O’Regan’s article ‘DEAR MR O’REGAN…PLEASE FIND MY LAUNDRY ENCLOSED’ focuses on children with ASD and ADHD during Coronavirus
lockdown when schools were closed. He notes that, “for many families, weekends
and holidays supporting children with conditions such as ASD or ADHD can be
very stressful so this unexpected and unplanned extended period of time [Covid
lockdown] may appear extremely daunting.”
He recollects a previous experience of a mother
helping her son with ADHD complete some science homework, which took four hours
to complete rather than the expected 20 minutes. She attached a note to her
child’s teacher saying she was “enclosing her laundry” – presumably in recompense
for the time she took helping with the Science homework! O’Regan states that,
“…no amount of positive reinforcement or consequences for non-completion
appeared to have any effect [for the boy].” Knowing that the child in question
was “fine in class”, but “had major difficulties with organisation”, it is
surprising that it took time for O’Regan to make the connection between the
positives of structured learning and the negatives of unstructured learning for
certain pupils.
The tips he suggests for parents read clearly,
though whether they are practical is another matter. With regards to T&L
for ADHD students at WHS, the article helps as a useful reminder of setting
manageable tasks, allowing for breaks in between tasks, but most importantly
the need for clear instructions and time allowance which all too often we may
not specify clearly. There are obvious cases where pupils can manage their time
well, especially with clear guidance from parents. What is possibly lacking is
where such guidance is not forthcoming from staff setting work with such broad
parameters.
At KS3, I’ve stopped saying ‘use your device to
research’. Instead, I spend time looking at one or two websites or online
documents which are not only suitable for the age group, but are easily
accessible as well as useful. With clear guidance as to where to look (and
indeed how to look on a particular website), how long to spend (set yourself a
timer), and the limit of how much to note down and what to note down (set clear
tasks and limit the space or word count), will not only help pupils with ADHD,
but also pupils who do not have learning, behaviour or socialisation issues.
This is the second in of our special Friday Gems focussed on Action Research. Today’s is about Lucia’s brilliant Action Research over the last two terms, which links closely to our EDI priority.
Lucia was interested in exploring Year 9 students’ perceptions of the everyday language of the diverse speaker, and how we can change our teaching to redress any value judgements students might make. The expectations of exam boards for students to use ‘standard English’ means that judgements might unconsciously be perpetuated about the way individuals speak. By using pedagogies to allow students to be able to analyse AAV (African American Vernacular), she wanted to see whether our students were able to move beyond seeing ‘non-standard’ English as ‘slang’ or as ‘less rich’. In short, Lucia’s Action Research is all about anti-racist pedagogies.
To read more about her findings, please see attached Lucia’s brilliant write-up of her Action Research below:
This is a special Friday Gem reporting on Holly W’s brilliant Action Research over the last two terms.
Holly wanted to explore how to improve students’ understanding of analysis across subjects. After undertaking some initial wider reading and surveying staff about the issue, she worked with teachers from different departments to establish a shared way of speaking about and teaching the skills of analysis. This is the ‘Chain of Reasoning’ approach using common steps in any discipline: ‘identify, infer, justify, connect, review’. Teachers used this verbally to work through the process of analysis in class discussion, and used it as a prompt for students to reflect on their work. Crucially, this is a tool for fundamental understanding, cutting above subject-specific models of analysis, such as PEE.
To read more about her findings, please find Holly’s brilliant write-up of her Action Research below:
This
idea comes from Suzanne in the French department, who used her lesson
observation with Claire to try out a new digital technique. In the lesson, she
helped students to review all the vocabulary they had learnt so far. She then
built their confidence in using the mirror function in Flipgrid to record a
conversation using the vocabulary for homework, with the student both asking
and answering their own questions.
Video instructions Suzanne made for her class of how to use the mirror function in Flipgrid
The application in MFL is apparent. However, the idea of verbally asking and answering your own questions could be used in lots of other subjects, from debating different ideas, to conducting a Q&A with yourself, to putting right misperceptions about something. The metacognition built into doing this sort of thing is brilliant and the mirror function in Flipgrid could be a fun way of encouraging students to develop this sort of thought process. How could your students use it in your subject?
