What is, or what might be, the role of the Orff-Schulwerk approach during the first five years of teaching?


Comments: 6
  • #6

    Lisa Leach (Thursday, 11 January 2018 11:34)

    Follow up to previous post:
    Yes, I believe the change in my teaching is related to my experiences in my Orff classes. I am more comfortable with my students taking the lead in creative decisions. I don't need to march through repertoire. We can saunter and meander and play. BTW, I think the new National Core Arts Standards really took a page form the Schulwerk, focusing not only on music making but also on music thinking and making musical choices.

  • #5

    Lisa Leach (Monday, 20 November 2017 09:10)

    I came to the Schulwerk after several years as an experienced teacher, so I may not answer this question as I should. The greatest change I saw in my teaching was the shift from sensei/master teacher/She Who Holds All Knowledge to Fellow Discoverer/Thoughtful Questioner and Clarifier and Willing Experimenter. My students began making deep connections to the work of the classroom and their lives. They became more willing to try and choose. They also began looking at written music or audio examples not as the permanent representation of a work but a starting block for creativity.

  • #4

    Patrick Ware (Monday, 20 November 2017 06:43)

    I feel that the strongest role this approach has during the first five years of teaching is providing the novice teacher with a clear way of thinking about how to present materials and ideas to students.

    As I came out of my student teaching the freshest model I had for teaching elementary music was my co-operating practitioner. So, I taught my first year like my co-operating practitioner. I remember lessons that were occasionally fun, sometimes with students out of their seats, but never creative on the student's part. I had a wonderful experience with her, but she was not a practitioner of the the Schulwerk.

    It is no exaggeration to say that the Schulwerk saved my students. In those next years I developed a way into each lesson and a way through each lesson that as other have said, valued student input and went in directions that I could not have seen.

    The use of the Orff-Schulwerk approach also helped me to hone in on what was really important. Because we began to do things that employed the entire body, students were more engaged, more receptive and more musical.

    So, what might be the role of the Orff-Schulwerk approach during the first five years of teaching? The approach can give you the what, the when, the how and the why of helping students succeed as young musicians and movers.

  • #3

    Matthew Pedregón (Friday, 17 November 2017 11:21)

    For me, the Schulwerk was a life-saver the first five years. The material and pedagogical skills I learned in Levels classes during these years set the foundation for me as an educator. Learning how to treat material, engage students, use the Orff media, and set the stage for exploration and improvisation are all skills that I still use today. In addition, I remember falling in love with the Schulwerk because of its joyful, playful, and experiential approach. It was a beautifully refreshing take on music education compared to what I had imagined elementary music to be at the time.

  • #2

    Megann Sala (Tuesday, 14 November 2017 01:28)

    Sarah, I agree with your idea on how Orff-Schulwerk helps the first five years of teaching. I also find myself using things in my classroom that I've learned either in Level I or in other teacher workshops.

    In the beginning of the year, I was afraid to use this approach because I was not sure of how to incorporate it in my teaching. Little did I know that the way that I manage my classroom as well as scaffold new material into classes were the approach I was so afraid of doing! The idea that we need to appreciate the unplanned things, that they can be beautiful, is really what teaching in the first years are like.

  • #1

    Sarah Joncas (Monday, 06 November 2017 21:29)

    The Orff-Schulwerk approach can help newer teachers develop pedagogical techniques and build their musical repertoire. It can also help them to break out of their comfort zone in order to take risks that will help them become a better teacher. In my Orff Level I class, I learned many songs, games, and folk dances that I had not been familiar with before. Many of these have made their way into my classroom, either in the way I learned them or with some kind of variation. Additionally, I picked up many tips and tricks for scaffolding new content, teaching mallet technique, helping students who struggle with steady beat, and even how to respond to students misbehaving. The improvising aspect of Orff-Schulwerk not only improved my musical improvisation skills, but helped me to see that sometimes unplanned ideas can be beautiful. When a student comes up with a variation on a song, it's okay to follow their lead and do something a little differently than planned. By pushing me out of my comfort zone, being made to improvise in a low-risk setting in my Orff Level allowed me to see that many barriers are imagined and can be overcome by thinking outside the box.

    Because Orff-Schulwerk is so much based on experiencing music, it can help newer teachers learn to play with music more than they were likely able to in their formal musical training. This can allow for teachers to become flexible, adaptable, and playful with their students in a way that encourages maximum learning. Rather than talking at students lecture style, teachers who incorporate Orff-Schulwerk are able to facilitate student involvement and creation of music to encourage student ownership and ensure that all students are engaged through a gradual release of responsibility.