music educators journal 1990 atterbury 46 9

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DOI: 10.2307/3401037 1990 76: 46Music Educators Journal

Betty W. AtterburySpeaking the ''Gifted and Talented'' Language: The Key to Program Success

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by elena burciu on April 11, 2011mej.sagepub.comDownloaded from

SPEAKING THE "GIFTED AND TALENTED" LANGUAGE

The Key to Program Success by Betty W. Atterbury

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If this is the decade during which music educators become recognized members of the faculty who educate gifted and talented students, how will the transformation be accomplished? Putting a new sign on the door or standing up in the faculty meeting and making an announcement will not work. A more effective approach will be to acquaint yourself with the unique terminology, variety of models, and curricula currently used in gifted education and adapt them to your music curriculum.

Why do we need this information? Many music educators pres- ently provide enrichment, acceleration, or differentiated curricula for talented students, but unless these provisions are described with the appropriate words, they may not be recognized, scheduled, or funded as gifted and talented education. In many areas of the country, it may soon be necessary to

propose and design new programs for gifted and talented musicians. Describing these programs with the "correct" terms may be an important factor in their acceptance and approval.

Students and curriculum The first step in proposing that

you, the music teacher, are a source of education for the gifted and talented is to target which students you wish to include in special programs. The possibilities include talented students in any and all performance media, students who are talented in composition, academically gifted students in self- contained gifted and talented classes, and mainstreamed gifted and talented students who are currently being served by special resource teachers. You then need to consider the three basic ways in which curricula can be altered for the gifted and talented: These are usu-

ally described as changes in breadth (or depth), pace, and na- ture.

Before any additions or modifi- cations to your existing curriculum can occur, however, you must be able to demonstrate that a basic music curriculum is being offered to the gifted and talented students. This foundation must include a knowledge of the structure of music and how this structure (includ- ing such elements as rhythm, har- mony, and melody) is used by performers and composers. The basic curriculum should also include an emphasis on how composers and performers do what they do and how questions and thinking are framed by musicians. Gifted and talented students must have this musical information base before they can advance to higher levels of thinking where they will be able to conceptualize, experiment, and create in a musical manner.

46 MEJ/March '90

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Clarifying what is meant by "gifted and talented music education" will help you develop effective programs and innovative curricula. Betty At- terbury, who teaches music education at the University of Southern Maine, Gorham, outlines program options.

Enrichment A gifted and talented curriculum

that is changed in breadth or depth is labeled "enrichment." One pos- sibility for enrichment that can be offered to students interested in performance or composition is sus- tained study or exploration of a topic that incorporates the use of research skills. For example, talented performers may be interested in exploring the history of their own instrument: other gifted students may wish to research the life of a composer or investigate the stylistic similarities of music written during a particular historical period.

Many enrichment possibilities other than research projects are possible. One important area to consider is composition-this topic is addressed by Ronald Thomas in this issue. In the age of computers, software such as music printing programs, synthesizers, and MIDI

technology, composition opportunities are no longer restricted to those students who have mastered formal musical notation. Teachers considering this approach should read a report by William Meckley, who describes the use of the LOGO sound-manipulating com- puter language with exceptional and gifted students.'

Chamber music opportunities are also a way of providing enrichment for talented performers. Teachers may find it difficult to persuade administrators to allow schedule changes that permit them to coach small ensembles on a weekly basis, but using one period for chamber music coaching and rotating student groups every second or third week may provide a solution. During the period(s) that students do not receive teacher coaching, they should be given spe- cific goals and suggestions that would direct their group practice.

In at least one state, there is another way to provide enrichment for individuals who are talented in performance. The State of Texas has an approved Applied Music- Individual Study Course that dis- tricts can adopt. The process of implementing this program in the Judson School District was described by the teacher in an article in The Instrumentalist.2 Students in this course must perform three re- citals each year, either during the school recital nights or at other public appearances. In addition, they must attend the group enrichment sessions that the school provides.

There are many other types of enrichment possible for both performers and gifted students not in performance classes. Some of these include projects in multimedia or the related arts, or field trips to concerts, recording studios, or instrument makers. Music teachers

MEJ/March '90 47

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lusic curricula will need to be developed that demonstrate a clear

purpose and direction in providing not only a basic curriculum but one

that is unique for gifted and talented learners.

can also arrange internships or mentorships for gifted students with different professionals. Al- though these suggestions might seem impossible to someone whose daily schedule is already overflow- ing, they might be translated into grant proposals for district or state money that is sometimes available for innovative teaching changes. These changes could also be curriculum additions that support the need for additional music staff to provide music education in the gifted and talented curriculum.