Year 13 German Lesson
Benefits
The students were creative in using the mirror function, using costumes, backgrounds etc.
It allowed students to verbalise ideas at home (really important for MFL, but important for all subjects).
It built confidence in a fun way: students were practising vocab and accuracy of pronunciation in a low stakes manner.
If used for students to debate with themselves, or to conduct a Q&A with themselves, then the metacognitive element is really beneficial.
Neurodiversity considerations for this activity from Isabelle and Catherine:
Be prepared to offer an alternative to students with social anxiety and autism.
Be prepared that for some students sharing publicly is very difficult.
Ruby L, Deputy Head Girl, explores the significance of maps within literature, and how they help imaginatively guide both readers and writers.
Many famous literary works started off as a blank
piece of paper and an idea for a fictional world. J.R.R. Tolkien produced three
maps [1] and six hundred place names for his ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, which
became one of the bestselling series in history with over 150 million copies
sold worldwide [2]. He is one of many successful authors to utilise the
practice of cartography in the establishment of a fantasy land, along with
Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote ‘Treasure Island’ with the inspiration of a hand-drawn
map; and C.S. Lewis, who invented Narnia. But why is this technique so popular
and why does it make for more developed novels and fruitful book sales?
As Holly Lisle reveals, the process of literary
map-making is an extensive and varied one. Authors generally depict a country
or full land map instead of a city or street to generate a full view of the
world they are creating and its geography. Once borders have been established, the
addition of features such as mountain ranges, forests and cities fill the world
with purpose and start to create a realistic-looking artefact. Mistakes made
can also be of benefit to the plot and narrative. For example, if extra lines
are drawn accidentally or a town has been placed far from any others, there is
space for artistic license to make these into a story. If there is an abandoned
trail it could have been deserted after a guerrilla warfare group used it in an
ambush, and the isolated town could be used to excommunicate criminals as
punishment in the country’s justice system [3].
But why wouldn’t the author simply
write and skip this sketching? The answer is simple: this physical expression
of the world inside the author’s head is invaluable when delving deeper into
the story’s background. The writer can use
their map to discover more about the land they have pictured, which is the main
luxury of using cartography to compliment literature. Even a simple structure like the borders of
the land probes into why that line was laid in that precise place. Was there
dispute or war over territory? How are foreign relations between this country
and its neighbour, and how does this impact the everyday lives of the citizens?
Does a potential lack of security give rise to a totalitarian state in which
inhabitants cannot cross the threshold to leave? Questions like these help the
author to contextualise the history of the world that they are creating, which
makes for a more three-dimensional setting. It helps us to understand their
message in relation to their world’s history and landscape (political and
social as well as physical) and in this respect, cartography is undoubtably
important for the production of a fantasy world from an author’s perspective.
A hand-drawn ‘Annotated map of Middle-earth’ by British author J. R. R. Tolkien (Photo Daniel Leal-Olivias/AFP/Getty Images)
With the market
for novels becoming more competitive, readers gravitate towards stories with an
easily visualisable world and deeply considered, nuanced characters. Although
there are many techniques which can achieve this, mapping is a simple way to
produce ‘evidence’ for the fictional land to exist as they imply the realism of
the author’s creation [4]. It adds another layer of credibility to the novel as
we want to believe in what has been put in front of us. By human nature we are
inclined to wish to read for escapism and suspension of disbelief is a huge
part of what draws us into the narrative, so producing artefacts becomes very
useful. This fact is what makes book sales soar for fantasy novels as they
carry us away from the sometimes mundane real world. The illusion of reliability
from a seemingly genuine source encourages us to engage with the text more
deeply.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s
work is a clear example of how mapmaking benefits both the author and reader in
a fictional tale. He wrote in a letter to the novelist Naomi Mitchinson in 1954
that: ‘I wisely started with a map and
made the story fit (generally with meticulous care for distances). The other
way about lands one in confusions and impossibilities, and in any case, it is
weary work to compose a map from a story.’ [1] Tolkien decided to come up with
detailed maps depicting what would become ‘middle-earth’ and even chose to
invent detailed languages and names before creating a plot. Based on his
remarks, we can see that having a map before a narrative is not a defect but a
delight, as successful exploration of possible characters and storylines can
only come from detailed research and prior thought as to the setting. Not only
was Tolkien’s cartography useful for him to devise a plot, it was widely
appreciated by readers of his books worldwide. Literary critic Shippey writes
that his maps are “extraordinarily useful to fantasy, weighing it down as
they do with repeated implicit assurances of the existence of the things they
label, and of course of their nature and history too” [1].
