Using the Generative Learning Model in Classical Guitar Training: The Case of Agustin Barrios Mangoré La Catedral
Murat GökThe Generative Learning Model (GLM) is a blending field whose theoretical basis is based on neural research, the structure of knowledge, and cognitive development, and which focuses on selecting learner-centered, creative teaching activities that are appropriate for the learner. This research aims to reveal the factual and practical aspects of using the Generative Learning Model, as a learning strategy in classical guitar training, with an interdisciplinary approach. In the research, the descriptive survey model was used to reveal the factual contexts of the model. In adapting the model to classical guitar tarining, the second movement of Agustin Barrios Mangoré’s work titled La Catedral, was chosen. As a result of the research, 15 different exercise patterns were produced for the La Catedral Andante Religioso movement. These patterns are produced based on the Generative Learning Model for different technical problems, such as rhythmic consistency, arpeggiation, positioning of the right hand in shifting position, and revealing the melodic line in classical guitar. The data obtained from the research revealed that the Generative Learning Model can be adapted to classical guitar training. As a result, the model can offer effective and creative learning strategies, especially for difficult-to-learn technical passages in instrument education.
Klasik Gitar Eğitiminde Üretken Öğrenme Modeli’nin Kullanılması: Agustin Barrios Mangoré La Catedral Örneği
Murat GökÜretken Öğrenme Modeli, teorik temeli sinirsel araştırmalara, bilginin yapısıyla ilgili araştırmalara ve bilişsel gelişime dayanan ve öğrenen için uygun, öğrenen merkezli, yaratıcı öğretim etkinliklerinin seçilmesine odaklanan bir harmanlama alanıdır. Bu araştırma, eğitim bilimleri disiplini içeresinde tanımlanan Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin müzik eğitiminde disiplinlerarası bir yaklaşımla ele alınarak klasik gitar eğitiminde bir öğrenme startejisi olarak kullanımının olgusal ve pratik yönünü ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmada Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin olgusal bağlamlarının ortaya konması için nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden doküman tarama ve doküman analizi yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin klasik gitar eğitimine uyarlanması aşamasında ise ulusal ve evrensel klasik gitar repertuvarının başat eserlerinden olan Agustin Barrios Mangoré’nin La Catedral başlıklı eserinin ikinci bölümü seçilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin uygulanmaya çalışıldığı La Catedral, Andante Religioso bölümü için 15 farklı çalışma varyasyonu/paterni üretilmiştir. Bu paternler klasik gitarda ritmik tutarlılık, arpejleme, pozisyon geçişlerinde sağ elin konumlandırılması, tını, melodik çizginin ortaya çıkarılması gibi farklı teknik sorunlara yönelik Üretken Öğrenme Modeline dayalı olarak üretilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda elde edilen veriler Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin klasik gitar özelinde çalgı eğitimine adapte edilebilir olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre Üretken Öğrenme Modelinin özellikle öğrenilmesi güç teknik pasajlar için etkili öğrenme stratejileri sunabileceği düşünülmektedir.
Generative learning involves actively making sense of the information to be learned by mentally rearranging it and integrating it with the person’s previous knowledge, thus enabling learners to apply what they have learned to new situations (Fiorella ve Mayer, 2015, s. 717). From this point of view, the Generative Learning Model (GLM) is directly related to the constructivist learning model, which expresses the acquisition of knowledge through the active structuring of the individual’s mental processes based on previous learning. When looking at the literature, it can be seen that there is a dual use for the same factual situation as the GLM and Generative Learning Theory. The GLM is a hybrid field whose theoretical basis is based on neural research, research on the structure of knowledge, and cognitive development, and which focuses on the selection of learner-centered, creative teaching activities that are appropriate for the learner (Grabowski, 2004). The GLM, in a sense, requires a kind of ‘deconstruction’ of the learned knowledge. It allows students to divide and reorganize all components of knowledge or practice into smaller units. Thus, productive integration strategies are used in multiple content areas, such as refinements, viewing, interpretation, analogy, and summarization, where creative learning comes into play. In the literature, this approach is also defined as “decoding” (Davis ve Hult, 1997; Peper ve Mayer, 1986; Rickards ve August 1975).‘Decoding’ is the process of breaking down information into its components, categorizing these components with their context, and producing innumerable variations between the part and the whole. From this point of view, generative learning and creative learning theories support each other. When looking at the literature, studies in which creative learning is amalgamated with the GLM draw particular attention (Boys, 2011; Moma, Kusumah, Sabandar ve Afgani, 2013; Karpov, 2016).Craft emphasizes that teachers should generally teach creatively to ensure productive learning (2005, s. 130). Teachers must lay the foundation for student creativity by acting as creative and reflective practitioners in their own right. Through such behaviors, students will discover the true nature of creativity and how to be themselves (Tangaard, 2011, s. 230).Considering that music education is a branch of art education, it can be said that productive learning is compatible with the conceptual framework summarized above. Art education generally develops on the axis of creativity, productivity, and different perspectives. Creative learning practices in music education appear in different application areas, such as composing, improvising, arranging, rearranging, creating variation, transcription, adapting for a new instrument, reharmonization, and polyphony. All these application areas display an intersection between creativity and productivity. According to Odena and Welch (2009, s. 418), the concept of “creativity” can appear in two different ways in education: within composing it can be used in improvisation activities, while the other is used to emphasize the value of creativity as a “thinking style”. When the etude books for instrument education are analyzed, it can be said that the GLM is already used in music education without any theoretical background. Some etude books written for instrument education aim to obtain dozens of different forms from a single theme by using the idea of variation. Variation in music is a formal technique in which material is repeated in a modified form. Changes may include melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration, or any combination of these. Studies likewise rely on a generative model while creating various combinations of a theme.This research aims to reveal the factual and practical aspects of using the GLM, defined within the discipline of educational sciences, as a learning strategy/model in musical education, with an interdisciplinary approach.In the research, the document analysis method is used to reveal the definitions of the GLM in the literature and its adaptability to music education and to investigate the factual contexts. In the stage of adapting the GLM to classical guitar education, Agustin Barrios Mangoré’s classical guitar piece La Catedral’s second movement Andante Religioso was selected, one of the leading works of the universal classical guitar repertoire. In the research, working exercises in different motifs were generated using productive learning strategies for the technical difficulties in the work. While doing this, the main material of the piece was adapted to different exercise patterns, with 15 exercise fragments being derived from the piece. These exercises show that many different musical elements, such as rhythmic consistency, arpeggios, positioning of the right hand in block chords in jump strings, timbre, revealing the melodic line, and position transition, are suitable for practice on classical guitar with the Genertaive Learning Model. As a result of the research, it shows that the GLM can be adapted to instrument training. As a result, the model can offer effective and creative learning strategies, especially for difficult-to-learn passages in classical guitar training. In addition, it is thought that the GLM will contribute to the metacognitive study strategies of students’ instrument training.