Acceleration When one provides acceleration

for gifted and talented students, the pace or tempo of presentation dif- fers from that in the regular curriculum. Indeed, this term is directly related to enrichment, since the process of acceleration can actually result in enrichment or can provide time for enrichment. Gifted educators describe "compacting" the common or basic curriculum in two ways-either by presenting the same amount of material in a shorter amount of time or by offer- ing the curriculum to students at a younger age. This curriculum sug- gestion can be adapted for classes of academically gifted students as well as talented musicians as a way to present the basic curriculum quickly. Acceleration is also possible for groups of secondary students through the inclusion of an Advanced Placement course in music theory or for individuals who can be advised to register for one or more courses at a local college. (See the article in the February 1990 MEJ, "Advanced Placement: More Than a Test" for more information on AP courses.)

Many music educators already promote acceleration for talented performers by encouraging partici-

pation in district festivals, all-state performing groups, and youth or community orchestras. And in many areas of the country, acceleration and enrichment are being provided in magnet schools. But accelerated curricula for young talented performers can be made possible within any school system. Providing the opportunity for a younger performer to play in an advanced (junior high, high school) band or orchestra may take accom- modation in scheduling, but this type of acceleration is certainly one way to provide challenge for a talented young student.

Differentiated curricula Educational experiences for gift-

ed and talented students that are not the same as in the normal curriculum are labeled "differentiated curricula." Music teachers will find descriptions of some possibilities such as arranging a halftime show for marching band or creating a multimedia presentation for ap- preciation classes in the textbook Accelerated Programs for the Gift- ed Music Student.3 Talented performers may be very interested in learning another instrument, and a secondary instrumental teacher may be able to offer a beginning mixed instrument class for these students. Certainly any student who is interested in composition should be encouraged to learn as many instruments as possible. Changing the focus of instruction and emphasizing higher-level cog- nitive or metacognitive processes is also a way of differentiating existing curricula. In music, these processes have been described in new terms recently by Mary Lou- ise Serafine.4 A differentiated curriculum could be constructed for gifted and talented students in which they explore the musical

processes of succession and simul- taneity. Students could learn how music listeners and performers group successive sounds into larger units (motives, phrases, songs, different forms) as well as under- standing, interpreting, and reacting to sounds heard at the same time. Serafine describes the four other processes (which do not appear to be developed until after children are ten to twelve years of age) used by musical listeners and performers as:

1. abstraction-the reappearance of some facet of the music in a new context.

2. transformation-changes of mode or embellishments,

3. hierarchic structuring-reduc- tion of melodies to important tones, and

4. closure versus movement- tension and release as in an authen- tic cadence.

Each or all of these could provide a focus for music learning that would engage gifted and talented students in thinking, perceiving. and reacting to music in a very different manner.

Other approaches One existing curriculum plan,

The Enrichment Triad, contains three stages that can be adapted to music instruction for gifted and talented students. In the first step of this process, students are exposed to a wide range of materials so that alternatives can be weighed prior to selecting one area for further investigation. The second stage provides training in using creative, critical, and productive thinking, and many exercises are described that will enable students to develop advanced thinking skills. The final stage provides students with an opportunity to investigate a real problem and work toward the creation

48 MEJ/March '90


of new ideas or a new product. This stage concludes with a presentation to an appropriate audience, not just a report to a teacher.5

Although Benjamin Bloom's the Tax.onomy of' Edwcational Objec- tives^ was not written as a curriculum model, it has been adapted by California as an organizing focus for the state arts curriculum.7 The six levels of the taxonomy are knowledge, comprehension, appli- cation, analysis, synthesis. and evaluation. Musical examples for each taxonomic level at both the primary and intermediate level are illustrated in this guide.

Another model, originally developed primarily by Alex F. Osborn in the advertising business, is called the creative problem-solving model.8 This approach, based on the use of the imagination and the technique of brainstorming, in- volves generating a large number of possibilities and suspending criti- cism until the process is complet- ed. Osborn suggested many principles to stimulate new ideas, includ- ing magnification. minification, substitution. and rearrangement. Examples of questions that incor- porate these principles in musical brainstorming include: What will it sound like if the durations (phrases, sections) are longer (or shorter)? What sounds, instruments, or rhythms could we add (or take away)'? What instrument (melody, rhythm, chord) could we re- place in this measure (phrase, sec- tion)'?

It is, of course, impossible in this short article to be inclusive about these approaches. Their use will certainly necessitate investigation and curriculum rewriting by music educators, but each approach of- fers a possible framework for providing a differentiated music curriculum for those students who are

gifted and talented.

