakapapa, and can be created and experienced by people from any cultural or socioeconomic context.
The context of a work of music, such as when, where, and by whom it was made influence how music concepts are used convey meaning. By recognising that music is a language, students can learn to understand the signs and symbols of the language of sound. This understanding can enable a deeper exploration into the tikanga and reo features of Māori music.
It is important to recognise that deliberate decisions are made during the composition and performance of music. These decisions are based on the creator's understanding of how music concepts resonate with the self and how the experience of music can produce an intended effect.
This idea recognises that music involves the development of skills, many of which are interrelated. By developing these skills, music learners can achieve a broader appreciation of the world and musical understanding, and are better equipped to construct meaning out of it through sound. Ākonga will be able to explore how meaning can be constructed through creation, re-creation, and analysis of music.
Music can resonate with people in different ways to other kinds of languages, and can provide a means for people to translate thought patterns and feelings into sound. Music can provide a unique way for people to connect their experiences and expressions of feelings with their own value system.
Key Competencies in Music
Music provides learners with opportunities to develop the Curriculum key competencies in practical and engaging contexts.
Thinking
Students of Music will:
- reflect on the impact of decisions they made during the creative process and use this knowledge to inform their future decision-making in music
- think about how people’s diverse experiences and ideas enable the ongoing creation of rich and varied musical outputs across cultures.
Using language, symbols and texts
Students of Music will:
- start to understand the symbols and signs within the language of music
- develop understanding of how music makers convey intent and meaning through the organisation and use of music symbols and language.
Relating to others
Students of Music will:
- reflect on how making and listening to music elicits feelings and sensations from other people
- understand how other people create and experience music
- gain insight into how audiences engage with music and develop understanding of how listeners are a valuable part of musical experience.
Managing self
Students of Music will:
- develop understanding of the impact music can have on their own feelings and wellbeing
- develop the ability to complete successful music projects
- build confidence in upholding the integrity of their musical output
- think about how they can engage with music-making in a way that enhances their own personal wellbeing.
Participating and contributing
Students of Music will:
- experience the creative process of music as an individual and in collaboration with others
- develop skills of the craft independently and in collaboration with others
- reflect on how music projects contribute to communities, depending on whether they are developed independently or in collaboration with others
- think about how they are engaging with the wider music community, including which aspects of learning about music are a personal experience and which may be shared experience.
This section of The New Zealand Curriculum Online offers guidance to school leaders and teachers on integrating the Key Competencies into the daily activities of the school and its Teaching and Learning Programmes.
Connections
Music is connected to all subjects in the Arts Learning Area. Through music, as in other art forms, ākonga can experience the creative process and learn how ideas and emotions can be expressed in different contexts.
The deep and complex connection between music and culture also requires Music learners to have an understanding of principles and concepts in Social Studies.
Learning Pathway
Studying Music at secondary level provides ākonga with a broad range of skills that offer progression for specialisation. Students also develop widely transferable capabilities and knowledge, such as self-management, collaboration, and articulation of creative concepts.
Progression within the music sphere may lead ākonga towards music composition, musicology, and performance. The broad foundation of music and sound theory allows students to engage with this Learning Area in conjunction with many other spheres of knowledge. This overlap may present unique opportunities for ingenuity in cross-disciplinary industries.
Ākonga may be intrigued by original composition and performance due to their favourite musicians, film scores, video game soundtracks, or cultural performance groups. Others may want to understand how music evokes an emotional reaction. Ceremonial practices involving sound, such as battle-drums or wedding themes, may intrigue ākonga studying music.
Listening to, composing, and performing music may allow ākonga to build a sense of connection with a community. Original performance allows students to cultivate ways of expressing ideas and gain confidence. Ākonga with performance backgrounds may be well-suited to high-visibility or people-centric occupations.
Ākonga may be intrigued by the overlap of sound design and modern technology, such as virtual reality or Foley artistry. Others may wish to explore how sounds and music have therapeutic applications. Some may wonder how animals create and interpret sounds, such as echolocation or territorial displays. Yet more may wish to learn how sound is used in explorative or medical science, such as sonar techniques and ultrasound.
