Inquiry-Based Learning Through Birdsong

Abstract

Birdsong as a phenomenon falls at the intersection of two disciplines: ecology and music. The shared space includes bird vocalizations and musical patterns that comprise these vocalizations. The connection between natural sounds and human music has recently garnered attention from both scientists and musicians; however, thematic-based curricular connections between the science of birdsong and musical concepts have yet to be fully explored in research settings. To address this, a fifth-grade curriculum unit combining ecology and music was developed within the organizing theme of Birdsong. Inquiry-based learning guided engagement of students and teachers; the culminating project was student-composed birdsongs. The researchers examined what issues arose when integrating two disciplines, what issues arose when integrating two disciplines, how a curriculum unit based on birdsong differs when students experience problems from dissimilar viewpoints, and how projects can require inquiry-based learning. Implications for teacher preparation are included.

Shared context for engineering students learning business

“…In communication among peers, learners may steadily create, share and interpret others' knowledge and transform it to be their own meaning (Pea, 1993;García-Peñalvo and Conde, 2014;Young, 2014;Chu, 2016;Cheng, 2017). Through sharing knowledge students engage in discussion and they are responsible for their own learning and they become critical thinkers (Totten et al, 1991;García-Peñalvo and Conde, 2014;Jonsson, 2015;Younker and Bracken, 2015). Sharing is particularly important when students manipulate metacognitive knowledge to create new structures and concepts.…”

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“…In the educational context, sharing knowledge with peers is mainly performed through collaborative and cooperative learning. This is an important feature of the learner-centered approach (Wang et al, 2014;Yen et al, 2015;Younker and Bracken, 2015).…”

“…In communication among peers, learners may steadily create, share and interpret others' knowledge and transform it to be their own meaning (Pea, 1993;García-Peñalvo and Conde, 2014;Young, 2014;Chu, 2016;Cheng, 2017). Through sharing knowledge students engage in discussion and they are responsible for their own learning and they become critical thinkers (Totten et al, 1991;García-Peñalvo and Conde, 2014;Jonsson, 2015;Younker and Bracken, 2015). Sharing is particularly important when students manipulate metacognitive knowledge to create new structures and concepts.…”

Music Education for Surviving and Thriving: Cultivating Children’s Wonder, Senses, Emotional Wellbeing, and Wild Nature as a Means to Discover and Fulfill Their Life’s Purpose

“…In the 1970s, concurrent with the rise of the environmental movement, Schafer (1977) invited musicians, educators, and environmentalists to attend to ambient soundscapes as he saw the encroachment of human-made sound as a neglected topic. Many educators have applied Schafer's ideas in music settings such as informal music learning (Heckel, 2017), free improvisation (Huovinen and Kuusinen, 2006), elementary school (Ward, 2009), secondary school (Imada, 2019), undergraduate music history (Black and Bohlman, 2017;Galloway, 2017), music composition (Friesen, 2012), as well as interdisciplinary settings (Younker and Bracken, 2015;Akbari, 2016).…”

“…As music educators consider how to shift priorities accordingly (Boyce-Tillman, 2004Bates, 2013;Younker and Bracken, 2015;Adams and Beauchamp, 2018), many current assumptions about what music education is for are necessarily challenged (Morton, 2012). Shevock (2015Shevock ( , 2018 argues for an eco-literate pedagogy as an extension of Orr's (1992) conceptions of eco-literacy, and situates such a pedagogy in an interdisciplinary context that welcomes Indigenous and spiritual knowledge.…”