Learning preferences Music educators also need to in-

corporate current knowledge about differences in the learning preferences of gifted students into any curriculum changes. Gifted children are often bored in classrooms where information is presented in small quantities: they prefer the complexity and challenge of large amounts of information. One re- searcher found that gifted children in grades four, five, and six had three distinct learning preferences: learning alone, tactile learning, and independent study."1 Any curriculum that is developed for gifted and talented students should try to include alternatives to the typical short time span (period) that educators use for scheduling conve- nience. In this way, gifted and talented students may be adequately challenged and truly make use of their potential.

A new challenge At the present time, in almost

three-fourths of our country, there are state definitions of gifted and talented that actually include the talented music student. The 1990s may be the decade that you become involved in proposing new programs for the musically gifted and talented. Will you be ready for this challenge'?

Music curricula will need to be developed that demonstrate a clear purpose and direction in providing not only a basic curriculum but one that is unique for gifted and talented learners. The use of any of the above approaches or the inclusion of enrichment, acceleration, or differentiated curricula are ways of organizing an appropriate music education for these students.

The way to become accepted as

a gifted and talented educator is to "speak the language." Thoughtful and articulate curriculum discus- sion by music teachers will demonstrate to gifted educators and administrators that music is a subject that mniist be provided for all gifted and talented students. These dis- cussions can be an opportunity for you to demonstrate that music is not merely the icing on the curriculum cake. Indeed, meeting this challenge may be a chance to ex- pand your programs and teaching in ways that will be personally re- warding and exciting.

Notes 1. William A. Meckley. The Development of Indiidli.idilzed .IMusic Leariiing Sequence.s for .o,,n-Handicapped. Handicapped and Gifted Learners Usinr the Logo . Music' Ver- .sion Compulter LangIuage (Doctoral diss.. Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. Rochester. NY). 1984. 2. Tom Kinsey. "Excuse Me. We're Gifted. Too." The In.strumentalist 42. no. 9 (April 1988). 99-100. 3. P. Jankowski and F. Jankowski. Acceler- ated Progrant s for tlte Gifted AMusic Student (West Nvack. NY: Parker Publishing Co.. 1976). 4. Mary Louise Serafine. "Music" in Cogni- tion and Instruction, ed. Ronna F. Dillon and Robert J. Sternberg (San Diego. CA: Academic Press. 1986). 5. Joseph S. Renzulli. The Enrichmnent Triad .1odel: A Guide for Developing, Def,n.sihle Pr,ogSramn. for thie ifited and Talented (Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press. 1977). 6. Benjamin Bloom, ed.. Taxonomy of Edu- cational Objectives (New York: David Mc- Kay Co.. 1956). 7. Art.s for thet (G;fited and Talented: (Grade. One 7Trou,rghlt Si.x (Sacramento: California State Department of Education. 1981). ERIC I)ocument No. ED216480. 8. .lex F. )sborn. Applied ImagJ.itnationt. 3d rev. ed. (New York: Scribner. 1957). 9. See also Abraham Tannenbaum. Gi/ited (Children. P.s vychollogical (and Eldu ational Perspective.s (Nes York: Macmillan. 1981). 390-96. I). Judith Ricca. "LIearning Styles and Pre- ferred Instructional Strategies of Gifted Stu- dents." (ii ifed C('ild Quarterly 28. no. 3 (Summer 1984). 121-26. 'J

MEJ March '9) 49


Article Contentsp. 46p. 47p. 48p. 49

Issue Table of ContentsMusic Educators Journal, Vol. 76, No. 7 (Mar., 1990), pp. 1-96Front Matter [pp. 1-32]Readers CommentDefining the "Finest" Works [p. 4]Value of Performance Degrees [pp. 4+6]

Conference Connection [pp. 9-10]Video ViewsReview: untitled [p. 14]Review: untitled [p. 16]

The MENC Adviser [pp. 20+22]Book ReviewReview: untitled [pp. 26+28]

Book Browsing [pp. 28+30]Are You a Member of the Gifted and Talented Faculty? [pp. 33-34]The State of Gifted Education: Toward a Bright Future [pp. 35-39]Measuring Musical Giftedness [pp. 40-45]Speaking the "Gifted and Talented" Language: The Key to Program Success [pp. 46-49]Magnet Music Programs: A Look at the Issues [pp. 50-53]Designing a Curriculum for the Gifted and Talented [pp. 54-58]Making Music Festivals Work [pp. 59-64]Bulletin Board [pp. 65-67]Market Space [pp. 70-71]Coda: Two Halves of Music in the Schools [pp. 96+95]Back Matter [pp. 68-94]

music educators journal 1990 atterbury 46 9

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