KS3 Music

a professional development programme

Activity Resource 3c: Group-work strategies

Collaborative or group-work strategies

Collaborative strategies require pupils to work and discuss effectively in groups. For music teachers to establish an environment in which creativity can thrive, it is important to adopt a range of methods for group work and group talk, as well as specific conventions (rules) that pupils will understand and follow.

The generic principles and strategies for effective group work can be found in Pedagogy and practice: teaching and learning in secondary schools, Unit 10: Group work (DCSF 0433-2004 G). The unit also outlines the benefits and limitations of different grouping methods, suggests a range of strategies for structuring group work, and identifies specific strategies for developing social skills.

Given that in music, pupils regularly work in groups, creative music teaching should use the power of these strategies to generate effective independent learning. Providing pupils with set roles and responsibilities does not restrict them, but provides an impetus for creative learning. Specific strategies that are useful in music include:

  • selecting groups to suit the task;
  • identifying specific roles and responsibilities for each pupil (leader, creator, conductor, decision maker);
  • giving pupils tasks that require them to work individually or in pairs first;
  • structuring the tasks for the group by breaking the main challenge into smaller units (e.g. ‘Select from these sounds first; now create an opening riff; now teach the riff to the other pair in your group.’).

Case study 3

Creating a group piece

The teacher has set a Year 8 class an open-ended abstract musical challenge which involves working with a group of simple musical materials to create a short group piece of their own choice. He wants to ensure that the pupils work effectively in the group so that they can explore and share ideas in a productive way.

The musical materials consist of a fragment of melody, a couple of ostinato patterns, three different chords and a phrase of text. The class have been through these ideas and explored them extensively with the teacher beforehand.

Each pupil is given an A4 sheet of paper divided into two, with the musical materials represented centrally in words or notation in the form of a ‘composer’s notepad’ (Document 3b Microsoft Word 88kb is an another example of a composer’s notepad, created for a unit on Japanese music.) In pairs, pupils are first asked to work individually for just 5 minutes on one or more of the given ideas in whatever way they choose. They can each use a keyboard or percussion instrument to explore and support their thinking. By the end of the 5 minutes, they must be able to describe what they did with their chosen ideas, and what effect it has had, by writing a couple of sentences in the top half of the paper.

At the end of 5 minutes they swap sheets with their partner, and demonstrate musically their new idea to the other person, who does the same in return.

For the next 5 minutes, each pupil takes either their partner’s new idea or another of the source materials, and makes a further adaptation, improvement or refinement. Again, they must describe what they did with their chosen ideas, and what effect it has had, this time writing in the bottom half of the paper. And again they demonstrate to each other. (See example of sheet completed to this point.)

At the end of about 15 minutes, both pupils are ready to share ideas with another pair. The two pairs are going to continue the composition now as a group of four. They compare ideas, decide which ones work best and which ones need to be dropped or improved further, and begin to work on an agreed structure.

diagram

Task 5: Considering a strategy to increase creativity (30 minutes)

Select one of the next units or activities that you are due to begin with a class.

Consider how you might promote a more creative approach from the pupils by using one of the strategies described above, or another that you have drawn from elsewhere.

Plan to include that strategy effectively in the appropriate lesson.

Development: When delivering the planned lesson, monitor pupils’ responses relative to your previous expectations and reflect on the impact the changes have had on pupils’ learning and achievement.