Music Passport: Peer-to-peer Learning
Music Passport found that 'kids teaching kids' was an effective way of getting younger children involved in music making, as well as equipping older children with leadership and teaching skills.
This page is part of a resource collection around the Music Passport project.
In the early days of Passport to Music some confusion arose because the aims of the project were not fully understood. The fact that young people (the Routefinders) were apparently going to teach some music lessons raised a number of concerns, not least of which was the potentially thorny issue of “cut price teaching”. This missed the point. Teaching musical skills or imparting musical knowledge were never intended to be anything more than tools to help Routefinders to build bridges with Passport Holders. Music had to be the medium because it was as musical role models that the Routefinders needed to be understood. The fact that many Passport Holders found so much enjoyment in the musical activities led by Routefinders does say something about the real teaching skills some of them have shown and possibly something less positive about some of the music lessons which Passport Holders had previously experienced. What we definitely do come to understand better is the nature of the special qualities to be found in peer-to-peer learning.
It is no great surprise to find that passport holders are very enthusiastic about working with their older peers:
“It’s good to have older children around you, better than adults. It’s good they’re not adults..... You,like, listen to them more" "I like the idea of children teaching us because they might have the same interests, not like the older teachers.”
Given the freedom to talk in a secure situation frank opinions may sometimes be a little extreme (“The music teachers are like strict but the Music Passport people make you laugh. Teachers just get to the point and they have no laughs!”) but in these comments lies a clear indication of a positive, motivating attitude to learning which can be harnessed. It is important to note, though, that passport holders were not prepared to accommodate a casual attitude to preparation or organisation on the part of the Routefinders, being very clear if they felt they were being short-changed.
At best some Routefinders have proved themselves to be great ambassadors for their school and its music department; surely exactly one of the messages which Passport hopes to get across:
“It gives a good impression of the music in the secondary school. If they’re teaching us what they’ve learned I know that the music teachers at .......... must be good.”
Only through building up a relationship peer-to-peer can that understanding develop. (“You sort of knew them”).
There have been a number of skilled instrumentalists among the Routefinders, learning with the local instrumental peripatetic teaching scheme, with private teachers or, in some cases, being virtually self-taught. Others, though have had limited instrumental skills but a considerable enthusiasm for music. These people have been important. As one Y7 pupil has said about her experience in the primary school, “Before, I thought music was just playing instruments but you can do other things in music which I didn’t know you could .” While it is possible that every (adult) effort has been made to counter this perception – although the opposite is by no means unknown – the fact remains that such a children’s view is not uncommon and the Music Passport experience may be able to do something to correct it.
However, what may be the most important and relevant outcome of the peer-to-peer learning experience in Passport also concerns the perception of music as an exclusive activity. Passport-holders from more than one school have expressed a new-found freedom, following their relationship with Routefinders:
“You don’t need to be perfect, you just do it.” “It’s good to interact. Because when we had our normal teacher ... she taught us that there is a right and wrong way to do things. They taught us that every way is right! There isn’t really a wrong way.”
Clearly this may reflect more on the children’s previous experiences than anything else and it is intriguing to examine possible reasons:
1. Pupils are perceptive enough to know that some teachers do not feel confident when teaching music, or may not do it at all 2. Music appears, unlike virtually any other subject, to require a specialist teacher, even one who comes in from outside to provide that service 3. Much music is concerned with performance, often in preparation for the “public” which may range from a group performance in class to a school assembly or event in front of parents. “Getting it right” becomes paramount.
Somehow, the message conveyed by older pupils runs counter to this one. There could be several possible reasons:
1. Routefinder-musicians have developed sufficient self-confidence in their music- making to demonstrate greater freedom 2. The training given has moved them, themselves, to a point where they feel less restricted 3. Having been encouraged to be positive in their responses to the primary pupils they have effectively given permission to passport-holders to experiment and enjoy their freedom 4. The peer-to-peer relationship allows the younger pupils a sense of being free to choose.
Whatever the reason, or combination of reasons, there is clearly much to be gained from this peer-to-peer relationship. This Y6 pupil sums it up well:
“Music passport made me think I might enjoy music and now I’m learning the saxophone. In y5 I didn’t play an instrument at first because I thought it would be rubbish and it was strict and you had to get everything right, but when music passport started I thought it would be fun, and I went and started saxophone.”
Find out more about Music Passport.