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Welcome to Portraits of Practice: Construction Zones for Musical Understanding. The purpose of this site is to share with others my work, as a music teacher, that is grounded in constructivist theory of learning. Visit The Journey, a collection of experiences and moments of discovery that have informed my beliefs about teaching and learning. Explore Project Design, a collection of ideas that can be put into practice to create a holistic and constructive learning environment for musical understanding. Observe Frameworks that are used to scaffold learning. Look in on Portraits to view project designs and artifacts., watch students realizing their musical knowledge and skill as they engage in collaborative problem-solving. Visit the Archive to view classroom documents and students involved in collaborative problem-solving. Learn More about the theory and research that supports and validates constructive learning experiences for students in our classrooms. Phil Greco Music Teacher Farmingdale Public Schools Farmingdale, NY

Information on inquiry-based learning Inquiry-based learning is often described as a philosophical and pedagogical response to the changing needs of the information age, but its roots are much deeper. It assumes that all learning begins with the learner. That is, what people know and what they want to learn are not just constraints on what can be taught; they are the very foundation for learning. Aspects of this idea appear in the earliest writings on education, including Plato/Socrates in the West and Confucius in the East, but is more commonly traced back to Rousseau and Pestalozzi. Its fullest articulation can be found in the writings of John Dewey, whose wisdom derived in large part from his ability to see the unity across the social work of Jane Addams, the schools work of Ella Flagg Young, and the pragmatist philosophy developed by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James.

Article from General Music Today  "Stacy McKenzie is challenged to find new ways to involve students in their learning. She begins this journey by developing a lesson planning framework based on constructivist principles for learning. The perspectives Stacy applies in her program are shared in this article: First, by examining how she crafts a lesson framework that provides opportunities for students to build new understandings from what they already know through active involvement with music; and, second, by exploring how she uses questions to guide and support students' learning and how her students use questions as a means to assume an active role in their learning. This lesson is part of a larger unit of study using the piece Simple Gifts."

Edutopia project-based learning info site: "Why Teach with Project-Based Learning? Project-based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of active and engaged learning, students are inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying."

Article in General Music Today "The article analyzes a constructivist view of music education. A constructivist music classroom exemplifies deep learning when students formulate questions, acquire new knowledge by developing and implementing plans for investigating these questions, and reflect on the results. A context for deep learning requires that teachers and students work together to develop collaborative learning communities that all perceive as safe and supportive. ( 

Article in Arts Education Policy Review by Joe Shively "Over the past twenty years, constructivism, as a theory of learning, has taken on an increasingly important role in music education. Efforts to shift music education toward a more constructivist practice have significant implications for policymaking at all levels of music education. In this article, I seek to recalibrate our thinking about what it might or might not mean to take a constructivist teaching stance in the music classroom. Building on constructivism as a theory of learning, I revisit its principles and their implications for our work with learners, the nature of knowledge, and the musics and musical experiences we bring into our classrooms. Further, I consider how constructivism has informed music education reform efforts. Throughout, I discuss ways in which a constructivist view of learning and teaching might better inform our professional practice by finding a balance between progressive and traditional views of music education. Through this, we can find a constructivist view that is more resonant with music educators."

" Suboptimal student performance in lab-based statistics classes prompted a change in pedagogy to increase student engagement in class through active learning. Rather than using clickers, students learned how to use Google Forms in class to answer questions alone or in small working groups. In-class discussion of the answers focuses on clearing up misconceptions and steering students to a higher level of understanding. The increased interactivity, although it reduced class time to cover the material, yielded longer periods of sustained attention and a perception of improved performance among students."

" Recently, an instructional technique known as K-W-L, created by Ogle (1986) was introduced into classrooms. Teachers activate students' prior knowledge by asking them what they already Know; then students (collaborating as a classroom unit or within small groups) set goals specifying what they Want to learn; and after reading students discuss what they have Learned. Students apply higher-order thinking strategies which help them construct meaning from what they read and help them monitor their progress toward their goals. A worksheet is given to every student that includes columns for each of these activities. "

This self-guided course using Web 2.0 tools, such as blogs, wikis, Twitter, and social networking/bookmarking sites, will help you begin to build your personal learning network and prepare you for participating in a connected learning community as a whole. We hope you feel the excitement building as you take the first steps toward preparing for what's ahead this year in your Community.

Rough Rider is a modern compressor with a bit of "vintage" style bite and a uniquely warm sound. Perfect for adding compression effects to your drum buss, it also sounds great with synth bass, clean guitar, and backing vocals. Definitely not an all-purpose compressor, Rough Rider is at its best when used to add pump to rhythmic tracks. Of course, you can use it however you'd like. The Compressor Police aren't gonna come to your house and give you a citation. Slap it on a track and crank some knobs. The front panel layout is done the same as many hardware compressors, so it will be immediately obvious how to use it. A brief overview of the controls: Ratio: The ratio knob is logarithmic in operation. Completely anti-clockwise is 1:1, and completely clockwise is 1:1000. The 12 o'clock position is 1:10, so everything to the left of center is single digits, and everything to the right is "atom bomb squish," essentially. Attack and Release: We left off the actual time values, so you're gonna have to use your ears, like the he-men did it in times of myth. Meter: That honking big dial in the middle of the UI is the gain reduction meter. It basically shows how much compression is occurring. Sensitivity: usually called "threshold" now, but we think "sensitivity" always made more sense. Turn to the right, you get more compression, essentially. Turn it all the way to the right, and you've got a distortion box, the sound of which is tuned by Ratio, Attack, and Release. Makeup: 30 dB of gain to compensate for the attenuation caused by the compressor. Active: From the front panel, this is simply an off/on switch, but if you automate it, strange things happen... MIDI Learn: Like all of our products, the VST version has MIDI Learn. Download any manual from the current product line for an explanation of how this works, as it is common among all our VST products. Rough Rider is available as a VST effect for Windows, and an AU or VST for OSX. The OSX versions are Universal Bin

A video on probject-based learning hosted on the Educators PLN (a network for educators)

An edutopia group focused on project-based learning

Information on project-based learning

Resources and position papers related to curriculum and comprehensive assessment & Music Education from Wisconsin State Education Department (Arts). Includes issues related to: - Creativity - Arts Propel - Comprehensive Musicianship and CMP - Grading & Student Learning - Standards

Suggestions for assessing project-based learning from Edutopia

This is a ning site dedicated to the support of a Personal Learning Network for Educators

Blog post on "common misconceptions" related to project-based learning.

Constructivist Learning by Dimitrios Thanasoulas, Greece

Though this forces some aspects of projects and PBL into binary relationships and in some places is a bit oversimplified it is a helpful resource for identifying aspects of how project-based learning differs from "doing projects"

information on inquiry-based learning