Example pathways
Entertainment sector:
- Cultural/heritage performance
- Orchestral/symphony/musical troupe
- Band/solo artist
- Music critic
- Film/videogame score composer
Tertiary/further study:
- Musical performance
- Musicology
- Musical composition
Cross-disciplinary:
- Therapy (Music/sound therapy)
- Technology (Hardware and software)
- History
Education:
- Music teacher
- Music lecturer (theory/composition or performance)
Introduction to Sample Course Outlines
Sample Course Outlines are being produced to help teachers and schools understand the new NCEA Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards. Examples of how a year-long Music course could be constructed using the new Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards are provided here. They are indicative only and do not mandate any particular context or approach.
More detailed sample Teaching and Learning Programmes will be developed during piloting.
Assessment Matrix
Conditions of Assessment for internally assessed standards
This section provides guidelines for assessment against internally assessed standards. Guidance is provided on:
- appropriate ways of, and conditions for, gathering evidence
- ensuring that evidence is authentic
- any other relevant advice specific to an Achievement Standard.
NB: Information on additional generic guidance on assessment practice in schools is published on the NZQA website. It would be useful to read in conjunction with these Conditions of Assessment.
The school's Assessment Policy and Conditions of Assessment must be consistent with the Assessment Rules for Schools With Consent to Assess. These rules will be updated during the NCEA review. This link includes guidance for managing internal moderation and the collection of evidence.
For all Achievement Standards
Internal assessment provides considerable flexibility in the collection of evidence. Evidence can be collected in different ways to suit a range of teaching and learning styles, and a range of contexts. Care needs to be taken to offer students opportunities to present their best evidence against the standard(s) that are free from unnecessary constraints.
It is recommended that the design of assessment reflects and reinforces the ways students have been learning. Collection of evidence for the internally assessed standards could include, but is not restricted to, an extended task, an investigation, digital evidence (such as recorded interviews, blogs, photographs or film), or a portfolio of evidence.
It is also recommended that the collection of evidence for internally assessed standards should not use the same method that is used for any external standards in a course, particularly if that method is using a time-bound written examination. This could unfairly disadvantage students who do not perform well under these conditions.
A separate assessment event is not needed for each standard. Often assessment can be integrated into one activity that collects evidence towards two or three different standards from a programme of learning. Evidence can also be collected over time from a range of linked activities (for example, in a portfolio). This approach can also ease the assessment workload for both students and teachers.
Effective assessment should suit the nature of the learning being assessed, provide opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students, and be valid and fair.
Authenticity of student evidence needs to be assured regardless of the method of collecting evidence. This needs to be in line with school policy. For example: an investigation carried out over several sessions could include teacher observations or the use of milestones such as a meeting with the student, a journal, or photographic entries recording progress etc.
The selection of music concepts to be assessed depends on the music style that is used for the assessment. It is expected that a range of concepts will be included in each student's work for this Standard, demonstrating breadth of understanding. It is important that students have the opportunity to engage with music concepts that are appropriate to the music they are listening to, creating, or performing.
In consultation with their teacher, students can select a music style to focus on while building evidence for this assessment. Assessment opportunities could include a combination of aural, practical, theoretical, or other assessment activities, as appropriate to the instrument and style of music being used for the assessment.
Students can perform on any instrument, including voice, and may include live or recorded accompaniment, and digital devices or tools in their performance. There must be a live element to the performance. If recorded, the audio and visual quality of the recording must be sufficient for the moderator to be able to assess the performance.
Skills that are appropriate to the type of performance will need to be assessed. The ability of individual ākonga to meet the Standard's achievement criteria, if part of a duo or group, can be verified by the teacher at the time of the assessment.
For this assessment, it is acceptable for the assessor to be the only audience member.
The performance can be solo, as part of a duo, or as part of a group, as appropriate to the style, setting, and ākonga.
The performance needs to be long enough to provide evidence for assessment to take place. 3-4 minutes could be appropriate, but longer or shorter timeframes could be acceptable in relation to the type of material being presented.