Ward, C. (2009) Musical exploration using ICT in the middle and secondary school classroom. International Journal of Music Education 27:154. doi: 10.1177/0255761409102323
There are a number of excellent points made in this article. Ward explores how his constructivist views of education can be supported through the use of ICT in the music classroom and foster a learning environment where students go beyond the superficial to construct deeper, more personal meanings. Students are not empty vessels, but are immersed in the culture and musical artifact of our time. Using ICT to link into this prior knowledge creates more chances of learning. A constructivist, student-centric application of ICT in the music classroom made music a more popular subject and raised the status of music within the school.
In his classroom Ward has seen a need for increased use of what he terms “non-musical sonic events” and instruction in 20th century compositional techniques. He labels compositions in more traditional styles as “pastiche”. Ward perhaps values contemporary styles over traditional, viewing them are more creative because they are more unfamiliar to the ear, despite his own assertions that creativity means “acting from within your own ‘self'”.
