Article

Creating a Constructivist Online Music Course for Community College Students: Theory and Practice
24.2 Fall 2018

Author(s)

LabelBitter, Janelle M.;

Abstract

Creating an online music course afforded developers at Ocean County College an opportunity to build learner-centered, media-rich lessons and assessments. Guided by constructivist learning theory and using free resources, Music Fundamentals was designed to introduce students to music notation while demonstrating real-world application of concepts. After outlining past practices and learning philosophies, this article will detail the use of YouTube videos and the notation software Finale NotePad in course design. Performance videos illustrate musical elements and prompt discussion about their function in a piece. NotePad was used to create pictorial examples and will be used by students in constructivist song-writing assignments. This course was designed with community college students in mind, placing music fundamentals in a familiar context while demanding college-level demonstration of understanding.

Full Text

Full text available as PDF