It is no
wonder that fantasy books containing careful cartography are so popular and
successful, then. They are sure to thrive as long as humans continue to need
exploration and escapism.
Bibliography
[1] Tolkien’s maps. (2020,
October 21). Retrieved November 12, 2020, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien’s_maps
[2] The Lord of the Rings.
(2020, November 05). Retrieved November 12, 2020, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings
[3] Maps Workshop – Developing the Fictional World through
Mapping. (2019, April 16). Retrieved November 12, 2020, from
https://hollylisle.com/maps-workshop-developing-the-fictional-world-through-mapping/
[4] Grossman, L. (2019, October 02). Why We Feel So Compelled to
Make Maps of Fictional Worlds. Retrieved November 12, 2020, from
https://lithub.com/why-we-feel-so-compelled-to-make-maps-of-fictional-worlds/
Miss Lucinda Gilchrist contests current political orthodoxies that devalue the study of Arts and Humanities subjects, and asserts the profound importance of English at A Level and beyond
The study of
English Literature and Language at A Level and at university in the UK is in
decline – there has been a 23% drop in pupils taking A Level English Literature
since 2017[i].
While numbers of A Level English Literature students at Wimbledon High remains robust,
nonetheless there are powerful currents shaping the national context, which need
to be challenged.
The political
trend of steering of students towards STEM subjects has had a significant
impact on the perception and take-up of English Literature, while reductions in
government funding to the Arts is scuppering the effective running of departments
and courses, devaluing the Arts conceptually and monetarily. This is entirely
at odds with our STEAM+ agenda at WHS, which celebrates the power of
interdisciplinary learning and the equal value of all subjects in our
curriculum.
However, the
National Association of Teachers of English (NATE) argues that the decline can
also partially be attributed to neglect of the ‘big picture’ of English
teaching, due to a model of literary texts as ‘cultural capital’[ii],
which reductively posits literary study as developing declarative knowledge of
canonical texts.
But where
are students going if they aren’t studying English? Geography entries at A
Level in the UK have risen by 16%, something that the Geographical Association
has attributed in part to increased concerns in young people about the
environment[iii].
Subjects like the Sciences and Geography are perceived to equip students with
the skills and qualities they need to make an active and positive change in the
world, while English and other arts subjects have been unflatteringly described
by the former Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, as ‘dead-end
courses that leave young people with nothing but debt’[iv].
What can
we do to change this?
NATE
recommends thinking about English as than ‘a means of pleasurable reflection on
and participation in life’, through we can examine ourselves and the world
around us. Diversifying the curriculum is one crucial example of how English
can engage in and contribute to work of great cultural and social value. The
English department are working hard to identify ways to decolonise the
curriculum, with a new post-colonial literature unit at A
Level, a new
‘Singing the Self’ Year 9 poetry unit, and the addition of texts by a diverse
range of writers into the Year 8 Fiction Fest. This is not a fast process, and it’s
important to avoid superficial measures, instead interrogating our own
assumptions and contesting dominant narratives.
Furthermore,
as Angus Fletcher argues in Wonderworks, literature is responsible for
some of the greatest philosophical and psychological inventions in the history
of mankind: ‘[it is] a narrative-emotional technology that helped our ancestors
cope with the psychological challenges posed by human biology. It was an
invention for overcoming the doubt and pain of just being us.’[v]
Fletcher gives a compelling account of how writers have maximised neurological
and psychological processes, using the language and structure of texts as ways
into the human mind, enabling humanity to improve itself in the process.
