Grounded Tech Integration Using K– 12 Music Learning Activity Types
MIDI, digital audio recorders, music notation software, electronic instruments, and
mobile apps are but a few of the technological tools that teachers can use
to support music learning. However,
technologies alone don’t develop students’ musicianship. Engaging learning activities, purposefully selected to
effect desired outcomes, are essential.
To become well-rounded musicians,
students need to have meaningful experiences as composers, improvisers,
performers, and listeners while also
developing their cognitive understanding of music. Experiences designed to
align music content with well-selected
learning activities and supporting
technologies can assist students’
meaningful music learning. How
can you design these experiences?
Using Learning Activity Types
One way to help teachers integrate
technology effectively is to focus on
instructional planning. Researchers
tell us that teachers plan instruction primarily according to students’
curriculum-based learning needs. They
typically organize lessons, projects, and
units around content-based learning
activities. Therefore, we recommend
integrating technology according to
how teachers plan, rather than asking
them to design instruction around the
use of a particular tool (to learn more,
see “Grounded Tech Integration: An
Effective Approach Based on Pedagogy
and Teacher Planning,” L&L, September/October 2009, pages 22–25).
To assist teachers with technology
integration, we offer comprehensive
sets of learning activity types in 10
curricular areas and suggest specific
educational technologies that can
best support each type of learning de-
scribed. We have organized the learn-
ing activity types in subcategories, so
that each content-based collection
comprises an informal taxonomy.
K– 12 Music Activity Types
We have organized the 69 music
learning activity types that we have
identified to date in terms of the three
artistic processes in which musicians
engage: creating, performing, and
responding to music. This is a well-accepted way to conceptualize musicality. Further, these musical processes
organize the National Standards for
Music Education, which are the basis
for many state standards and local
music curricula. The taxonomy reflects
typical creating, performing, and responding activities and technologies
for beginning- to intermediate-level
music students.
Space limitations will not permit
display of the entire music learning
activity types taxonomy here. Read-
ers can access it on the Activity Types
wiki ( activitytypes.wmwikis.net).
What follows are two sample music
activity types aligned with relevant
technologies from each of the tax-
onomy’s three primary categories.
Activity Types for Music Creation
The two primary creative processes in
music are improvisation and composition. Improvisation is the spontaneous
creation of new musical ideas. Composition usually involves revision and
refinement of ideas that are often, but
not always, set in notation so that others can perform them. Six improvising
activity types provide foundational
skills in music improvisation. Eleven
composing activity types develop students’ abilities to generate and refine
original musical ideas. (See examples
in the table called “Improvisation and
Composition Activity Types.”)
Activity Types for Music Performance
Ensembles, such as bands, orchestras,
and choirs, provide the most prominent forms of school-based musical
performance, while progressive institutions may also include instruction
in guitar, piano, and contemporary
musical ensembles, such as rock
bands. Musical performance involves
singing and/or playing an instrument,
and it often requires the ability to read
musical notation. The performing
music activity types align common
singing, playing, and music-reading
activities with corresponding educational technologies. There are nine
singing activity types, nine playing
instruments activity types, and seven
reading and notating music activity
types. (See examples in the table
“Performance Activity Types.”)
