Extract
This analysis of the challenges facing teachers of composing for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is based on a survey of teachers' opinions and classroom observation. The article answers three questions: can all GCSE students compose; how do you teach composing at GCSE; and is GCSE coursework a good test of composing ability? Reference is made to the nature of teaching mixed ability classes, how ability affects the development of composing skills, and the effects of different teaching methodologies on the students' progress. The article questions whether the GCSE examination is a realistic test of compositional ability at age 16.
Introduction
The material presented in this article is drawn from my Ph.D. research project: `Can composing be taught at GCSE?' The project focuses on the teaching of GCSE composing within the classroom. The main part of my research in schools comprises a detailed record of the students and teachers working together to produce GCSE compositions, and incorporates diaries, interviews, classroom observation, records of work and evaluations of students' work by their teachers. Over 200 students and ®fteen teachers in eleven schools are represented.1 The teachers' opinions discussed here are gathered from interviews, questionnaires and a discussion group funded in 1998±99 by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA). Quotations are recorded verbatim as far as possible.
Can all GCSE students learn to compose?
Music in schools is about the enactment of ideas. (Witkin 1974: 120)
The changes in music education brought about by the work of John Paynter, Murray Schafer and other composer-teachers are reflected in the construction of the GCSE examination. Students approach the central aspects of musical knowledge through four modes of musical experience, engaging in performing, composing, listening and appraising. Developing the skills and understanding associated with these activities will develop each student's musical knowledge and enable them to express themselves through music.
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