Creativity and Constructionism

There is little doubt that music education is well placed to being taught through project based learning. The teacher acting as facilitator allows young people to develop the skills to express themselves and develop an understanding of who they are as a musician. Peter Webster's article from 2002 examines the link between creativity, music education and the constructivist model of education in "Creative Thinking in Music - Advancing a Model." While not a new concept, Webster reminds us that:

"At the heart of these ideas is the shift away from thinking about education as begin centered solely in the mind of the teacher and more as partnership between teaching and student with the teacher as the major architect of learning. Project-centered learning is celebrated with students working to solve problems. Affect is seen as part of and as an aide in the learning experience" (Webster, 2002).

Creative experience in music goes beyond music composition alone and permeates all other areas of music education taught in schools. Whether engaging with listening, performance or music technology, the ability to think independently, problem solve and approach situations with an open mind all help to develop the transferable skill of creativity. Webster takes this a little further by stating that

"teachers must teach for independent thought" (Webster, 2002).

Taking it further than this, Webster suggests that the best music educators are those who educate for engagement in music post formal education. This also echoes with the Expressive Arts Principals and Practice paper (Education Scotland, 2009) which suggests that a key function of an education in the expressive arts is to develop a lifelong appreciation of, or an ability to participate in the arts. This is only possible if we are teaching for independent thought.

Webster also suggests that creativity has been slow to feature in modern educational discourse due to its perceived complexity and difficulties to extrapolate from engagement with music activities. Creativity is also a fluid and dynamic process which will morph and evolve alongside music activities.

The article examines other areas such as the literature that is associated with creative thought and draws this together into a model of areas of research.

The article is available to read in full here.