Gaming during music class: a win-win situation
- Education in Art
When you have made it your personal mission to continue to improve music education, you set the bar high, especially if you want to do everything right. And that can make you insecure, Daan van Haren knows. But it was precisely because of his own experience that he could be a source of support for students who also struggled with insecurity. And because of that, in turn, his own self-confidence grew. A win-win situation, culminating in Daan’s graduation product: a music game.
In 2011 Daan started studying Music Technology at HKU University of the Arts. He graduated in composition and music production, and, as he says himself, ‘learned a lot about studio technique and composition techniques’. That laid the foundation for a self-employed career as a media composer. ‘I did that for a number of years, but there wasn’t enough work. Besides, I missed working with people. That’s why I took up Tailor-Made BA Music in Education.’
More modern
During his studies Daan soon discovered his passion for teaching. ‘When I started I thought about how my own school days had been and what I would do differently. I was already working on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how that works. In my first week at ArtEZ I already noticed that people had views on education that matched my own: a little freer and a little more modern.’ In his days as a student, music education was not exactly scintillating. Daan wanted to do that differently. ‘They call that sustainable music education – that’s education that sticks and that you carry with you for the rest of your life.’
Rest is beneficial
It was a bit scary to stand in front of a group of teenagers, says Daan. ‘Add to that my natural urge to want to do teaching very well and differently. That can make me insecure. But being a calm person helped. I remember teachers from the past who were all over the place and that didn’t work so well for me. I was glad that I could be myself and that I did manage to hold the group’s attention that way.’ The best moment of his time in the classroom was when he discovered that he really enjoys the pedagogical side. ‘That you can mean something for the children and make a difference. It has now also become somewhat of a mission of mine to hearten children who are also insecure.’
Gaming for hours on end
Daan’s graduation product is linked to his work at a cluster 2 school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and children with a language development disorder. In that context he came across a website with information about sustainable music education, and found an article about gaming. ‘Very interesting,’ says Daan. ‘Because I always wondered how it could be that kids were sometimes unmotivated for school, for example, but could spend hours gaming. What about that motivation?’
One step at a time
The research into games that Daan carried out for his study gave him an answer to that question. ‘Games are very interestingly constructed: You start with something very simple, you'll succeed in anyway, and then you go forward step by step. That way you achieve a series of success experiences.’ And these are important, according to Daan: ‘Such a success experience motivates you to carry on. Then you notice how it helps boost children’s self-esteem. Because music classes can also be very difficult for an adolescent, for example when you have to sing in front of the class. That’s putting yourself on the spot. For me as a teacher, that’s a big challenge. And it’s rewarding when it all works out.’
Educatieve game: Tadish!
Together with some friends Daan developed the game Tadish!, a game that teaches you to understand rhythm better. It is paired with musical notation, and students see the notes and hear a voice pronouncing the notes. Then they have to click on what they hear. ‘The game is self-explanatory and students can use it on their own. It is a game suitable for many target groups, so also for my ‘own’ target group: the children with a language development disorder.’ He tested the game himself in his class. ‘Everyone was motivated and when I went back to work on music notation a while later, I noticed that they still remembered a lot. So it really stuck.’
Technology in the classroom?
‘I have a music technology background. Nowadays many people listen to electronic music. I’d like to bring that into the classroom. Some teachers are working on it, but it is still a long way off. I like to introduce children to the technological means of making that music. Also, learning through a game, like I created with my final product, has a promising future, I think.’ Some of Daan’s friends are programmers, others are graphic designers, and he could put their expertise to good use in developing Tadish. ‘With my educational and my music background, we now want to develop educational games. The product of my research is the starting point for that.’