The study of
literature, therefore, is just as important a tool to make the world a better
place as the Sciences and Geography. For example, as Ms Lindon has suggested, eco-poetry ‘can generate the imaginative power
to help us dwell better, if we allow it to act upon us’[vi].
Fletcher comments on the power of poetic diction to help us look at the world
anew: the inverted word order of ‘the flower blue’ rather than ‘the blue
flower’ defamiliarizes us with something we might ignore as ‘boringly ordinary,
and [inspires] us to see fresh details, fresh points of emphasis, fresh
opportunities for discovery’.
What does
this look like in English at WHS?
The texts
explored in English at WHS offer many opportunities to examine or defamiliarize
the world and summon up ‘imaginative power to help us dwell better’. For
example, in studying Shakespeare, we deconstruct 16th century
attitudes to issues such as gender, sexuality, wealth, race and colonialism,
helping us contextualise the discourses and complexities of debates around the
same topics today. At GCSE, you may read Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me
Go and explore the pressures of being ‘normal’ through the perspective of Kathy,
a clone created for organ donations, desperately trying meet social
expectations for human behaviour when that same society views her as less than
human. As Fletcher argues, literary forms themselves are ‘inventions’ which unlock
our empathy, defamiliarize and refamiliarize, and help us understand and interact
with the world and each other better.
Thus, English
lessons are likely to be in equal part inspiring and challenging, especially where
we need to acknowledge our own blind spots and where we have been influenced by
powerful social and cultural narratives. We need to have a flexible ‘growth’
mindset about tackling complex issues and encountering literature’s
transformative power over our minds. The English Department’s new mission
statement articulates our aims in tackling the ‘big picture’ of learning in
English head on.
The study of language and literature
is the study of the human condition: how we behave, think, feel, how we respond
to political and social changes. As such, in English we can expect to come
across issues and themes which are complex, challenging, troubling and
exciting, and which speak to society and culture today as much as they did in a
text’s original context. In exploring these texts we have an opportunity to
interrogate the issues which affect us in society at large, and in English
lessons we agree to sit in the discomfort, pull apart these topics, searching
for ways of understanding and ways to engage with the world, and developing the
language to speak about what affects us. We know that these debates resist easy
answers and that everyone gets things wrong sometimes, so English lessons are a
mutually respectful open space to explore, develop new ways of looking at our
society and culture, and finally to create and enjoy those texts which inspire
us.
English
may often deal in hypotheticals, imaginary worlds, or historical contexts far
removed from our own, making it seem detached from the immediate problems of our
world. But in fact, this very quality is why the study of literature allows us
to develop frameworks and language to engage more deeply in life, and to effect
meaningful change in this world and in ourselves.
In this week’s WimTeach, Miss Judith Parker, Head of Spanish, explores the positive impact of biophilic classrooms on students’ learning outcomes and wellbeing, and advocates for plants in every classroom.
A couple of years ago I decided to brighten up my
classroom and office by bringing in some plants from home. Aside from the accidental
watering of the inside of someone’s locker, the effects were remarkably
positive. The introduction of plants not only enlivened previously drab spaces
but also invigorated students and colleagues. Research studies, including
a project led by one of our GDST schools, are revealing the hidden benefits of
classroom plants.
Mindfulness and wellbeing
When I first brought plants into my classroom,
students and colleagues expressed reverently how calm they felt upon entering
the space. There are plenty of opportunities for mindful moments of
appreciation with plants. We delight in the gradual unfurling of a new leaf or
the surprise appearance of a new shoot. Research studies on the psychological
impact of indoor plants have demonstrated that they improve mental wellbeing
through suppressing the sympathetic nervous system and reducing blood pressure.[1] A study[2] on hospital patients noted
the therapeutic benefit of indoor plants and recommended them as a low-cost,
straightforward intervention to improve post-surgical recovery.
The benefits of biophilic classrooms
Specific studies into the impact of plants in
classrooms have shown that they enhance students’ learning. ‘Biophilic’
classrooms, which are designed to connect students and teachers to nature, have
a positive impact on focus and creativity. Putney High School has paved the way
here with their 9-month study on the impact of biophilic classrooms. This
led to a report[3] and
exhibition of their designs and findings at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
Their project is based on ‘The Flourish Model’ which aims to facilitate
creativity through a tranquil environment. We are, of course, more likely to
explore and innovate when we are feeling calm and safe, rather than anxious and
stressed. Plants help us to get into that comfortable state. The report also
demonstrates how better air quality from plants improves students’
concentration and engagement in lessons, as well as their emotional wellbeing.
“There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments”
– Janet Kilburn Phillips
Plant care offers a new learning experience. It
provides the opportunity to contribute towards a shared space through teamwork.
There is a collective effort and pride in managing to keep plants at the very
least alive, and ideally thriving.
I brought in several plants for my new tutor group
in September. In typical WHS spirit, my wonderful Year 10s immediately embraced
them with enthusiasm and affection. I returned for afternoon registration that
same day to find that they had already added name labels to the pots. A
consultation had taken place as to their ideal placement in the form room.
Plant care brings out the nurturing instinct of our students, who earnestly confer
about the optimum moisture level of the soil and in what parts of the room each
species might be happiest. Our form’s ‘Head Gardeners’ take on their
responsibility with the utmost diligence.
When faced with imminent school closure in the
first lockdown, I entrusted my leafy collection to my students. Some had
enthusiastically volunteered; others simply happened to pass through the MFL
corridor and found themselves unexpectedly becoming surrogate plant parents.
Email updates on my beloved plants, now scattered around students’ homes across
London, punctuated the long months of lockdown and school closures. One student
gently broke the news to me that a particular plant, despite her efforts, alas,
had not survived the challenging times.
The plants of 10JIP have recently spent the
half-term break in the homes of different form members, and several students
are excited to bring in their own plants from home. Some students were hesitant
about looking after plants as they had no experience in doing so, which is an
even better reason to put them in charge. After all, at WHS we encourage
students out of their comfort zone and towards experimentation, even in the
face of potential failure.
Incorporating nature into our daily lives
For those of us living and working in congested and
polluted urban areas, the sad reality is that we are spending very little time
interacting with nature. We all want to be eco-friendly and care for our
natural environment. However, we can easily spend consecutive days exclusively
indoors and without any direct contact with the natural world. We need
plants in our classrooms to maintain our connection with nature.
Plants make us happier, calmer and more creative. They
should be an integral part of a classroom environment. At Wimbledon High, we
are fortunate already to have a committed Eco Team, Blog and Gardening Club. Let’s
bring plants within reach of all teachers and learners.
Top tips for introducing plants to the classroom:
Start
with the most resilient species, such as sansevieria (snake plant),
spathiphyllum (peace lily) and chlorophytum comosum (spider plant).
Make
sure that there is a suitable spot for your chosen species, taking into account
temperature, levels of light and humidity.
Appoint
one or two students to take the lead in plant care and establish a weekly
routine of watering.
Invite
students to bring in their own plants.
[1]Lee,
M. et al. (2015) Interaction with indoor plants may reduce
psychological and physiological stress by suppressing autonomic nervous system
activity in young adults: a randomized crossover study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419447/
[2] Park,
S. and Mattson, H. (2009) Ornamental indoor plants in hospital rooms
enhanced health outcomes of patients recovering from surgery.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19715461/
Holly Beckwith, Head of Year 7 and Head of Politics, explores Siena Castellon’s book The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide. Holly says that it helped her, as a ‘neurotypical’ teacher, consider how a ‘neurodiverse’ student might view the world.
It was her chapter on mental health which I found most
useful, particularly in its explanation of alexithymia, which is very common in
autistic people.
The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up
Awesome and Autistic was written by Siena Castellon when she was 16. She
wrote the ‘guide’ so autistic teenage girls could read advice from another autistic
teenage girl, rather than an autistic or neurotypical adult, by which she found
most of the literature had been written. While teachers are not its target
readership, I would argue it is an especially valuable read for us in seeking
to better understand how we can support our neurodiverse students in addition
to the pedagogical texts and research into cognitive science. It allowed me, as
a neurotypical teacher, a view into the ways in which some of our neurodiverse
students may see and experience the world differently as well as similarly to
me. Reading her guide cultivated empathy that is more difficult to attain in
other literature on neurodiversity.
She says of herself:
‘In many ways, I’m a typical teenage girl. I love music,
binge-watching TV shows on Netflix, makeup, chocolate and my awesome dog, Rico.
Yet there is one important thing about me that makes me very different from
most teenage girls. I’m autistic. I’m also dyslexic and dyspraxic, and I have
ADHD.’
Siena is very aware of her own individuality as well as some
of the commonality she may have with others with autism and so while it is very
much her own experience which is drawn upon, some typicality can be inferred.
It is both these things that help us as teachers build empathy and
understanding and thus enable us to alter our approach or consider how we can empower
our neurodiverse students to identify strategies to cope with the school
environment.
But we must be mindful that this is one person’s experience
that is mostly drawn upon and at times this comes through very strongly –
particularly in the passage on toxic teachers, which addresses some sad and
what would have been for her, traumatic, experiences in her school years.
Siena dedicates chapters to topics such as dating, surviving
school, fashion, making friends and gender identity. It was her chapter on mental
health which I found most useful, particularly in its explanation of
alexithymia, which is very common in autistic people and I characterised by
three main difficulties:
Difficulties in identifying what you’re feeling
Difficulties in describing your feelings to others
Difficulties in distinguishing between your feelings and the physical sensations related to an emotional response.
Siena shares stories of misunderstandings that have arisen
since her emotions rarely match her facial expressions and the time delay she
can have when it comes to identifying and processing emotions and I will share
one here:
‘When our social battery is fully charged, we’re at our
social best. As the social battery starts to drain, our social skills
deteriorate until we reach the limit of our ability to socially interact.
Social interaction comes at a price. It leaves us physically and emotionally
spent. The only way for us to recover is for us to have time to ourselves so
that can recuperate and recharge. […] When I’m at school, I try to ration my
social battery so that it lasts the entire day. [..] When my social battery
drains and my anxiety reaches critical levels, my ability to function
drastically deteriorates. I become a lot clumsier, less tolerant of being
touched, more rigid in my thinking, less able to cope with any changes in my
schedule or routine and more sensitive to lights, noise and smells.’
Siena then offers a series of strategies she has used and
encourages readers to identify their own in an empowering and encouraging way. This
is Siena’s achievement and purpose – to address the challenges she faces
candidly while also role modelling agency and ambition.
Rebecca Brown, GDST Trust Consultant
Teacher for Maths and WHS Maths teacher, reviews part of Steve Chinn’s paper on
The Trouble with Maths – a practical guide to helping learners with numeracy
difficulties.
Each learner needs to be understood as an individual and the teaching style and lessons adapted to suit each individual learner.
Is it Dyscalculia or Mathematical learning difficulties? However it may be described, challenges with Maths create anxiety amongst children and adults alike.
The 2017 National Numeracy booklet, ‘A New Approach to
Making the UK Numerate’ stated that ‘Government statistics suggest that 49% of
the working-age population of England have the numeracy level that we expect of
primary school children’. This indicates that having a difficulty with maths
should not automatically earn you the label ‘dyscalculic’. So what does it mean
to be successful at Maths and why does it make so many people anxious?
Two key factors which aid learning are ability and attitude.
Some learners just feel that they can’t do Maths. They feel helpless around Maths.
Maths can create anxiety and anxiety does not facilitate learning. Ashcraft et
al (1998) have shown that anxiety in Maths can impact on working memory and thus
depress performance even more.
More recent
research using brain scanning has found that regions in the brain associated
with threat and pain are activated in some people on the anticipation of having
to do mathematics.
The key question, when faced with a learner who is
struggling with learning maths is, ‘Where do I begin? How far back in Maths do
I go to start the intervention?’ This may be a difference between the
dyscalculic and the dyslexic learner or any learner who is also bad at maths.
It may be that the fundamental concepts such as place value were never truly
understood, merely articulated.
