Sigma Alpha Iota

Winter 2021 16 16 P A N P I P E S MUSIC EDUCATION other using technologies like Flipgrid (designed for video discussions, it allows recording and sharing short videos in a protected environment). For others, virtual ensembles met this need, with students recording themselves individually (either audio or video) and the tracks being later stacked together in audio- editing soware. Inspired by the last ten years of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choirs, virtual ensembles tried to replicate the feeling of making music together and provide a final product. While these recordings can help teachers and students maintain some semblance of normalcy and tradition, no one says they are same as live concerts. Responding e standards in the artistic process of Responding are similar to Performing, except they refer to students' analysis and evaluation of others' music-making (instead of their own). Responding tasks didn't change much between face-to-face and distance learning. Students at home could still watch performances or listen to musical recordings on widely accessible sites like YouTube. ey could react to what they heard or saw in verbal discussion (in synchronous class sessions or Flipgrid) or in writing (on discussion boards or in Google Forms questionnaires). While the style of usage was slightly modified, the quantity of usage increased for most. Listening to recordings continued to be great lesson openers for synchronous learning, just as they were in the classroom. Asking students to select and analyze their favorite recordings offered insight into their personalities and backgrounds. And while there wasn't a chance to evaluate a live concert, students could critique recordings or their peers' performances at home. Connecting For the music world, Connecting is embedded in everything we do. We can't perform or listen to a piece without making connections to what we know, fitting it into the schema of our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. As students played, sang, bucket drummed, and listened to music during distance learning, teachers introduced composers, periods of music history, and music from around the world like we always have. But personal connections to music became more of a cornerstone than ever before. Teaching and learning while not physically being in the same room made it difficult to feel connected. Teachers also knew that many students were coping with very difficult situations at home. Music became more of an outlet for expression and coping than it ever had been. Teachers in all disciplines realigned their lesson content for connection and sought to meet the needs of the whole child. When designing lessons to promote social-emotional development, music has an advantage. In a nutshell, social-emotional learning (SEL) is emotion management, both internal (self-regulation) and external (empathy and relationships with others). And during times of stress, can't everyone benefit from practicing those skills? rough describing music, students developed an emotional vocabulary. rough composing and improvising, students expressed themselves. rough personal reflection, they became more aware of themselves. When we place the students at the center of what we do, music education makes bigger and more important connections than ever before. So, where do music educators go from here? As we return to in-person classes, there may still be instructional adaptations to meet health guidelines. Perhaps that looks like social distancing and avoidance of sharing materials in the classroom. Perhaps it is singing and playing with masks and instrument covers. Perhaps it is rehearsing outside, or minimizing playing or singing while inside. Music education might not look the way it used to for quite some time. But music educators are resilient. We're passionate about music and about education. We'll do whatever it takes to reach and teach our students. Laura Williams, an initiate of Kappa Psi Chapter, is the Choral and General Music Resource Teacher for San Diego Unified School District, and also teaches at nearby San Diego State University. She is the Editor for the San Diego County Alumnae Chapter.

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