Exploring+the+Facets+Model

=__The Facets Model__=

“Three music educators designed the Facets Model to promote the comprehensive study of a musical work and enhancement of students’ musical understanding and performance.” (Barrett, McCoy, and Veblen, 1997) This comprehensive approach designed by Janet R. Barrett, Claire W. McCoy, and Kari K. Veblen combines many disciplines of study (history, art, english, etc) through the in-depth exploration of a topic. The goal is to have students understand the context of a piece, and in turn have a deeper and more meaningful experience with the piece. Using the Schematic Gem for the Facets Model found under “Musical Content” the student uncovers the answers to a series of questions that will lead to cross-curricular connections and critical thinking skills. These are goals worthy of a place in music curriculum.
 * Philosophical/Theoretical Standpoint**


 * Musical Content/ Instructional Attributes**

The Facet Model Gem is a key part of the curriculum model, and is how students explore the musical content and related subjects. This is used as a supplement to the musical work itself, an addition to the development of music literacy skills. It provides meaning and context to an otherwise isolated piece of music. For example, Bandquest uses this model as a way of creating a well-rounded experience for a school band, allowing students to see the piece from multiple perspectives. Another interesting example from the Facets Model is the Circles Exercise. “The purpose of this exercise is to think about your personal musical experiences and their impact in your life.” (Sound Ways of Knowing) Before beginning the exploration of the musical context of others, students solidify their own musical context, and from a list of musical experiences discover how their own histories may have influenced their musical lives. The second part of the Circles Exercise is to share your results with those of your classmates, sparking discussion on similarities and differences, and the comparison of personal context, thereby creating a small community of differing musical experiences. This will be the basis for branching out and exploring musical histories and environments throughout the world. Students will be quite well-rounded if they follow the Facets Model. They will have depth, meaning, and context in addition to musical skills, interpretation, critical thinking, and personal significance. The only real “blank spot” that I see in this model is that the initial piece to study seems to be the same for all students, which might limit the interest for various learners, though the questions and design remain open-ended and exploratory. It would be easy to implement in the general music classroom, and would be useful and comprehensive in ensemble settings. I believe this is a thorough and student-centered approach to improving musical understanding and performance.

Concrete artifacts pointing to student learning include the completed Circles Exercise, and the Facets Model Gem. Teachers may glean their understanding of self and of the context of the piece through these two artifacts. Students are able to demonstrate their understanding through these artifacts as well as through the performance of the piece. Their expression and interpretation represents the understanding they have developed about the piece.
 * Assessment**

I am planning on using ideas from this model in my general music classroom, and am working on implementing it into my band and chorus, though the exact plan for that is still a work in progress. I would like to do the circles exercise on the first day of school for the older grades, and adapt some questions for the younger grades, the purpose being to create a basis of musical context of the students at that time. I would like to keep these and revisit them at the end of the year, then again at the start of the next year. I think it would be interesting for students to see if anything has changed, and what has remained the same. The lesson examples given in Sound Ways of Knowing will provide me with a blueprint for how to implement this model into studying a piece of music, allowing my classes to explore cross-curricular topics and create an understanding of the context. A big part of success with this project is making sure the students have access to a variety of rich sources from which to uncover information. My thoughts for band and chorus would be to have the Facets Model gem available for students, though I have to work out who and how they would accomplish the gem. The Blank Facet Gem below could be a starting point for creating a guide sheet for students: The Facets Model and its comprehensive approach is well worthy of being adopted and adapted by more teachers in more settings. It promotes student centered learning, comprehensive curriculum, and higher-level thinking. Topics are exploratory, and questions lead to students uncovering a personal understanding as well as contextual understanding of a piece of music. It is easily implemented into a classroom or ensemble, given you provide enough materials for the students to research.
 * Implementation**
 * Worthiness**

**Smartboard Lesson** Below is a smartboard lesson using the facets model gem:

