Contemporary Music Maker - A Teaching Strategy
A Strategy for Approaching the CMM Project
Here is a pdf of a PowerPoint presentation created by Clare Lambert of the Nexus International School in Singapore. In it, she outlines a step-by-step plan to be followed over time offering guidance for the student with the development of their Contemporary Music Maker Project. This complements the materials in the Guide on pp.36-39.
Photo by Fons Heijnsbroek, abstract-art on Unsplash
The guidance provided in this document offers clear direction for the project starting with the idea of a "pitch". It might be a worthwhile endeavor to set this up in the form of a marketing pitch to "sell" the product.
The student can be placed in the "hot seat" and deliver the information in a manner that attempts to convince its audience of its viability and real-life significance.
This will afford discussion and help the students to better reflect on the ideas as they are put forward.
The VISION and MUSICAL GOALS, as outlined in the Guide (p.37-8) are essential here. All musical decisions should be based on the goals and what you, as a student, are attempting to achieve.
Photo by Rick Gebhardt on Unsplash
It is equally a strong decision to include connections to the Learner Profile (LP) attributes as this can help guide the student in the decision-making and contribute to shaping the learner that they ultimately wish to become. You can read more about this HERE, which highlights the importance of having these attributes permeate lessons and how teachers should consider these attributes when planning materials.
It also serves to gain a greater understanding of each of the LP definitions.
Although not mandatory, it is again good to frame the type of project around the Areas of Inquiry. This links to the notion of asking students to consider exploring aspects that they may not have previously considered as part of the course (see p.36 of the Guide for more).
These images were created by students at the Australian International School (Saigon) in 2022 as part of one of their CAS projects. They are displayed throughout the school as part of the branding.
It is important to begin the project by documenting all aspects of the journey and to not neglect the importance of research. For more on this, you may visit HERE.
It is essential too that students reflect not just at the end of the CMM, but along the way. This will allow them to discuss challenges, solutions, and compromises.
Here is a summary of these ideas that you may wish to follow:
These slides have been developed by Clare Lambert, an IBDP Music Teacher at the Nexus International School.