None of the underlying contributing factors are truly
independent. Anxiety, for example, is a consequence of many influences.
Chinn favours the definition of dyscalculia to be ‘a
perseverant condition that affects the ability to acquire mathematical skills
despite appropriate instruction.’
A learner’s difficulties with Maths may be exacerbated by anxiety, poor working memory, inability to use and understand symbols, and an inflexible learning style. Chinn suggests adjustments to lessons to assist difficulties in maths based on four principles:
Empathetic classroom management
Responsive flexibility
Developmental methods
Effective communication.
In short, the issue is that not every child or
adulty who is failing in Mathematics is dyscalculic. Even for those who do gain
this label, it does not predict an outcome or even the level of intervention
but as Chinn suggests whatever teaching experiences this pupil has had, they
may have not been appropriate.
In this week’s WimTeach, Dr John Parsons, Director of Sixth Form, muses over AI, Beethoven, and the learning process.
Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827. Within days of his death, Beethoven’s first biographers were swift to recognise the seismic impact the composer had made on the musical language, style and forms of the emerging ‘Romantic’ age. They also saw him as providing a blueprint for a new kind of human creative spirit; a composer embodying not just the artist contra mundum but also the artist struggling against himself. Beethoven’s autograph scores and extant sketches show us that frustration and struggle; energised, angry scrubbing-out, playful trial and error, revisions and reworkings, rejected ideas and erratic inky marks made so quicky (‘when the spirit moves me,’ as he himself had said) that they are sometimes barely legible. Here on paper is Beethoven showing his working (as an exam-board or teacher might ask) and evidently learning as he went along. A look at the page helps us to imagine the composer (doubtless brow furrowed) very much in flow – in the moment. The layers of creative struggle and his learning process are there in black and white.
In school we learn that Beethoven wrote nine symphonies. It
is easy to see the slow-to-build but ecstatic exclamation of Schiller’s Ode
to Joy in the closing section of the ninth as his final statement in the symphonic
form. But it wasn’t; there is a tenth – or at least scribbles and sketches for
one. Beethoven, it seems, had no intention of leaving it at nine. Musicologists
for the next 200 years would be left wondering ‘what if…?’ Until now.
A ground-breaking project at Harvard university has brought
together musicologists and computer scientists to see if an AI computer can be
taught to create music that sounds like it was made by Beethoven and thereby to
complete the composer’s missing tenth symphony. Here is a machine that has been
taught not only Beethoven’s entire body of work but also his creative process
in order to fill in the blanks and come up with a coherent and developed piece
of music.
Beethoven was an intensively motivic composer, meaning that
his compositional process saw him painstakingly derive complex and copious material
from tiny motifs (just think of the famous four-note da da da daaa that
opens the fifth symphony and the 40 minutes of music based on it that follows).
As the Harvard AI task became more complex, so the machine became cleverer and
more skilled at recognising such patterns in how Beethoven had reworked his
motifs. The same happens when we as learners take on and stick with the
struggle of learning something new and difficult, and (as with the AI, too) over
time mastery is attained. Indeed, one of the computer scientists remarked ‘the
AI reminded me of an eager music student who practises every day, learns and
becomes better and better.’[1]
Not for the first time, then, AI shows us something of what human learning is
all about.
A year or so into their work, in 2019, the Harvard team
travelled to Bonn and the composer’s birthplace museum to perform some of what
had been ‘composed’ by the machine for a sceptical room of historians,
journalists and musicians to see if they could tell where Beethoven stops and
AI takes over. They couldn’t. There will be purists who say that AI should not try
to replicate the human creative process, but of course the machine is not
autonomous. Rather, it must have a multi-disciplined team of experts to teach
it to do its thing (STEAM+ in action).
The human learning process is one of trial and error. Scrubbings
out and puzzle solving is par for the course and the process owes as much to
frustration as it does to playful experimentation and repetition. As teachers
we see that in the classroom every day. The most effective learners accept and
embrace the struggle. Evidently, that was the same for Beethoven – the most
human of composers – as it is for any of us as we go about the business of
learning new things and creating our own masterpieces.
Further reading on the Harvard Beethoven project here.
