A teaching method of music aiming at the

development of critical thinking in

adolescent pupils

Elissavet Perakaki

Music Teacher

The main thinking skills according to the

literature on critical thinking

• comparing

• summarizing

• observing

• classifying

• interpreting

• criticizing

• looking for assumptions

• imagining

• collecting and organizing data

• hypothesizing

• applying facts and principles in new situations

• decision making and

• designing projects or investigations (Raths et al., 1986)

The Music Education in Greece

Focus primarily on memorization of knowledge

Limited experience in the application of critical thinking as a

teaching method in music within the existing framework

No reference to metacognition [=the control of the cognitive system,

through which one has the ability to organize, anticipate, direct and

assess his/her thoughts] (Matsagouras,2001)

Lesson planning completely depended on individual teacher

Generally, flexible enough

Method

• 4 secondary schools in a rural area in Greece

• 297 students of either gender

• Aged 12-15 years

Some cognitive changes in adolescence

• Increased speed, automaticity, and capacity of information processing

• Increased ability to construct new combinations of knowledge

(Santrock, 1997)

Hypotheses of the Research

• Whether thinking skills could be an integral part of music education

within the Greek educational system, and

• Whether the implementation of an organized method of teaching

music, focused on developing thinking skills, could also increase the

critical thinking of adolescent pupils

Triangulation of the research

• Quasi-experiment

• Each class within the experimental group

• Random selection of two students from each class of experimental

group (as case study)

Data collection

• Questionnaires

Evaluation tests devised by the teacher/researcher

Interviews with self-selected students from both groups

Tape-recorded participant observations

• Diaries

Purposes of the activity

• the construction of maracas using ordinary materials

• Students’ enjoyment

The activity in the control group

• I announced to students that they would construct maracas and necessary

materials

• I described to students the whole instruction

• Every student presented in the classroom his/her instrument

1. The instrument’s name is not mentioned to pupils

2. I asked them to try making sounds using only the can and then using

only the rice, or stones or other objects

3. Combination of both materials. Students explored how much rice they

should put inside

4. Students presented their instruments and the rest of them try to

understand the way it was made

5. The student, who made the instrument, corrected the other students’

answers and further explained his instrument’s construction. The rest

of them could offer their criticisms and they suggested some ideas for

any improvements.

The activity in the experimental group

Some of the thinking skills, included in this

activity

• Imagination and hypothesizing

• Comparison

• Observation

• Decision making

• Criticism

Assessing the activity of control group

• They learned that they can construct an instrument easily

• They learned how to construct it

• They reached the target quickly

• They heard their classmates’ construction and took ideas.

Assessing the activity of experimental group

• The group found many different ways to make sound

• Pupils didn’t feel that there was only one answer, they felt safe to risk

• They found themselves the way of instruction

• They understood that the produced sound depended on some factors

• They observed the sound of others’ instruments and they tried to

recognize the way these were made

Implications for practice

• This method aspires to become a useful tool for music teachers

• More emphasis in Greek educational system for the creation of an

organised method

• It is apparent that the experimental group shows an increased critical

thinking ability

A teaching method of music aiming at the

development of critical thinking for

adolescent pupils

Elisavet Perakaki

Music Teacher