Hacking the Music Theory Classroom

Hacking the Music Theory Classroom: Pedagogical Tools that Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness

College Music Society
St. Louis, Missouri, October 30, 2014

Discuss online during the session

This special session will focus on three “hacks” to the traditional model of music theory instruction: standards-based grading (SBG), “flipping” the classroom, and just-in-time teaching (JiTT). In SBG, students receive grades in reference to clearly defined learning objectives rather than individual assignments. In the flipped classroom, class time is devoted to active engagement rather than lecture. JiTT assesses students’ understanding before class so that the instructor can adjust the lesson plan according to the students’ needs. These tools and the technologies that support them have the potential to help strengthen curricula, increase the impact that an instructor can have on undergraduate theory students, and reduce the amount of time an instructor must devote to achieve that impact.

The primary questions that we will address in the flipped portion of the session are:

• SBG: What do we assess in our students’ work? What is a meaningful breakdown of learning objectives? (example: what assessment categories might one use for a voice-leading assignment?)

• JiTT: If you were to implement exploratory quizzes in class, how would you weigh those quizzes in the students’ overall assessment?

• Flipped class: Once informational content delivery has been moved outside of class time, what does one do during class? And what are the implications (structural and legal) for that online content?

The principal resources we have created to support the discussion of these questions are:

• Setting up a standards-based gradebook, Philip Duker
• Hacking the music theory lecture, Anna Gawboy
• The impact of online education on our jobs, Bryn Hughes
• Online resources in an inverted course, Kris Shaffer

To discuss these issues or resources with the authors or the CMS community in advance of the session, or to ask questions you would like addressed at the session, please comment on the individual resources. If discussing these resources on Twitter, please use the hashtag #mtped (for “music theory pedagogy”). Two of the panelists will be following the Twitter discussion before, during, and after the session—Phil Duker, and Bryn Hughes—and all three will monitor the comment threads.

Discussion page

During the special session, please visit the discussion page to join in on a “backchannel” discussion (or simply follow along), and to ask questions for discussion during the “flipped” portion of the session.